Running a Successful Pagan Moot
Things to Consider When Starting up a Pagan Social Event
May 25, 2008 Marion Grace Woolley
In the UK most large towns have a Pagan moot where local people meet to socialise and share ideas. The American and Australian Pagan scenes are also big and sociable, as are many areas of Europe.
If you’re thinking of setting-up a Pagan moot, be it a university group such as Cardiff’s CUPS or a general get-together like you’d find listed in the yellow pages of Pagan Dawn, you’ll want it to be a friendly atmosphere that grows into a happy community. Here are a few tips to help you create a successful Pagan moot.
Venue
Venue is everything. Pagans like to drink, so pick a pub or bar with a good selection of real ale and affordable food. Also, find somewhere with either a function room or cubby where your group is unlikely to be disturbed or stared at by other customers. If you are going to have guest speakers you will want them to be heard over the background noise. Some venues may give you a discount on room hire or set aside an area specially for you if you regularly bring in customers. Don’t forget to pick somewhere that people will be able to find easily, and which is close to public transport, as not everybody will live in the immediate area.
Advertising
Advertise as widely as possible and try to come up with an eye-catching logo. Some people worry that they will attract ‘the wrong crowd,’ but it’s best to start off accepting everybody for who they are. You will attract enough normal Pagans to weed out the occasional trouble maker and, eccentric as some people may be, it’s rare to get someone turning up just to cause hassle. Some excellent places to advertise are your local alternative shops, café notice boards, Pagan publications and online pagan websites. You will find a wealth of these by running a Google search for ‘pagan moots’ or ‘events’. The worst thing is to have an empty room.
Welcome
The moot will need a ring-master. Like a good party, newcomers need to be put at ease and introduced to people. Whoever is in charge of co-ordinating the event should try not to be overwhelming but at the same time have enough character to greet people and make them feel at home. At the start of each moot, if there are new people present, it is a good idea to go around the room and for people to just say ‘hello’ and introduce themselves.
Talking Stick
Whereas many moots are just social events, sometimes it is fun to hold a Talking Stick. This is where a topic is picked for debate and everybody gets to have their say and discuss the issue. It is named such because the person talking holds the Talking Stick, and each person gets to speak in turn when it is passed to them – this helps to prevent the discussion getting too out-of-hand. If your moot is successful you might like to hold it more regularly. Instead of once a month it may become once a fortnight, at which point you may like to make one of the moots a Talking Stick event.
Newsletter
Building-up a community is helped along if people feel that they have a chance to contribute to it, so setting up a newsletter not only keeps people informed about what’s going on but also lets people get creative. You might like to include artwork, poetry, reviews and short stories from members. It doesn’t have to be a glossy expensive magazine, just a few printed pages. You can also ask for a donation to help towards running the moot.
Events
If your group gets on well together, you might like to consider day trips out to sacred sites or even holding sabbatical rituals of your own. There may be a wide number of different paths but together you can create something inclusive and fun. Guest speakers are always useful too and you might find some of your members are able to stand up and talk.
Above all, remember to have fun!
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