Southern, Proud, and Pagan

Cotton also teaches them "candle magic," which sits people in a circle with a candle, with each in turn projecting good energy into it and then handing it to the next person. After the candle completes the circle, it is burned and its good energy released to the universe, solidifying the request. Cotton says the ritual isn't much different from Catholics lighting candles in church. "Ultimately, all religions are tied together by the same thread of spirituality," she says. "It's just the dogma that varies."

But Father John Geaney, CSP, spokesperson for the Diocese of Memphis, says all religious dogma is not the same because Wicca -- unlike Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- is not based on the monotheistic God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Additionally, Geaney says, Wicca involves witchcraft, which the church teaches against.

"As Christians, we ought to know that when we have spiritual or other needs, they can be best cared for in our faith," says Geaney. For example, he says if someone is ill, the church can have a priest bless the patient. "We try to be thoughtful and caring of those who practice Wicca, but it's not for Christians."

Little Pink Skulls

And Moonlight says there is something that speaks truth to her in Geaney's words. Still standing in front of the Memphis church she attended as a child, Moonlight says she has been thinking about returning to Christianity. "I don't know. Somewhere deep in my Southern heart I feel Wicca might not be for me," she confides.

Turning away from the church and twirling her pentacle necklace while careful not to scuff her bright pink nails, Moonlight says she's still uncomfortable about wearing it in public. "Southerners are conservative about things like this, but they still are the nicest people," she says as an elderly couple exit the church.

Slipping her pentacle underneath her pink ruffled blouse, Moonlight turns and smiles big at the couple and hollers out a cheery, "How're y'all?" After exchanging pleasantries, the couple moves on but Moonlight still stares after them, explaining that they were old church friends. "If I stay a witch, I still want to raise my kids in the South," she says with moistening eyes. "This is my home, and I love its small town-values," she says, fingering her homemade bracelet, a string of little pink skulls.

This article was first published by Busted Halo, a Patheos Partner, and is reprinted with permission.