I write this article/ essay as a white paper/ a discussion paper and the whole premise for this publication is to academically discuss the terminology which our own individual beliefs, practices and paths come under. Much of what I write is personal experience and my own opinions, perceptions and observations and as such my intent is not to be construed as discourtesy and certainly not to offend.

In restrospect the title of this article “Has Paganism Become Exclusive?” was originally designed to concentrate on solely the Australian Pagan community, however, after many months (if not years) of research and discussions in various forums, other relevant facets and discussion on similar topics and the prevailing need for global unity and religious tolerance, I have broaden the contents of this article for global distribution.
Rather than to leap head long into a generalisation and to present more presumptions and assumptions which have been pervasive through the largly uneducated broader community (and not just the “Pagan” community), I will attempt to simplify any connotations implied to the context of this article and any misconceptions from the title.

The purpose of this article is not to challenge the subject matter of “lineage” of the various Wiccan traditions such as Gardinarian, Alexandrian, Correlian, Golden Dawn etc, it is my earnest belief that to do so would be fool-hardy and as I am not an authority on any of the initiations and or secret practices of these orders it is not my place to do so.

The original purpose of this article was to look at the almost shadowy, secretive and exclusive nature of so-called “Public” gatherings which are held by various “Pagan” organisations, covens, associations and orders in Australia. Unlike the “Public” gatherings held in the USA, United Kingdom and other countries in Northern Hemisphere these gatherings are not widely advertised outside the community as a whole and as such can not and should not be classified as “Public” gathering. It is false representation to term them as such. As it is, even if you label yourself “Pagan” and unless you are in the know such gatherings even go unknown to any person who classify themselves as Pagan or even a member of the organisation which is holding the event.

To validate this statement, I wish to share the following communication which took place between my partner, Dragonfly (Louise O'Brien) and several representatives of the organisation which was holding an event:

In response to Louise's query **** Wrote:

" The AWC venue is never given out beforehand at any AWC, and they only given to paid up attendees closer to the date. This is for the protection and privacy of all involved. So there'll be no hints or handouts on this. In fact, in reality, "Adelaide Hills" is probably too much information."

Louise responded:

“I have never heard this happen in the past. Would it not be
counterproductive to allow members of the organisation running the
event to know where it was and how much it would cost? That way they
can decide if it is affordable and accessible.

Or does the executive not trust it's members?

Sorry if that sounds a bit aggressive but how is a pensioner supposed
to plan for an event when all they know is that it is in SA and on the
weekend near the Equinox? Especially if they have to take into account
accomodation arrangements and travel and babysitting and purchase
costs of tickets without being aware where it is or who is talking at it.

And the location of the event in "The Adelaide Hills" is no where near

specific enough as they extend from Gawler down to Aldinga all the way
round Adelaide and that is a big area.”

In response to Louise:

“All I know is that it has always been kept private in the past - I have attended several AWCs and was never told the venue until we paid. I can't say I have necessarily agreed with it, but I understand it, with so many people still preferring to keep their beliefs and activities private.”

Another party involved in the same organisation wrote to Louise with:

“My first AWC was back in 1992 and I've attended many since then. During all of that time it has always been the policy of the organisers to give out venue details only after an attendee has paid their fees. Apart from the reasons given by ***, the other reason for this is that some people might decide to turn up at the venue on that weekend, expecting that they might be able to "pay on the day" - which is awkward for all concerned when it's fully booked and catered for only a set number of people.This might seem like a stretch of the imagination, or a case of being overly cautious, but I've seen similar things happen when details were not kept under wraps!On one occasion, a guy found out about the location and decided to turn up unannounced just for the ritual on the Saturday night. He hadn't paid anything; he hadn't been involved in the pre-ritual briefing; no-one knew where he was from or what he was doing there. And he'd driven a long way to attend because he knew where it was held and he'd simply made assumptions about his eligibility to be there.This was difficult for the organisers and for those who had paid for the privilege of being part of a special event.There's lots of reasons why it's best to keep final details under wraps. When the event has been fully organised, I'm sure there'll be advertising that gives an overview of what people need to know before they decide to make a booking. When the money has been paid, more details will then follow in due time.It's the way it's always been, and I imagine it's the way it's going to stay! And there's very good reasons that it is this way.”

Now this is not the first time that both my partner and I have experienced such secrecy when it came to such so-called “Public” gathering and there has been many. Many months earlier we were kept out of a Beltaine gathering because of originally the same excuse of “keeping the venue private” and then, when we were finally informed of the location of the event, and went to purchase tickets to the event we were informed that “No” tickets were left.

Make of this what you will, needless to say both my partner and I were paid up members of the organisation which was running the event.

Whether this be discrimination on the organisations part or not is irrelevent to this discussion however it does point to an underlying attitude and secretiveness that is counterproductive, exclusive and not condusive to a strong sense of community. I am not attempting to use this article as a whinge or as a venue to air my personal grievences only to use my personal experiences as examples of the exclusive nature of Paganism today and to highlight some of the current community attitudes within Pagan organisations.

How can a “Public” gathering be kept “private”? Is that not an oxymoron?

Now in England and America especially when it comes to Paganism and Organisations promoting and supporting paganism, Australia might be believed to be a back water and in many ways Australia is. Would it suprise you to know that in NSW the "Witchcraft Act" was not repealed until 1979 and in Queensland and
Victoria the "Witchcraft Act" was not repealed until 2005. Northern Territory and Western Australia have pulled away from the Eastern States long ago because no one could agree how best to further Paganism or Alternative Spiritual practices in Australia. The only state which could be termed Pro-Active and Progressive would be South Australia but even that has an arcane hierachical organisation who are really only out to
make money.

Now, I am using this as an example but having been to America and Ireland in my youth and participated in different Gatherings whilst there, I have had time to assimilate much knowledge ... and I have witnessed that even in America, England, Canada etc that Pagans and Wiccans are still fighting to establish their "chosen" belief systems. Small towns in bible belt communities still have persecution and hate crimes occurring but generally, the “Pagan” Community in these countries show a willingness to be “OPEN” about their spirtual practices and promote and advertise Gatherings openly and widely.

In response to the above statement my friend Amber Adept wrote:

“I can't really speak for the UK, EU or Australia regarding religious freedom. At this point in time, they seem to have more religious freedom than people living in the US. The US has a problem with the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of religion. I have not seen a poll on this but a good guess would be that 90% of the population is some form of Christian. Every other religion in the world makes up the remaining 10%. Many in the bunch are cradle or submarine Christians but the alignment still holds. The problem with this is, in America, you're outnumbered 238 (approximately) to 1. An example, I live in Georgia. within 2 blocks of where I live, there are 15+ churches. Everything from Catholic to Baptist and anything in between. The only "occult shop" that I know of is totally pathetic. I really don't know anyone in the non-Christian circle here. I'm told they're here but I've not found one yet.

The other problem is some people are demanding compensation for things that happened 200 years ago to 2000 years ago. The Blacks are still angry about the whole slave issue, which to me seems rather pointless as it's dead and not likely to ever return. Pagans here in the US seem to hate Christians by wrote for everything from the Inquisition and Burning times to a dispute that happened yesterday over nothing particularly important. Christians hate Pagans because of ignorance and the fact that they've been taught that anyone not like them works for the Devil. This is true even within Christian sects. Baptists don't like Catholics and so on.
Surely, having the “hiding in the shadows” mentality is not conducive of building a stronger community, promoting paganism to the wider community, educating the non-pagan community to our individual paths and beliefs and showing any who may be inspired to enter our community that we as a community are fearful of persecution orselves.

In any event, the commonality you're looking for will be difficult to find unless it's something simple like "Your enemy is my enemy" which, of course is something we don't want. Another part to this is they have to have a reason to band together. You're asking these folks, who barely trust anyone outside their own coven to trust total strangers who might not even reside on the same continent. You need to build a leader who can reach everybody in your target area.

I know I sound negative but in truth, I'm just presenting the facts. If you want all of those who belong to alternative religions on 3 continents to follow one "governing council", if you will you're going to have to stage events that are, to be blunt, huge to attract as many Pagans as possible. You need to get noticed and noticed in a big way. You also have to take into account the nutters who will be wearing wizard robes and pointy hats casting spells at people who laugh at them. That needs to be limited or positioned somewhere where they do the least damage. You also need to have attorneys on call for the inevitable arrest that will happen in a public arena. If possible, and I know there are a few out there already, we need some kind of voice on the airwaves and internet. You need someone who can take Christian opposition on and beat them when they get annoyed and start their own verbal campaign to stop what we're doing. A web cast would work where Pagan ideas are explained and discussed and perhaps even questions taken. The reason you need someone versed in both Pagan Lore and Christianity is simple, If Christians attack with any verbal challenge, we need someone to be able to accept that challenge and win the inevitable debate. For me, that's alway been the fun part.”

Hiding in the shadows and being secretive about gatherings shows nothing but distrust and acting “Exclusive” in Nature especially towards other pagans, heathens, wiccans and alternative spirutalists only serves to alienate.

How can we as a Community show unity and strength under an umbrella term, if we ostracise our brothers and sisters?

There is NO “Us or them”. We are the Us and Them!

We alienate each other and persecute each other far worse than what the Christians do. We show NO tolerance to others chosen paths and practices within our umbrella community unless it is similar or has a commonality to the path or practice that we have.

The only Commonality that Pagans share is the label "Pagan", We all have our different Rituals; our different festivals; a Different Wheel of the Year; Our different order of Hierarchy; our different ways of doing things; our different pantheons etc. This is not a generalisation or assumption but a factual statement.

As an example, my partner just returned from Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) after attending a Conference on "Freedom of Religion and Belief in Australia" there. I have only been given a brief report of the conference and the discussion in a Witches Meetup that she attended afterwards. In summary, one and I mean one of her
statements, which she reported was:."Victorian paganism is seriously fragmented" and it is my belief “Australian paganism” is seriously fragmented and this is something I have known for over 15 years.In the state of New South Wales the "hierarchical" organisations that have been set up have either out-lived their political usefulness, or have became more money making ventures or have floundered and cease to exist altogether. Combined this with the rivalry of each state and the fact that the other states do not like being "dictated" to by NSW or even another state, then, you have Fragmentation of a horrific kind.

Governments (which are usually controlled by Christianized values etc) are not or will not acknowledge that the Pagan Religion(s) exist.The reason, as I see it is because, we as a body of people are Fragmented. I
always like to say that getting Pagans (Wiccans) to agree on anything substantial is "Like Herding Cats" and sometimes I feel, that I rather herd Cats.It is basically because of the Hierarchical and Dictatorial platforms that is here in Australia that we see a lot of people becoming solitaries ... and unfortunately solitaries (hiding in the shadows or on-line) do not become percentages in the Government Census and as such here especially, Paganism will NEVER become a recognised religion.

When we continuely persecute, ostracise or denigrate those within our community who prove to be visionaries and valuable assets we will continue to fragment and create opposing views and alienation.

If we can't take ourselves seriously and treat each other with a modicum of respect how can we ever expect other faiths and people to take us seriously and treat us with respect?

The advent of the Internet has greatly enhanced communication with the outside world and given us the opportunity to communicate with like-minded people and kindred communities overseas. Yahoo egroups, Ning egroups and (once upon a time) MSN egroups and various other forums such as the Witchcraft and Paganism forum, Mysticwick etc. abound and if you haven't noticed ( and this is my opinion) there is much discussion on previously published books, dogmas, philosophies, opinions and ideologies infinitum ... there is also, a lot of general chit-chat, irrelevant discussions and often just "witch wars" and flaming expressed. There are many lurkers and seekers and I don't think it would surprise many here to discover that many of those seekers and lurkers are actually young people hiding behind pseudonyms.

My partner Dragonfly, reported back to me that a representative of PAN Inc who was present during the recent Conference on "Freedom of Religion and Belief in Australia" she attended, stated that: "... the Demographic of Pagans (Australia wide) are aged between 30 to 40." I dispute that. Having Youth Work qualifications; having
had young accolytes in the past; going by people on my friends list in my MySpace account, my Facebook account and my various Ning groups account, I have found many of the young people on these friends list identify themselves as "pagan" or "other". Many are Goths or Emos and from my own calculations I have
found that 10 % consider themselves Satanists (and as we know that is not pagan but anti-christian), 25 % consider themselves "Pagan" or "Other", 45 % consider themselves "Wiccan", 15 % consider themselves "Asatru" or "Druids" (Celtic) and only 5 % consider themselves Atheists.

So through personal observation, I believe his statement incorrect.Another statement that another pagan gentleman at the conference made was, in my opinion, completely unfounded. He told the Co-conveners of the Conference that it is his belief that children under the age of 18 should not and can not be allowed to participate in Rituals. Of course this depends largely on the ritual and if he was referring to a ritual of a sexual nature, he is indeed correct ... But to deny a child or young person in a family the right and freedom of
participation in a family's spiritual practice flies in the face of The Declaration of the Rights of the Child: http://mystic-grove.com.au/danu/childrights.html

... so this is the conundrum.

Everyone has the right and freedom to have individual spiritual beliefs and all humanity should have the right and freedom to practice their own spiritual belief within their own family unit, clan, kindred and community as long as it is not harmful, denigrating to others, socially unacceptable or illegal. Our one Common thread and whether our chosen belief or spiritual practice coincides with someone else is that we, in my opinion, have the right and freedom to believe, practice and participate in our OWN belief system.

Another statement made by a “lovely lady” that Dragonfly meet at the Witches Meetup afterwards was that she doesn't attend gatherings because she doesn't believe in group ritual.

I doubt it would surpirse anyone to know that we have more solitaries within the “pagan” community than actual active participants and this is due largely because of the interwoven politics and the “bitchcraft” which continually transpires within the organisations which have been set-up to represent the community.

The “Tall-Poppy” syndrome is prevalent within ALL Organisations and Associations, both business and community focused, and this is generated by both those within hierarchial power who refuse to relinquish their power and control, embrace young blood, the visionaries, and up-coming free-thinkers and those who believe that they can do a better job or wish to gain power themselves. Of course there are some in hierarchical positions who mentor some of those that are up-and-coming “loyalist' but not at the expense of their own lose of “power.” However, from my own personal observation, the end result of such turmoils in organisations, associations and communities is a lost of crediblity, fragmentation, splintering of groupsand alliances, continual hostilities and the driving away of potential new members and supporters and finally stagnation within the organisation/ community and its ideology that the organisation was originally set up to represent the majority of members.

The sheer complexity of showing a united front under an umbrella term which represents a minority of people is huge and when you have continual fragmentation within a minority you will eventually find yourself at a party by yourself.

Words and languages I believe are often inadequate in describing the true nature of things; the feelings we have; the emotions we strive to control, both Positive and Negative -the Yin Yang. As a wordsmith (poet), I struggle often to find the words to get a message across. I write from the heart and find that words often fail to project my true feelings or the true meaning of what it is I am trying to convey.

As such I find myself often researching words and definitions in an attempt to present an academic argument and discussion.

Another of the statements that Dragonfly made on her return from Melbourne after attending the aforementioned conference was, that several of those in attendence when asked by the co-conveners what a “Pagan” was, stated that ALL Pagans practice “Earth-based' religions. My partner in response asked : “What about Techno-Pagans?” and got the response from one gentleman in attendance that there was “No Such Creature.”

As such I have listed below a rather lengthy list of definitions as best to vindicate my argument and postion.

Definition of Techno-paganism

“Technopaganism is an umbrella term that characterizes several different beliefs and practices in Neopaganism (which includes faiths such as Wicca and Neo-druidry) in reference to the place of technology in Neopagan practice. It is somewhat contrasting with the general ethos of paganism which has an emphasis on the natural world. “

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technopaganism

Just to hammer home my opinion, position and “theological belief” and I have no qualms of using these definitions as Lorelei Siegloff assisted by Louise O'Brien (AKA Dragonfly, my partner) were the original researchers and compilers of this information (if not the original designers of the website):

“What is Paganism?”

Source: http://paganalliancesa.drak.net/aboutus.html

I have utilised this definitive work as it is the best to date that I have came across to define the definition "Paganism".

As such, and I mean no disrespect or offence, but the general assumption that ALL Pagans are
ALL Earth based religions and have a “ reverence of the earth (hence being refered to as Earth centered religions/spiritualites)” is technically not totally correct and is a general assumption, as Techno-pagans (amongst several others) for example are not Earth based.

The general assumption that “understanding that everything in the world is connected and should be respected” is debatable at the very least if not technically incorrect, as Odinists and Asatru folk for example do not adhere to the same belief as Wiccans for instance, and thank the cow for it's meat and milk, or the trees for the wood for their houses, ships and fires and therefore could only be taken as another assumption.

Although, in passing, I should mention that Techno-pagans believe that the world is interlinked and connected through the “Internet” and hence the term “ethernet”, much of what other “Pagans” believe and practice are as a whole not practiced by them.

The general assumption that the “belief that we are responsible for what we say and do and how it affects the world around us (call it Karma or personal responsibility, but the majority of Pagans follow the concept)” are quite often disregarded especially by those who claim to be Wiccan. As from personal experience and observation, I have witnessed many who do not adhere to their own Rede or Crede which I consider hypocracy and very akin to what the followers of Chritianity tend to do.

Odinist and Asatru and some Shamanic paths do not believe in the “Three-fold” or “Ten-fold” for instance and their view on “Karma” is largely defined by the sacred book the Havamal and the ancestral belief that it is in the hands of their Gods, if not the hands of the “All-Seeing Father (Woden/ Odin/Wotan)”.

As I wrote in my essay/ white paper/ thesis “Individualaism – The Anti-Heathenism ideology” [http://ancientways.org.au/individualism.html]:

" … If we were all TRUE to our heritage and wished to be TRUE
resonstructionist and rekindle the ways of our ancestors, why don't
we ALL turn our back on Modern Society and its Technology ...
Can we walk away from our computers and cars and television sets???"

"Would you trade 'consciousness', 'self awareness' and the 'narrative
I' for a greater sense of spiritual well being? Would you trade
modern technological Western society, with all of its material
wonders (including this computer!) for a near guarantee of spiritual
happiness? Is it necessary to trade; is this concept of gains and
losses beside the point? Can we have it all? Can we have great
technological understanding with its unavoidable, intense use of the
ecology and a Unicameral Mind that is at ease with communication with
the gods and is capable of benefiting from such a relationship? Can
you imagine a technological West with compassion towards Gaia and all
the beings?"
[ http://mystic-grove.com.au/aeonist/preface2.html]

It was a simple series of questions designed to make people think.

If True Reconstructionists and Traditonal practitioners of the “Craft”, Druidry and Asatru, and again, this is my own opinion, were true to the ways of their ancestors and if in fact, held the Mother (Earth) in reverance; if their spiritual belief and practices were truly definable as defined in the genalised definitions aforementioned then, the onus is on these “Pagans” to turn their back on the mod-cons and technology of the 21st century and persue the ways of their Ancestors in reverance to their Deities and the preservation of The Mother.
What I have discovered through many years of research is a great deal of generalisation, assumptions and ill-defined definitions and in fact, only one definition holds true:

• any of various religions other than Christianity or Judaism or Islamism
  wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

If we revisit that wonderful contructed definition as structured by Lorelei Siegloff and Louise O'Brien, and under the title Fallacies, we find yet another misnomer and misinformation:

“Pagans do not perform sacrifices (other than of their own energy and time), and are not opposed to any other religious beliefs.” Whereas, Pagans (in the general term) might be more tolerant (in comparison to the Abrahamic religions) of others spiritual paths, the statement “... are not opposed to any other religious beliefs” is not entirely accurate, and I have experienced and witnessed many times the complete opposite of this. To get “Pagans” from other practices and paths to totally agree on anything is very hard work... refer earlier comment on "herding cats".

As an umbrella term, “Paganism” might work but it can not be defined and therefore, there is not a lot that can fall in the shared middle ground. In my humble opinion and the conclusion that can be reached is that the word “Pagan” itself is a Generalised term full of mixed connotations, many assumptions, mis-information, ill-defined terms, has became exclusive in some instances and is an obsolete word and umbrella term to described the spiritual practices and paths of many vastly different and unique beliefs.

To conclude I would like to publish some excellent statements/ questions that my good friend Helel sent in response to reading the first draft of this article. Helel wrote:

“My  First Statement, Comment, and/or Question is:  "Why would Pagans feel the need to be counted or accepted by a Governement Census, and What is the pressing thought that some may feel that they need to be Recognized, or Accepted, outside of their own particular belief system as a Religion?"
 
   My Second Statement, Comment, and/or Question is:  Does Community or Governmental Recognition make ones Personal Belief System, or Practice of that Belief System any more Valid to that Person, or Practitioner, or do we feel that if we can get outside Community, or Governement Acceptance as a Recognized Religion, does this make our Personal Beliefs and Practices any more Valid Subjectively to Us, and Why?"

 Somethings to think about!

As previously mentioned, much of what I write is personal experience and my own opinion, my perceptions and observations and as such my intent is not to be construed as discourteous, I do not intend to cause offence. It is not meant to be construed that this article was used in a method to air grievances. If there are those readers who wish to “label” me as the “Ministry of Misinformation” they do so at their own peril and because of their own agenda, and show to the wider community they have a closed-mind; are fundamentalist thinkers; have a tendancy to stifle constructional debate; an aversion to change and are advocates for the stagnation of the evolutionary process; and overwelmingly prove my point.

"If you want to change the world my friend, change your thinking first!"