UNDER A PAGAN SKY

Increasing numbers of Australians are drifting away from the big, monotheistic religions in search of their own sources of spirituality. In the 2016 census, 27,206 Australians identified as Pagan and the religion is growing exponentially here as a cultural experience, evidenced by Dark Mofo and the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival.

In a time when Western culture has lost its sense of transcendence, dramatic rituals celebrating the turning of the seasons, and the mysteries of sex, death and human existence, provide deeply meaningful experiences to Pagans.

But there are many challenges inherent in practising this nature-based religion south of the equator.