Paganistan
Encyclopedia
Minnesota's Twin Cities region is home to a large community of Wicca
ns, Witches
, Druids, Heathens
, and other pagan
organizations. Some neopagans in the USA refer to the area as Paganistan, Collectively these groups refer to the area as Paganistan, a term which was coined by linguist Steven Posch in 1989.
, an independent publisher of books for the New Age
, Pagan
, and Occult
audience was moved to Saint Paul
by the new owner Carl L. Weschcke
. At the time they were simply an astrological
publisher.
In 1963 Carleton College
in nearby Northfield, Minnesota, established a rule that all students had to attend religious services of some kind. The RDNA (Reformed Druids of North America
) formed in response and they continued to meet even after the Rule was rescinded.
In 1971, Llewellyn hosted the "First American Aquarian Festival of Astrology and the Occult Sciences" which went on to be known as Gnosticon
. Llewellyn's publications and Gnosticon drew more attention to Witchcraft, contemporary Paganism, and their connection to the Twin Cities. This led to the creation of the American Council of Witches
in late 1973 and the Council Convened at the Great American Witchmeet in 1974.
In 1975, Burtrand and Aura, initiates of the Weschckes via Lady Sheba, found MCoW, the Minnesota Church of Wicca
In 1979 Louie Piper opened Evenstar Books. This metaphysical shop became a center of Pagan activities for almost 30 years, and is the direct predecessor of the Sacred Paths Center.
Prodea coven was formed in 1980 by the three members of the University of Minnesota’s Pagan student organization "Children of the Night" including Steven Posch.
Northern Dawn Local Council of the Covenant of the Goddess
was founded in 1982 by three covens; MnCoW, Prodea, and Rowan Tree. NorDCoG has been continually hosting public sabbats since Samhain of 1982, and has hosted the CoG national gathering (Merrymeet) twice
In 1987 The Druid group called "Keltria" was formed when Tony Taylor initiates a schism from Isaac Bonewits' ADF
Saturday, October 31, 1992 the Star Tribune the Minneapolis Daily Newspaper like many other papers on Halloween had an article called “Witches and pagans gather for a special New Year's Eve…” and is quoted saying: “The Twin Cities may have one of the largest pagan populations in the
United States, so large that one member calls Minneapolis and St. Paul‘…the capitol of Paganistan.’”
Monday, May 23, 1994 in an unusual non-Halloween Star Tribune article titled “Pagans seek respect and a place to call their own - Religion is legitimate, has spiritual base, followers say” the paper is quoted "They estimate that there are 3,000 to 10,000 Pagans in Minnesota, one
of the largest concentrations in the country. They call this area ‘Paganistan’ in honor of the Pagans. "
The first Coffee Cauldron was held in 1995. This was a monthly, then semi-monthly gathering of Pagans that now stands as the longest running regular gathering in Paganistan.
The New Alexandria Library opened in 2000 as a subscription library. It was a subsidiary of the Wiccan Church of Minnesota. Its stated purpose was "to create an archive that preserves our Pagan history, culture, and heritage, to ensure community access to hard-to-find and out-of-print materials, to provide access to a wide range of information and training materials, and to serve as a center of studies and research for scholars of Neo-Paganism." Citing financial reasons, the library closed its doors in July 2004.
During the fight for Pagan Veteran's rights against the Veterans Administration, named the Pentacle Quest, a nationally publicized rally and ritual took place at the Minnesota State Capitol Mall on February 24, 2007. The rally and ritual were organized by the Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance (UMPA)
On April 9, 2011 the StarTribune was quoted: "The Twin Cities metro area -- dubbed "Paganistan" by Wiccans for having one of the highest witch concentrations in the country—has an estimated 20,000 witches who meet in 236 different covens or groups..." in an article about a Wiccan prisoner suing the State for his religious freedom.
and Salem, Massachusetts
) , the Minnesotan Pagan community is the subject of a thesis by Doctor of Anthropology Murphy Pizza. In her book Handbook of Contemporary Paganism, Dr. Pizza characterizes the Minnesota Pagan community as "eclectic" and comprising "many different groups - Druid orders, Witch coven
s, legal Pagan churches, Ethnic Reconstructionist groups, and many more solitaries, interlopers and poly-affiliated Pagans [...]".
The Sacred Paths Center, which opened March 13, 2009, is the only full-time non-profit Pagan community center in the United States. The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance, formed to fight for Pagan civil rights during the Pentacle Quest, adopted a stretch of Highway in 2008, and Pagan volunteers keep it clean. The first bureau for the Pagan Newswire Collective was formed in Paganistan.
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
ns, Witches
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
, Druids, Heathens
Ásatrú
is a form of Germanic neopaganism which developed in the United States from the 1970s....
, and other pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
organizations. Some neopagans in the USA refer to the area as Paganistan, Collectively these groups refer to the area as Paganistan, a term which was coined by linguist Steven Posch in 1989.
History
In 1961, Llewellyn WorldwideLlewellyn Worldwide
Llewellyn Worldwide is a New Age publisher, currently based in Woodbury, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul. Llewellyn's mission is to "serve the trade and consumers worldwide with options and tools for exploring new worlds of mind & spirit, thereby aiding in the quests of expanded human potential,...
, an independent publisher of books for the New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
, Pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
, and Occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
audience was moved to Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
by the new owner Carl L. Weschcke
Carl L. Weschcke
Carl Llewellyn Weschcke is a businessman and president/owner of Llewellyn Worldwide since 1961. He received nationwide media attention when he bought the supposedly haunted Summit Avenue Mansion in St...
. At the time they were simply an astrological
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
publisher.
In 1963 Carleton College
Carleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
in nearby Northfield, Minnesota, established a rule that all students had to attend religious services of some kind. The RDNA (Reformed Druids of North America
Reformed Druids of North America
The Reformed Druids of North America is an American Neo-Druidic organization. It was formed in 1963 at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota as a humorous protest against the college's required attendance of religious services. This original congregation is called the Carleton Grove, sometimes...
) formed in response and they continued to meet even after the Rule was rescinded.
In 1971, Llewellyn hosted the "First American Aquarian Festival of Astrology and the Occult Sciences" which went on to be known as Gnosticon
Gnosticon
Gnosticon, sometimes called the Gnostica Aquarian Convention, was a magical and Neopagan event sponsored by Carl L. Weschcke and Llewellyn Publications from 1971 through 1976, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of the first such to be held in the United States....
. Llewellyn's publications and Gnosticon drew more attention to Witchcraft, contemporary Paganism, and their connection to the Twin Cities. This led to the creation of the American Council of Witches
American Council of Witches
The American Council of Witches or "The Council of American Witches", was an independent group of approximately seventy three members who each followed a Pagan, Neopagan or Witchcraft Tradition, who gathered to draft a set of common principles.-History:The council convened April 11–14, 1974, in a...
in late 1973 and the Council Convened at the Great American Witchmeet in 1974.
In 1975, Burtrand and Aura, initiates of the Weschckes via Lady Sheba, found MCoW, the Minnesota Church of Wicca
In 1979 Louie Piper opened Evenstar Books. This metaphysical shop became a center of Pagan activities for almost 30 years, and is the direct predecessor of the Sacred Paths Center.
Prodea coven was formed in 1980 by the three members of the University of Minnesota’s Pagan student organization "Children of the Night" including Steven Posch.
Northern Dawn Local Council of the Covenant of the Goddess
Covenant of the Goddess
The Covenant of the Goddess is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens . It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among Witches and to secure for Witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other...
was founded in 1982 by three covens; MnCoW, Prodea, and Rowan Tree. NorDCoG has been continually hosting public sabbats since Samhain of 1982, and has hosted the CoG national gathering (Merrymeet) twice
In 1987 The Druid group called "Keltria" was formed when Tony Taylor initiates a schism from Isaac Bonewits' ADF
Saturday, October 31, 1992 the Star Tribune the Minneapolis Daily Newspaper like many other papers on Halloween had an article called “Witches and pagans gather for a special New Year's Eve…” and is quoted saying: “The Twin Cities may have one of the largest pagan populations in the
United States, so large that one member calls Minneapolis and St. Paul‘…the capitol of Paganistan.’”
Monday, May 23, 1994 in an unusual non-Halloween Star Tribune article titled “Pagans seek respect and a place to call their own - Religion is legitimate, has spiritual base, followers say” the paper is quoted "They estimate that there are 3,000 to 10,000 Pagans in Minnesota, one
of the largest concentrations in the country. They call this area ‘Paganistan’ in honor of the Pagans. "
The first Coffee Cauldron was held in 1995. This was a monthly, then semi-monthly gathering of Pagans that now stands as the longest running regular gathering in Paganistan.
The New Alexandria Library opened in 2000 as a subscription library. It was a subsidiary of the Wiccan Church of Minnesota. Its stated purpose was "to create an archive that preserves our Pagan history, culture, and heritage, to ensure community access to hard-to-find and out-of-print materials, to provide access to a wide range of information and training materials, and to serve as a center of studies and research for scholars of Neo-Paganism." Citing financial reasons, the library closed its doors in July 2004.
During the fight for Pagan Veteran's rights against the Veterans Administration, named the Pentacle Quest, a nationally publicized rally and ritual took place at the Minnesota State Capitol Mall on February 24, 2007. The rally and ritual were organized by the Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance (UMPA)
On April 9, 2011 the StarTribune was quoted: "The Twin Cities metro area -- dubbed "Paganistan" by Wiccans for having one of the highest witch concentrations in the country—has an estimated 20,000 witches who meet in 236 different covens or groups..." in an article about a Wiccan prisoner suing the State for his religious freedom.
Research of Minnesotan paganism
As one of five larger population concentrations of pagans in the United States (the other four being San Francisco, New Orleans, New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
) , the Minnesotan Pagan community is the subject of a thesis by Doctor of Anthropology Murphy Pizza. In her book Handbook of Contemporary Paganism, Dr. Pizza characterizes the Minnesota Pagan community as "eclectic" and comprising "many different groups - Druid orders, Witch coven
Coven
A coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
s, legal Pagan churches, Ethnic Reconstructionist groups, and many more solitaries, interlopers and poly-affiliated Pagans [...]".
The Sacred Paths Center, which opened March 13, 2009, is the only full-time non-profit Pagan community center in the United States. The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance, formed to fight for Pagan civil rights during the Pentacle Quest, adopted a stretch of Highway in 2008, and Pagan volunteers keep it clean. The first bureau for the Pagan Newswire Collective was formed in Paganistan.
See also
- Neopaganism in the United StatesNeopaganism in the United StatesNeopaganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest Neopagan religion is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions were introduced during the 1950s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in...
- Religions of the Twin Cities
- Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
- Saint Paul, MinnesotaSaint Paul, MinnesotaSaint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...