Every Thursday at 4 p.m., students, faculty and staff gather in the Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice (CRSSJ) for meetings of Pagan Circle. Members gather to connect with nature and join in community through meditation, readings and rituals.
According to Professor Carolyn Herbst Lewis, history and gender, women’s, and sexuality studies, Paganism is an umbrella term used to describe individuals who did not follow a single god and includes the more structured forms of Heathenry and Wicca. Pagan Circle at Grinnell is a looser practice and focuses on building connection to community and earth.
“There’s no set belief system, or at least our version is like, nobody’s ever telling you, ‘This is what to believe’ or, ‘This is the truth’,” Henry Coen `25, a member of Pagan Circle, said. “It’s more like, ‘This is an idea. What do you think of it?’ And those ideas aren’t supernatural, per se. You can fully believe in science and all that, while also believing in the power of community and the sacredness of nature.”
Each meeting opens with a guided meditation led by Herbst Lewis, where she asks participants to weave a basket connecting them to the Earth and other participants.
“We envision ourselves as being like roots, rooted in the earth, but then also as vines coming around our circle and weaving us, holding us together,” Herbst Lewis said. “So that we have now sort of energetically created, woven a sacred space that connects us all, even as we remain individual as well.”
After meditation, Herbst Lewis opens the group to a period of sharing, each participant contributing something on their mind. This is followed by a relevant reading and subsequent discussion or ritual before the meeting is closed though a second guided meditation, this time unweaving the basket.
“It’s just a lot of thinking out loud and hearing other people’s thoughts and just being open and vulnerable, and feeling safe not to know the answers,” Coen said.
“A lot of the time, in classes or just in conversation, there’s an expectation to respond to everything that’s coming at you,” Mary Higgins `25 said. “I can just be like, ‘I’m sad,’ and there’s a moment of quietness, and I can feel the support without words.”
Roommates Higgins and Coen found their way to Circle after Higgins saw a flyer advertising the reformation of the space in 2023 and convinced Coen to join her. Dayana Garcia `26, another member, joined Circle on a referral from a friend and has found that it has allowed her to maintain balance in her life at Grinnell.
“It’s just a really intentional space. And I think at Grinnell, it’s really hard to carve out intentional spaces and be able to ground yourself in the moment with a group,” Garcia said. “It’s really just like a space of open listening.”
“It’s important to recognize our emotions as human, because especially when we’re moving this fast, it can really feel like we’re machines,” she said.
Though Herbst Lewis is the official organizer of the group, one of her goals is to make Circle a student-led organization. She has done this by building more regularity in meetings and dedicating a specific space for the group in the CRSSJ’s Prayer Garage, constructed in spring of 2024.
For members Higgins, Coen and Garcia, Circle has allowed a practice in empathy and an opportunity to learn what other people are going through. It has also encouraged a sense of intentionality, of being mindful of a space by noticing one’s feelings and changes in surroundings.
“Comfort and connection are the primary goals every time we come together,” Herbst Lewis said.
Members encouraged anyone interested in Paganism and Pagan Circle to join for a meeting.
“Whether or not you believe in Paganism as a religion or whatever, what we are doing is very real, and the emotional stakes are very real,” Higgins said. “We are all emotionally invested in what we share and what we do and what we say. So it’s important to be authentic and open when you enter the Circle.”
