Blog

The following post has been written by the Chair of the PPA – Andy Pardy

“As we arrive at the Spring Equinox, the Police Pagan Association extends warmest wishes to all our members, colleagues, and friends celebrating Ostara. May this season of balance, renewal, and growth bring you clarity, hope, and fresh energy for the months ahead.

Ostara marks the point in the year when day and night stand in perfect balance, before the light begins to take the lead. It is a powerful moment in the natural cycle, symbolising new beginnings, fertility, and the reawakening of the land after the long winter months. Across many Pagan traditions, this turning of the Wheel is recognised as a time to plant seeds, both literally and metaphorically, and to embrace opportunities for personal growth.

The festival takes its name from Eostre, a Germanic goddess of dawn, spring, and renewal, whose energy is reflected in the returning light and the stirring of life across the land. She is often associated with fertility, growth, and the cycles of nature, and is symbolically linked with hares and eggs – enduring emblems of abundance and new life. Eostre represents the promise of new beginnings, the balance between light and dark, and the quiet but powerful transition from winter into spring.

Historically, celebrations of the Spring Equinox would have centred on the changing season: the lengthening days, the warming earth, and the return of life to the natural world. Agricultural communities, in particular, would have recognised this as a critical time for preparing the land and ensuring future prosperity.

Today, contemporary Pagans observe Ostara in a variety of meaningful and personal ways. Some mark the occasion with rituals honouring balance and renewal; others decorate eggs, light candles at dawn, or spend time outdoors connecting with nature. Planting seeds is a common practice, as is reflecting on intentions for the coming year. Acts of kindness, creativity, and community are also central themes, reflecting the growth and vitality of the season.

For those in public service, Ostara also offers a moment to pause and reflect on the importance of balance in our own lives, between duty and wellbeing, service and self-care.

However you choose to observe this time, we hope it brings a sense of peace, purpose, and connection.

Happy Ostara to all”

https://policepaganassociation.org/document-library/

The following post has been written by the Chair of the PPA – Andy Pardy

“In 2024 I had the distinct pleasure, for a second year running, of being invited by Asatru UK – AUK – the UK’s largest inclusive Heathen organisation – to speak at their annual national moot on the critical issue of extremism and radicalisation within our communities.

In my presentation I explored the history of British fascism and its ongoing appropriation of Heathen Paganism. I wanted to provide our Pagan and Heathen communities with something practical, accessible, and immediately useful, so attendees were given a free quick-reference guide designed to support those who host or attend moots, hearths, groves, and covens in recognising potential warning signs of extremism and radicalisation.

This guide is intended as a vital safeguarding tool for Pagan communities, empowering individuals to confidently identify concerning behaviours, language, and influences, and to take appropriate action where needed. It supports our collective responsibility to keep our spaces safe, inclusive, and free from those who would seek to exploit them.

The guide includes:

• A brief history of Pagan extremism in the UK

• Pagan extremist groups in the UK

• Pagan ‘militias’

• The ‘Brosatru’ movement

• Pagan terrorist groups

• Right-wing clothing brands

• Extremist words, phrases, and terminology

• Right-wing books and publications

• White supremacist music

• Sources of support

• Counter-terrorism and anti-radicalisation contacts

If you lead or are part of a Pagan or Heathen community, group, or organisation, I strongly encourage you to download and share this resource. Awareness is one of our most effective tools in preventing harm.

If you work within an organisation or agency that would benefit from training on counter-terrorism or anti-radicalisation from a Pagan perspective, please feel free to contact me directly: andrew.pardy@herts.police.uk or andrew.pardy@sleipnir.consulting“

Charlotte Pardy – 08/03/2026

Today is #InternationalWomensDay a day to honour the achievements of women and girls, and to recommit to building a world where every woman is safe, seen and valued.

This year’s theme is #GiveToGain the idea that when we give our time, our knowledge, and our support to women and girls, everyone gains. Stronger communities. Safer spaces. More trust.

At the PPA, we’ve spent the past year asking our community what you need. You told us. And we’re listening.

 From our national consultation:

 Half of all respondents said fear of misunderstanding stops them, or their community, from contacting the police.

 But when contact is made and trust is in place 73.7% of you had a positive experience.

We know policing isn’t perfect, but we are here to help close the gap by improving police training and knowledge around our Heathen and Pagan communities and helping our communities have robust safeguarding policies and practices in place.

 Our #SaferPaganSpaces pledge, launched this January, is already bringing organisations together across the UK to commit to the protection of women and girls in our community spaces.

“We need to look after one another.”

Your words. From our consultation, and we couldn’t agree more.

 If your group, coven, moot or kindred hasn’t yet signed the pledge, today is a perfect day to do it.

Pledge holders receive free safeguarding training, policy templates, and the support of the PPA network, because this work should never be carried alone.

To every woman and girl in our community, you deserve to feel safe in every circle, every gathering, every space you call yours. Happy International Women’s Day. 

#IWD2026 #GiveToGain #SaferPaganSpaces #VAWG #Safeguarding #PolicePaganAssociation #WomenInPaganism #PaganWomen

12 February – International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism

Effective prevention of violent extremism requires precision, cultural literacy, and evidential expertise. Generalist understanding is no longer sufficient.

My academic and operational work has focused extensively on the misappropriation and ideological weaponisation of Paganism and Germanic iconography by contemporary far-right extremist movements. Through a substantial body of published research, I have examined how sacred runic systems, reconstructed pre-Christian traditions, and mythic narratives are strategically distorted to legitimise supremacist, ethnonationalist and accelerationist violence.

I am nationally recognised for this specialism and have provided subject matter expert evidence before the courts in terrorism cases, supporting prosecutions and contributing to the evidential foundations underpinning the proscription of extremist organisations. My work has assisted the judiciary and juries in understanding the ideological signalling, symbolic intent and doctrinal frameworks embedded within extremist material.

In parallel, I continue to advise and train counter-terrorism policing, national security agencies, government departments, HMPPS, HMCTS, the education sector and the Armed Forces. A central pillar of that work is ensuring operational partners can clearly differentiate between:

Law-abiding Pagan communities exercising legitimate freedom of belief

Legitimate cultural or historical symbolism

Deliberate extremist co-option designed to radicalise, recruit and mobilise

This distinction safeguards both public protection and civil liberties. It prevents overreach, protects minority faith communities, and strengthens evidential robustness in terrorism investigations.

Extremism thrives in ambiguity. My role is to remove that ambiguity through research, evidence and operational clarity.

If your organisation requires specialist training, expert insight, or evidential support in this area, I invite you to contact me directly.

#CounterTerrorism#NationalSecurity#ExpertEvidence#Extremism#SecurityStudies#Prevent#Policing

Last night we held the first round of safeguarding training for our Safer Pagan Spaces Pledge holders, and it was genuinely heartening.

There were thoughtful questions, honest reflections, and rich discussion about what it really means to be Pagan and Heathen community leaders, the responsibility we carry, the difficult decisions we sometimes have to make, and the care we’re called to uphold and embody.

We spent time exploring what a safer space actually looks like and feels like, not just in theory, but in lived experience, for everyone who enters our circles, gatherings, and communities. The feedback was generous, reflective, and deeply encouraging.

A huge thank you to the Confederation of Heathen Kindreds and Asatru UK for hosting me, and for the openness, care, and leadership shown throughout the session. It was a real privilege to hold this space with you.

This work isn’t about perfection. It’s about intention, accountability, and walking alongside one another as we strengthen safeguarding practice across our traditions.

Our next step is to invite more pledge holders to join the next round of training. If your organisation hasn’t yet signed the Safer Pagan Spaces Pledge, now is a great time to do so. By signing, you’ll also receive access to our community safeguarding guidance, including policy templates and risk assessment tools, because this work should never be carried alone.

Together, with the support of the Police Pagan Association, we can set stronger, kinder, and clearer standards for leadership, care, and safeguarding across all our Pagan and Heathen communities.

Charlotte Pardy – Community Lead

On Holocaust Memorial Day, we are called not only to remember, but to reflect on our responsibility in the present.

As the Founding Chair of the Police Pagan Association, as a practicing Heathen, and as someone working at the intersection of interfaith equity, EDI, and policing, I am acutely aware of how belief systems, identities, and symbols can be distorted and weaponised.

Heathen and Pagan traditions are frequently appropriated by the contemporary radical right in the furtherance of racist, antisemitic, misogynistic, and homophobic ideologies. Many of our sacred symbols have been deliberately misrepresented by those who share nothing with the values of reciprocity, honour, hospitality, and right relationship that sit at the heart of our faiths. That appropriation is not accidental, and it is rooted in ideological threads that draw directly from Nazi worldviews.

Because of this, silence is not a neutral position.

As Heathen community leaders, groups, and practitioners, we have a moral duty to speak up and to speak out unequivocally against antisemitism, and against any attempt to tie our living faiths to the persecution and murder of Jewish people, Roma communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, political dissidents, and so many others affected by the Holocaust.

Racism and hatred do not always end in genocide, but every genocide begins with familiar and insidious stages. Propaganda, othering, dehumanisation, and the normalisation of exclusion. Professor Gregory Stanton’s model of the ten stages of genocide reminds us that these processes are predictable, but not inevitable. At every stage, intervention is possible, if people are willing to act.

For those of us in policing, public service, and community leadership, remembrance must go hand in hand with vigilance. Holocaust Memorial Day is not only about honouring the dead, it is about protecting the living, and challenging ideologies that seek to erase, diminish, or divide.

In contemporary Heathenry, we must be clear, there are no Nazis in Valhalla, and no place for hatred in our halls.

#HolocaustMemorialDay #NeverAgain #NoNazisInValhalla #Interfaith #EDI #Paganism #Heathenry #SpeakUp

Following the launch of the Police Pagan Association’s #SaferPaganSpaces pledge on 15 January, we have seen a strong and welcome response from across Pagan and Heathen communities. Groups of all sizes, from national representative organisations to online communities and smaller informal moots, covens, and groves, have already signed up, demonstrating a shared commitment to safety, accountability, and ethical leadership within faith spaces.

The pledge has also sparked important and constructive conversations about safeguarding, leadership responsibilities, and community expectations. While safeguarding is often formally defined in relation to children and adults at risk, it has far wider relevance. Effective safeguarding underpins the safety of everyone, strengthens trust within communities, and contributes to broader efforts to reduce violence against women and girls (#VAWG).

We have received thoughtful enquiries from groups at varying stages of safeguarding development. These include groups without safeguarding policies, those with outdated frameworks, and others where policies exist but are not easily accessible to leaders or members. We have also been asked about the responsibilities held by those who lead groups, whether informally, organisationally, or within ritual and faith-based settings. Some concerns have been raised about whether the #SaferPaganSpaces pledge places additional or unreasonable expectations on Pagan community leaders. We want to be clear, it does not.

The pledge is designed to support, not burden. Its purpose is to ensure Pagan and Heathen communities meet their basic safeguarding responsibilities with confidence and clarity. For groups with existing policies, this means making them accessible, understood, and applied when concerns arise. For those without policies, it means providing guidance to develop them, alongside training on how to respond to concerns, escalate risks appropriately, and refer matters to relevant statutory or safeguarding bodies where required.

This work is informed by the PPA’s involvement, in various capacities, in several high-profile cases in which Pagan belief, ritual, or perceived spiritual authority was exploited to facilitate abuse. These include the cases of David Mace and Kenneth Gavens in Bristol, who carried out predatory sexual offences against women and girls under the guise of Pagan ritual and initiation; Peter Petrauske and Jack Kemp in Falmouth, who presented themselves as High Priests of a coven while concealing sexual abuse; and Steven Sanders, convicted in 2025 of multiple rapes and sexual assaults against male and female children over a period spanning more than two decades, during which Paganism was used as a control tactic over vulnerable victims.

While cases such as these are thankfully rare, they highlight the serious harm that can occur when safeguarding is absent, misunderstood, or not acted upon. In addition, the PPA is currently supporting three ongoing enquiries across the UK involving allegations of sexualised behaviour, unwanted advances, and sexual assault by individuals in positions of authority within Pagan and Heathen groups. A recurring and deeply concerning theme in these cases is that those who raised concerns were often dismissed, disbelieved, gaslit, or ostracised, sometimes as a result of the alleged offender misusing their influence to undermine or discredit victims. It has also been evident that many group members lacked a clear understanding of safeguarding principles or how to respond to allegations of misconduct or criminal behaviour.

Sexual offending within Pagan communities is no more prevalent than in other communities, faith-based or otherwise. However, this does not diminish our shared responsibility to act proactively. Safeguarding is about reducing risk, protecting dignity, responding effectively to concerns, and having the confidence to escalate issues when necessary. By strengthening safeguarding practice, we uphold our duties to children and adults at risk, contribute to tackling violence against women and girls, and help create genuinely safer Pagan and Heathen spaces for everyone.

Following our public consultation, our Community Liaison Officer, Charlotte, has compiled a set of frequently asked questions responding to many of the themes raised since the launch of the #SaferPaganSpaces pledge. These will be published on our website shortly, and we are sharing them here to support transparency, learning, and continued dialogue across our communities.

#SaferPaganSpacesPledge

On Wednesday 19th November 2025 we gathered for the Police Pagan Association‘s Annual General Meeting – an opportunity not just to plan ahead, but to reflect on the incredible work we’ve already achieved throughout 2025.

This year has demonstrated once again that the PPA consistently punches above its weight. Despite being a small and highly specialised staff network, our impact across UK policing has been significant – from providing national training and guidance, to supporting forces with religious literacy, to ensuring Pagan voices are represented in key strategic spaces. Our work continues to show what a passionate, dedicated community can accomplish when it stands together.

At the AGM we presented the PPA Business Plan 2026–2029, setting out our strategic priorities for the next three years. The plan strengthens our alignment with National Police Chiefs’​ Council Staff Network Principles, ensuring that our work is professional, accountable, collaborative, and focused on the needs of both our members and the wider service.

We also introduced our new Safeguarding Policy, which emphasises the proactive safeguarding of Pagan spaces and aligns directly with national VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) initiatives. This marks a significant evolution in how we support safe participation in all Pagan contexts – from informal moots to established ritual groups – and reinforces our commitment to creating environments where everyone feels secure, respected, and valued.

A heartfelt congratulations to the newly elected members of our Executive Leadership Team. Thank you for stepping forward to lead, inspire, and continue the important work of the PPA. Your contributions will play a vital role as we enter a new chapter of growth and development.

Finally, sincere thanks to the Police Federation of England and Wales for generously hosting us at their headquarters. Your support allowed us to meet, plan, and collaborate in a welcoming and professional space.

Here’s to the year ahead – rooted in community, strengthened by shared purpose, and guided by the values that make the Police Pagan Association such a distinctive and impactful part of UK policing.

The Police Pagan Association is really proud to announce that we have achieved a massive breakthrough on behalf of our Pagan communities that will have far-reaching implications that will change how Paganism is perceived and recorded nationally.

I am in a privileged position as a national chair for a police DSSA where I can use my access to the highest levels of agencies such as the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs Council and the College of Policing to influence change at a national level.

Towards the end of 2021 the College of Policing was tasked by the Home Office to carry out a review of the National Standard for Recording Workforce Data Information. This was primarily around enhancing how police forces accurately recorded the diversity of their workforces and those they are recruiting – some of you may know that I’ve been an equality & diversity champion for Hertfordshire Constabulary for many years, and am also the Positive Action Recruitment & Retention lead currently.

I used this opportunity to submit a business case to have Paganism recognised as a faith in its own right in all government data systems; the letter attached contains many of the points I made – especially that the Police Pagan Association was the only staff support association that represented a characteristic still defined as ‘other’ (i.e., when choosing a faith when reporting a crime, applying for a job etc. Pagans would have to select ‘other’, and where not always provided an option to define their faith).

I cannot reiterate how significant this business case was, as it had far-reaching implications that extended beyond policing. If accepted as a faith, recordable in its own right, it would not simply mean that police systems would have to include Pagan in their drop-down menus…

This review is national because it seeks to standardise ALL data systems used by the government and government agencies, therefore if Paganism was accepted as a faith in its own right it would be incorporated into systems such as PNC, Home Office statistical data, ONS data systems (including the new format for the Census) AND local police data systems for recording crimes, applications and workforce data.

I am delighted to announce that after several months of campaigning and with support from the amazing Stuart at the College of Policing, that Paganism will be recorded as a faith in its own right under the new Workforce Recording Data Standards. The list of recordable faiths will therefore be:

The new data standards will form the basis of for all national systems from March 2023, with agencies and constabularies expected to implement the standards on their local systems by the end of 2023.

This is a massive step towards the validation and profile of Paganism as a faith in this country, and will raise awareness of those agencies yet to record or recognise it; it will contribute to additional engagement by agencies who will now be obliged to recognise and accommodate Paganism in their daily business, and will contribute to the removal of the stigma that still permeates Paganism.

The Police Pagan Association is proud to proud to release our official Census data report for 2021. This document has been independently verified prior to release.

The 6 self-defined religions featured in the 2021 Census data pertaining to Paganism were the same as those featured in the 2011 census, namely Druid, Heathen, Pagan, Shaman, Wicca, and Witchcraft.

As with the 2011 census date, the Police Pagan Association did not include data pertaining to New Age, Pantheism or Occult.

PAGANISM HAS INCREASED FROM 76,459 IN 2021 TO 102,690 IN 2021, AN INCREASE OF 26,231 (34%).

Paganism is the second fastest growing religion (relative to size), only behind Islam (42%)

Therefore, Paganism now represents 0.15% of the total population of England and Wales, and 0.17% of total respondents to the 2021 census.

Druidry was the biggest loss at -1,699 (a 40.5% decrease), whilst Heathenry increased by 2,761 (a 141% increase) and Shamanism increased by 7,240 (an increase of 1114%).

Please email the PPA at Chair@PolicePaganAssociation.org to request a copy of our Census data report.