Witchcraft, Community, Events, and the Invisible Visible

Last updated on: February 27, 2018 at 6:18 pm by Laura Tempest Zakroff

Witchcraft, Community, Events, and the Invisible Visible 2018-02-27T18:18:28-08:00 Laura Tempest Zakroff

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Photo by Baim Hanif on Unsplash

Hello folks! I’m back! I’ve been away doing a mini-book tour, PantheaCon, and ConVocation. I will try and do a recap in the near future, but right now everything’s pretty much a blur.

But there are two things on my mind that I want to write about right now, and they both involve community and perception.

Number One is this little-recognized fact: the people who show up to things are awesome. I see a lot of talk and slamming around the Internet about slackers, hack practitioners, wannabes, and a whole host of other negative names and classifications. There’s usually a lot of generalizing and proclamations about what sucks in Pwordom usually followed by excuses reasons to not get involved. We all like to bitch about things at times to let out steam. But in reality, if you can make the effort to go to events and meet people, you’re going to find some amazing people.

Much of the last two weeks involved for us a lot of time traveling by car (28+ hours roundtrip from Seattle to San Jose) and plane (15+ hours out to/back from Detroit). Then hours of tending to booths, presenting workshops, performances, and rituals – and dealing with people pretty much nonstop. I’m not going to lie: it’s a grueling, exhausting schedule. But when I look back, I’m flooded with love and inspiration for all of the people I’ve interacted with at these events – in classes, at my booth, in suites, at the bar, etc.

In addition to the Pagan leaders I met in my early days (nearly all of them who are still on this planet, I am on good terms with), the last 4 years of being active in Pwordom have brought some amazing beings into my life. And at every event, I meet even more folks and get to know other people better. There is a profound sense of people looking out for others, being supportive and helpful, and eschewing drama for strength – from participants to presenters and everyone in between.

In the realm of Witchcraft, we often talk a lot of about manifestation and intention. But those things don’t apply only to spellcraft. Rather, they can apply to the larger, more expansive fabric of our lives. If you want to experience support and understanding, then that’s what you focus on and build. Inversely, if you feed drama, that’s what you’ll swim in.

The second thing I want to touch on is something I heard at both events: the “missing” younger generation. Now, there were definitely plenty of people under the age of 30 at both events, but the bulk of the attendees tend to be in their 30’s and well above. I heard several people say, “oh, the young people just aren’t interested in these kinds of events” or “not that many young people are interested in Witchcraft or Paganism.”

This is where the title comes into play: the invisible visible. Just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean they’re not there. Which is a pretty standard truth in Witchcraft!

You see, in addition to attending Pword events, I frequently attend many other kinds of conventions: steampunk, scifi, geek, comic – basically fandom…and there’s no shortage of younger attendees no matter where you go in the United States. They go to conventions and big events, they’re interested in community and meeting other like-minded folks. And if tumblr and the next crop of Witch/Craft shops is anything to go by: there is a SIGNIFICANT amount of people in the 30 and under crowd interested in Witchcraft, Paganism, the Occult, etc.

But you’re not going to see these folks if: you’re not on the same social networks as them or are marketing the event directly to them. The Internet is a much larger, bigger place then it was in the 90’s. Back then, there were fewer places to gather and find information: IRC chatrooms, online forums, Witchvox. We were still connected and involved with print publications as well. Now there are numerous social networks and “entry points”, many of which are geared specifically to teens and 20-somethings. They’re extremely active and networking, but unless you know where to look or have offspring of that age, you may not see them.

Furthermore, many established events (20+ years) have been pretty much doing the same thing they’ve been doing for marketing for years. Once you get comfortable doing a thing, you tend to assume that the buzz will carry along, the same methods will continue working, etc. But what if upcoming generations don’t even know your event exists because your advertising or word-of-mouth reputation isn’t reaching them? Figuring out how to connect with them takes some effort, but obviously the work is worth it – to bridge the gap and grow community.

In balancing both things I’ve highlighted in this post: when it comes to talking about what’s missing or not there, we need to make sure that:
1) We ourselves are actively engaged, showing up, and contributing what we wish to see in our communities.
2) We are not assuming something doesn’t exist just because we’re not immediately aware of it.
3) Be open to explore and reach out.

Previous Post

February 9, 2018

4 Things People Confuse in Witchcraft That Drive Me Crazy

Next Post

March 2, 2018 Messages from the Crossroads: Changing Words, Changing You

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Books cats cauldron month community contest Events home Metaphysics Modern Practice Movement Myth & Folklore satire sigils Tradition travel Uncategorized video

Select a Month May 2026 March 2026 January 2026 September 2025 August 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 February 2023 December 2022 November 2022 September 2022 July 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz