If you’re in the Springfield, MO area, join us for two monthly events:
the regular Meetup:
Third Tuesday each month, 7pm to 9pm
The Springfield Pagan Meetup was started in October 2002 to create a monthly gathering for the area’s pagans, witches, and occultists. I began attending the meetup in 2005, and it’s one of the main ways I built my practice in the early years. I took over as organizer around 2012.
The meetup is a casual open round table discussion and is open to all paths, traditions, and experience levels. We just have three major guidelines:
First, we ask everyone to be mindful of the difference between fact and belief. Facts are things which can be empirically proven or documented. For example, the date of publication of a book or the toxicity of a specific plant. The vast majority of topics we discuss exist in the realm of belief. We will disagree on these things. We aren’t here to decide who is right about beliefs. We’re here to share as many perspectives as possible.
Second, we ask everyone to speak only from their own perspective and experience, and not on behalf of paganism, witchcraft, or the occult as a whole. We ask everyone to try and use “I” and “we” statements as much as possible and to tell where their knowledge comes from. For instance, instead of saying, “You shouldn’t let anyone touch your magical tools,” say, “In the coven where I first learned witchcraft, we were taught that it’s a bad idea to let people handle your tools.”
And third, we ask that everyone asks and answers questions only in the interest of getting as much information out on the table as we can, and not to try and initiate debate or convince anyone to change their mind. Sometimes it’s tempting to ask probing questions to try and point out percieved weaknesses in someone’s belief or opinion. Sometimes it’s tempting to be the dominant voice in order to steer people away from conflicting answers. Both behaviors hurt an open discussion environment.
The topics are chosen by attendees each month for the following meetup, and the event details are posted on our Facebook page. You can also sign up for the email list to get reminders.
The pagan art and craft circle:
First Wednesday each month, 6pm to 9pm
In 2023 I added a second monthly meetup to give us a chance to just hang out, socialize, and engage our creativity!
The monthly art and craft circle is just a laid back time for co-working and parallel play. Bring whatever creative project you want to work on or dig into the free craft supplies available at the venue. Or just come and chat!
Events are posted on our Facebook page, and you can also sign up for email reminders.
