Rev. Crystal Blanton

AM – Our Featured Author this week is near and dear to my heart.  Rev. Crystal Blanton is with us today promoting her upcoming book “Bridging the Gap: Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society”.  In addition to writing for PWC and a few other Pagan websites, Crystal is the acting Executive Director of the Family Wiccan Traditions International and the Mother Priestess of the Family of the Rising Phoenix.  Thank you for joining us today Crystal!

CB – Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to interview with PWC and share some of the exciting things that are coming in 2010.

AM – Please tell us a little more about yourself.

CB –  Well, I am a mother, grandmother and wife in my family.  I work during the day as a drug and alcohol counselor working with adolescent drug users.  I am also a High Priestess with Family Wiccan Tradition International and Dance of the Spirit Moon Tradition.  Outside of those things I am an author that writes for several columns and gearing up for the release of my first book with Megalithic/Immanion Press.

AM – What drew you to Wicca and got you started on your spiritual path?

CB – I had been searching for my spiritual path for a while prior to finding Wicca.  I knew I didn’t fit into the mold of Christianity but did not know where I did fit.  I met a friend of my husbands and her pentacle intrigued me to do some research into the subject.  After researching the Wicca path, I knew it made more sense to me than any other spiritual path I had encountered.  After this point I joined a local coven and began the process of discovery and training.

AM – What is one of the most important things that you have learned recently on your spiritual walk?

CB – Most recently I have dealt with tragedy and right when I thought I could see what was in store I had a crushing blow in my family.  My mother died January 29, 2010 after a accident that landed her in the hospital for 2 ½ weeks.  My mother and I were extremely close and have lived together in conjunction with my family for the last 8 years.  She was my right arm.  I think this incident has pushed me to understanding another layer of the concepts of trust within spirituality and being able to surrender to the process of life and death.  I don’t know that there is such a thing as being OK with the process that is inevitable but it does support the idea that nature does not stop and we are all in a place of transition every day; every moment.  I am still learning to trust in the Will of the Gods while in the face of such uncertainty, fear and sadness.  I think that is my process for 2010.

AM – What is the Family Wiccan Traditions International and what makes it different from other traditions?

CB –  Family Wiccan Tradition International is a non-profit organization that supports the concept of family spirituality and working within the family unit or coven to establish tradition and practice within the home.  So often people have to go outside of their family to worship in covens and groups; leaving a break within the family as it pertains to spirituality.  Family Wiccan Tradition International, or FWTI, supports families in establishing this structure and supporting family spiritual union and growth.  FWTI has several resources including classes and a clergy training program.  Currently FWTI has family covens all over the United States and some overseas as well.

AM – How did you become interested in writing?

CB – I have always been a writer.  I remember winning the Young Authors Award in elementary school and continuing on to write a lot of poetry in my younger years.  After leaving my first coven in 2004, I was inspired to pick the pen back up.  I started writing and submitting articles to Witchvox as a way to process the situation I was recovering from at the time.  This progressed to gaining some columns and eventually to the development of my book.

AM – Tell us more about “Bridging the Gap: Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society”?

CB –  This book highlights some of the notable techniques used by professionals in the field of counseling and correlates them to the world of covens and groups.  The concept of the book is to open up dialog around politics within the Pagan community and supporting the development of skills around conflict mediation, mentoring, spiritual counseling and group dynamics.

Since I have worked in the social services field for the last 14 years, I worked to share some of those skills with others in hopes that it would support healthier covens and groups.  In addition I hope to give people understanding and choices in the myriad of ways to defuse or cope with situations that are common within group settings and also those that are distinct within the Pagan community.

AM – What inspired you to write this book?

CB – In 2004 I left a coven that had become very unhealthy and dysfunctional.  This situation sparked something within me around dealing with people who were not training in ways of dealing with others and working through situations in ways that could alleviate hurt and pain to those involved.  I felt that this situation I had gone through was not uncommon to others that people have dealt with in dysfunctional covens where the leaders or other members did not have training and were operating inside of ego instead of skills.  This was one area I felt I might be able to support others in and give back to the community itself.

AM – This is your first book release.  Are you nervous about how it will be received by readers and the Pagan community?

CB –  Yes!  I think the anticipation of the book is fueled by the length of time it takes to produce a book when going through the publishing process.  As the time ticks, the more anxious I become.  In addition I think that the topic is one that is not commonly wrote about, at length, in the community and usually when it is written about it is not from the perspective of passing on techniques.  There are books out that are a similar subject but I am nervous about how my book will be received since it is actually giving counseling concepts to deal with situations instead of those that are more intuitive or common.

In addition, we all know how some communities are set in their ways of training and thinking.  These concepts are not new to the world but some will be new to Pagan leaders and practitioners.

AM – What can we expect to see next from you?

CB – I will continue to write articles for e-zines and magazines.  I am also flushing out the concepts and outline of my next book around dealing with pain within the Wiccan faith.  It will have some of the same objectives as Bridging the Gap does but from a personal place of dealing with pain and hurt.  Other than that I will continue to work within FWTI and doing presentations at various conventions.  There is also the podcast that I started in 2007 and started again in 2010.  You can find information on my website regarding upcoming issues.

AM – What do you think is the most important piece of advice that you would give an unpublished writer?

CB – Keep writing.  I think that it is easy to get stuck on what you “think” something should look like or sound like.  In essence, one of the most useful things I have found in writing is the actual process of writing itself.  If you don’t allow yourself the freedom to write and experiment with your writing, you can stifle your creativity and damage your hope.  Everything you write may not be brilliant but some of it may be.  Go back over it after you have written it all but in the mean time, just write.

AM – Where can we go to learn more about you and get information on when “Bridging the Gap: Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society” will be released?

CB – There are several places that are available to get information about me and any upcoming releases.  My website, www.crystalblanton.com, is set up to give updates and also provide articles and poems I have written.  You can search for Crystal Blanton on facebook and find my page along with my authors page where I give updates.  Of course there is twitter and although I swore I would not do it, I did;  www.twitter.com/BlantonHPs.  For more information on Family Wiccan Tradition International you can go to www.familywiccantradition.org or for Dance of the Spirit Moon you can go to www.danceofthespiritmoon.com.  Upcoming releases will be announced on these formats and there is also contact information for me as well.  And lastly, you can search for walking with the spirit on itunes to get to the podcast itself.  Enjoy!!

AM – Thank you for sharing your time with us today Crystal.  We wish you the best of luck with “Bridging the Gap: Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society” and your future writing endeavors.