Part II of how Pagans in Australia have been coping with the pandemic, the impact of the slow rollout of vaccines, and what the future might hold.
AUSTRALIA – Cases in the country have remained extremely low compared to many other countries around the world. Out of a population of 25 million, Australia has had 29,950 reported cases, and 910 deaths to date.
Cases continue to trend downward, down by 29% this week with only three new cases reported for today, and 179 active cases. Of the current active cases, only one case is listed as serious or critical.
While cases remain extremely low, there is overall concern over the slow vaccine rollout, and moving too quickly to remove restrictions and attempt to resume pre-pandemic practices within the Pagan community.
Delays in Australia’s Vaccine Rollout
Australia’s vaccine rollout has been much slower than in the United States or Europe: supply issues, delays, organisational failings and more mean that many Australians – especially those under 50 – may not receive their first vaccine dose by the end of 2021.
This delay has made some groups and event organisers wary about opening things up too much too soon.
Dorian Manticore, founder of the Sovereigns of the Golden Path (SGP) said, “I believe there is a strong need, a hunger, for connection in offline spaces within the pagan community, but attending events requires a lot of bravery and time/energy.”
Manticore continued, “Everyone’s reserves are low due to stress and uncertainty. The vaccine rollout delays have added on to the inertia, along with the weather cooling. …It’s going to take a while to build up the same momentum again.”
In Western Australia, Combined Covens Social Club (CCSC) organizers Tree and Kundra had similar thoughts. “We have a few members… with compromised immune systems that still don’t attend our events,” Kundra explained. “Until immunization is better achieved in the community, they know we are happy to add them in via video if they want to.”
They added, “We are well aware of the loss, the emotional toll, and its effects on our community’s mental health. Also, the financial repercussions that will continue to take effect. However, in large I think Perth did well considering the enormity of the situation. But we always have had a great community spirit.”
Of larger Reclaiming events, Fio Gede Parma described an “openness” to in-person events. “However, this may be affected by the delayed vaccine rollout and associated concerns.” Parma told TWH. “Online Camps may continue to happen in various iterations to increase layers of accessibility for marginalised members of our communities.”
The Temple of All Gods is being mindful of numbers and social distancing at their events, but feel they can gather in their usual numbers. “We are keen to see everyone safe and vaccinated as soon as possible, but as long as we continue to behave sensibly and respond when we need to, we feel safe enough at the moment,” co-founder Dan Mercurial said.
Melbourne, Australia – Image credit: Michael Dahlenburg from Pixabay
“The vaccine rollout isn’t really affecting us,” said Sarah, facilitator of the Monthly Hills Pagan Coffee Meets that take place in an outer Melbourne suburb.
“We’ll have a clearer idea of how vaccination will change things when it’s happened. Looking to history we can see that it will absolutely make things safer, but none of us have lived through anything like this before, and while we all trust the science and will be getting vaccinated, we’ll adjust what we do based on how things play out,” she explained.
“It’s less simple for the larger annual events that have a lot of people in close proximity and require planning months in advance. They’re being a lot more circumspect out of necessity.”
Snap lockdowns and the delay in vaccinations also have many Pagans still wary about travelling interstate for events. “Another hard border closure between our states could happen again,” Eris, of Spiral and Web Coven told TWH, and went on to say, “…that would mean that we won’t be able to return home… if we decide to travel and then the border shuts without quarantining. Anything we might want to do, such as invite teachers, or travel to interstate events, might need to wait until 2022.”
In New South Wales, Pagan Awareness Network (PAN Inc.) recommenced their public full moon rituals in June 2020, with changes to ensure they are COVID safe.
PAN Inc. president David Garland said, “I think life as we knew it is gone, what the changes in the long run will only be known once we really understand how adaptable this virus is.” Garland continued, “Once we have a better idea I think we can plan a little better, but I think till we do the big events that we were used to will remain online, or with minimal attendees so that the years running them can still be counted as unbroken.”
“It is the uncertainty that shakes us the most,” Eryk Adish of Thr333fold told TWH.
“As much as we have spent this time plotting and planning it can still be tricky for any of us, not just store owners or group organisers, to know where to invest our time, money and energy in this ever-changing landscape,” Adish continued, “While we’d love to see a return to larger in-person events they are definitely on hold until the rollout of this vaccine has been effective.”
Something old, something new
Some of the adjustments groups made to the way they connect with their communities are also here to stay.
Rainbow over Australian Coast: Image credit: Cindy Lever from Pixabay
“What did happen was that we all checked in with each other a lot more,” Sarah told TWH. “There was a real blossoming of care and vulnerability that emerged while the world had been turned inside-out, and that new closeness has deepened connections that were already pretty deep before the pandemic. And I think that’s something we’re going to carry into the future, and into the community as a whole.”
The SGP has started creating materials for people to perform rituals at home during lockdown, and will be be continuing to do that.
“There are always a lot of barriers to entry to attending live events,” Manticore explained, “so we’d like to begin to generate more resources for people to utilize at their own pace.”
Dan Mercurial of the Temple of All Gods agreed, adding, “It’s always good common sense to encourage people who are ill to stay at home, and I imagine that will stay in our lingo for a long time to come… people are more aware of their distance from others, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing either. It’s made us appreciate our public gatherings and value the time when we can all be together in a space.”
Just as they have in many other countries around the world, online rituals and meetups have become the norm for many groups around Australia.
“Considering that Perth is one of the most remote cities in the world, (online events) will probably stay,” said Tree of Combined Covens Social Club. “2020 was the first time we recorded the lectures at spring camp and we will now continue to do so. This allows us to better service the community.”
Eris, who also lives in Western Australia, agreed, “We [now] have more opportunities to connect with the world and with the eastern states that we normally wouldn’t have.”
Almost everyone interviewed for this piece spoke highly of using technology to better connect Pagans over long distances.
“Many disabled members of [Reclaiming’s] international network and communities have given the feedback that [running online events] has created accessibility to some events/classes/camps that were inaccessible to them before,” Parma explained, of their community.
“For Western Australians, especially for those who work up to the north of our state 1300 kilometres away, conducting business, even magical business, wasn’t too different to situation normal,” Eris explained. “Provided we have stocked up on toilet paper of course.”
What Comes Next
Just as it is elsewhere in the world, the COVID-19 situation in Australia is ever-changing, and has transformed – for better or worse – the way public Paganism operates in person.
“Our little seedling of a community is furiously taking copious notes,” Eris said. “We know we won’t get it right every time, but there have been so many valuable lessons learned that we can’t wait to apply when we begin to organise more events.”
Eris went on to say, “And personally, I would like to see social distancing and consent culture continue as common courtesy when it comes to things like hugs. I’m not a huggy pagan – I love hugs, just not with strangers or people I don’t want to hug!”
The forced isolation and introspection of the lockdowns will affect what Paganism looks and feels like to many for years to come, in Manticore’s opinion.
“People have been prioritizing their close personal relationships with each other and generally being more introverted which makes it harder to create and sustain a sense of broader community, but for many the pandemic has allowed for some deep and transformative introspection,” he said.
Manticore also predicted that attendance and participation in in-person Pagan events would take a hit in the immediate future, but this would improve over time.
Sarah of the Monthly Hills Pagan Coffee Meets agreed, “I think people are still wary – and I think a lot of us got used to the ‘new normal’ of lockdown solitude, and find the prospect of social events with strangers slightly overwhelming.”
Wayne from the Queensland Pagan Collective echoed these sentiments. “We have had more events this year than last,” he said. “People are interested in coming out, but there is still hesitancy.”
“…we’ll eventually see an uptick in people exploring their spirituality and wanting to connect with others,” Manticore said.
“Nontheless, the lurkers – the people out there reading TWH and buying the books of local Pagan authors – are still a part of our Australian community, even if they are less visible.”
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