Hi, I'm Liz, a solitary eclectic. I'm not initiated in anything, but I draw a lot from Wicca and Celtic reconstruction. This page is where I'll be putting various tips and tricks I've found over the years for practical, everyday witchcraft and pagan observance. NB: I overlap between Witch and Pagan. Not everyone does, but that's what you'll find here.
Hi, if you're reading this, you are probably traveling in Witch/Pagan circles online. If I were to guess, you may identify on social media as a witch, pagan, or related category. You may discuss your beliefs and practices, you may post photos, memes, etc. And, especially if you're in the US as I am, you are aware and at least somewhat concerned about recent political changes in the country.
The history of antagonism towards witchcraft, Wicca, Neopaganism (at least in the US) goes back pretty far. We are not on any big radars yet, but we probably will be. Also, if you are reading this, the odds that you are also in one or more marginalized identities is pretty high. Some of those identities are definitely on big radars.
Whoever you are, you are here because you're at least curious about this padlet. If you have been in the community a while, you have picked up on some tips/tricks and best practices for safety as a witch and/or pagan. If you have been in a long time, you are well aware that only a few decades ago people could AND DID get into legal trouble for their beliefs. If you are young or new to the community, you may not know this.
I do not judge you if this is news to you. I don't meant to scare you, but please know that people can weaponize Witchcraft, Wicca/other Neopagan beliefs (W&P for short) against people they don't like, just like they can weaponize sexuality, disability, gender, class, race, etc. etc. Do not take my word. Please search and learn about that. I will of course provide some sources to get you started.
This is not "The Burning Times". There are no marauding witchfinders on your main street. Until there are. So please be aware of the risks that being openly W&P online can being not just you but also your community. Please use this entire padlet as a jump-off point to learn about how social media works, how digital safety works, and spread that knowledge.
The purpose of this guide is to educate anyone in this community who is a) not very politically involved and b) not very aware of the risks involved in being out of the broom closet. What I have here are my own thoughts as well as resources from others about digital safety. My main focus is social media. Although this would probably scandalize community elders, a lot of W&P life takes place on social media.
Social media can be very fun, it can be educational, and it has certainly bought benefits to the W&P community. It's free, it's convenient, and you don't have to know a lot of tech skills to use it.
Over the years it has become so slick, so simple, so easy that its benefits are now its dangers. If it's easy for you as a pagan to find pagan interest groups on FB for instance, it's also easy for bad actors to find the same groups and harass people for being pagan. I genuinely don't know if this is a conversation "we" are having in the "community" right now, but it bears looking at.
I'm not here to tell you to get off social media. I'm not even doing that myself. I'm here to compile basic digital safety resources for a community that doesn't always stay grounded in the mundane world. I was not always careful online and I'm neither an expert or a model of "proper" digital safety. But we can learn together and protect ourselves the best we can.
In this padlet, you will see some resources here that use heavy terms like "threat modeling", "risk assessment", or "surveillance". I'm not trying to scare you here, but I want you to be aware of what these terms are referring to. In the "Thoughts" section, there are posts that explain these terms. Please read those first to help you understand what's going on here.
Blessed Be,
Liz
