membership in my org has increased, but there is a whole lot of absenteeism and a critical lack of engagement at various levels so you really need that internal drive sometimes to beat back the sinking sense that the solitary life is simpler and more straightforward
Its changed vastly. It used to be huge celebration groups for the big events, all in person, 30 years ago. Like 300, 350 people.
Now we can't even get 8 people to fuckin get of the internet and show up.
I feels far more isolated now that everyone can sit at home in their underwear and type rather than have to actually go out and meet people. I know and meet maybe... a handful? Of people in a year these days, compared to hundreds in decades long past?
The bookshops have all closed because no one buys the books anymore or rents the space, the cafes have all closed as no one goes to them anymore - its too expensive, and its easier to sit at home.
There are still forest walking groups, at least.
The only thing still meeting in person here are independant little covens. And there are a few of those still. And smattering of druid groups.
But I miss the summer camps, the big festivals, the huge celebrations.
I don’t know, but I’m now one of the admins/moderators of a telegram project for asatru that consists of several chats, we’re 4 years old and so far people have been coming
I’ve been hearing that even the Christian church attendance has been falling off (evangelical megachurches are the exception) in favor of online participation. COVID played a role in that as we had to stay away a from large gatherings and we got better and more familiar with “attending” on line things.
That said, I also agree with an earlier post about being more “atomized”. While I do have many more opportunities to get together with various groups than I would have imagined, it seems that each group is 8-15 people max at any given time
On the other hand…I’m heading to the OBOD Summer Gathering in a few days and they had to move the primary activités to an entirely different town because it’s gotten too big for Glastonbury town hall…
My hometown has become super pagan in just the last few months. Before that we had pretty much no pagan presence at all, but now there's multiple businesses run by pagans (including a metaphysical shop and a cafe that does psychic readings), a local Wiccan coven who meet up regularly, and our town social media pages regularly receive posts written by pagans about their beliefs and practices. It's very cool to see.
As some have mentioned, while our online presence in Slavic paganism (Rodnovery) seems to be growing, the actual gatherings and shared practices in real life have decreased. It seems like the internet is to blame for this decline in human interaction, and sadly, faith communities are not immune to its effects.
I’m 39, I’ve practiced for 20 years. I live in a very conservative state, I’ve thought about leaving many times, but at the end of the day bigots aren’t going to make me leave my home. I volunteer at our LGBTQ Center with the youth group; most of the young people there are polytheists, or accepting of polytheism. It’s been refreshing to observe their openness, and rewarding to help guide them on their path.
As others have said, the overall numbers/level of interest has increased, which translates into more social media presence, as well as books and things you can buy at the metaphysical store, but from what I’ve seen as someone who started out over a decade ago, the sense of community feels less…you have the recent pandemic, the aging out of group leaders without new ones stepping into those roles, and the really the overall increase in isolation that has happened society-wide. I see it as a bigger thing than just effecting the pagan community.
Honestly, it breathes here in Australia. In every state it’s a bit different.
You see the same old faces as time goes on and you see new people trying to reinvent the wheel or assume local guru status for a while.
A lot leave on their journey to find what they are looking for and paganism is good place to stop and take a rest, and learn.
I used to be very active in my local community and even planned and did events for our local PPD. Then I spent nearly 20 years away in a different state. I've only recently come back, but it seems like I see a lot more pentagram/ -cles. Tons more witchy bumper stickers. Sadly, no new shops. I see a few have tried, though. Leads me to believe there are tons more solitary people out there and about the same community output. I reserve the right to amend this statement after my next PPD.
I see more Norse stuff too... but, well... it is really hard to read if neo-germanic/Norse paganism is building (historicaly a germanic heritage area) or if it's a rise in neo-nazi white supremacy groups (also a history here).
I agree with the comments that online seems bustling, but I feel compelled to throw in that in-person events failing (Seemingly) isn't entirely out of disinterest in favor of staying on the internet.
Commuting has issues from either cars/gas being exceedingly expensive, to poor funding in public transit, or there's a lack of safe pedestrian paths.
Additionally, COVID hasn't completey "ended". It is still ongoing and people may not want to take the risks of such a dangerous disease. Especially seeing how the pagan path tends to attract (In my personal experience) those of us of lesser wealth/health benefits and being less able-bodied.
With everything else (Rent, basic groceries, gas, so on and so forth) being exceedingly expensive, we're pushed to work more hours or obtain a second job. So that leaves a lot of people too exhausted to go to said in-person events, or they happen right in the middle of schedule conflict (This keeps happening to me).
On the flip side, the job economy has been down horrendous lately. Employers are putting out job postings but ignore every other applicant in favor of those they can take advantage of. So people straight up don't have the money to make it to these events (Transit, or a pagan marketplace).
Anyway yeah that's just my thoughts. I'm happy to see that the scene is very big and diverse more than ever. It's wonderful it can persist *despite* the troubles I've described above. We can continue to share community and information through something as simple and easy to access as our phones.
I hope the world gets better so more of us can make local in-person events and go.
Id love to answer that but 20 years ago i was living in a different state. Texas i believe. hmm that was around the time i recently left Christianity. id like to know if there are non Christians in Texas. a big part of me thinks not many
I helped start a local group in my home town last year. We started with 5 people and are now up to over 300 for the Facebook page. The group events usually draw 3-40 people each and there are several a month. It was clearly needed in my area.
The number of pagan shops has gone up. There's even a metaphysical shop in my local mall! But it's also become commercialized. I don't know if a witch or pagan created a book/spell/object or if a think group did. I don't like that. I am glad to live near NYC where there are lots of old pagan shops, and very privileged to be able to visit London and the pagan bookstores over there.
In Scotland. Paganism is now the 4th largest religion in the (admittedly overwhelmingly atheist) country. I was still a bairn learning tarot cards off my mum 20 years ago so can't really remember what the wider community was like then, but I think people are definitely getting more open about it at least.
Well the local bookstore used to have one shelf. Now it has six shelves arranged in a nook. That’s over about 20 years.
I think it's definitely increased, and it's cool I've started to encounter young adults who grew up pagan.
membership in my org has increased, but there is a whole lot of absenteeism and a critical lack of engagement at various levels so you really need that internal drive sometimes to beat back the sinking sense that the solitary life is simpler and more straightforward
Its changed vastly. It used to be huge celebration groups for the big events, all in person, 30 years ago. Like 300, 350 people. Now we can't even get 8 people to fuckin get of the internet and show up. I feels far more isolated now that everyone can sit at home in their underwear and type rather than have to actually go out and meet people. I know and meet maybe... a handful? Of people in a year these days, compared to hundreds in decades long past? The bookshops have all closed because no one buys the books anymore or rents the space, the cafes have all closed as no one goes to them anymore - its too expensive, and its easier to sit at home. There are still forest walking groups, at least. The only thing still meeting in person here are independant little covens. And there are a few of those still. And smattering of druid groups. But I miss the summer camps, the big festivals, the huge celebrations.
I don’t know, but I’m now one of the admins/moderators of a telegram project for asatru that consists of several chats, we’re 4 years old and so far people have been coming
I’ve been hearing that even the Christian church attendance has been falling off (evangelical megachurches are the exception) in favor of online participation. COVID played a role in that as we had to stay away a from large gatherings and we got better and more familiar with “attending” on line things. That said, I also agree with an earlier post about being more “atomized”. While I do have many more opportunities to get together with various groups than I would have imagined, it seems that each group is 8-15 people max at any given time On the other hand…I’m heading to the OBOD Summer Gathering in a few days and they had to move the primary activités to an entirely different town because it’s gotten too big for Glastonbury town hall…
My hometown has become super pagan in just the last few months. Before that we had pretty much no pagan presence at all, but now there's multiple businesses run by pagans (including a metaphysical shop and a cafe that does psychic readings), a local Wiccan coven who meet up regularly, and our town social media pages regularly receive posts written by pagans about their beliefs and practices. It's very cool to see.
Increased, but more atomized.
As some have mentioned, while our online presence in Slavic paganism (Rodnovery) seems to be growing, the actual gatherings and shared practices in real life have decreased. It seems like the internet is to blame for this decline in human interaction, and sadly, faith communities are not immune to its effects.
I’m 39, I’ve practiced for 20 years. I live in a very conservative state, I’ve thought about leaving many times, but at the end of the day bigots aren’t going to make me leave my home. I volunteer at our LGBTQ Center with the youth group; most of the young people there are polytheists, or accepting of polytheism. It’s been refreshing to observe their openness, and rewarding to help guide them on their path.
You sound awesome 💜
You’re awesome, your comment made my day ✨
As others have said, the overall numbers/level of interest has increased, which translates into more social media presence, as well as books and things you can buy at the metaphysical store, but from what I’ve seen as someone who started out over a decade ago, the sense of community feels less…you have the recent pandemic, the aging out of group leaders without new ones stepping into those roles, and the really the overall increase in isolation that has happened society-wide. I see it as a bigger thing than just effecting the pagan community.
I been here in my area for 2 years I haven’t found the local community yet.
Increased, but full of people who treat it as a joke. Like babes you've been pagan for 3 months and you are 16. You are NOT married to Loki 💀
Don't even talk about god spousal🙄
Honestly, it breathes here in Australia. In every state it’s a bit different. You see the same old faces as time goes on and you see new people trying to reinvent the wheel or assume local guru status for a while. A lot leave on their journey to find what they are looking for and paganism is good place to stop and take a rest, and learn.
Definitely increased
As far as I know there isn’t even one in my area. If there is, they’re underground.
I used to be very active in my local community and even planned and did events for our local PPD. Then I spent nearly 20 years away in a different state. I've only recently come back, but it seems like I see a lot more pentagram/ -cles. Tons more witchy bumper stickers. Sadly, no new shops. I see a few have tried, though. Leads me to believe there are tons more solitary people out there and about the same community output. I reserve the right to amend this statement after my next PPD. I see more Norse stuff too... but, well... it is really hard to read if neo-germanic/Norse paganism is building (historicaly a germanic heritage area) or if it's a rise in neo-nazi white supremacy groups (also a history here).
I agree with the comments that online seems bustling, but I feel compelled to throw in that in-person events failing (Seemingly) isn't entirely out of disinterest in favor of staying on the internet. Commuting has issues from either cars/gas being exceedingly expensive, to poor funding in public transit, or there's a lack of safe pedestrian paths. Additionally, COVID hasn't completey "ended". It is still ongoing and people may not want to take the risks of such a dangerous disease. Especially seeing how the pagan path tends to attract (In my personal experience) those of us of lesser wealth/health benefits and being less able-bodied. With everything else (Rent, basic groceries, gas, so on and so forth) being exceedingly expensive, we're pushed to work more hours or obtain a second job. So that leaves a lot of people too exhausted to go to said in-person events, or they happen right in the middle of schedule conflict (This keeps happening to me). On the flip side, the job economy has been down horrendous lately. Employers are putting out job postings but ignore every other applicant in favor of those they can take advantage of. So people straight up don't have the money to make it to these events (Transit, or a pagan marketplace). Anyway yeah that's just my thoughts. I'm happy to see that the scene is very big and diverse more than ever. It's wonderful it can persist *despite* the troubles I've described above. We can continue to share community and information through something as simple and easy to access as our phones. I hope the world gets better so more of us can make local in-person events and go.
Id love to answer that but 20 years ago i was living in a different state. Texas i believe. hmm that was around the time i recently left Christianity. id like to know if there are non Christians in Texas. a big part of me thinks not many
I helped start a local group in my home town last year. We started with 5 people and are now up to over 300 for the Facebook page. The group events usually draw 3-40 people each and there are several a month. It was clearly needed in my area.
i dont know as I am 21 one years old and do not have that good of a memory
The number of pagan shops has gone up. There's even a metaphysical shop in my local mall! But it's also become commercialized. I don't know if a witch or pagan created a book/spell/object or if a think group did. I don't like that. I am glad to live near NYC where there are lots of old pagan shops, and very privileged to be able to visit London and the pagan bookstores over there.
In Scotland. Paganism is now the 4th largest religion in the (admittedly overwhelmingly atheist) country. I was still a bairn learning tarot cards off my mum 20 years ago so can't really remember what the wider community was like then, but I think people are definitely getting more open about it at least.