Circle Sanctuary - History

History

Founded in 1974 by Selena Fox and Jim Alan, Circle's first public event was a Yule ritual hosted at the couple's home in Madison, Wisconsin. The following year, Circle moved to a farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (just outside Madison). In 1976, a favorable article written by Jacqueline Mitchard appeared in The Capital Times, which marked the beginning of Circle's public outreach. The same year, Fox and Alan began hosting a weekly half-hour radio program on WORT in Madison; the program ran for four years.

1978 was a pivotal year for Circle. Incorporated as a Wiccan Church in Wisconsin on October 27, 1978, the organization's legal name was changed to "Church of Circle Wicca, Inc." Circle's original coven structure was replaced with a church structure, including a board of directors and ordained ministers. Fox and Alan released a tape entitled Circle Magick Music, one of the first Neopagan music collections to be widely distributed. They also published a paperback collection of music in Circle Magic Songs. A weekly, hour-long cable television show was added on Cable 4 of Madison. The following year, Circle was featured in Time magazine on the Religion page, in an article about a handfasting the couple performed at the third Pan Pagan Festival at Demotte, IN.

In 1979 Jim Alan and Selena Fox began working with the Chameleon Club, a Cleveland, Ohio-based group. They hosted several appearances at Case Western Reserve University and other Cleveland venues, and on the ABC television talk shows Morning Exchange and Live on Five. Circle helped launch the first Starwood Festival in 1981, just one month after the first Pagan Spirit Gathering.

In 1980, Circle received federal recognition as a church, and moved to another rented farm in Black Earth, Wisconsin. The first Litha gathering was held, a precursor for the Pagan Spirit Gathering that made its debut in 1981. Fundraising for a land purchase began in 1980, and the land was purchased in 1983.

Its current legal name, "Circle Sanctuary, Inc.," was registered with the State of Wisconsin on September 30, 1983.

During 1984, Circle Sanctuary assisted in updating the United States Army's Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains. By that time, Circle Network had existed for several years, bringing Neopagans of many paths together. Circle was also involved in legal battles during the mid- to late-80's, as the local township government attempted to use zoning laws to prevent Circle from establishing the sanctuary land as church land. This effort failed, as Circle won key decisions that culminated in the same local government granting Circle the nation's first official recognition as a church of Witchcraft in 1988. Today, Circle enjoys excellent relations with the local town board.

The 1990s were a period of increasing growth for Circle. Both of its executive directors, Selena Fox and Dennis Carpenter, received advanced degrees (Counseling and Psychology, respectively) by tying their fields of study into their Neopagan experience. Circle was a sponsor for the Parliament of World Religions in 1993, bringing Circle wide enough notice to attract the attention of fundamentalist Christian activists such as Pat Robertson, who described Circle Sanctuary on his television program The 700 Club and in his book The New World Order as "a 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) sanctuary for witches", over-exaggerating the Sanctuary's land area fivefold.

Circle also participated in the Nature Religion Today conference sponsored by Lancaster University, United Kingdom in 1996. In 1997, the Pagan Spirit Gathering moved to Wisteria Campground in southern Ohio, having been held in southwestern Wisconsin at Eagle Cave near Blue River, Wisconsin. In 1998, Circle Magazine debuted as a quarterly magazine, replacing Circle Network News which had been published as a newsletter/newspaper since 1978.