A number of years ago, one of the Pagan priests in the Twin Cities coined the name "Paganistan" for the long-lived and feisty Pagan community here. It was tongue-in-cheek, but the name has stuck; it's a name that the Twin Cities Metro Area Pagans have proudly taken on as a moniker.
Many people are surprised to hear that the Twin Cities boasts the second largest contemporary Pagan community in the US (only San Francisco's Bay Area is larger). Often, they are equally surprised to discover that it has its formative roots as far back as 1972, when the Gnostica Bookstore was holding spiritual seeker classes on topics like magic, contemporary Witchcraft, and other occult traditions down on Hennepin Avenue. Gnostica eventually grew to become Llewelyn Publications, the world's largest New Age and Paganism publisher -- and the Pagan community in the Cities grew right along with it.
It isn't only the size that makes Paganistan a unique and vibrant community. It also has been a religiously innovative community both in terms of the creation of traditions and practices, and in the way it expresses a diversity of paths and organizations. Often, Minnesota Pagans belong to many organizations; this sort of multiple affiliation is par for the course in this community. Twin Cities Pagans have always been "bootstrappers" when it comes to practicing their spiritualities. Always hungry for new ideas, restlessly creative, and having no ties to a lineage holder the way Pagan communities on either US coast do, the Witches, Druids, Heathens, Goddess-worshippers, and other Pagan folks here have always found a way to "mix things up", and to create regionally unique traditions that reflect a Minnesotan cultural influence.
In years past, the New Reformed Druids of North America held their rituals in Prospect Park, in the shadow of Witch Hat Tower, the highest point in the Cities. Other places made sacred by the local Pagans include the Mississippi River, Coldwater Spring, and Minnehaha Creek and Falls, the latter being the focus of a yearly cleanup effort by the community. Contemporary Paganism is an alliance of religions of place. Both natural and urban features of the Cities' landscapes, imbued with a history of religious use and containing spiritual power, according to many in the community, are considered sacred places. Additionally, what makes Twin Cities Paganism what it is has been its incorporation of Minnesota's dramatic seasonality and climate. A Minneapolis priestess once told me in an interview, "Paganism is a religion that celebrates the theatre of the seasons. What better place to be a Pagan than Minnesota?"
I spent nearly ten years researching and writing about the history and growth of Paganistan; the research is finished, but the community continues to grow and adapt. While a thesis or a publication is necessary, tangible documentation especially with regard to a community's history, communities by nature constantly grow and change. It's why this forum is particularly appropriate for continued reporting on this community and its members, and the work they continue to do.
Beltane (May Day) has passed; Midsummer (Summer Solstice) is approaching. Paganistan will be celebrating in backyards, parks, and week-long summer festivals. Twin Cities Pagans get cabin fever as badly as any Minnesotan, and reports from the field will no doubt showcase rituals and celebrations full of joy, sunlight, dancing, drumming, woodsmoke, and genuinely felt reconnections with spirits of the land that slept through the Winter. Paganistan in the Summer promises, every year, its own special magic.
Comments
Oh, it is too funny, I cannot stop laughing even though I have not yet read the article, that we now have a "Minneapolis Paganism Examiner". How does it look, Murphy? Are we shipshape and tight around the edges? :-)
May I also add, as a Carleton grad, that the New Reformed Druids were founded at Carleton College in Northfield (40 miles south of the Twin Cities) in 1969 as a protest to the college "chapel requirement", and the development of Twin Cities pagan activity in the early 1970s was in part due to what we call the "Carleton ghetto effect", in which Carleton College grads come up to the city to escape the smallness of Northfield and then carry on their habits (such as homegrown religion) in small enclaves of similar grads in the Twin Cities young adult world. The college maintains an archive of the founding and development of the Druids in its library and you can get access to it (if you haven't already) by calling the college librarian in Northfield (just look up www.carleton.edu to find the phone number) and arrange a visit.
Your list of Resources for Twin Cities Pagans is very good, but missed the one resource which ties together all other resources: the Twin Cities Pagans Yahoo group. More local Pagans get their updates via this group's calendar than any other source.
But that's not why I'm really posting. Mostly I'm just proud that our local Pagan community is now represented by Dr. Pizza on the Examiner. This is another landmark in the growth of our community. Murphy is now a part of the history she is writing.
Nice introduction! I'm looking forward to reading more articles.
I'm pleased to see the TC Pagan community being represented here and given more exposure. I look forward to reading more.
My only quibble with the article is this sentence: "Other places made sacred by the local Pagans include the Mississippi River, Coldwater Spring, and Minnehaha Creek and Falls..." We don't *make* these places sacred; we just recognize and honor their immmanent divinity!
I am so happy to finally see MN Pagans on the Examiner! Can't wait to read more!
I just wanted to submit a minor correction - Llewellyn Publications did not originate with Gnostica Bookstore. Actually, Carl Weschcke bought Llewellyn (which was founded in 1901) in 1964 and moved it to Minnesota. Once here, he also organized the Gnostica festivals, courses, bookstore, and much more. Here is a brief overview of our history:
www. llewellyn. com /history/ (just found out you can't post links here, so sorry for the appearance!)
From the comments above mine, looks like we Pagans are a fussy lot! : ) But seriously, thanks for the shout-out and congratulations on the new column.
~ ElysiaG @ Llewellyn
Congratulations on your new beat. I look forward to reading the articles about our unique community. Thanks you especially for the capital 'P' in Paganiam, no matter what the AP Stylebook says.
One note: The Pagan high priest who came up with the term 'Paganistan' is Steven Posch, one of the leading creative voices in the community coming up on 30 years.
Murphy--Welcome to the world of Pagan Examiners! There are several of us now and I am hoping to get us all onto a discusiion group at Linked In or somewhere like that. Please email me at Branwenn at aol-dot-com and we will try to network all these wonderful Pagan and Wiccan Examiners! Please join Lined in and look for the new group for Pagan Examiners. It should be up sometime today!
BB
Paula Jean West
I don't like the thought of drawing too much attention to the pagan communities. We live in very liberal times, but there are still plenty of people out there who think burning witches at the stake makes you a good Christian. That being said, if norse paganism is widespread enough I may move to the twin cities for a while.
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