About Us

Starflower Pagan Congregation (formerly CAYA)  is a nonprofit 501(c)3 matriarchal, eclectic, interfaith, open, drop-in congregation in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our mission is to create safe, loving, magic(k)al space for those who wish to participate in our community rituals, public service initiatives, and social events. Our Congregation community is based on mutual respect, personal responsibility, integrity, and honor for all spiritual paths. Our Clergy gathers around the mysteries of our core Traditions, and our Congregants gather around a shared commitment to Earth-centered and polytheistic spiritualities. We hold for the highest possible good in all that we do: for ourselves, for our community, and for the world.

We sustain a shared vision of a society that provides for the spiritual and practical needs of all of its members, is free from harm, is safe and consensual, is specifically feminist, is inclusive, and is environmentally-conscious. Our Congregation is governed by three sacred tenets:

We honor one another’s unique spiritual practices, and seek to enrich our sense of community through diversity.

We accept one another’s divinity as inherent and non-negotiable.

We believe that we are each qualified to determine our own personal path, and share our experiences and thoughts in a spirit of generosity, without presumption.

As a congregation since 2018, we have instituted many changes that add accountability, disperse leadership and create a better balance for our Clergy and Dedicants to better align with our vision of a safe and welcoming space for all.  As a congregation, we hope that our healing and transformation over this past year will be the mirror that allows for healing of those in the wider community.  (See our blog for more information about our history and process.)

As our 2019 Daily Practice states, my heart is filled with gratitude. I emerge to live life to the fullest and to make the world a better place. Blessed Be.  

The vision, operations and protocols of Starflower Coven are held at the center of our organization in the hands of the Starflower Board of Directions. This body is a leadership-focused representative sampling of our Coven's population. In Starflower Coven, power follows participation, commitment, and demonstration of action toward the highest good of all in the community, individually as well as collectively.

Starflower Coven follows a matriarchal philosophy of governance. In Starflower, we define patriarchy as the power-over, tiered, pyramid-shaped model that is often seen in modern business and social environments, where success and growth are predicated upon a sense of lack of resources and competition for limited possible returns. We define matriarchy as a circular, power-from-within system that allows for multiple overlapping needs to be addressed and strengths to be shared simultaneously without competition for resources or top position. Our Coven is open to all, and all members who share these principles are charged with upholding the matriarchal nature of our philosophy and work, regardless of gender or sex.