Lehto – Finnish Nature Religions Organisation
Lehto – Finnish Nature Religions Organisation is a organisation for Finns practicing Earth-based religions, as well as for people with an interest towards them. Lehto was founded in 1998. The main objectives of Lehto are to provide contacts between practitioners of Neo-Pagan religions, to provide accurate information on Neo-Pagan religions and improve their status within the Finnish society, and to support a lifestyle of respect towards nature.
To support these objectives, Lehto organises meetings, excursions to nature and historical locations, gives lectures, and publishes a quarterly newsletter, Seita. Lehto also hosts a library with a wide range of books and magazines of Neo-Pagan interest. In addition, Lehto answers queries and provides informational material concerning Neo-Pagan religions. Lehto is a non-profit organisation.
All of Lehto’s activity is based on its members’ own motivation and voluntary work. Lehto is not an organised religious structure. (e.g. Lehto is not a coven), but its aim is to serve people from various different Neo-Pagan religions: for example, Shamanism, Wicca, Green Witchcraft, Druidism, Asatru, Earth-centered Paganism, ancient Finnish or ancient European Paganism, Ceremonial Magic, Thelema etc.
Our newsletter, Seita, is 40-page publication in Finnish. The most popular of Lehto’s annual events is the Halloween fest, consisting of a costume party and a sale amongst other things. We also organize camps in the wilderness with good food, workshops and shamanistic drummings.
Neo-Paganism in Finland
We have several Neo-Pagan organisations in Finland. Some of them represent a wide variety of Neo-Pagan religions, whilst some concentrate on one religion only: Shamanism, for example.
There are approximately a few thousand Neo-Pagans in Finland. Lehto itself has 268 registered members (June 2022).
We have eclectic Wiccan practitioners, the Alexandrian and Gardnerian traditions represented here. There’s a growing amount of eclectic covens. Asatru, Shamanism and Eclectic Neo-Paganism are also popular.
More information
For more information about Lehto or Neo-Paganism in Finland, please contact our Information Officer: Tiedotus(a)lehto-ry.org