All clubs and societies are affiliated to Lancaster University Students Union and are therefore bound by the Union regulations and constitution. The Aims of the Club/Society The Pagan Society at Lancaster University aims to provide a forum for people of all pagan faiths, and those who are interested in finding out more about paganism, the occult, divination and magic. At our weekly meetings we have workshops and talks by members or invited speakers. We also hold rituals to celebrate Pagan festivals. |Area of activity: Travel | |Procedures to follow | |Events will be advertised ahead of time to ensure people have time| |to prepare for them. | | | |The exec will organise transport for the members when necessary | |and if rented they will ensure it is booked from a reputable firm.| | | | | |The exec will check the drivers paperwork to ensure that only | |drivers with a clean drivers licenses are driving. | | | |The Safety Officer (SO) and Exec will ensure that any transport | |used will not begin movement until everyone is seated and has | |their seat belts on. | | | |The Exec will warn the members before the trip not to wonder off | |during the trip. The Exec will supervise the group during trips | |and count people on and off transport to ensure no-one is left | |behind. | | | |Members will be told in advance by the Exec the location of the | |meeting point and what clothing and footwear will be required for | |the location. The exec will check before leaving that everyone has| |suitable clothing and shoes for the location and conditions, and | |that they have bottles of water and if necessary umbrellas for the| |activity. More preparation will obviously be required by the Exec| |for trips requiring transport as opposed to trips to destinations | |within walking distance. | | | |Once outside the exec will remind people to avoid slippery or damp| |surfaces. The Exec will monitor the weather conditions and if the | |weather worsens to a dangerous point they'll call the trip off, | |pack everyone back into transport (if its being used) and bring | |them back. | |Areas of risk assessment covered: | |Travel, Weather | |Area of activity: Trance states and ritual | |Procedures to follow | |During the activities of any group concerned with religious | |actions, the great work, samadi, or any other occult activities | |there is the use of, and in some cases the spontaneous unbidden | |development of, trance states and/or mystical experiences. | | | |These may be interpreted in a number of ways according to the | |religious or psychological paradigm of the member that experiences| |them including but not limited to several models of invocation. | | | |The pagan society cannot be held responsible for the psychological| |state of its members in any way more than one human is responsible| |to another. The membership will be made aware of this by the Exec| |before any activity takes place. The EO and Exec will ensure they| |are aware of the rough mental state of members during trance and | |rituals; there is a traditional code of practice for dealing with | |this state during group work and it will be followed. | | | |The Exec, EO and/or appropriate members should try to ensure that | |any members entering a trance state (of even the lightest level) | |at the society's activities (either intentionally or | |spontaneously) are fully restored to a base-line of normality by | |natural means. If this is not the case then the following list of| |suggestions will be applied in roughly this order: | | | |- Call their name | |- Banish, appropriately | |- Apply water | |- Use other traditional methods as applicable. | | | |The Exec and EO will also adhere to the following procedure: | | | |Do not call up that which you can not put down; either from dead | |salts or out of the spheres beyond. | |Have your words for laying ready at all times and stop, not to be | |sure, when there is any doubt of whom you have. | |Areas of risk assessment covered: | |Area of activity: Outdoor Ritual | |Procedures to follow | |The procedure for "Trance states and ritual" will be followed | | | |The exec, especially the Safety Officer (SO) and the event | |organiser (EO) will find an area which is safe to run the event at| |in terms of access, exposure and lines of retreat. | | | |Ahead of time the SO will go to the site and judge the weather | |conditions and access. If the conditions are safe then s/he will | |let the EO know that the event is on. Without the consent of the | |SO the event will be cancelled. | | | |The SO will warn members about the dangers of fires before the | |lighting of any fires, lanterns, candles, or incense and must | |supervise the group and the source of fire when anything is | |burning. Members must avoid standing downwind of the fire. Fires | |sources must be attended at all times while lit and must be used | |with care in a controlled manner. | | | |The EO will be responsible for running the event, however the SO | |and to a lesser extent the rest of the Exec will supervise the | |event for safety (Re: Fire, substances, alcohol, actions, smoke, | |weather, fumes, lanterns/candles/incense, allergies, damage to | |property, etc). If alcohol is being consumed then at least one | |member of the exec must be sober and supervise the others | |consumption; excessive alcohol consumption is prohibited | | | |When going outside the Safety Officer will warn members to avoid | |wet ground and steep hills and will check before leaving to ensure| |everyone is wearing suitable clothing and footwear. Anyone not | |wearing suitable clothing or footwear for the conditions will not | |be allowed to participate. Members will be told in advance what is| |suitable clothing and footwear for the trip. | | | |The Exec will make sure they are aware of any allergies suffered | |by members and will take suitable precautions by either not using | |the substances which can cause an allergic reaction or give the | |members a warning of when it will be used. | | | |The EO an SO will ensure that the use or poisonous or corrosive | |materials are not used wherever possible. If they are used the SO | |will give all the members a warning beforehand and ensure that | |these substances are only handled by people wearing gloves and | |under supervision of the SO. | | | |The EO and SO will ensure that the use of sharps is avoided | |wherever possible. If they are used the members will all be warned| |about the dangers beforehand and they must be used with extra care| |and under supervision from the SO. | | | |In the event of a fire being used the SO must ensure a fire | |extinguisher is on hand. The procedure for obtaining one is as | |follows: | | | |1. Inform the LUSU Activities Office of the want of a fire. | | | |2. Talk to the Safety Office (steps between the bank and travel | |agents in Alex Sq.) they will lend the society fire extinguishers | |for small fires. | | | |3. Should the extinguisher need to be stored before the event then| |ask the Head of security for permission to put the fire | |extinguisher behind the security desk since they're always open. | | | |If the fire starts to spread unsafely it is the job of the SO to | |ensure it is properly contained by use of the fire extinguisher | |unless it puts them at risk. | | | |If a fire gets out of control the SO will immediately contact the | |emergency services, or security if on campus. | | | |If anyone is on fire they will be encouraged to drop and roll on | |the floor until the flames have gone out. | | | |If anyone is injured by fire through burns or smoke inhalation and| |there is a first aider present they will look after the injured | |person; if a first aider is not present the safety officer will | |look after them. If the safety officer or first aider feel it is | |necessary they will ensure the emergency services are contacted. | |If the injuries are small then the injured person will be | |recommended to go to the nurses unit as soon as possible. They | |will also ensure that nobody else has suffered from similar | |effects. | | | |After the event is over it is the primary responsibility of the SO| |to ensure that any fire will be extinguished or die down in a | |safe, controlled manner. | | | |The Exec, SO and EO as appropriate will ensure that the membership| |employ the lines of retreat to fall back to a safer position away | |from the ritual site, bounding overwatch is preferred but care | |must be taken to avoid a blue on blue situation (if people have | |travelled to the ritual site then it must be ensured that the | |travel procedures outlined above are followed to evacuate them | |back to their starting point). | |Areas of risk assessment covered: | |Bonfire, Slipping/Falling, Herbs/Potions, Alcohol (ritual use), | |Lanterns/Candles/Incense, Allergies, Weather, Travel. | |Area of activity: Indoor discussion/presentation/talk | |Procedures to follow | |The SO will be responsible for ensuring that during the event the | |seating is arranged so that people can participate properly and | |without risk of tripping over obstacles or blocking fire exits. | | | |If props are used by the EO then the SO will check beforehand to | |ensure that these cannot cause harm (e.g. small incense burners, | |projector (cables), candles, laser pointers, guillotines) to the | |members or the room. | | | |The Exec will make sure they are aware of any allergies suffered | |by members and will take suitable precautions by either not using | |the substances which can cause an allergic reaction or give the | |members a warning of when it will be used. | | | |The EO and SO will ensure that the use of sharps is avoided | |wherever possible. If they are used the members will all be warned| |about the dangers beforehand and they must be used with extra care| |and under supervision from the SO. | | | |The SO, Exec and EO will be responsible for rearranging the | |furniture using the correct lifting techniques and without | |injuring anyone, for cleaning up any props safely, and ensuring | |that anything flammable won't cause a fire when disposed of. | |Areas of risk assessment covered: | |Herbs/Potions, Sharps, Lanterns/Candles/Incense, Allergies | |Area of activity: Indoor workshop/practical event/ritual | |Procedures to follow | |The procedures for an "Indoor discussion/presentation/talk" and | |"Trance state and ritual" will be followed. | | | |In addition the SO must warn people before any practical exercise | |of any dangers inherent in it. They will warn members about | |handling or creating herbs and potions, handling sharp objects, | |Lanterns/candles/incense and any situation that may trigger | |allergies and indeed any other behaviour as appropriate according | |to the Risk Assessment, this includes avoiding the use of | |poisonous/corrosive materials and issuing gloves or other suitable| |protective equipment as is necessary. | | | |The Exec will make sure they are aware of any allergies suffered | |by members and will take suitable precautions by either not using | |the substances which can cause an allergic reaction or give the | |members a warning of when it will be used. | | | |The EO and SO will ensure that the use of sharps and poisonous or | |corrosive material is avoided wherever possible. If they are used | |the SO will ensure that the dangerous substances are only handled | |by people wearing gloves and under supervision of the SO. | | | |During the carrying out of such an event the SO, EO and Exec will | |supervise the members to ensure that no one presents a risk to | |themselves or others by their behaviour. | | | |If the event involves ritual behaviour which needs space the SO, | |Exec, EO (in that order) will be responsible for moving the | |furniture out of the way using the correct lifting techniques and | |without injuring anyone, as is necessary to make space that can be| |used safely (without obstructing fire exits) and then will be | |responsible for moving it back if necessary. | |Areas of risk assessment covered: | |Herbs/Potions, Sharps, Lanterns/Candles/Incense, Allergies | Duty of Care Please note that on top of the above procedures, all individual members of the society owe a Duty of Care to fellow members of the society and other societies, and where appropriate the public. Any society member who acts in such a way as to deliberately cause harm or injury to a fellow member and/or who displays open and persistent disregard for the societies Code of Practice will be disciplined by the society executive committee and may face expulsion from the society. ----------------------- [pic] Clubs & Societies CODE OF PRACTISE Club/Society: Pagan Society The following constitutes the clubs/societies procedures which must be followed by all members so that all activities are carried out safely: