Deconstruction for Witches & Pagans: Identifying Harmful Influences

Deconstruction for Witches and Pagans: Identifying Harmful Cultural and Religious Influences in Your Practice

As participants in our society raised by families with their own belief systems, we naturally pick up, adapt, and incorporate cultural and religious influences into our current spiritual practices that may harm our growth and the people around us. In this workshop, we'll identify some common cultural touchpoints in American culture, helping you examine your current practices. Examining these influences is known as deconstruction.

This workshop is not centered around shaming ourselves or others for finding that we may hold contradictory or harmful influences in our current practices. In fact, shame is one of the points we will examine, looking at where it comes from and whether it has a place in our current practices.

If you're looking for a starting point to de-center former or childhood religious tenets, colonialist ideologies, racial supremacy, puritanical thinking, and materialism from your practice, this is the space for you. We are open and inclusive and strive to center the voices of BIPOC attendees in this topic/discussion.

At the end of the workshop, you'll have a statement of values and core beliefs about yourself and your practice, as well as actions you can take to help your practices match your beliefs.

Please bring a journal and a pen.

Event fee: $15

Your Hosts:

TaraTheBard & Claudia

TaraTheBard is a storyteller and witch specializing in narrative magic and story-based shadow work. Her professional background includes a career in writing, marketing, live action role play (larp) design, and publishing. Tara holds a BA in English from McDaniel College. Her publications include "American Banshee: Poetic Offerings," co-authorship of "The Poe Project" (a one-man play) and thousands of high-ranking blog posts and articles online. She enjoys spending time with her pug, reading and watching time-traveling romances, and traveling to Iceland.

Claudia is a Latina, Pagan, and human rights activist whose journey has been shaped by a lifelong connection to spirituality, a desire to question established systems of power, and a commitment to defending the rights and dignity of marginalized communities.

Raised Catholic, she experienced firsthand the influence of religious teachings on her understanding of spirituality and the role of women. Her concerns about the subjugation of women within the Catholic tradition led her to question patriarchal religious structures, expectations of obedience, and the ways religious authority can influence women's autonomy. These early experiences became an important part of her ongoing process of deconstructing inherited beliefs and developing a spiritual identity on her own terms.

A more recent and significant chapter in her life began with the discovery of her Indigenous ancestry. This journey has deepened her interest in ancestral knowledge, cultural reclamation, and the influence of colonialism on Indigenous spiritual traditions.

Her interest in storytelling and the human experience also led her to attend film school, although she did not complete her degree. Her interest in film and narrative continues to inform the way she examines history, culture, and the stories societies tell about themselves. She is particularly interested in whose histories have been preserved, whose voices have been marginalized, and how cultural and religious institutions shape collective understanding.

For her, deconstruction is not simply about rejecting the religion in which she was raised. It is about understanding how inherited beliefs have shaped her, identifying harmful influences, and consciously deciding which values and teachings she wishes to carry forward. As she continues exploring her Muisca ancestry and deepening her Pagan practice, she approaches this process with curiosity, respect, and a commitment to continued learning.

Claudia participates in protests in Washington, D.C., advocating for women's rights, racial and ethnic minorities, transgender people, and broader social justice. Today, she brings together her identities as a Latina, a Pagan, an emerging student of her Indigenous heritage, and a human rights activist in an ongoing journey of discovery and reclamation. Her journey reflects a continuing commitment to questioning inherited narratives, reclaiming her voice, and building a spiritual practice grounded in autonomy, compassion, cultural respect, and justice.