New and Updated Panel Discussion Topics

We're working hard to finalize our Panel Discussions for the Gaia Gathering conference which is only a few weeks away!

A few weeks ago, we put out a list of panel discussions where some topics had descriptions while others did not. We have now updated these topics with new descriptions so that you can see what will be discussed.

Please email us at gaiagathering@yahoo.ca to let us know which panel topic you would like to see in the conference. If you think you'd like to be a panelist on one of them, please let us know!

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New or Updated Topic Descriptions
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Pagan Canon
A canon is a collection of writings that a religious tradition considers sacred, divinely inspired, or foundational. What texts, poetry and writings do we consider sacred? Is there a Pagan canon or tradition-specific canons? Where do sacred texts overlap between traditions?

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Pagan Broadcast Media
This panel focuses on the popularity of Pagan blogs, podcasts, and other forms of media to broadcast ideas, discuss topics, and promote Paganism to a wider audience. Who is listening and what has the response been to this new media?

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Pagan Community Statement on Sexual Abuse
This panel provides discusses what we as Pagans mean by the term sexual abuse, and whether it is possible to create a statement that a consensus would agree on. This discussion features a document that was written, discussed, and spear-headed by Dr. Brendan Myers and The Wild Hunt blog (thewildhunt.org).

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Event Organizing
This panel of organizers offers advice on everything from designing, fund-raising, managing volunteers, and publicizing your Pagan Event.

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Mental Health & the Pagan Community
How do we react to the presence of mental illness among us, and how can we help? What accommodations can be made and what resources are there to support our community? How can our leaders avoid burn-out, and how can the community support them in a way that prevents burn-out?

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Impact of the Internet
The Internet provides us with more access to people and information, but it also allows reduces in-person contact with real people. How can we use the Internet to our advantage and what is there about the Internet that should we avoid? How has the internet and social media changed Pagan communications? How has technology influenced our spiritual practice?

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Priestessing/Priesting our Craft
This panel seeks to define the qualities a person needs to be able to take on a leadership role in the Pagan community. What does it mean to be a Priest/ess in our covens, groups and communities? What are the risks and challenges, and what skills do we need to cultivate? Do we have a need for a Pagan chaplaincy to make clergical services available in our communities, and how can we support our leaders in that endeavor?

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Pagan Documentation
Our communities are constantly evolving in terms of culture, population, and the response to crisis. How do we chronicle these events that make-up our modern history? We have discovered such wisdom in ancients texts, but what can we learn from the legacy of our modern-day elders? How do we preserve our recent history so that future generations can benefit?

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Music Stream
This stream is an opportunity to share songs and chants and other music from our communities across Canada.

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Celebrating in French
(panel presented in French with whisper translation to English)
This panel discusses the challenges Francophone Pagans face within their own spiritual practice, but also when interacting with Pagans in their own community and beyond. What documentation is available for Francophone audiences? What direction is the Francophone Pagan community taking? Is there a common ground to be found with other linguistic cultures in terms of spiritual expression?

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Translating English Sources into French
(panel presented in French with whisper translation to English)
With so many Pagan books published in English, is there a market for them to be translated to French? What are the challenges to translate these documents? This panel explores the challenges inherent in making the current Pagan documentation accessible to the Francophone population.


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Rites, Rights and Laws
What happens to Pagans when their spiritual practice clashes with the laws of the land? Are Pagans at risk of being discriminated against if their spiritual identity is made public? What rights can Pagans expect in the workplace, at school, or in public? What recourse can Pagans follow if they become victims of discrimination, both legal and personal?

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Power of Words
As magical practitioners, many of us believe that we can shape our own reality through intent and/or alignment of magical will. How do the words that we choose to use (or not use) contribute to the worldview that we live in and the life we create? Do words chosen in ritual or a magickal setting hold more power?

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Environmental Ethic
If Pagans are supposed to worship the earth and the natural world, how active should Pagans be in environmental movement? How can Pagans incorporate environmental ethics into their every day routine? This panel explores our roles as stewards of the Earth, but still living well in our modern societies.

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Aging, Hospice and Death
As our Pagan population ages, are we ready to accommodate their needs as elders in our society? What services will they require to continue developing their spiritual identities. This panel also explores the changes to a male's spiritual expression as he enters what many describe as male menopause. Are mainstream hospices prepared to respond to the needs of their Pagan clients? What is our role as a community to prepare them so that our aging population can be well-taken of? How can we ensure that our Pagan brothers and sisters can die with dignity and that their wishes will be respected after death? Are their Pagan cemeteries to receive our beloved death in a way that respects their traditions?

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Impact of Secularism
This panel explores the impact of the separation of Church and State and how it affects Pagan communities that live in that State. Do Pagans need State recognition to avoid discrimination or even persecution, or are we all better off without the State setting limits upon our spiritual practice?

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Sacred Space and Sacred Places
What defines a sacred space or a sacred place? Many traditions have very different ideas on our relationship with the sacredness of an area. Is it possible to define a place to be sacred in a way that all traditions can recognize it?

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Pagan Taboos
This panel explores what topics, ideas, behaviors, attitudes, etc., that our Pagan community culture considers to be off-limits or not to be discussed. What makes an idea inconsiderable in Pagan culture and who decides that? What happens if you try to pursue an idea that is considered reprehensible to a community? Is it better to shine a light upon it, or should an idea be labeled as taboo, and therefore not explored.


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Previously Published Topic Descriptions
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The Value of Personal Gnosis
How much value do we place on personal gnosis (knowledge acquired directly from deities and spirits), obtaining and sharing it, compared to the other pillars of Pagan spirituality? These being: lore, tradition, and modern inspiration (ecology, feminism, activism and creativity).

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Ancient vs. Modern Mythology
Would you call upon Robin Hood as the God deity? Do you find more power in calling down the spirit of the Dagda, or could you call upon the power of Superman as an archetype? Can Pagans still find power and relevance in published works from the last few centuries? How old does mythology need to be to be considered a valid mythology?

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Canadian Pagan Authors
Why are most of the 'big name' Pagan authors American (and to a lesser extent British)? Who are our Canadian authors and how can we help support them?

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Transgender Pagans
Recently, there was a public women's Pagan ritual where transgendered women were excluded because they were not female-born.

How do cissexism/transphobia, body essentialism, exclusion, and anti-oppression work both in our community and in our liturgy.

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Pagans in Interfaith Work
What opportunities are there for Pagans who want to reach out to other spiritual communities or support existing interfaith initiatives? What skills are required? Who is doing this in communities across Canada and what has been their experience?

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Pagans in the Media
A panel discussion on modern Paganism and Pagans in the media that ranges from mainstream identity and public relations to reaching out via alternative media and communities.

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Circle Repair
How do circles, covens, groves and other group prevent potentially damaging situations or repair the broken trust and fractured dynamics after a fall-out?

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Impact of the Internet on Pagan Development
The Internet provides us with more access to people and information, but it also allows reduces in-person contact with real people. How can we use the Internet to our advantage and what is there about the Internet that should we avoid?

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Pagans and Crime (or Pagans in Jail)
If a Pagan is charged with a crime and says that his religion is part of his motivation, the community has choices to make. Do we acknowledge the issue but not the person? Do we distance ourselves from the issue entirely?

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Pagan Identity
Do we have a shared Pagan identity? How do we feel when someone publicly takes action or a stance, or performs a crime, "as a Pagan" or in the name of being Pagan?

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Activism, Action, Protest and Paganism
What protest/activism supports Wiccan (or other trads) ethics (or codes)? What are the Pagan-encouraged forms of protest/action. Defining peaceful constructive protest and magickal activism.

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Conflict and Resolution
In managing conflicts between ideologically-separated groups, organizations, and people, how can we bring positive interventions and find enough common ground between them? What models exist?

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Cultural Sensitivity
When does influence turn into appropriation? Are there ways we are insensitive to other cultures or traditions other than our own within the Pagan umbrella?

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Pagan Evolution after Quebec's Quiet Revolution
Anglophone and Francophone Pagans often differ in the ways they lived and practised their religion. These differences are deeply rooted in Quebec's unique cultural and religious past.

This panel explores the impact of salient events in Quebec's recent cultural history, and how the Quiet Revolution and the subsequent de-Christianisation of Quebec's Francophone population have impacted the way Francophone and Anglophone Pagans understand and live their faith.