Community Safety Month Resources

The PCV hosts an annual Community Safety Month, where we share and promote resources about creating and maintaining safe, healthy Pagan community. Here you will find some of the articles, books, websites and more we promote during this time to encourage dialogue – within and between Pagan organisations – about creating and maintaining safe, inclusive and positive environments for Pagans of all walks of life and experience levels.

Community Safety Month: Advice for Newbies

PAN Safety in Circle Pamphlet: This brochure, by our friends at The Pagan Awareness Network, is essential reading for any Pagan new to face-to-face events and groups. It covers basic personal safety within the Pagan community and what to do if you witness or become the victim of illegal or unethical behaviour. PAN are one of the longest-running groups dedicated to Pagan networking, fellowship and education in the country, and we are proud to share this as the first of our Community Safety Month resources.

The Pagan Community – A Survivor’s Guide: In this piece, UK musician and storyteller Damh the Bard offers some pearls of wisdom for those new to the Pagan community. He also discusses the ideal motivations for seeking community in the first place.

Truth and Tales about Paganism: This is another excellent brochure from our friends at The Pagan Awareness Network. This one busts some commonly believed myths for newbies to Paganism and Pagan Community.

Pagan Pathways:  Continuing on with our overview before we delve into more complex subjects, this brochure by the Pagan Awareness Network explores and demystifies many different Pagan traditions. Essential reading for anyone new to the community or to Paganism in general.

Wicca and Witchcraft – Which is Which?: The last PAN brochure we looked at explored and explained a variety of Pagan paths. This one sets out to define the differences between Wicca and witchcraft, which are two very different labels that are often confused with one another.

Paganism for Beginners – Controversies: UK Wiccan Yvonne Aburrow’s Paganism for Beginners pieces are all wonderful, but this one is especially useful to anyone just discovering the Pagan community and all its intricacies.

Sacred Ground and Acknowledgement of Country: Pagans in Australia are practicing on a land already rich with spiritual history. In this brochure, the Pagan Awareness Network discuss the importance of acknowledging the land’s traditional custodians, as well as other ways we as Pagans can show respect.

Sacred Knives: Athames and other sacred blades are used in ritual by some Pagans. But what are they used for exactly? Is it legal to carry one or use it in a public place? Our friends from the Pagan Awareness Network have got the answers in this handy brochure.

Five Things I Wish I’d Known as a Beginner: In this article, US author Thorn Mooney has some great advice for anyone new to Paganism or the Pagan community.

Skyclad – the Bare Facts: Some Pagans practice naked, or Skyclad. This brochure from the Pagan Awareness Network contains important information about the whys, the hows, the shoulds and the should nots of ritual nudity.

Community Safety Month: Finding and Joining a Group

Your First Pagan Event: In this article, NSW group The Pagan Fringe share some helpful dos and don’ts for anyone attending their first public Pagan event.

Paganism for Beginners – Group Dynamics: This article by Yvonne Aburrow looks at some of the most commonly used structures of groups, as well as how and why some groups can find themselves failing.

How do I find a Coven?: This article by The Pagan Fringe offers advice on finding a coven or working group in Australia.

How to Find and Join a Coven: The last few articles we’ve shared have been about seeking out and joining Pagan groups of a range of traditions. This piece by US Gardnerian writer Thorn Mooney offers advice for those drawn to traditional, hierarchical, coven-based forms of Craft.

Cult Warning Signs: Today’s resource is a handy checklist written by cult specialist Rick Ross. These warning signs can help you identify safe and unsafe behaviours in a group and its leader/s.

Pagan Relationships – Building Lasting Community: This piece examines and discusses some of the factors needed for building healthy, sustainable Pagan community.

Wiccan Deal-Breakers: In this article, Thorn Mooney outlines some of the signs that you should re-examine whether the path you are seeking is the right one for you.

Community Safety Month: Consent Culture and Dealing with Abuse

As well as the resources listed below, we strongly recommend anyone involved with the public Pagan scene read the Pagan Consent Culture anthology, which is edited by Christine Hoff Kraemer and Yvonne Aburrow.

Promoting Consent Culture in the Pagan Community: This is a summary of a model outlined in the Pagan Consent Culture anthology, which is edited by Christine Hoff Kraemer and Yvonne Aburrow. It outlines some preventative measures, as well as strategies for creating consent culture.

We recommend anyone involved in the Pagan community take a look at this book when they get a chance.

Pagans, Hugging and the Fine Art of Consent: An important reminder from Thorn Mooney about consent and touchy-feely Pagans at festivals.

The Curse of Pagan Niceness: (Content Warning) This piece from Canadian witch Sable Aradia looks at the pitfalls of Pagan “niceness” and how attitudes such as this are detrimental to creating a consent culture in our community.

Abuse Happens in a Culture that enables it: (Content Warning) Yvonne Aburrow has written widely on creating consent culture within the Pagan community. In this piece, she discusses some of the cultural changes that need to take place within the scene to minimise the risk of abusers and abuse.

Responding to Abuse in the Pagan Community: (Content Warning) Psychotherapist Cat Chapin-Bishop discusses what the Pagan community can do to protect victims, and to keep perpetrators from using our communities to find and access victims.

Do our Stereotypes Keep us Safe?: This article by Aussie Pagan blogger Bekah Evie Bel examines just how safe modern Pagans are in today’s society, pointing out that we may be doing more harm to ourselves as a community by staying “hidden”.

Community Safety Month: Pagan Ethics and Etiquette

Building Fences – Vouching, Communities and the Internet: In this piece, US author Thorn Mooney discusses the online Pagan community, and how advent of the internet has changed the vouching process for lineaged/initiatory Pagan traditions.

Should You Pay for Online Spellcasting Services?: There are lots of people out there on the internet offering all kinds of spells, but US Pagan Patti Wigington points out there are better alternatives that won’t leave you hornswoggled.

How to Spot a Terrible Coven: Thorn Mooney shares some important, no-nonsense advice for anyone joining a new coven or group.

Your Responsibilities in Ritual: In this piece, US writer and high priest Jason Mankey discusses the responsibilities of all ritual participants, from the fluffiest bunny to the crustiest elder.

Screw Your Aesthetic: Despite what witches on Instagram might have you think, “real” witchcraft does not have to be blood, skulls and sex. Thorn Mooney explains.

Spiritual Treatment is No Substitute for Mental Health Care: It seems all too common for Pagans to treat their spiritual practice as an alternative to mental health care. US author and Druid John Beckett points out the dangers and fallacies of this.

Five Signs You Shouldn’t Run a Pagan Group: Thinking about starting your own Pagan group? Thorn Mooney has put together a few things you should consider about yourself first.

The Witch’s Guide to Etiquette – Avoiding Witch Wars:  For our final Community Safety Month resource for 2018, we chose this gem by author and witch Laura Tempest Zakroff.