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This guide has been prepared for journalists, media industry professionals, government and the public requiring fast and reliable information on Wicca, Witchcraft and other Pagan religions in Australia.
Pagan Awareness Network contact details
For a response to breaking news stories involving Pagans, call PAN's Media Officer Gavin Andrew on 0402 587 219, or the National Committee contact phone on 0412 427 343. (Please note that content for early editions or breakfast radio will need to be arranged in advance.)
Contact details for academics in Australia who study Paganism and other alternative religions can be provided upon request.
What is Paganism?
Paganism (commonly referred to as 'Neo-Paganism' in academic circles) is an umbrella term that covers a number of different spiritual beliefs and practices. These include Druidism, Wicca, modern Witchcraft, Goddess-worship and other similar spiritual paths. Please note: Satanism is *not* considered to fall under the modern Pagan umbrella, as it is historically and culturally derived from Christian/Jewish/Muslim religions.There are distinctly different forms of Satanism and information on these is best sourced from the relevant organisations.
There are four main categories within the Pagan community in Australia:
- Earth-centred religions. Includes most forms of Wicca and Witchcraft - this is by far the largest category.
- Reconstructionist groups. Individuals and groups seeking to re-create the religious practices of the Classical Pagan era, for example worship of Greek or Egyptian gods and goddesses, Druidism etc.
- Ethnic North-European traditions, such as Asatru. Traditional Nordic religion.
- Groups that practice Ceremonial Magic.
What do Pagans believe in?
Followers of Paganism, while possessing a diverse range of beliefs and practices, tend to identify with the following:
- A relationship with the Sacred in its many forms that is based upon the experiential rather than on dogma or 'right belief'
- A veneration or deep respect for Nature and her cycles of birth, growth, dying and renewal
- An ethic of personal responsibility
Pagan Festivals
The following dates are considered to be common significant festivals within the Pagan calendar. They relate to the turning of the seasons, which is an integral component of most forms of Pagan spirituality.
- February 1st: Lammas/Lughnasadh - Harvest Festival
- March 22nd: Mabon - Autumn Equinox
- May 1st: Samhain - The Day of the Ancestors
- June 21st: Yule - Winter Solstice
- August 1st: Imbolc - First Stirring
- September 22nd: Ostara - Spring Equinox
- October 31st: Beltane - The Day of the Goddess and God
- December 21st: Litha - Summer Solstice
Many public holidays, including Easter and Christmas, have their origins in pre-Christian Pagan festivals.
Some frequently asked questions
Read this! It will save you valuable research time.
Q. Is this a real religion?
A. You'd better believe it. Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism are all categories recognised by the Australian Census. In fact, statistics show it is one of the fastest-growing religious communities in the country. In the 2006 Census there were approximately 30,000 Pagans in Australia. To place this number in perspective, it is comparable in size to the combined total for all Sikhs, Jains, Quakers, Baha'i and Taoists living in Australia. It is also close to half of the total Jewish community in Australia. Legally, Paganism meets the tests laid out by the High Court of Australia for what constitutes a religion (Church of the New Faith v Commissioner for Pay-Roll Tax (Vic) (1983) 154 CLR 120.) Anti-discrimination laws apply to Pagans federally and in all states of Australia. Paganism has also been recognised as a distinct and identifiable faith by overseas institutions such as the U.S. Military.
Q. Why is it becoming so popular?
A. The Pagan Awareness Network Inc has identified dissatisfaction with mainstream religions as a major factor in Paganism's current surge in popularity. Relevant issues include:
- Recognition of nature and the environment
- The place of women in religion
- Attitudes to sexuality, including alternative sexual preferences
Q. Is this a cult?
A. No.The word 'cult' popularly connotes a religious or quasi-religious group that
- is usually led by a charismatic figurehead, and that,
- employs doctrine and practices that erode the personal autonomy of its adherents and,
- tends to isolate them from the mainstream community.
Pagans do not have a leader or figurehead, or any central organising structure. Pagan beliefs and practices encourage people to think for themselves and do not emphasise 'right beliefs' or adherence to doctrine. Pagans live within the broader community and do not segregate themselves. With this in mind Paganism can be viewed as the opposite of a cult, as the term is popularly understood. Putting the words 'Pagan' and 'cult' in the same sentence is a pretty efficient way to piss us off.
Q. Do Witches worship the Devil?
A. No. The concept of an evil force or deity is a Christian/Jewish/Muslim concept that is irrelevant to most Pagans, including Witches. There are exceptions, but most people who identify as Witches see themselves as following a nature-based religion.
Q. What does 'Nature-based' mean, exactly?
A. Many Pagans believe in a balance between a Goddess and a God, and view Light and Darkness as both being sacred. This is expressed in a concept known as 'The Wheel of the Year', and the cycle of birth, growth, dying and renewal represented by the four seasons. In most forms of modern Paganism, the moon is given particular importance as the tides she creates are responsible for life on earth. The sun is given the same regard for similar reason.
Q. So you have Witches. What about Wizards and Sorcerers?
A. These terms aren't common in the Pagan community, but a few people do choose to identify themselves as such. Sorcerer, for example, is a play on words for 'Sourceror' i.e. someone who taps into the Universal Source.
Q. Are Witches all women? Are there Warlocks?
A. No. Male and females are both called witches.
Q. Do they cast spells?
A. Yes, many do. A spell can be really little different to prayer: it just has a few stage-props attached - candles, incense, crystals and so on.
Q. What about Harry Potter?
A. Many Pagans enjoy the Harry Potter books just as much as other people do, because it's an entertaining story. However, it has nothing to do with the actual beliefs and practices of real-life Witches and Pagans.
Q. Is it true that Witches and other Pagans perform their rituals naked?
A. Actually yes, some do. There's nothing inherently sexual about it. It's about being free of shame and guilt, and a symbolic stripping away of false values within a sacred space. For more information, see Sky-Clad - the Bare Facts, a pamphlet produced by the Pagan Awareness Network Inc. Oh, and to be clear, you have an approximately ZERO percent chance of getting footage of a naked or sky-clad rite.
Q. So there are no orgies or blood sacrifices at these rituals?
A. Some Pagan rituals are adults-only because of the overt sexual symbolism they contain. Pagans generally don't see anything shameful or embarrassing about sexuality. Most rituals, however, you could take your own child to. Pagans are earth-honouring folk and find suggestions that their religion condones cruelty to animals downright offensive.
Q. Various church representatives have in the past described Witchcraft and Paganism as being 'dangerous'? How do you react to that?
A. Utter rubbish. Pagan beliefs and practices are no more dangerous than the practices of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists - any religion you care to name. There is no inherent difference. The idea that Paganism is 'dangerous' is the result of ignorance and religious intolerance. Certain faith communities, notably evangelical Christian churches, have a vested interest in creating moral panics regarding Pagan beliefs and practices.
Q. How old is it? Where does it come from?
A. The short answer is that the roots of the religion go back to pre-Christian Europe, but that in the modern era it only came to public attention in the 1950's with the publication of Witchcraft Today, a book written by a retired English civil servant named Gerald Gardner. There is considerable argument in academic circles about whether modern Pagan practices, especially Witchcraft, have any relationship to the Pagan religions of the pre-Christian era. However, the claim that Neo-Paganism was 'invented' in the 1950's by Gerald Gardner is a fallacy. Ronald Hutton, Professor of History at Oxford University has traced the evolution of modern Pagan religions to the Romantic Movement in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. In his book Triumph of the Moon, Professor Hutton identifies several key roots of modern Pagan beliefs and practices:
- Folklore and 'Cunning Craft' practices of remote rural areas in England
- Classical Paganism of Ancient Greece and Rome repopularised in the
- Enlightenment era of the 18th Century
- Medieval Freemasonry
- Ceremonial and occult fraternities of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries
The late Professor Carlo Ginzburg also identified church records such as the canon episcopi as evidence that the fertility-based beliefs central to modern Paganism did in fact survive until the early Medieval period and the Witch Hunts instigated by the Catholic Church. (See his book Ecstasies - Deciphering the Witches Sabbath)
Issues we comment on
The Pagan Awareness Network Inc can be contacted for comment on a range of issues. Some of these include:
- Freedom of religious belief in Australia
- Religious-based hatred or discrimination towards Pagans
- The Pagan origins of various holidays, including Easter, Christmas, Halloween and May Day. Also other significant dates in the calendar such as the summer and winter solstices and the equinoxes
- Local news such as the opening of New Age bookstores and psychic fairs.
- Any story in connection with Robyn Angus Fletcher - a man convicted in Victoria in the mid-1990's of the rape and false imprisonment of two fifteen year-old girls under the pretext of a "Witchcraft initiation."
- Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, and the campaign by certain extremist religious groups to have it repealed
- The Harry Potter books and their relationship to real-life witches and Pagans
- Statements by mainstream religious groups regarding what they term 'the Occult'
Factoids
The word 'Pagan' is from the Latin, meaning 'country-dweller'. Early Christianity was primarily an urban religion, and the traditional religious practices of rural people persisted even in areas that were nominally Christian.
Easter is actually a Pagan holiday. The word is derived from 'Eostre', the Germanic goddess of the spring. Her festival celebrated the return of life and growth to the land with the passing of winter. The Christian church appropriated the holiday because of the obvious similarity to the theme of death and resurrection within the Christian religious canon. (Just as many churches and cathedrals were built on top of old Pagan sites.)
The days of the week are derived from Pagan gods, as are many of the months of the year. January, for example, comes from the Roman god Janus, who has two faces - one looking back to the past, the other looking forward to the future. An appropriate choice for marking the first month of the New Year.
Halloween isn't celebrated on October 31st by most Pagans in Australia. To most Witches and Pagans, Halloween (or Samhain as it is rightly known) traditionally marks the onset of winter, and therefore is celebrated on May 1st in line with the southern hemisphere seasons.
The moon is sacred to the vast majority of Pagans, because it is connected to the emotions and the subconscious mind: the true self that lies underneath the conscious persona. The moon has a powerful effect on human behaviour - as any policeman, casualty nurse or talk-back radio producer will attest. The moon is also responsible for the tides, and without them life on this earth could not have evolved.
Cauldrons and broomsticks are used by Witches... but not in the way you might think. The cauldron is a symbol of the Goddess because of its shape, and the broomstick, or besom, represents life and fertility likewise because of its shape.
Witches and Pagans get married just like other people. Called a 'Hand-fasting', the traditional ritual is often performed at the spring festival of Beltane (October 31st in Australia, May 1st in the northern hemisphere.) The traditional ritual required a couple to remain committed to each other for a year, at which time they could elect to renew their vows. These days a hand-fasting also denotes a legal marriage. The ritual gets its name from the act of binding the couple's hands together, signifying their union.
There are registered Pagan Celebrants in most states of Australia who can perform legally recognised hand-fasting ceremonies in accordance with the Marriage Act. |
