…I didn’t want to be the one to start this because, as a white person, I’m not qualified to speak on this topic. But I’ve yet to see any serious, ongoing discussions about racism in pagan and witch communities. That can’t slide.
Pagans and witches are not exempt from returning sovereignty to Black, Indigenous, and Witches/Pagans of Color in our communities. It’s time to act and make these changes in our spaces.
Allyship is an ongoing practice that doesn’t end, and this list of “do’s” and “don’t’s” is only meant to get you started. I’m sure this list is far from complete, so if you’re BIPOC and want me to add anything, I’ll gladly do so. Readers, please check back on the OP periodically for these contributions.
Please read all the way through before reblogging.
Things you can do:
Afford BIPOC communal and cultural influence in ALL pagan/witchy spaces, be they Wiccan, Heathen, Hellenic, etc. Paganism and witchcraft are global and intersectional. BIPOC influence in paganism and witchcraft does not begin and end with BIPOC-specific magic and practices.
Confront your internalized racism. I promise you have it, and ignoring it won’t solve it. Having internalized racism doesn’t make you a bad person, but it DOES mean you’re responsible for working on it. Begin by examining any racist tendencies you may have. Sit with it and educate yourself on what you can do to move past it.
Buy direct from BIPOC! Support BIPOC-created art and spiritual shops! If you can’t support financially, use your social media platforms to boost shop links and other BIPOC-created content. Buying from BIPOC also allows for cultural appreciation rather than appropriation.
Use your clout as a white person to uplift the voices of BIPOC in witch and pagan communities. This looks like giving platform to their thoughts and feelings without trying to co-opt their message for yourself. Find blog posts written by BIPOC that talk about racism or appropriation in our spaces and give them platform.
Recognize helpful allyship vs. performative allyship. Saying you hate racism or that the gods hate racism is a nice sentiment, but unfortunately it doesn’t actually do anything to solve racism. Make sure you back it up with allyship that actively helps BIPOC in our communities!
Read the following: Closed cultures are cultures that have experienced (or are currently experiencing) aggressive colonization and have decided to close off their cultures to their colonizers. In this case of Black Cultures, Indigenous Cultures, and Cultures of Color, their colonizers are white people. White people have only ever been colonized by other white people so white people can’t close their cultures to BIPOC. There. Now you know how that works.
Some Don’t’s:
Don’t appropriate. Seriously. This is baseline at this point. We all start at a place of ignorance, but it’s our job as white witches and pagans to learn what’s appropriation and what isn’t. This includes adapting your practice if you discover you’re appropriating. If you know you appropriate and defend it, you admit your magic only works because it’s stolen. Do you think this truly serves you or anyone else?
Don’t compare the subjugation of BIPOC to the burning of witches or being part of a religious minority. No matter your intention is with this, it won’t come off as commiseration or showing sympathy. Racism is a systemic form of oppression that can’t be compared to any other kind of prejudice. Understand that you can’t understand.
Avoid being a “white savior.” Tackling racism isn’t supposed to feel comfortable, rewarding, or heroic for a white person. It should actually feel like shadow-work. Likewise, don’t expect acclaim or reward for proper allyship.
Don’t work with spirits, deities, or concepts from closed cultures unless it’s permitted by that culture, and only within the context permitted. If you think a spirit from a closed culture is trying to interact with you, seek out a community-recognized spiritual leader from that spirit’s culture to talk to about it.
Don’t say “politics should stay out of spiritual spaces” when it comes to human rights issues. There’s many problems with this: First, Human rights issues and politics are very different. Second, if you want to have a truly inclusive environment, that environment needs to be intersectional. This means allowing other identities to overlap into paganism and witchcraft, including their issues. Regardless of your intention, it’s oppressive to deny room for those issues for the sake of “love and light.” Your “love and light” is not about healing, then, but about maintaining the status-quo.
Remember, true justice isn’t something that happens after a wrong. It’s something that prevents that wrong from ever happening. If we want justice in our pagan and witchcraft communities, we need to do the right work to achieve it.
