Pagan Consent Culture

Pagan Consent Culture

Building Communities of Empathy and Autonomy


cover by Shauna Aura Knight
An Anthology from Asphodel Press
Christine Hoff Kraemer & Yvonne Aburrow, editors

For many Pagans, sexuality and the body are sacred. Unfortunately, this conviction is not enough to prevent sexual harassment, assault, and abuse. Like the mainstream communities they are immersed in, Pagan communities struggle with consent issues, especially around sexual touch.

Increasingly, Pagans realize that good consent practices must be embraced by communities, not just by individuals—and that consent is about more than sexuality. Consent culture begins with the idea of autonomy, with recognizing our right to control our bodies and selves in all areas of life; and it is sustained by empathy, the ability to understand and share the emotional states of others.

This collection grounds consent culture in contemporary Pagan values, stories, and practices:
  • a Druid explores the concept of sovereignty
  • Wiccans analyze “The Charge of the Goddess”
  • a Heathen explicates medieval Icelandic lore
  • a modern Polytheist draws on philosophies of difference
  • ...and much more
Additionally, contributors provide nuts-and-bolts guides to building consent culture:
  • responding to the needs of survivors of sexual abuse and assault
  • setting consent-based policies for rituals and events
  • training children and adults in consent practices
  • sacralizing pleasurable touch on an everyday basis
  • ethically teaching sacred sexuality and sex magick
For Pagan leaders, teachers, and organizers, Pagan Consent Culture is an essential resource.

Published February 2016.

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