Michael Wiggins, leader of Michigan Pagans, dies at 50

DETROIT — Michael Wiggins was many things to Michigan's Pagan community: a leader, longtime board member and even a shaman.

But on May 4, his life was suddenly cut short at age 50 due to heart failure, said his wife, Cindy Wiggins.

Now a large memorial is scheduled at a Dearborn hotel on Saturday, as the region's alternative worshipers look to commemorate his service and deal with his loss.

“Michael was a pillar of this community,” said Stanley Nunn, president and priest of the Pagan Pathways Temple in Madison Heights. “He was an inspiration to a variety of different people.”

Wiggins was named Detroit’s “Pagan of the Year” in 2013, and was the longest-serving president of the Magical Education Council, a group that promotes learning and practicing of mystical and otherwise esoteric faiths and beliefs.

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He also helped organize an annual four-day conference known as ConVocation, which draws more than 1,000 believers and may be the largest conference of its kind in the Midwest. ConVocation was most recently held in February at a hotel in Dearborn, and features more than 100 speakers and rituals along with a masquerade ball and a large indoor drum circle.

The gathering is driven by “a desire to share knowledge and experiences,” Cindy Wiggins said. “For the most part our presenters are not there to convert people. They’re there to answer questions, so that people understand this isn’t anything dark or scary ... but something that is open and welcoming.”

Paganism is a catch-all term for most beliefs that fall outside Christianity, Islam or Judaism. The term includes shamans, druids, witches and many others. Some believe in gods and goddesses, and others believe in more abstract concepts like personal power and energy.

For many, the goal of paganism is to “figure out how to utilize your own energy to manifest what you want in the world,” Cindy Wiggins said.

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Wiggins was one of ConVocation’s most visible and charismatic leaders. He often led rituals and encouraged new participants to make sure they felt welcome -- but he was also known for his flamboyantly formal attire, which often featured a top hat and a cane that he made himself.

“My husband liked to make a statement,” Cindy Wiggins said, laughing. And Nunn said of Michael Wiggins: “He was always dressed like he was going somewhere.”

Wiggins was well-versed in spirituality from a very young age. He grew up in Highland Park and Hazel Park, and his mother once studied to be a Catholic nun but later joined a Wiccan Coven -- a community of witches who practice nature-based goddess worship, Cindy Wiggins said.

Along with his involvement in the Pagan community, Wiggins had a variety of other roles over the years: he owned several bars and nightclubs, worked as a dance instructor at an Arthur Murray dance studio, and most recently worked as a drywall contractor.

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He also had a part-time practice as a shaman, and at one point had a group of students though he had not been practicing regularly. Through his work as a shaman he tried to help heal another person by establishing a connection with them and helping them examine their soul, often for the sake of self-empowerment. The techniques could include conversation, meditation or playing a “singing bowl” with a wooden dowel.

Yet dance and alternative spirituality were his two longest-running passions. His own spiritual beliefs were complex, but “he believed that everyone should believe what made them feel whole,” Cindy Wiggins said.

Michael Wiggins is survived by his parents, Donald and Alyce Wiggins, his wife Cindy Wiggins, his son Ian Wiggins and his stepdaughter, Katrina Dugan.

A memorial is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. at the same DoubleTree in Dearborn where ConVocation takes place. A GoFundMe page has also been set up to support his family.

“He gave people permission to be courageous,” Nunn said. He added that Wiggins taught him that “we should never hide … who we are.”

Follow Daniel Bethencourt on Twitter: @_dbethencourt