Statistical Data on Pagans

Pagans are varied in sizes, shapes, and colors. There are more of us now-than-ever-before, as right-wing Christians are becoming the minority in these modern times. A 2008 Pew Forum survey included New Age believers as well as neopagans, between 200,000 and 1-million, or 0.1% to 0.5% of the population. We pagans come in all sorts packages, too, with every pagan having a theology of their own depending on what they are studying. There are quite a few pagan belief systems this article will explore today. Wicca began in 1964 through Raymond Buckland, who got initiated at Gardener’s Isle of Man to gain initiation. There are other branches of Wicca, such as Gardenarian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca, which refers to ancient Alexandria not Alex Sanders, the founder. There are more branches of neo-paganism. I practice with my clothes on, however, and I’m not necessarily Wiccan but an eclectic solitary who does go to a coven on occasion. I’ve hung out with reclaiming pagans on occasion during a pagan 12-step recovery group.

I’m also a chaos magician, which means I can morph into anything. I practice intrinsic magick or magick without tools—even though I have an altar with my tools and a tent stake athame rather than a knife, as I’m clumsy. My tent stake was found on Baker Beach when I was in college, having started to explore Neopaganism in full force. Other types of Wicca include Dianic Wicca, which is a female-only tradition. There is also Celtic Wicca (Church of Wicca), founded by Gavin and Yvonne Frost also known as Baptist Wicca. They are more public about their tradition than many others, which earned them criticism. Georgian Wicca, is eclectic like many pagans are, and Discordianism relies on humor. I have been to Discordian services at Pantheacon, which is a pagan conference at a hotel in San Jose. Wiccan clergy and pagan clergy have a high priestess or a teacher. Men are allowed egalitarian participation in some groups and function as high priest although women-only groups use women exclusively for the role of second high priestess.

Some pagans work skyclad (or nude) and they meet in covens for specifically this practice. Gardner claims to have been initiated by a coven of witches in the New Forest region of England, around 1939. He succeeded in having the old witchcraft laws repealed in 1951. The practice of Wicca, neo-paganism and witchcraft are all protected by the 1st Amendment and the general 9th amendment, which protects the rights of individuals not set in the Constitution.

Other branches of Neo-paganism include Druidry. There is also a path known as Celtic Reconstructionism, which doesn’t always have much to do with Druidry, since Druidry was founded by the Ancient Order of Druids in America (1912). There is also an American branch of the Ancient and Archaeological Order of Druids. I have been to some Druid rituals. Druidry has a long history in both England and the United States. It takes awhile to latch onto what you find interesting. Astaru is based on Norse paganism but some groups have racist ideologies, depending the structure of the group. I make it a point to avoid groups with histories of racism as one year at Pantheacon, they were shouting names to the Pagans of Color hospitality suite. This had me riled up and offended, if only because I was worried that name-calling would escalate to outright violence. At this year’s Pantheacon, I’ve all but decided to try to pay a visit to the Church of All Worlds, perhaps this summer. Pagans are a varied people and I’ve met many scientists, doctors and physicists that are a part of the community. We are specialists in a variety of fields, and there are many traditions to choose from since people practice more than one tradition.

Works Cited

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amendments_to_the_United_States_Constitution

https://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/wiccas.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neopaganism_in_the_United_States