So, I came across a post recently, over on Witches and Pagans, that was seemingly well-intentioned, even if its title was slightly controversial in its seeming sexism. It asked a simple question – Can Pagan women, in good conscience, go to Uluru?

Being Australian, I of course had to go take a look at this piece. I was curious and had a few questions based on the title alone. Was it written by an Aussie? Was it written by a woman? Was it written by an Aboriginal? Was it going to discuss the problems of Pagan men going to Uluru? Among other things. The answers are all the same, No. It was none of those things.

Steven Posch presents us with what seems like a post about respecting another culture. He speaks of Uluru and some of its importance and history to the First Nations of Australia. Accordingly, Aboriginal women are not allowed to go to Uluru, it is a mens only sacred space.

The good part? Steven doesn’t presume to answer for women – he states quite plainly, this is something only Aussie Pagan women can answer. He also states that he personally prefers to abide by the rules of the culture he is in at the moment, so if he is with Native Americans, he follows their rules. That’s great. He also expects that if they come into his space, they should be able to follow his rules – again, that’s fine.

The bad part? He asks only if Pagan women can go to Uluru, in good conscience. He doesn’t speak about Pagan men at all.

You think I am going to cry sexism, don’t you? But I am not actually. I am going to cry Pagan Entitlement.

This is an example of a Pagan who seems to think that just because they follow a religion that is not Abrahamic, then they of course are entitled to the sacred spaces of all peoples, everywhere, that are also not Abrahamic. So, Native American sacred spaces are also Pagan spaces. Uluru, a sacred space for Australian Aboriginals is also a sacred space for Pagans.

Because don’t you know, we are all one and the same, fighting off the evils and indoctrinations of Christianity and its ilk.

You see the answer to Stevens question is very, very simple. No. Pagan women cannot, in good conscience, go to Uluru. But neither can Pagan men.

Uluru is not a Pagan space, it is not sacred to Pagans. I mean, I guess we could say it is sacred to everyone, but it is not Pagan and we have no right there. Uluru is an Aboriginal sacred space, mens only or not, it is Aboriginal. Only. It is sacred to them, and guess what? They don’t want us there! They don’t want us traipsing all over their sacred rock, leaving behind our offerings that do not belong, that only mess the place up. Non-Aboriginals are not welcome there without specific invitation.

Now, if some Aboriginal elders, who have the right to do so, invite a Pagan to go to Uluru then yes they can, male or female, go there in good conscience. But if you are not invited, and you go there – force your way there against their clearly stated wishes, then your conscience should not be clean.

Now Steven states he likes to respect the rules of the cultures he is interacting with at the time, which seems to suggest that he would not go to Uluru, because he is not allowed to. While this may indeed be true, one must wonder why he decided to research Uluru, ask if Pagan women can go there but never think to ask if Pagan men can go there either. Ah the irony of discussing respecting other cultures and their sacred spaces, while completely ignoring the inherent disrespect in thinking Pagans are entitled to that other cultures sacred space in the first place.

I can see how this happens, of course. Paganism is full of an attraction to sacred spaces that belong to religions and cultures long dead (though many are being revived in some way). We get used to this feeling that all of these ancient places are ours, not the Christians, but ours. Still, I can’t see that as any excuse to ignore the fact that the Aboriginal culture is not completely dead, they are alive, they are fighting to keep their ways intact, they are being erased on a daily basis. And Pagans pretending we have some shared culture with the Aboriginals, it just erases them even more.

The Aboriginal religions are, technically, little-p pagan. But they aren’t big-P Pagan, they are not under our umbrella or tent or whatever. We have no claim on them. Not even those of us who live in Australia have a claim on them. Not even someone like me, who is Aboriginal via several ancestral lines, but not through culture or religion.

We have no claim to them, and when we seek to place a claim on them and their spaces and beliefs, we are complicit in their erasure. They become just another of those quirky Pagan religions that no one takes seriously.

So here is a tip, if you are going to discuss a living religion or culture, that is not actually Pagan, if you are going to ask if Pagan women can go to another cultures sacred space. Try asking first if Pagan People can go there at all. But if your only intention is to discuss sex and gender, then ask the question correctly – Can Aboriginal women in good conscience go to Uluru?

Ah. But we can’t do that can we? We have no right to speak for Aboriginal women. Since that is true, then maybe we shouldn’t be asking the question at all.