If you are concerned about the racist Asatru material sent by the Appalachian Pagan Ministry to prison residents, please read here.
Are you a:
Chaplain; Volunteer Coordinator; Deputy Director of Programming; Loved One of an Incarcerated Pagan; Inclusive Pagan Prison Ministry Volunteer; Books-to-prisoners Organization; Generous Author, Teacher or Publisher with Book or DVD Donations; Possible Volunteer; or Potential Financial or Material Goods Supporter with QUESTIONS? Do you need a Pagan vendor that other DOC and BOP facilities use now that Azure Green is not available? We are who found and helped the ones now working with prisons. Please Contact Us!
Person Desiring to Buy Steel Bars Sacred Waters: Celtic Paganism for Prisoners? Please Contact Us!
What is the Pagan Prison Resource Center and what has it accomplished?
The Pagan Prisoner Resource Center’s mission statement is to connect prison residents with accurate, inclusive Pagan resources. We are a very successful national umbrella organization that partners with a wide variety of organizations to meet our goal. Our creative flexibility allows us to function in several ways to bring high quality free Pagan materials to incarcerated Pagans and the staff who serve them.
Pagan Prison Resource Center’s director Heather Awen has made history by working to obtain over one thousand free Pagan books, two thousand DVDs, over one thousand large booklets, plus magazines, MP3, ADA CDs & handouts for prison Chaplains & Volunteer Coordinators. She has been the creator or co-creator for the materials used by many large Pagan Prison Ministries and the mentor or advisor for new or expanding organizations. The exchange works in the other direction: Free materials for Pagans by various inclusive Pagan organizations that prison Chaplains and residents did not know existed are announced to every state’s Chief Chaplain (or persons in a similar position) several times and are updated in the free Pagan Prison Resource List. Sadly, many states ignore resources that are not conservative Christian, which is why partnerships are so valuable. Working with books-to-prisoners organizations, Heather reaches thousands of Pagans in prison with inclusive and high quality religious books or pages of Pagan education at no cost to the resident. Each donated book is typically read by 7 residents. When the Pagan residents organize a Group, the book or a meditation by Heather may reach 25 people. Her ability to partner with very different organizations and individuals (to whom she is incredibly, deeply grateful) and her work experience in education, international journalism, literacy, mental health, and homelessness, plus her magna cum laude University degree and specialist training that included counseling, fundraising, and non-profit management makes her the first and best contact a Chaplain needs. She knows what’s available from where and if they have ties to known hate groups promoting racism, homophobia, and antisemitism. Her in depth education in several Pagan religions is why she’s the “Pagan expert” for so many facilities who recognize more Pagan diversity than just Wiccan or Heathen, such as Yoruban Ifa, Thelema, or Feri Tradition Witchcraft. Although she has limited her Pagan Advisor role to 11 state DOCs, she still assists the few progressive Chaplains in prejudiced states, Chaplains in Canada, Chaplains in the FBOP and Chaplains at State Mental Health Hospitals. She enjoys emailing with staff about any questions they have (it’s a steep learning curve!) and at the request of the Chief Chaplain of NJ DOC made a guide to Paganism and a dozen of the most common types.
Heather calls herself an Actionist and Solutionary who enjoys creative problem solving.
She’s able to accomplish the most with cooperative DOCs or those rare “oasis” Chaplains in prejudiced states who have truly wanted to serve their Pagan community but had no idea how to find a Pagan, much less one who knows so many religions as a member who loves researching and writing, including the the African Diaspora Religions. Raised Hindu, she can help with some of the basics of Eastern religions, although each has their own versions of “denominations” and she’s clear about what she doesn’t know. A lot of Wicca has Gardner’s and Theosophy’s Colonial cultural misappropriation from Hinduism such as chakras and karma taken out of context and arrogantly changed, which Heather believes is important for Wiccans to know. (Everyone should know about the wrongs committed in their own religion before pointing the wrongs done by others.) Learning about a facility’s regulations helps Heather also find other materials a modern interfaith Chaplain may need on Buddhism, Hinduism, liberal Christianity, and general spirituality often about addiction and trauma recovery. Chaplains come to her for information on snail mail classes for a Buddhist resident or yoga books for everyone interested.
Heather teaches that it’s very easy to make positive changes in the real world while most people live online. She makes earrings for women in North Carolina and Minnesota Reentry programs, blessed with the inner peace and strength to trust that they are going to make good choices.
We have worked with 49 states’ Departments of Corrections, the Federal BOP, Mental Hospitals, Canadian prisons, and Immigration Detention Centers in different ways that meet the needs of both Pagans and the regulations of the facility. The many free resources we’ve been able to bring to prisons include: books; magazine subscriptions; DVDs; newsletters; handout PDFs; MP3s of religious ritual music, meditations and American with Disabilities Act educational material for low literate and vision impaired Pagans; a large assortment of materials for tablets; and our Pagan Prisoner Resource List. Director Heather Awen regularly answers questions on all Pagan topics for many DOC main offices and dozens of front line facility Chaplains and Volunteer Coordinators, as their “Pagan expert” Advisor who has earned their trust. Creating and locating teachings on theology, prison-approved religious practices, and what living Pagan values means are ways we serve this holy planet, our deities, divinities, ancestors of blood and spirit – and of course the incarcerated Pagans and their loved ones who have been abandoned by most of the (Pagan) community.
The Pagan Prison Resource Center finds hope in Restorative Justice and Transformative justice. We do not support any Folkish “reconstructed” “pure” culture’s pre-Christian religion or “white people only” / neo-Nazi Odinism/Wotanism. There is not even a genetic mark for the proto-Germanic Indo-European peoples of the Bronze Age! Unlike other Indo-European language groups, they had merged with so many Neolithic European, proto-Saami, proto-Finnish, and proto-Celtic peoples they had an incredibly diverse culture. The language and culture was always changing due to the openness to other cultures joining their own. Folkish Asatru and Wotanism have a racist, homophobic and often violent modern political agenda. They have either not studied or ignored modern academic research proving that “the Lore” of the Sagas and Prose Edda they treat almost like the Bible is actually based in medieval ANTI-PAGAN, anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim Christian myths terrorizing Europe. With a heavily Christian shaped pantheon and cosmology, fear of peaceful cultural and genetic exchange with new people, Wiccan Sabbats for Holy Tides, and “rituals” that in no way reflect the religious ceremonies in Temples, these modern hate groups’ practices and beliefs are ones no Viking Era or Germanic Migration Era Heathens would recognize. Worldwide, in polytheist cultures deities and practices were traditionally adopted from other Pagan communities. Polytheists typically lived in peace in very diverse, multicultural communities with many pantheons without jealous hoarding of deities. This was true for Germanic speaking peoples who show signs of a xenophilia society, not xenophobic. Ergi, passive homosexual, was a Christian insult that the writers of “the Lore” called the still Heathen men with a Saami mother or Grandfather. Saami shamans wore Norse women’s jewellery in a different cultural context and probably robes. The warrior cultures that greatly influenced the Germanic peoples were all openly accepting of bisexuality and homosexuality, and there’s no reason to believe that this aspect of Celtic life would not return to Scandinavia like the rest. There is an Old Norse term for Norse Christian people with darker skin and a different insulting one used to describe the Saami, people who still worshipped Thor into the 18th century. During the Crusades, Norse Christian writers described Muslims, whom they had never seen, as the antiChrist, and based much of their depiction on Saami.. These are all prejudices of medieval Christians about anyone not Christian, not Norse Heathens. Only the deities know the people They have called in this quickly changing world. Where you fit into a race riot in prison does not determine your religion.
We believe that by cooperating with Pagan Prison Ministries, Chief Chaplains, Deputy Directors of Programming, Pagan authors and publishers, friends and family members of incarcerated Pagans, books-to-prisoners organizations, Volunteer Coordinators, Chaplains, and Pagan vendors it is possible to achieve far more than anyone thought possible.
And we are right. In just over two years, with almost no funding, we have (this list is several pages long, so you might want to save time, trust that we help, and Contact Us):
- Formed relationships with the Chief Chaplains or Deputy Director of Programming in 49 states’ Department of Corrections (unless the position is currently vacant, in which case we work directly with the Chaplains or Volunteer Coordinators most committed to Interfaith Ministry). States include: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. We have letters of recommendation or gratitude from DOCs which we treasure.
- Created the 10 page Chaplain’s Guide to Paganism, including specific information on: different Wiccan Traditions; Asatru/ Heathenry; Druidry; African Diaspora Religions; types of Witches; different polytheist Reconstructionist religions; Luciferians.
- Made the Prison Chaplain’s Resource List for All Religions, which is the most comprehensive list of free religious materials for prison staff about Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Native Americans, Pagans, and General Spirituality. (We actively seek to help all people in prison find the resources that will help them in painful situations and when reentering society.)
- Asked for and received free Pagan books for all Arkansas DOC prisons and New Hampshire Women’s Prison from Vermont publisher Inner Traditions. Arkansas facilities also have free Pagan DVDs for the closed circuit TV and really motivated Chaplains. Often a DOC doesn’t know how to find an educated Pagan to trust with questions about different religions, so they don’t know what they are supposed to allow. Arkansas DOC proves that if Pagans reach out and learn the rules, Chaplains will often make positive changes for incarcerated Pagans because they feel confident doing so.
- Writes the pan-Pagan 2 page newsletter on theology and practice for Oregon DOC and other facilities.
- Coordinates free copies of the astrological day planner We’Moon with its beautiful collection of Goddess spirituality art and over 30 articles for Pagans to Chapel libraries and individual women in prison, including transwomen.
- Answered LOTS of Chaplain or Volunteer Coordinator’s fascinating questions and made materials they requested. We love hearing from them! Please, if you are prison staff and have questions, Contact Us. That’s why we’re here! (For example, the Chaplain’s Guide to Paganism was something the Chief Chaplain of New Jersey wanted.) We can assist the amazing religious diversity in prisons because our community is so diverse, yet united in the values of respect, transformitive and restorative justice, diversity as strength, and honesty, with several having experience as Pagan prison volunteers, paid Prison Pagan clergy, former inmates, whose long term faiths include and earned titles come from: Wicca, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, The Troth Heathenry/Asatru, ADF Druidry, Haitian Vodou, Northern Tradition Paganism, Reclaiming Tradition Witchcraft, Afro-Caribbean and Brazilian Orisha Ifa Religions, OBOD Druidry, Celtic Reconstructionism, Vanatru, eclectic Witches, astrologers, Tarot teachers, Canadian paid Pagan Prison Chaplains, and Unitarian Universalist CUUPS members.
- “Translated” Pagan rituals and practices to prison reality. If there’s a way to practice a Pagan religion in prison – we will find or invent it. Creative problem solving is one of our greatest strengths. 1/3 of the Board members spent at least 14 years in prisons. One founded their own decade old Pagan Prison Ministry and still teaches Pagans in prisons. We’re close with other Pagans who volunteer in prison, or are the rare couple of paid as Pagan DOC clergy, people who completed Wiccan Seminary course in Prison Ministry, attended UU Seminary, or are on a DOC’s Religious Practices Committee. Unlike some Pagans who claim to want to help, we actually know what’s typically allowed and are touch with the needs of incarcerated Pagans. We are available as free consultants for people making materials for prison residents. (Imagine being a Pagan with no Internet access, libraries, teachers, outdoor green space, or tools, just a cell mate in a tiny room with tap water, bit of paper and pencil, no idea where to buy books due to paper catalogues no longer being available, and no supportive family and the Chaplain or Volunteer Coordinator knows nothing about, maybe even fears or ridicules, your religion. That’s the reality.)
- Assisted in finding programs that teach visual arts & writing to incarcerated women and women who have been in prison for the 2025 We’Moon day planner.
- Partner with the generous small publisher Asphodel Press (which has the only Pagans in Prison book series) to organize their massive donation of hundreds of books to prison Chapel libraries.
- Assisted DOCs with projects, such as the Wiccan Sabbat menu at Connecticut DOC, Pagan newsletters for Pennsylvania and Oregon DOC and finding qualified cyber volunteers for Oregon DOC.
- Created 2 page solitary rituals tailored to prison conditions and rules for the 8 Wiccan Sabbats, 8 Heathen (Asatru) Holy Tides, and 3 (so far) Orisha Religion (Santeria/ Yoruban Ifa/ Lucumi) Feast Days. A Volunteer Coordinator asked for these and they’re very popular during the pandemic.
- Create the scripted Wiccan Sabbat rituals for Oregon DOC.
- Found a wonderful Unitarian Universalist Church in Victoria TX and coordinated their outstanding donation of 50 used books and more religious items to TDCJ Texas Region V.
- Written or located many 1-6 page PDFs on various Pagan religions or topics specific to prisons. Some Chaplains/Volunteer Coordinators have the funding/ priority to print the ones that meet the needs of the Pagans there and collect them in a folder or binder which is signed out to Pagans or available when Pagans meet. (It is rather rare for Pagans to meet for study and ritual without a Volunteer especially with the shortage of guards, so if you are Pagan, please volunteer or apply to be on your state’s Religious Practices Committee! Wonder how? Contact Us!)
- Submitted several essays to and provided hundreds of pages of research support for the upcoming book Kemetic Paganism for Prisoners. (Kemetic Pagans are needed to submit essays, invocations, myths, easy rituals, art, etc. Please Contact Us.)
- Coordinate the ordering of all available free, inclusive Pagan DVDs (mostly produced by Pagan Prison Ministries) for Chaplains and Volunteer Coordinators so they don’t need to make several emails. (If you are a Pagan who has made videos or would like to create ones for prisons, please Contact Us. If you have copies of Pagan DVDs or CDs to donate to prisons, again, please Contact Us.)
- Located two years worth of high quality videos on Pagan topics for TDCJ (Texas state). TDCJ burns 100 DVDs and sends one to every facility. The bimonthly one hour video is the only information about Paganism TDCJ residents typically receive. Our choices in videos is their religious education, which we take very seriously. PhDs lecturing on Norse mythology, Witches explaining Chaos Magick, Wiccans going deeper into the ethics of the Rede, Santeras making an altar for the Warriors, animists teaching their theology – we strive to introduce them to new concepts and bring them into this century.
- Organized the free Pagan DVDs to Virginia prisons’ closed circuit tv.
- Discovered great Jewish videos by a wonderful Rabbi who is also a prison Chaplain! Many DOCs were very happy about this.
- Requested videos by authors published by Moon Books. Moon Books was outstanding! After their authors recorded videos, Moon Books edited and emailed the videos to us. We distribute them to over 100 Chaplancies and Chaplains/Volunteer Coordinators who burn DVDs for their facility. Authors have included such famous names as Morgan Daimler and Irisanya Moon, with subjects ranging from Conjure to animism. The videos may be free on prison tablets.
- Partnered with ADF Druidry Prison Ministry to bring hundreds of prisons their free 14 DVDs on polytheist theology and cosmology (often important to Heathens). The DVDs are played in all 100 TDCJ Texas prisons, every facility in Arkansas, Michigan, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Louisiana, as well as dozens of prisons in Massachusetts, Florida, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, Montana, Illinois, Indiana, and more
- Provided practical knowledge of prison conditions for Alessandro Gagliardi’s excellent Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn video series. Dozens of facilities have the free DVDs and they are free for prison tablets, introducing the basics of Ceremonial Magick like the most common High Magick ritual and the connection between Tarot and Qaballah. Neo-Paganism directly descends from the Golden Dawn, especially Thelema and Wicca.
- Encouraged Wiccan High Priestess Lady CrowMoon to make her video series on Wicca. According to her, Crow Gleann Wiccan Services would never have been able to reach a large population without the Pagan Prison Resource Center. (We do not recommend her writing for a variety of reasons.)
- Requested the wonderful MP3s of Reclaiming’s first CD “Chants” which we were thrilled to receive. Now incarcerated Pagans can finally learn some commonly used ritual songs. They may be downloaded onto prison residents’ tablets for free or burned to CD. We also have free CDs of the music! (If you have used Pagan CDs or original music for Pagans to donate? Please Contact Us.)
- Shared the beautiful prayers written by Diana Paxson and devotional songs written and sung by Freyja Priestess Ember Cooke which a Chaplain thanked us for because it was the first Heathen music that they had which was not “lynch mob heavy metal”. We also have free CDs of the music!
- Recorded MP3s of traditional mental training, energy work exercises, and guided visualization meditations, which are perhaps the most practical way for incarcerated Pagans to practice their religions. Maine DOC already burned them to CDs. The MP3s are free for prison staff to put on prison residents’ tablets or CDs.
- Began recording MP3 materials for low literate or vision impaired Pagans. They are free for DOCs and Chaplains to put on prison residents’ tablets or CDs. We are responsible for providing the precedent so Pagans may have the Americans with Disabilities Act reasonable accommodation. (Want to help? Contact Us!)
- Made the book by PPRC founder, director, and only full time volunteer Heather Awen, Steel Bars Sacred Waters: Celtic Paganism for Prisoners, available for free on every prison resident’s tablet in Montana, Indiana, and soon Ohio and Arizona, with other DOCs plannimg to do the same when various red tape and tablet company negotiations are completed.
- Worked so other books are also available for free on a growing number of prison residents’ tablets, such as those graciously donated by Asphodel Press, and authors Sallie Ann Glassman, Nimue Brown, and Bob Trubshaw, as well as booklets by The Troth, The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids, ADF Druidry, and us, PPRC. (If you are the author of a high quality Pagan book of which you own the rights and would like to donate the PDF to prison tablets, please Contact Us.)
- Created the Pagan Care Package, 7 pages of religious art and prayers from many cultures over the last 2500 years, specifically for incarcerated Pagans in Hospice, quarantine, psychiatric facilities, etc. The 6 page Pagan Coloring Art is for stress relief and mindfulness. Coloring books are often used in psych wards because it keeps people from dwelling on the past (depression) and obsessing over What If? (anxiety) We have Interfaith mandalas to color as well, but the Pagan Care Package including art is for Pagans in crisis who don’t have clergy available.
It was kindly accepted by a Chaplain at a New York State Mental Hospital we have assisted in the past. We also provided materials to TDCJ Mental Health Workers. The Pagan Care Package is especially for prison Mental Health Workers and hospital and psychiatric facility Chaplains. - Informed DOCs in September 2021 that the main (perhaps only) vendor for Pagans in prison, Azure Green, would no longer be available after January 1, 2022. We told them of the only two companies we assisted that have paper prison catalogues, one of which, Hermits’ Cupboard, designed their 300+ items catalog using several states’ Approved Religious Items List. Without this information, there would be no Pagan vendor for prisons. We helped connect them to Orisha Religions’ bulk vendors so they can sell African Diaspora Religions’ FBOP items. We also helped with the new 2023 catalog books.
- Explained a huge problem to the other vendor, the Magical Druid, which is graciously willing to special order books requested by incarcerated Pagans. With publishers rarely making paper catalogues this is one of the few ways a Pagan in prison can buy books. Also provided them with a list of books most requested by Pagans in prison, especially the most current titles so Pagans in prison are studying what most Pagans know now.
- Mentored Wiccan High Priestess Lady SylphMoon of My Crossroads Ministry when other Pagan Ministries ignored her. Lady SylphMoon has now completed a Wiccan Seminary course in prison ministry and answers letters from referred incarcerated Wiccans.
- Donated free PDFs of Steel Bars Sacred Waters and dozens of other PDFs on different types of Paganism to every Pagan Prison Ministry that contacted us or we contacted. Only one exchanged any of their materials or books in exchange. We work to end the hoarding of knowledge that forces each new Pagan Prison Ministries to reinvent the wheel, crash, and burn out. This only harms Pagans in prison.
- Distributed the 1-4 page handouts and Wicca Behind Bars by Mother Earth Ministries ATC to every DOC which we assist. We do the same with 9 brochure series by The Troth and Dianna Paxson’s wonderful Working Within guide to Heathenry in prison. We know that Chaplains and Volunteer Coordinators do not have time to email organizations or download PDFs off websites. In this way, Mother Earth Ministries ATC and The Troth reach hundreds of facilities they would not have.
- Distributed the Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, and Nevada forms for donations to organizations that have free DVDs and books available.
- Emailed the Colorado DOC form required if an organization wants to have their classes approved. Had listed to OBOD Druidry, the organization that offers a fantastic free course.
- Ordered over one hundred of copies for prison Chaplains and residents of the free OBOD Druidry booklets Beyond the Ninth Wave and explained how to register prison residents to 48 DOCs, the BOP, and over 200 Chaplains. In facilities where the Chaplains won’t help Pagans, we register Pagans who contact us. (Loved ones can register people in prison, too! https://form.jotform.com/obodoffice/beyond-the-ninth-wave)
- Donated approximately 100 print copies of Steel Bars Sacred Waters: Celtic Paganism for Prisoners to prisons or books-to-prisoners organizations.
- Sold Steel Bars Sacred Waters to dozens of incarcerated Pagans for the price it costs to make and mail. We cannot in good conscience make money off of people in prison. Asphodel Press also does not make money off incarcerated Pagans, unlike most other publishers.
- Identified, in the hundreds of letters we’ve received from Pagans prison residents, the need for two specific essays or booklets: 1) Support for transgender Pagans in prison, especially femme identified, and 2) How to be Wiccan in an all male, mostly heterosexual Circle. The second one was hardest. Two Wiccan High Priestesses who are prison volunteers said that no male Wiccans they knew would say all male Wicca can exist, except it does – in prison! Emails to male Wiccan authors who publicly state that they are active progressives or radicals involved in serving their community received no response. (To be fair, it is rare for any Pagan to reply to our request to help incarcerated Pagans.)
Out of all our combined Pagan contacts only one person responded: Raven Kaldera. Asphodel Press had already published a book on Wicca focusing on polarities aside from male and female, Casting a Queer Circle: Non-Binary Witchcraft by Thista Minai. Thista Minai generously donated an important chapter from their book, while another Traditional Wiccan, Kane Rhodes, also in a coven of people who didn’t all fit into the limiting categories of “boy or girl” offered more useful information. Wicca focuses so intensely on tools that can easily be used as weapons and DIY prison crafts are contraband, so tools have been a problem for many years. Heather Awen asked if Asphodel Press had advice on paper tools that can be stored in a large envelope. A huge breakthrough in Prison Wiccan tools was made by Raven Kaldera. A photograph of a proper, usually prison-approved Wiccan altar is included in their much needed, exceptional booklet Wicca Beyond the Binary: Coven Resources for Incarcerated Wiccans. - Using parts of his own book for transgender people, Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook, Raven Kaldera created the prison-friendly little book Contemplating Gods in the Walls: Pagan Resources for Incarcerated Transwomen. The first free copy was sent to an openly bisexual transwoman who for years has refused any gang affiliation, leaving her very vulnerable. For her safety she was in solitary confinement for the sixth time in TDCJ. Inside Books Project sent her a free Chapter of Heather Awen’s Steel Bars Sacred Waters. She wrote to Heather Awen on small pieces of paper, unable to afford anything else. Transwomen have the highest rape rates and are arrested in higher numbers than other people. This vulnerable population is misgendered by almost every prison employee with whom we’ve spoken or emailed. If you want this supportive, one of a kind book to be available to more imprisoned transwomen who often serve as the High Priestess in prison, please donate to Asphodel Press. They have a prison books fundraiser on their website.
- Connected Pagan addicts in prison with a Pagan 12 step sponsor on the outside as pen pal support.
- Made it possible for many generously donated copies of Sacred Gifts: Reciprocity and the Gods donated by its author (former ADF Druidry ArchDruid, head of ADF’s prison ministry, WA DOC and OR DOC volunteer, and WA DOC Religious Practices Committee member) Rev Kirk Thomas and several copies of Haitian trained manbo, former high ranking member of the OTO, New Orleans media dubbed “Voodoo Queen”, and committed social justice and environmental actionist Sallie Ann Glassman‘s Vodou Visions: An Encounter with Divine Mystery to actually get into prison libraries.
- Unfortunately, in the past, many Chaplains would deny Pagan book and DVD donations that arrived with a letter stating it was a donation. Perhaps because of prejudice against Vodou, Ms Glassman was unable to donate her book. Asphodel Press could not find a way to notify Pagans in prison that their book existed. When incarcerated ADF Druidry members had the free 14 DVDs sent to their Chaplain, very few ever had an opportunity to watch them. Yet, when the Pagan Prison Resource Center says these same materials are available for free, prisons want them. For example, now those ADF Druidry videos are incredibly popular and shown in at least 200 prisons because we made the introduction. We have worked ceaselessly to earn the trust of Chaplains and DOC officials with our high standards about materials and focus on ethics and theology. Now when we recommend free books and DVDs to Chaplains and Volunteer Coordinators, these materials are often available in prison libraries and on closed circuit tv.
- Of course, there are many hundreds of Chaplains and Volunteer Coordinators that never respond to their Chief Chaplain’s or DOC’s news that there are any free resources for Pagans. Some Chaplains still won’t provide anything for Pagans. There are about 3,000 prisons in the US and we’ve only found a few hundred Chaplains or Volunteer Coordinators who will assist Pagan prisoners in any way. We won’t pretend that this has been easy.
- Then how do we reach the approximately 40,000 registered Pagans in prison?
At first desperate to find a way to let incarcerated Pagans know about her very complete 2.8 lb book and other important resources, Heather Awen created the Pagan Prisoner Resource List. The List is the only way for incarcerated Pagans to learn about free classes, discount classes, books specifically for Pagans prisoners that are usually sold at wholesale prices, and more.
To find the first Pagans, Ms Awen searched prison pen pal websites. The Pagan Prison Resource Center still returns to this method of reaching Pagans, especially those in states where the Chaplains or Volunteer Coordinators are not active in Interfaith Ministry. Now we often include a letter for the Chaplain or Volunteer Coordinator explaining that we already have a relationship with the Chief Chaplain or Deputy Director of Programming and there are free DVDs and more available. Sometimes the names of a few other Chaplains or Volunteer Coordinators are included for references.
Once the List is in a facility, our address is passed along. A few more Pagans write for the Pagan Prisoner Resource List, often with questions or gratitude. When a Pagan is transferred to another facility, the List goes with them. We get more letters and answer simple questions, recommend books (with the publisher’s address), and activities like meditation and writing invocations.
Sometimes Pagans in prison are very upset with their Chaplain and we can help improve the situation by explaining how incredibly understaffed prisons are, especially in to the pandemic. No one can supervise rituals, study groups, or viewing DVDs. Losing 1/3 of the guards in the past year is not common. The Chaplain sometimes truly doesn’t have any money for ink and can not print a 4 page handout. American people tend to vote “tough on crime” due to fear mongering politicians even though the crime rate has been declining for over 30 years. But it is rare for voters to choose to fund even the basic upkeep of prisons, such a kitchens that pass health inspections. Punitive justice does not work, as 50% of people released are woefully unprepared to return to society, often with PTSD and a harder than ever time getting a job that will cover rent in any place than an addict flop house, return to prison the first year. 50% of people sent to prison, according to NAMI, have a mental illness. Many self medicate, which is the most common reason why someone is in prison – having enough drugs to use, not to sell. Drug dealers rarely go to prison compared to users. Prisons typically don’t offer therapy and getting appointments to have psych meds monitored due to hallucinations can take 2 weeks – if the guards believe you. Many people in prison go without all types of medication without warning for weeks because the staff never had time to have a doctor write a new prescription. Adding PTSD and teaching no skills to manage mental health problems in a violent place where suicide and homicide are not rare obviously is not working to rehabilitate anyone. - As prison is filled with fear and ambiguity, sometimes the best way we can help Pagans there is to provide facts we have been given. If a DOC truly wants to provide more to Pagans but is held back because of partial lockdowns due COVID, has far less staff, or must wait to negotiate for better tablets, we tell the Pagan. For example, the huge prison industry company Securus/Jpay is really “Upay” and made it very difficult for prisons to add any free content until recently. GLT has no fees and it is much easier for prison staff to upload PDFs, MP4s and MP3s to their tablets with varying degrees of success – when they have time. Time is almost as difficult to find as money for prison Chaplains and Volunteer Coordinators due to the insane amount of work given to them. If a state has certain Chaplains well known for ignoring all free Pagan materials and treating Pagans (often including us) disrespectfully, we let the Pagans know that people know and are still trying to help. We give advice for self study and practice and validate that other facilities in the state have Chaplains who understand that the job is not to convert people but interfaith ministry. We realistic provide hope, such as the Chief Chaplain providing training on different religions including Paganism or that 2 Chaplains from the military, already knowledgeable on Wicca and Asatru were hired. Change is very slow in prison but we’ve seen huge some changes in 3 years. We may be the only Pagans these Chaplains have knowingly met. Sometimes it takes over a year of concentrated effort to get a skeptical Chaplain to believe that we really do want to help – and know how. Sometimes they are thrilled to finally have a Pagan expert to advise them. Our honesty can help Pagans in prison to feel more confident that they know what is happening. Prison staff usually realize that we, as one Pennsylvania DOC Chaplain put it, “help us do our jobs” .
- The pandemic isn’t going anywhere and prison residents are often among the last to be vaccinated. In one state, 1 in 5 people in prison tested positive for COVID. Prison is not supposed to be a death sentence. Prison residents spend all day and night in a windowless 5 by 8 foot cell with a cell mate who may be dangerous for months on end to prevent the spread of COVID. To handle the stress, prison residents desperately need to be busy. If they knew about the remarkable OBOD Druidry course Beyond the Ninth Wave with its 124 pages of free booklets, the free yoga book, the free meditation instructions, free classes on art, free book on creative writing,etc, they could spend the time applying the skills to stress management and their spiritual path so it has a more profound impact. Pagans need our Resource List more ever.
- We partnered with seven books-to-prisoners organizations who now send the Resource List to prison residents requesting used free Pagan books. (The demand is great, but Pagans are not donating their books. Please Contact Us or check out our list of books-to-prisoners organizations to learn how you can donate your unwanted Pagan, occult, New Age, Buddhist, Hindu, yoga, divination, etc books to these organizations or sometimes directly to prison libraries. There are a lot of types of paperbacks that these organizations need. One book in prison is usually read by seven people! This really helps low literate people gain greater reading skills.
- Donating books a great project for a circle, coven, grove, or kindred! You can make it a sacrifice to a deity or a way to show that Pagans care about the community. If there’s one thing Pagans on the inside want, it’s to belong to their greater community, and this is where we Pagans fall short compared to other religions. We have gained a lot from our religion; let us give back to our religion. If we love and appreciate it, let’s share it – and not for money, but because we know what it is like to not have our religion and we wouldn’t want anyone else to suffer the ways we did. Are our Pagan ethics and values capable of promoting positive changes in people? Do our experiences of the Divine support us in times of great danger, grief, loneliness, and despair? Are our practices foundations for inner growth? If so, please join us in sharing them because we are blessed with so much information and those in prison are not.
- Some organizations will mail our short handouts to Pagans. Prisoner Literature Project surprised us with the book Resources Behind Bars, a 134 page collection of excellent choices from all our material, with information on Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry, African Diaspora Religions, and Celtic Paganism for incarcerated Pagans who write them for a free Pagan book! It is especially excellent for people in solitary confinement or pandemic circumstances, with a strong focus on not only the accurate basics on how to practice the religions, but essays on deeper topics such as race, the environment, living your values, and how to bring the best of ancient tribal religions to modern global problems. The reader can start basic meditations, learning ritual structure, understanding new theologies and cosmologies, and build a devotional practice, while being challenged to change behavior to match beliefs. Information we can’t afford to print and mail is now available from this national (aside from Texas) books-to-prisoners organization. (Please donate to them to support this project!)
- Heather Awen and Asphodel Press donated paper copies of books to the Texas books-to-prisoners organization Inside Books, who then asked if they could print chapters of Steel Bars Sacred Waters: Celtic Paganism for Prisoners, Raven Kaldera’s Candles in the Cave: Northern Tradition Paganism for Prisoners and Contemplating Gods in the Walls, and some handouts for residents of Texas prisons requesting Pagan books. Again, information we can’t afford to print and mail is reaching Pagans in prison! (Please, Pagans, donate your used books!)
- A couple years ago, Heather Awen received permission for Prison Books Collective Publishing and Distribution to add Wicca Behind Bars from Mother Earth Ministry to their NC & GA catalogue of free zines for prison residents. Yet, again, our allies are paying to get excellent Pagan materials to incarcerated Pagans. (If you don’t have books to donate, please help fund us, Pagan Prison Ministries, or these books-to-prisoners organizations.)
- The Pagan Prison Resource Center provides materials to friends and family members who contact us for their loved one in prison. We format our handouts with narrow margins and line spacing to save paper and shipping costs, because Heather Awen used to send materials to her best friend, who after 24 horrible years in prison has been out for 19 months. He says that if she hadn’t taught him mindfulless meditation, devotional polytheist daily practice, value based living, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy it would have been an even more overwhelming transition. We understand the stress of having a loved one in prison or being in prison. The financial cost of supporting someone in prison is very high; the psychological cost is higher. We can send 1-4 page handouts on mental illnesses and other issues especially ways of keeping safe.
These wives, mothers, sisters, and best friends are responsible for getting Pagan materials into prisons where there was none, not even the Pagan Prisoner Resource List. We are very grateful to them and wish them many blessings. They’re doing time, too, and we hope that you will treat the families of people in prison with generous hospitality. - 1 in 28 American children has a parent in prison and is at higher risks for poverty, hunger, certain diseases, addiction, depression and anxiety, and a host of other societal ills. 1 in 110 Americans are in prison, which is more than any other nation. 10% do not belong to an Abrahamic religion and really need good religious materials to educate them. Please donate high quality inclusive Universalist Pagan DVDs, CDs, MP4s, MP3 lessons or original music, PDFs of books, Amazon Gift Cards (office supplies and Steel Bars Sacred Waters), money (printing the List and handouts), stamps, etc to us or used books to books-to-prisoners organizations!
- In our work we’ve learned that it’s actually not that difficult to have a real impact that helps to change the world. To many, Paganism is a consumerist spell book joke. We are proof that Paganism is a religion. We believe that if Pagans focused on practical ways to live our values, our collective power would directly improve lives, please our deities, and cause what is holy to us to grow.
Nature, the deities, and the holy are everywhere, including our prisons. Please help us reach the people living there before they forget.
Please Donate to the Pagan Prison Resource Center.
If we could accomplish all this without funding, imagine what we could do with your donation of a book of stamps; Amazon gift card; used Pagan paperback books, DVDs, and CDs; credit at our nearest printing and photocopy shop Capitol Copy in Montpelier VT 802-223-0500 (tell Annabel it’s for Heather Awen; they know me well); MP4s and MP3s of high quality, diverse Pagan content of which you own the copyright; PDFs of excellent Pagan books or booklets of which you own the copyright; printing envelopes and stationary (Heather Awen is ink intolerant and cannot have a printer or pens); help burning DVDs or CDs; copy editing skills; printing and mailing the Pagan Prisoner Resource List by your books-to-prisoners organization; printing short or long Pagan handouts for your books-to-prisoners organization; sharing information about us on social media; and perhaps things we have yet to think of!
Amazing Gold Star Donor: Alessandro Gagliardi! ⭐
Ceremonial Magician Extraordinaire, teacher of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, OBOD Druid, Qabalah scholar, Reclaiming Witch & wonderful friend who blessed us with the proceeds of his cyber course!
Amazing Gold Star Donor: Anna Joy! ⭐
One of the miracles of the Trump attitude towards the pandemic is that it forced a lot of sane people to get politically involved for public safety. Anna, “cute gimp” and scholarly polytheist, decided to use her money to help people doing good in the world. We received adorable Halloween stamps, credit for printing, and the unexpected miracle of the money needed for Heather Awen’s oxygen concentrator! Truly a heroine, Anna will always be the person who helped Heather stay alive, far more than her friends and own family (mother excluded). Her voice is on some of the energy meditations we recorded, dramatic and consciousnesses changing, like a clear vision when scrying. Please come back, crip sister!
Amazing Gold Star Volunteer: Rosemary ⭐
The only useful volunteer we’ve had, Rose donated a bunch of newly published and read once books on Witchcraft. Another NeuroDiverse and physically injured person, Rose said she didn’t want to be a “garbage person” and then copy edited and formatted ALL our handouts. When the lab didn’t have Heather’s sodium pills on time and Heather became very ill in new ways unrelated to MCAS and Dysautomonia, Rose explained that sudden lack of any sodium causes hallucinations and then death. Rose saved Heather’s life literally and we all worry about the neurological pain that she was investigating. If she’s well enough, we’d love to hear from her.
We are mostly people with disabilities, which 7 of the 8 people who have donated money or volunteered also are. We are proudly committed to Disability Justice and, to remain sustainable, work at the speed of our bodies.
ALEXANDRA RENA, the Reason This Exists
Alexandra was contacted on Deviant Art about her art being in the book. Incredibly busy as a full time Pagan and fantasy art illustrator, she checked DA a year later. Worried she was too late to be included, instead she took over the entire formatting of the mammoth sized book Steel Bars Sacred Waters: Celtic Paganism for Prisoners. Heather got the unexpected gift of her first female best friend in years. Fiery astrological givers, they nurtured each other in their personal empowerment as Alexandra began to blow minds with her commissions and Heather had her first experience of being in charge of everything in a national organization. Probably the best TAB (temporarily able bodied) in the world when it came to appropriate responses and inquiries about Heather’s battles with Babesia and Lyme Disease from a tick bite that triggered severe Mast Cell Activation Disorder and Dysautomonia which only recently have recent medical breakthroughs helped, without Alexandra’s support and inclusiveness in treating Heather as a valuable person even if she could never leave her room or have guests due to
intense Chemical Intolerance from a long time low level carbon monoxide poisoning from Trinity Church in Saugerties NY that also gave her Priest mother MCAS with Chemical Intolerance
Alexandra has been the emotional glue that held the Pagan Prison Resource Center together for years. Emotional labor is real work and one she enjoys for her large harem of best friends. A new mother now with her wonderful husband, Alexandra spent her last year before pregnancy at many of the Black Lives Matter marches in Houston. From knowing Heather’s struggles with ableism and learning so much about prison, Alexandra, who navigated her own subconscious like quicksilver and was constantly healing, went “rouge” and became super Woke in deeds and kindness, because she’d never be a keyboard troll and call it activism.
These two women changed each other’s lives deeply, profoundly for the better. Their ability to provide the right encouragement to each other for the situation and discuss how the friendship was going for each of them, speaking honestly with love, is the fuel that kept the PPRC going before it even existed.
🕯In all ways, always devoted to Armstrong M. Diaz. 🕯
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