Of Green and Glass: Where are all the Pagans?

Of Green and Glass:

Where Down to Earth Solutions and a Glass Edge Meet

By Goewin GreenWitch

Dear Goewin,

            This may seem like a silly question, but where is the “pagan community”?

Is there a secret handshake or a hidden sign I’m missing?  No matter where I go, or how hard I look I’m not seeing it / them.  I’m not vain enough to think I’m the only Pagan in my area, where are they hiding, and why doesn’t my area have an easier way of finding them?  I’m new to the Craft, and eager to learn, but how do I learn if I can’t even find others like me? Thanks!

-Lonely Pagan

Dear Lonely,

            No, there isn’t a secret handshake or sign.  It does however take a lot of legwork.  By now I’m sure you’ve googled, “My town” and “pagan groups” or the like.   Have you tried looking at email lists and groups on The Witches Voice or Yahoo Groups?  There are always places like Meetup that offer you a chance to meet other people interested in the same topics as you, whether it be Paganism, scrapbooking or gardening. 

            Here’s a question for you.  If meeting others in person is that important to you, why not start your own meeting or group.  I’m not saying you become that person in every community who reads one book and decides to start their own tradition.  Just put a notice up in area coffee shops, pagan stores and the like that you are creating a safe place for people to discuss similar belief structures, and then you can all learn from each other.  No matter how many years in the Craft, everyone has something that they are better at than everyone else.  There are free and low cost promotional materials available via websites like VistaPrint. 

            All in all, it really takes people that care to get something really good going.  Once you have a core group established, you can take that meeting to free places like The Witches Voice, Facebook, and Yahoo.