Selena Fox (born 20 October 1949 in Arlington, Virginia) is a

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

n priestess, interfaith minister,

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

elder, author, and lecturer in the fields of pagan studies,

ecopsychology Ecopsychology is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field that focuses on the synthesis of ecology and psychology and the promotion of sustainability. It is distinguished from conventional psychology as it focuses on studying the emotion ...

, and comparative religion. Fox is a trained counselor and psychotherapist, with a B.S. ''cum laude'' in psychology from the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

in 1971 and a M.S. in counseling from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1995. At the latter she wrote a thesis, ''When Goddess is God: Pagans, Recovery, and Alcoholics Anonymous'' (1995). She has been a member of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

American Counseling Association The American Counseling Association (ACA) is a membership organization representing licensed professional counselors (LPCs), counseling students, and other counseling professionals in the United States. It is the world's largest association exclus ...

Association for Transpersonal Psychology The ''Journal of Transpersonal Psychology'' (JTP) is a semi-annual, peer-reviewed academic journal which is published by the Association for Transpersonal Psychology (ATP). The journal is a seminal publication in the field of transpersonal psychol ...

, and

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profess ...

. Fox began leading public

rituals in 1971 and has done public education about

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

since 1973, in talks and public media interviews. She has also been mentioned in print publications, including a profile in ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...

'' in 1979. Fox has been active in environmental preservation endeavors since helping to organize the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 and speaks about ecospirituality.

Circle Sanctuary

Fox is the founder of the "Circle Craft" tradition of the Wiccan religion. Along with others, she founded and is the Executive Director of

Circle Sanctuary Circle Sanctuary is a non-profit organization and legally recognized neopagan church based in southwestern Wisconsin. It aims to encourage community celebrations, spiritual healing, research, networking and education. Circle Sanctuary was fou ...

, which is one of America's oldest Pagan centers and Wiccan churches. Circle Sanctuary is headquartered on its 200-acre (0.81 km2) Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, founded in 1983. Circle Sanctuary's quarterly journal, ''Circle Magazine'' (formerly, Circle Network News) was first published in 1978 as a newsletter, then as a newspaper in 1980, and in magazine format in 1997. Fox also is the founder of the Pagan Spirit Gathering, one of the oldest Nature Spirituality festivals in the United States. Fox also founded Circle Cemetery"Circle Cemetery"
/ref> in 1995, which is a 20-acre green cemetery for cremains and full-body interment.

Religious freedom advocacy

Fox has advocated for Wiccan religious freedom for religious adherents in the military, including spearheading (along with

Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of chur ...

) the inclusion of the pentacle symbol on the US Department of Veterans Affairs list of emblems of belief that can be included on government-issued markers, headstones, and plaques honoring deceased veterans. She has also advocated for equal treatment of religion in the public square, including the inclusion of a pentacle in a holiday display at the Green Bay, Wisconsin City Hall and in displays at the Wisconsin state Capitol for the annual Interfaith Awareness Week, as well as addressing derogatory comments made by Delaware GOP Senate candidate

Christine O'Donnell Christine Therese O'Donnell (born August 27, 1969) is an American conservative activist in the Tea Party movement best known for her 2010 campaign for the United States Senate seat from Delaware vacated by Joe Biden. O'Donnell was born in Phil ...

during her candidacy.

Bibliography

Contributor

* * *

Periodicals

* ''Circle Guide to Pagan Resources''. Editor, directory, 1979–present, Circle Publications. * ''Circle Magazine'' (formerly Circle Network News). Founding Editor, Advisor, 1978–present, Circle Publications.

Books and articles

* ''Celebrating the Seasons''. On-line guide with rituals, chants, articles - www.circlesanctuary.org/index.php/education/celebrating-the-seasons.html * ''Circle Magick Songs'' (1979) with Jim Alan. Circle Publications. * ''Goddess Communion: Rituals and Meditations'' (1988). Circle Publications. * ''Planetary Healing Rituals: Meditations, Rituals & Prayers for a Healthier World'' (1991). Circle Sanctuary.

Recordings

* ''Circle Craft Podcasts'' - recordings of weekly classes, meditations, & rituals on internet radio at circlepodcasts.org * ''Sacred Cave Ritual'' - Selena Fox and Pagan Spirit Gathering Community, ritual with chanting & guided meditation, 1995 * ''Magical Journeys'' - Selena Fox, guided meditation, 1981 * ''Songs of Pagan Folk'' - Jim Alan, Selena Fox and Friends, songs and chants, 1980 * ''Circle Magick Music'' - Jim Alan and Selena Fox, songs and chants, 1976

Notes

General references

* * Vale, V. and John Sulak (2001). ''Modern Pagans''. San Francisco: Re/Search Publications. . p. 201 - One page interview with Fox about Circle Sanctuary

External links

Circle Sanctuary website

Selena Fox's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Selena 1949 births Living people Activists from Wisconsin Wiccan priestesses American occult writers American Wiccans Writers from Wisconsin Religious leaders from Wisconsin American women founders