Delicious butternut squash and quinoa salad that is perfect for holiday gatherings or weekly meal prep! Made with simple, healthy ingredients.

Buy this blog series in print zine format _This 4-part blog post series is based on a keynote address I presented at the 2025 Frederick, Maryland Pagan Pride Day._ _The next three parts will cover how to create inclusive community, the power of ritual in times of crisis, and the power of joy._ If you’re not outraged and terrified on a fairly regular basis these days, you’re not paying attention. The authoritarian, fascist regime of the U.S. has brought us a steady increase in transphobic, homophobic, ableist, xenophobic, Christian Nationalist, and racist rhetoric, policy, and actions. From outlawing pride flags to mass murders being committed in literal concentration camps within U.S. borders, every day seems to unfold new horrors. And other nations are seeing similar trends. Yet, there is a lot to hope for. We’ve seen hopeful signs the tide is turning in elections, individual acts of resistance, and the number of people turning out for protests. We are also at an unprecedented moment astrologically, where the future of humanity is likely to change dramatically. How will it change? That’s up to us, and what we do right now. **If we drown in despair, nothing will change.** **We must instead seize the moment and work to create the world we want to see.** ## The opportunity of pagan community Whether you are a solo practitioner or work with a group, you have an incredible opportunity right now to impact the future. The astrology, particularly in the latter half of the 2020s, puts us in an intensely malleable and liminal place, where the possibilities are _endless_. I urge all magickal practitioners to do specific practical and magickal work around this moment. (Side note: Ivo Dominguez, Jr. offers some ideas for workings for July 2026 to take the most advantage of this unprecedented astrology.) And if you are a solo practitioner, I urge you to make some connection to the broader pagan community to amplify your work if possible. The pagan community, which tends to draw people from the fringes of society, can be a vital resource during difficult times. We can provide direct support to marginalized people and offer a place for resistance, support, and protection through magickal work. Critically, magickal practice helps us claim our personal power and sovereignty in times when both are being systemically denied. In these efforts, communities benefit by having people with different skill sets joining together — not unlike a Dungeons & Dragons party. No one person has all the skills needed to make big change happen. Resistance movements need teachers, errand-runners, babysitters, people with keen organization skills, people with big hearts who can offer emotional support, people who excel at mutual aid, people who can cook large amounts of tasty food, people who can do repetitive tasks like stuffing envelopes, and more. In the pagan community specifically, we also need people who can write empowering rituals, who can craft effective workings, and more. In this four-part blog series, I will give you ideas for how to make your pagan community more vibrant and resilient by making it more inclusive and supportive of marginalized people, as well as show that pagan communities are important and can make a difference in these times. In this part, I focus on the pagan community as a whole, and the opportunities we have to make a difference despite some disadvantages from an organizational standpoint. ## Strengths and weaknesses of pagan communities I’m going to be using broad generalizations here — I know there are exceptions and this may not fit everyone’s experience. But I feel it’s important to acknowledge, up front, where pagan communities struggle, and the unique assets we have for this fight. Going in with eyes wide open will make our work more effective. Let’s start with the weaknesses of pagan communities. **Pagan communities tend to be small.** We have a lot of solo practitioners, but even those who work in community are usually working with fewer than ten people. If you’re lucky enough to be in a tradition that has more, we’re still talking dozens or hundreds of people, not the millions that can be mobilized in traditional mainline denominations of Christianity, for example. **Pagan communities don’t have much wealth to draw upon.** Due to our size, our coffers tend to be small. Hell, our clergy usually aren’t even paid. Also, since we do tend to draw more marginalized people to our communities, we don’t tend to have a lot of wealthy people to offset our small community size. **Pagan communities tend to be disparate.** Our groups don’t often work together. We tend to be geographically distant, and since there’s no global hierarchy to draw upon, our collaborations tend to be ad-hoc and largely based on the will and motivation of individuals rather than a top-down directive. **Pagan communities tend to be hidden.** This is, largely, for safety reasons. There are a lot of situations in which being “out of the broom closet” could lose somebody their employment or even increase their risk of becoming a victim of violence. **Pagan communities are not immune to racism, sexism, queerphobia, transphobia, or ableism.** Despite the fact that we tend to draw people from the margins of society, many of our communities are founded and/or run by white people with a certain level of privilege — those with the time, confidence, financial resources, education, and flexibility to devote to running a community without being paid. On top of this, a lot of the books considered foundational for magickal practice are straight-up racist, queerphobic, sexist, and ableist. Couple all of this with a lack of overall accountability and oversight, and you have a self-perpetuating cycle that is difficult to break out of. But it’s not all bad news. We have a lot going for us, too. Let’s talk about our strengths. **Pagan communities are, by their nature, counterculture.** While we aren’t fully immune to societal pressures, I’d say we are generally less afraid of being seen as “weird” or noncompliant than others, because our faith challenges us regularly to see what is beyond the everyday and to gain an appreciation of the liminal and the strange. **Pagan communities are creative.** We have to be! Whether you’re a reconstructionist, revivalist, traditionalist, or modern practitioner, we regularly create new rituals and spells and consider new ways to approach problems through tools like divination. **Pagans are not (terribly) bogged down by hierarchy or bureaucracy.** We can move incredibly quickly when we need to, because we aren’t bound by clunky, top-heavy organizations. **Magickal communities tend to draw marginalized and diverse viewpoints.** The people who find their way to magickal practice tend to be those who are disempowered elsewhere in their lives and are trying to find a way to gain power outside of traditional societal structures. **Pagans tend to honor the elderly.** Though the current U.S. political scene is dominated by septo- and octogenarians, culturally Americans and other Western cultures don’t tend to honor our elders to the degree non-Western cultures do. But pagans are different. We believe in ancestor veneration and work with divine beings that have been around for millennia. We want to learn from those who have walked these paths before us. **Pagans are naturally curious.** You don’t become drawn to the occult without some degree of curiosity about how the world works, and a belief there is more around us than meets the eye. **Pagans honor the full range of emotions and believe in processing and holding space.** In short, we’re more emotionally aware than average. This can lead to more productive group work. We tend to be deeply compassionate. **Magickal practice is more focused on personal empowerment than obedience.** We are big believers in personal power. And when we talk about obedience, it’s more about obeying your own divine Will rather than another person of authority. Therefore, we tend to believe everyone has the power to create change, if not in their world, then at least in themselves. The key for us in moving forward is **capitalizing on our strengths to find ways to compensate for our weaknesses**. Our creativity can help us find ways around lack of size and funding, for example. Our curiosity and ability to draw people from the margins can help us create change internally to overturn sexist, ableist, homophobic structures (those in power just need to tap into their innate curiosity and listen). Not being bogged down by hierarchy means we can build coalitions faster and with more ease. We have a lot to work with. So what can we do? ## Opportunities for pagan communities at this moment in history We’re fighting an uphill battle. What can pagan communities do in such difficult times? I’m going to charge you to consider five things: ### Organizing and advocacy Social justice is baked into our spirituality. We resist those who take our power away and who take power away from others. And, of particular benefit in such volatile times, we are used to working quietly and organizing covertly. Our creativity and generally positive attitude towards nonconformity mean we can be at the forefront of strategic disobedience and malicious compliance efforts. And our compassion and comfort working within small, disparate communities means we are primed for providing mutual aid. ### Magickal work for justice There are many individuals and groups doing political magick. While I urge caution at workings directly targeting individuals in power with baneful magick, doing careful workings to shine a spotlight on injustices and bring justice to those working against the good of humanity are useful in these moments. If doing this work, lean into our collective strength around holding silent, as promoting such work publicly comes with a increasing number of safety concerns. ### Magickal work to cultivate resilience, strength and personal power Possibly our greatest asset of all is our ability to do workings to strengthen those who are fighting, and to cultivate resilience in each of us individually. Nobody can pour from an empty cup, and this world is heckin’ _draining._ We need to keep those on the front lines strong, and we also need to keep ourselves going. Consider what kind of magickal work you can do to empower yourself and (with consent) others in these times. ### Create safe spaces for people to be themselves Part of how we create resilience is simply by offering safe community spaces for people. So many of us must mask every day to earn a living or have safe housing — having a place we can go to simply be ourselves and not fear being ostracized helps keep us going. ### Promote countercultural ideas that benefit our society I think few pagans would argue against this statement: _A person’s value is not determined by their body type, skin color, gender, sexuality, physical ability, bank account size, or their work’s contribution to the GDP._ And the more we keep this and similar ideas circulating, the weaker the Christian Nationalist, white supremacist, fascist state will become. We all need to fight for love, freedom, sovereignty, and joy. We can co-create the world we want to see by starting locally, in our own spiritual communities. As for _how_ to do that…well, keep reading this blog post series. ## …And of course I have book recommendations I pulled together a list of books on Bookshop.org that may be helpful to you and your community as we continue this work together. Support independent bookstores (and me!) by buying them using the links below. I hope this has got your mind percolating. The next post in this series will focus on how to create inclusive pagan communities. Continue to Part 2 Buy this blog series in print zine format * * * * One **exclusive blog post** a month * **25% off** my online workshops * Monthly **book club** Zoom Become a Patron * * * ## Blogs I love ### White Rose Witching Gay Hispanic hedge priest (he/him) in the Mid-Atlantic. Social justice necromancer working with Queer Ancestors. LGBTQ+/disability activist. ### Glasse Witch Cottage Glasse Witch Cottage is a safe, sacred space for guidance and connection along the Winding Path. ### Laura Tempest Zakroff Laura Tempest Zakroff is an artist, author, performer, and Witch. Please leave this field empty ## **Oh hi there 👋 It’s nice to meet you.** Let's keep in touch! **Sign up for my approximately-monthly e-newsletter.** **Bonus:** You'll get an **exclusive Queer Rite of Passage ritual** and **11 audio queer Qabala pathworkings**! _By subscribing, you are agreeing to receive e-newsletter messages from Major Arqueerna. I keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read my fullPrivacy Policy._ Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. ### Share this: * Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email * Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn * Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr * Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon * Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky * ### Like this: Like Loading…