About The Pagan Path
The Pagan Path is a religious nonprofit organization and a federally recognized Pagan church under IRS Code 501(a). We began in March 2021 in Reidsville, North Carolina, where we were the only pagan faith religious organization in the Triad region. We opened our 16-acre property to solitary practitioners and groups to openly worship their pagan faiths freely, without persecution or fear of physical danger or harm. We continued to hold celebrations and festivals at the North Carolina property until February 2024, when we sold the property and moved to Alabama. Now we have our next Beltane Festival planned for May 2026, and we are restarting our monthly gatherings in March 2026.
One of our missions is to educate individuals about the many nature-based spiritual paths, rooted in ancient polytheistic traditions, worshipping the power of the earth through the cycles of birth, life, and death. Our goal is to help others understand that Pagans believe that divinity is in everything around us; therefore, we are surrounded by many deities, including Gods and Goddesses. Additionally, Paganism generally lacks a centralized authority, strict rules, or creeds. Instead, pagans take responsibility for their own spiritual journey through deciding which deity to follow, if any. Pagans will create and invoke rituals and spells to honor their ancestors and follow the moon’s cycles.
One of the ways we educate nonpagans about pagan faiths is by hosting monthly gatherings, both in person and over Zoom, and celebrating the year of the wheel through festivals and faires. These events include vendors, live entertainment, rituals, handfastings, classes, and other family-friendly events that are often free and open tithe public.
Check out our calendar for upcoming meetings and events.
About the Founders
Tom and Chip have been together for more than 40 years and have five children and six grandchildren. In addition to the five children Chip has had, she has three additional biological children that she carried as a surrogate for other families.
They met on October 15, 1985, at school on Chip’s third day as a new student. She was standing in the lunch line with her escort and the escort’s two friends when she noticed someone across the lunchroom staring at her. She asked the escort who it was and why he was staring at her. The escort and the two friends looked at who she was talking about and started giggling, then replied, “Oh. That’s Tommy Robinson. He’s nothing but trouble. Stay away from him.”
Chip looked at him again out of the corner of her eye and could see he was still staring at her while he was leaning over, talking to someone else who was sitting at the table next to him. Chip had been warned to stay away from the kid who was nothing but trouble, and she planned to do that.
Chip stayed in the lunch line as it kept moving, and once she came out the cafeteria door on the other side with her tray in her hands, she found an empty table and sat down. No less than 60 seconds later, Tommy Robinson sat in the empty chair next to her, while his friend sat in one of the other chairs. Chip just stared at him, half-startled into silence, half terrified to be associated with the kid who was “nothing but trouble.”
That first meeting was the start of their life together.
With four small children running around (their second child died at 4 months old), it was difficult for both Chip and Tom to work simultaneously, so Chip spent time in college, pursuing several degrees and certificates to keep her mind sharp and focused. When she was finally able to work, she chose to start her own business instead. She spent nearly 35 years working as a freelance writer, journalist, and photographer before laying down her pen and gifting her camera to someone seeking a different view of the world, so she could focus on running The Pagan Path, her small business, and the many festivals she held. She is a true Gemini and does not like to be stagnant for one second. She is a dreamer and will try her very best to make her dreams a reality.
Tom retired from the Army in 2009 after 14 years of service in the Army Reserve, National Guard, and on active duty. After 5 years out of the military, he reenlisted and volunteered to serve in Iraq at the height of the war. Naturally, the government accepted his offer, and he was deployed to Iraq, where he spent nine months attached to the 505th BN of the North Carolina National Guard, based in Gastonia.
While there, he suffered six direct IED blasts, two within 24 hours of each other during his first mission out. As a result of the IED blasts, he was left with two broken vertebrae, a shattered inner ear canal, a TBI, and severe PTSD. For his combat injuries, Tom was awarded the Purple Heart.
Following his retirement, he was deemed permanently and totally disabled and unemployable. He has spent a lot of time and effort recovering, traveling, and enjoying his grandchildren.
Tom grew up in a Southern Baptist church in the Florida Panhandle, while Chip attended both a Catholic school and church in Detroit, MI, for a few years, and a Pentecostal church in Eastern Kentucky before finding her way to witchcraft and paganism at the age of 13.
Throughout their relationship, they have never shared the same religious views, but they have never let that come between them. They respect each other’s freedom of religion and encourage each other to worship as they choose. They also chose not to expose their children to any religious teachings, instead allowing them to find their own way and choose their own path when they were old enough.