It is a pleasure to see that our first issue was received so well by the majority of the people that read it. But the editors aren't the all seeing, the all knowing. We aren't gurus. We are normal people that help provide information to the general population, through the input and creativity of others. You may be gratified to know that others have come forth and offered their support of this project. We can only hope that you will come forth and provide your viewpoints as well.

We attempt to provide reliable and informed opinions and information about any religion that we can. We attempt to display it in a positive light, or provide constructive criticism if it is seen fit. Currently we provide holiday briefs for religions that we are not members of. We are hoping that people of these faiths and others will come forth and provide a more informed viewpoint. As one letter to us inadvertently implied, even those of a single faith may not agree due to various differences.

Very few religions are stagnant. Most are evolving. The pace of the evolution does not necessarily relate to the validity or age of the religion. Nor does it signify the open-mindedness of the practitioners. Religions change due to regional, cultural, economical, and spiritual needs. When changes occur in religions, it can cause splits in the religions, new sects because of people's ability of inability to change. Neither is wrong, although it is interesting to see the particular viewpoints. Sometimes we have more in common than we realize.

Please feel free to Sound Off on anything we, or other authors have written. The whole point of Pagan Moon is to provide accurate information on religions. If no one writes, we won't have all the knowledge necessary to provide the whole picture. We may even be wrong and we hope you will correct us in that case.

Please help us to help you and others. Education begins with a single viewpoint. A single article may not have the ability to change perception in everyone. But if it sparks inspiration it may be all that is required to start the ball rolling.

Neal Levin
CO-Editor-In-Chief

I was going to begin this article with a definition, from a dictionary, of the word family. I ran into one small problem. It seems even the dictionary can't decide on one "true" meaning of the word. I consulted several dictionaries and each had a minimum of six definitions of the word. That's a little more reference information than most people want to process before reading something for enjoyment. So, that aside I want to talk about the meaning of the word family. Family is perhaps one of the more subjective words in our language, right up there with things like love, happiness and beauty.

To me the word family conjures up many things: my parents, my siblings, my cousins, my aunts and uncles, my grandmother, my husband, my in-laws and so much more. I'm lucky my family isn't just made up of the people I'm related to by blood and marriage. I have family that chose me as I chose them because of the love we have for each other.

I'd like to give you an example. I got married this past fall. I had a pretty intensely hands on wedding. We did a lot of things "ourselves" rather than pay someone for them. I had a Saturday wedding. The Friday before my family and I set up.

My mom was there, coordinating solving problems and keeping us on track, all while working as hard as everyone else there. My sisters were there. Biologically I only have one sister, I found out that weekend, that I'm blessed and have many sisters. These amazing women set up the hall with me on a nasty humid day in a building without air conditioning. We started out with a Girl Scout Camp Dining hall and ended up with a fair approximation of a Great Hall. They stuffed favor bags, they made and arranged centerpieces, they swept and scrubbed, helped prepare the rehearsal dinner and many, many other things. When we had a thunderstorm during the rehearsal dinner that destroyed the directional signs I had made; they stayed up late and made new ones. No one complained. They showed up the day after the wedding and cleaned up, working just as hard as they had setting up. That's not even mentioning the one who did my flowers, the sister who did my hair and make-up, the one who sewed me in my dress when we realized some ribbons were still just pinned and I had lost my buttons or the one who sewed my veil to it's head band when I ran out of time. Only one of those women shares my blood.

My Dad was there, he built a tent wall for me out of fabric and 1x2's with the help of my brother. Again, I only have one biological brother, but I found out that weekend that I'm blessed with several brothers. They also toiled for nothing but the love they have for my husband and I. Even before that weekend, one of these men made all of the leather jerkins for the groomsmen and made two more with only one week's notice when some things came up backordered. These men showed up the day after the wedding for clean up and again toiled. As with my sisters I can't begin to list everything they did. From staying and helping my husband and I load our gifts into the car when everyone else had left, to taking up the post of "guard" at the entrance arch, to keeping the groom calm these men were there. One of them said the words that consecrated my marriage.

I heard the phrases, "tell me what you need", "what can I do" and "whatever you need" more time than I can count in those three days. My wedding was beautiful but it would have been nothing without my family. I would do the same for them, cheerfully and without complaint. My family is the people who love me, support me, nurture me and give of themselves freely. I can only hope that each of these people see me in the same light and that I will do the same for them when it is needed.

My family includes folk of about every persuasion that exists yet we're a whole. Some people may say these people are "just friends," but to me, they're family as real as the one I was born into. If we each look around us we may realize that we have family we've never thought about, that we're far more connected than we ever realized.

Best Wishes,
Morte Portney
CO-Editor-In-Chief