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SpiralScouts International is a United States-based youth organization based on Wiccan symbolism and values. [1]
The program was created in 1999 as a loosely organized children's program at the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) in Index, Washington. The leader of the first circle was Heather Osterman. As word spread over the internet about the program, Pete Pathfinder Davis, founder of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church and SpiralScouts, implemented a formalized and expanded program under the guidance of Justine Goodwin, the first International Director, making it available internationally in 2001. With the aid of an internet committee of some 500, the original handbook was developed. Over time, the program has spread across the globe.
SpiralScouts is a program where girls and boys of minority faiths can work, grow, and learn together. Pete Davis stated in reference to the group, "There needs to be a group that will include all children and families, regardless of creed, color, gender, or sexual orientation. Boys and girls should learn together, just like in the real world, not segregating little soldiers over here and little homemakers over there". SpiralScouts International promotes learning, peace, personal and environmental responsibility and service to one's community. Its activities are based on the classical basic elements of earth, air, fire, water and spirit.
The overall organizational structure is mostly informal as a blanket non-profit agreement is pending. The structure is primarily geographically based and includes both formal and informal groups, formal groups benefiting from recognition by the organization as a whole.
Tribes are the largest regional organizational group within the Spiral Scouts. They consist of a grouping of five or more geographically related clans, circles, or hearths within a state, province, territory, or country. These organizations consist of a coordinator who acts as the primary contact for the Tribe and a Tribal Council consisting of representatives from the various constituent organizations. The council manages most of the operations of the tribe.
Circles are similar to the traditional scout Troop, consisting of two or more families meeting together for coordinated activities. Within a circle can be multiple hearths, formal or informal, that may meet separately. A formal process exists to recognize formal circles within a Tribe. A recognized circle can form a bank account specifically for its fundraising and donations. Recognition also allows circles to administer badges and conduct scout meetings and field trips under the Spiral Scouts title and to access official scout handbooks.
Recently that process includes a provisional proto-circle process that grants formal recognition from the international organization as well as limited access to many of the organizational resources and materials. It also allows access to training and lists the circle on the organization's website. This provisional status lasts for three months and provides a circle number that becomes active when the circle is officially chartered. Proto-circles are not allowed to hold scout meetings or field trips, only organizational meetings. Fund raising and donations are also restricted only to cover the costs of chartering the circle and must be approved.
Hearths are the smallest structure within SpiralScouts. They are generally one or two family groups that may meet separately as a result of lack of local interest or distance from larger circles. Hearths can also function as subdivisions within a circle to organize by age, small scale geography, or similar interests. Independent hearths can obtain the same recognition as a circle through the national organization to provide charter benefits to low-access areas.
Scouts are grouped by age range, with "RainDrops" being ages 3–5, "FireFlies" who are ages 5–8, the eponymous "SpiralScouts" ranging in age from 9 through 14, and participants aged 14 through 18 being called "PathFinders." [1]
Wicca, also known as The Craft, is a modern neo-pagan syncretic religion. Scholars of religion categorize it as both a new religious movement and as part of occultist Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Wicca draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th-century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practices.
The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the assistance of Carroll A. Edson, in 1915 as a means of reinforcing the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. It uses imagery commonly associated with American Indian cultures for its self-invented ceremonies. These ceremonies are usually for recognition of leadership qualities, camping skills, and other scouting ideals as exemplified by their elected peers.
A Scout is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section. Scouts are organized into troops averaging 20–30 Scouts under the guidance of one or more Scout Leaders or Scoutmasters. Troops subdivide into patrols of about 6–8 Scouts and engage in outdoor and special interest activities. Troops may affiliate with local, national, and international organizations. Some national Scouting associations have special interest programs such as Air Scouts, Sea Scouts, outdoor high adventure, Scouting bands, and rider Scouts.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 152 countries. It was established in 1928 in Parád, Hungary, and has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). WAGGGS is organized into five regions and operates five international Guiding centers. It holds full member status in the European Youth Forum (YFJ), which operates within the Council of Europe and European Union areas, and works closely with these bodies.
Cub Scouting is part of the Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), available to boys and girls from kindergarten through fifth grade, or 5 to 10 years of age and their families. Its membership is the largest of the five main BSA divisions. Cub Scouting is part of the worldwide Scouting movement and aims to promote character development, citizenship training, personal fitness, and leadership.
A variety of religious emblems programs are used by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to encourage youth to learn about their faith and to recognize adults who provide significant service to youth in a religious environment. These religious programs are created, administered and awarded by the various religious groups, not the BSA, but each program must be recognized by the BSA.
Sea Scouts is a program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women ages 14 through 20.
The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens. It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among witches and to secure for witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other religions. Member covens generally focus theology and ritual around the worship of the Goddess and the Old Gods, which is general practice within Wicca. The Covenant of the Goddess operates largely by consensus and maintains strict autonomy for all members.
Wiccan organisations are groups formed by Wiccans, particularly in North America. While in Europe Wicca is most often organised into independent covens, in the United States some covens choose to combine to form a Wiccan church or other organisation. Churches are often formed from hive covens.
The American Heritage Girls (AHG) is a Christian-based Scouting-like organization for Americans. The organization has more than 52,000 members (2020) with troops or individuals ("trailblazers") in all 50 states of the United States and for American expatriates in fifteen other countries.
The International Union of the Guides and Scouts of Europe - Federation of Scouts of Europe is a traditional faith-based Scouting organization with 20 member associations in 17 European countries and also in North America, serving roughly 65,000 members. The organization, headquartered in France, was founded in 1956 by a group of German and French Roman Catholic Scoutmasters as a faith-based Scouting movement, in order to reconcile the European peoples in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) is a Wiccan church located in Index, Washington. It is one of the first Wiccan organisations to receive full legal recognition as a church in the United States and Australia. The church has an umbrella 501c(3), there are 29 affiliate churches in North America, with 3 additional affiliates on other continents and 7 countries.. The ATC founded SpiralScouts International and Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary, a degree giving college recognized by the Washington State government that can give degrees from Associates to Doctorates in Wiccan Ministry. Through Woolston-Steen Seminary, the church offers prison chaplaincy programs.
Scouts BSA is the flagship membership level of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for boys and girls between the ages of typically 11 and 17. It provides youth training in character, citizenship, and mental and personal fitness. Scouts are expected to develop personal religious values, learn the principles of American heritage and government, and acquire skills to become successful adults.
Scouting in the United States is dominated by the 1.2 million-member Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA and other associations that are recognized by one of the international Scouting organizations. There are also a few smaller, independent groups that are considered to be "Scout-like" or otherwise Scouting related.
A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted infantry and mounted police use for organizational units.
Southwest Florida Council serves Charlotte, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Sarasota and parts of DeSoto and Hendry counties. The Southwest Florida Council was chartered in July 1968, and based on membership and units, it ranks 46th out of 306 councils in the United States. The Southwest Florida Council is a geographic area divided into four districts: Alligator, Manatee, Panther, and Two Rivers. The council has an executive board of volunteers and a staff of professionals.
Heather Denise Botting, née Harden, also known as Lady Aurora, born 21 September 1948, is a professor of anthropology at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. The original high priestess of Coven Celeste, she is a founding elder of the Canadian Aquarian Tabernacle Church and was the first recognized Wiccan chaplain in a public university.
Youth organizations in the United States are of many different types. The largest is the government run 4-H program, followed by the federally chartered but private Scouting movement groups: the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). Another somewhat smaller but co-ed Scouting derived group is Camp Fire. Other youth groups are religious youth ministries such as the evangelical Christian Awana, Seventh-day Adventist Pathfinders, and Assemblies of God Royal Rangers.
Pierre Claveloux Davis, also known as Pete Pathfinder, was a religious figure in modern Paganism. He founded the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) in 1985, in Index, Washington, and served as its archpriest. He was also involved with several publications and related organizations. Davis advocated for Wicca and Paganism as an expert witness, and was part of a group of people who successfully petitioned for the pentacle to be available as a symbol used on U.S. veteran's headstones.
