Paganistan

Paganistan is the generally accepted Pagan name for the Minnesota Twin Cities, which means 'The place where the Pagans live." The term was coined by linguist Steven Posch in 1989. Paganistan has one of the largest and most diverse Pagan populations in the United States.
History of Paganistan
In 1961, Llewellyn Worldwide, a new age publishing company which has grown into one of the largest Pagan-oriented businesses, moved to Saint Paul. In 1971, Llewellyn hosted the "First American Aquarian Festival of Astrology and the Occult Sciences" which went on to be known as Gnosticon. Llewellyn's publications and Gnosticon drew more attention to Witchcraft, contemporary Paganism, and their connection to the Twin Cities. This led to the creation of the American Council of Witches
In 1979, Evenstar Books opened. This metaphysical shop became a center of Pagan activities for almost 30 years, and is the direct predecessor of the Sacred Paths Center.
In 1995, The first Coffee Cauldron was held. This was a monthly gathering of Pagans which has become semi-monthly, and extremely popular. It now stands as the longest running regular gathering in Paganistan.
The New Alexandria Library opened in 2000 as a subscription library. It was a subsidiary of the Wiccan Church of Minnesota. Its stated purpose was "to create an archive that preserves our Pagan history, culture, and heritage, to ensure community access to hard-to-find and out-of-print materials, to provide access to a wide range of information and training materials, and to serve as a center of studies and research for scholars of Neo-Paganism." The library quickly became a center for Paganistani activity. For financial reasons, the library closed its doors in July 2004
The Paganistani Community
Generally regarded as having the second largest Pagan population in America after San Francisco, Paganistan can claim many significant community aspects.

Paganistan is the subject of a scholarly work by Doctor of Anthropology Murphy Pizza. The Sacred Paths Center, opened March 13, 2009, is the only full-time non-profit Pagan community center in the United States. Paganistan Weekly is a newsletter filled with information about this community which has been published since March 9, 2009 by JRob Zetelumen. The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance adopted a stretch of Highway in 2008, and Pagan volunteers keep it clean. The first bureau for the Pagan Newswire Collective was formed in Paganistan.

In the Heart of the Beast May Day celebration is held every year since 1975 on the Sunday nearest to Mayday. Although the celebration is not officially Pagan, the Pagan themes of the celebration are undeniable.
Paganistan is home to five metaphysical shops. Magus Books and Herbs opened in 1992 and is recognized throughout the nation as a significant occult book seller. The Eye of Horus opened in 2003, and hosts one of the top metaphysical on-line stores. The Sacred Paths Center gift shop gained its initial stock of merchandise from the closing of Evenstar which had opened in 1979. Keys of Paradise celebrated its grand opening in 2011 after its founding as an online retailer and natural products manufacturer in early 2009.
Local Elder Ken Ra suffered a kidney failure. The Paganistan community held a fund raiser to help him through a difficult time. A local Pagan stepped up to donate a kidney.
Active Paganistani Groups
One of the innovative aspects of Paganistan is the high occurrence of poly-affiliation. It is not uncommon for local Pagans to be actively involved in two or more groups.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Here are some of the more prominent groups currently active in Paganistan, organized chronologically. This is not a comprehensive list of covens or other pagan bodies of worship in the area.

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