Spiral Quest Kids is the circle that serves pagan and pagan-friendly families in the Delaware Valley area. It provides Firefly and Spiral Scout programs to 10 families. It has been in existence for a year and a half. SQK kids have gone on overnight camping trips to Four Quarters Farm in Bedford County, PA and to Elk Neck State Park in Cecil County, MD. They have canoed the Brandywine River and hiked the Wissahickon Valley. SQK has taken field trips to museums, stables, firehouses, and recycling centers. This fall they’ll be going to see a show at the Keswick Theater.

SQK is sponsored by Light of the Goddess coven. Its families are drawn from several different Traditions and solitary paths. Its emphasis is on open-ended spirituality within a context of comradeship and fun. Any families in the region who would like to check out SQK would be warmly welcomed. They can email Three Blade Jaguar at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or they can call Trish or Walter Bachteler at (215) 674-4324.

The creation of a nationwide Pagan oriented scouting program, known as “SpiralScouts” (TM) has been announced by the Aquarian Tabernacle Church of the Seattle area, to fill the void left by the prejudicial treatment of other established children’s programs. It was formally incorporated at Imbolc, 2001, and is an appropriate venture for the new millennium.

SpiralScouts supplies leadership hand-books, awards, merit badges and pins, embroidered shoulder patches, and activities handbooks to make the program work for you on a local basis.

The program has a unique approach to scouting. Each group is led by both a male and a female adult, to achieve and teach that balance that is so central to Paganism. While it is based on Pagan beliefs and practices, it is designed to be adaptable by other non hostile minority faiths as well, by substitution of the faith based activities with their own. In addition to the usual fun activities and woods lore, camping and the customary scouting activities, the program includes teaching about the many mytholo-gies of the ancient world. Uniquely, it includes a component new to scouting - life strategies and skills for teens, to help them learn early how to have good relationships with their peers and adults, and interpersonal skills that will serve them throughout their adult lives.

Within the program there are three levels of child participation:

• FireFlies, who range from preschoolers through age 8
• SpiralScouts, ranging from age 8 through 14
• PathFinders, who range from 14 upward.

Groups are organized into Circles, which may be made up of Hearths for the different age groups. There is a provision to enable chartering of single family, isolated Hearths for parents who may be remote from other Pagans and want their children to benefit. This is believed to be the only Pagan oriented scouting program in existence.

Member children and leaders wear a simple uniform purchasable anywhere, consisting of khaki pants, skirt or shorts, and a dark forest green dress shirt. Over this is worn a chocolate brown hooded bib on which they may display their awards and honors, giving the outfit a definitely Pagan look. The pattern for the hood is available from HQ, as are ready-made hoods for those who don’t sew.

For more information contact:

Spiral Quest Kids

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Three Blade Jaguar

Phone: (215) 674-4324
Trish or Walter Bachteler

Spiral Scouts International

http://www.spiralscouts.org

SpiralScouts™ International Inc.
48631 River Park Drive
PO Box 409
Index, WA 98256-0409
Phone: 360-793-9427 after 9:00 AM PST
Fax: 360-793-3537

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