Different Types Of Pagan Groups In Australia.
by Blayze

Before venturing out to find a pagan group to practice with, it is important to understand the differences between the various types of groups in Australia. These groups include Community Groups, Discussion Groups, Working Circles, Open Circles and Groves, Closed Covens and Online Communities. All of these groups serve different purposes and range from the informal to the highly formal.

The Community groups in Australia are generally networking and information organisations that have membership fees and a formal structure of committees. These groups then use their funds to support their community in the form of sponsorship, newsletters, magazines, advertising, legal, media and insurance matters. They are not usually based in one particular path, although there are some exceptions.
 
Whilst most of these groups do not provide any formal, pagan-oriented training, some of them run events that have workshops as part of the program. They also organise lectures by knowledgeable or prominent local and overseas pagan presenters and writers.

The Community groups, whilst having a national coverage also work at a state level and many of them have state or regional co-ordinators. The main Pagan Community Groups in Australia are The Pagan Alliance, Pagan Awareness Network Inc and the Church of All Worlds. 

When starting out upon a pagan path, even a solitary one, it is a good idea to contact one of these groups as they will be able to inform you about any events or regional groups that are happening in your area. Even if you wish to practice alone, meeting like-minded people can give you additional inspiration. Conversations with others can sometimes open locked doors for you or give you a new perspective on your activities.

There are quite a few regional community groups that organise events on a local level. These groups often started as online communities providing local information and now host meetings and informal circles or they formed as a circle of friends and then expanded to the internet. Yahoogroups (www.yahoogroups.com) has lots of email groups with local pagan content as well as many national and international lists. 

In regards to meeting other pagans, Discussion Groups, either physical or online are a wonderful resource. They allow us to broaden our horizons with different viewpoints. I have yet to meet any two pagans who totally agree with each other and this makes for lively debate. Attending a discussion group can also help to enhance one’s spiritual growth by forcing you to understand your own viewpoint. Most major cities in Australia have at least one Pagans in the Pub meeting and some cities have pagan  picnics as well. These events are usually highly socially interactive and most will have formal discussion topics or workshops on offer. For a list of these discussion groups surf along to the National Pagans in the Pub website (http://pagan.drak.net/publinks)

Discussion groups are great places to pick up tips and examine different styles of practice. They can also give you access to working circles or groups that are not advertised. Just remember to be on your guard and avoid people who seem to be actively recruiting rather than just letting you know that there may be groups around that you may wish to get to know.

Open circles, groves and working circles fall mainly into the witchcraft and wicca categories of paganism, although there are some semi-open, non-witchcraft pagan groups about. By ‘open’, I mean that they are open to either the public or to new attendees upon an initial meeting. These groups are largely informal in structure, although some may have leaders who organise the groups and take responsibility for teaching. Many open circles are also formed by groups of people who met at pagan events or online. They come together to celebrate festivals or full moons. Sometimes these groups also have regular meetings that can be monthly, fortnightly or weekly.

Open circles can also be run as a form of outer court to a closed group. This practice gives the closed group a chance to meet and work with potential new members and for new people to see how the other members work together. Often in an outer court, inner court situation there will be those who are content just to work in the open environment and not pursue dedication or initiation. This works well as it means that both groups can work together for basic teaching and festivals. Those that wish to go deeper can work with the closed group as well. This way no-one gets left behind and works only to his or her desired level of involvement and practice. Basically, open groups are a great way to trial people and traditions to see if this style feels right to you.

One of the downsides in attending or running a purely open group can be in sporadic attendance. By their very nature as open groups they generally have no formal attendance requirements. This means that participant numbers can vary widely from meeting to meeting. This also means that levels of knowledge will vary and as many people will not have worked together before, it can be hard to achieve any kind of group mind or fully participatory rituals. That said, often there will be a core group of people who attend regularly and will build up a good system for working together. When this happens it presents a good solid base for newcomers, who will be more inclined to attend regularly if the group appears stable. 

Open groups can become like extended families, however because of their cyclical and fluid nature they do not have such a strong collective or group mind as closed groups or covens. There are a couple of types of closed groups - working circles which are closed as the core group wants to develop a group mind by working strongly and regularly together and closed initiate groups or covens where each person undergoes a personal magickal initiation that not only gives them spiritual growth and rebirth but that also proves them ready to take on more formal or advanced teachings as well as working to achieve a group mind. Initiate groups will also give access to the teachings and spiritual dedications of a specific tradition. 

One of the advantages of both types of closed groups is that those who are teaching will be aware of the levels of understanding within the group and can utilise this understanding. The groups mind is a powerful tool that does not happen instantly. It takes a lot of time, hard work and practice to achieve, thus dedication is important. Closed groups will generally have regular meetings for teaching within a circle and working or celebrating together. Whilst there are some groups that have a flat structure, most closed groups will have people allocated for different responsibilities. All of these different groups will at some point give you access to different training situations, even if it is just a suggested reading list. Even within an initiatory group participants will be expected to do some of their own research, self-training and practice. In this aspect, most initiates do not differ from solitaries. We all have to find that spark inside us on our own.