Just in time for Winter Solstice/Yule, here are some gift ideas to give or ask for!  Of the items here, many will help your spiritual practice, enriching your daily life.  Others will help you be understood by loved ones, or help you open a child’s eyes to our glorious Universe.  I’ve listed items for adults, then books/DVDs for adults, followed by the same two categories for parents/kids.  This is the updated list, with new gifts ideas at the top, and classic gifts below that.   Oh, on a side note – many of us have relatives who assume that excluding us by using an evangelical Thanksgiving grace is OK.  Here’s a video and inclusive grace resource that can be useful to check before that comes up at Thanksgiving dinner.

New items:

The War on Science by Shawn Otto.   What can we do to get back to a society that respects truth?  Alongside “Fantasyland”, below, I rank this book as second only to Pinker’s “Better Angels” and “Cosmos” (both below) in importance.  This book exposes the well funded, well organized Anti-Science movement in America, and most importantly, what we can do about it.  Chapter 8 details the inner workings of the “all beliefs are equally true” falsehood we often hear in the wider Pagan community.  Also available on MP3 audio, for listening during your commute, workout, walk, or whatever.

Stardust Explores the Solar System Like the Stardust book below, this new book was written by a child, bringing the wonder of science to children everywhere!  Because engaging the next generations with joy and awe is the key to a just, healthy, and sustainable world, this book is an incredible blessing to us all.  If you have people in your life with kids or grandkids, you just found a great gift for them!

Plush Organs for Kids has a new addition, a vulva+vagina!  This will help them learn about healthy sexuality, while the other organs help them learn about our bodies in a fun and cuddly way!  Heart, spleen, liver, brain and more are available.

These are especially useful when coupled with an anatomy diagram to show what the organ is, where it is, and what it does – and also to help kids deal with medical issues.  I’m recovering from hernia surgery, and the testicle plush will help me explain the evolutionary reason for hernias to my kids.

Wheel of the Year Tapestry Transforms any wall into our beautiful Wheel of the Year.  I have one of these for the background behind my home Altar or Focus.  The traditional elements are shown in the corners – a reminder of our long road to understand our world – they also can represent the four states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma).

 Nicola Tesla Statue This one is much better than others I’ve seen (with Tesla actually looking down).  The statues one chooses for one’s Altar or Focus are of course very personal.  Tesla could represent scientific innovation, caring for others, and persistence.  Yes, that’s a model of Wardenclyffe he’s holding.

The Sacred Universe is a 44 page 12 x 12 soft-cover book, a compendium of breathtaking images of our Universe.  These images are taken from Sacred Universe calendars, which map our history onto the year, from the Big Bang in January to the present at the end of the year.

I was looking for something to represent DNA on my Altar, and found some DNA lamps online – but they were all tiny, and worse, had solid bars that didn’t represent the molecules well.  Then I found this DNA Lamp!  It’s 28 cm/11″ tall, more accurate, and has a small base for crowded spaces.  Now I’ll be ready in a couple months when I prepare the Altar for Ostara (life).  It’s from this store, which also has a serotonin necklace.

Of course, an important part of Naturalistic Paganism is thinking about the future of our world.  That means recognizing that gift-giving can often result in too much “stuff” – especially plastic toys that don’t teach a sustainable, reality-based worldview, and just add both pollution and clutter to our world and your life.  So consider “de-gifting”  your holy days – or just reducing gifts.  Just a hug, or a conversation, can mean a lot more, especially for older loved ones.  Not sure about something?  Maybe just ask the loved one openly?  They might be dreading the game of acting happy when they really don’t need more stuff.  For others, consider practical gifts – a gas card, a homemade meal, or other things that will make their lives easier while not adding to clutter.

Classics:

Items for Adults:

Lupa Greenwolf’s natural Pagan crafts (some make great ritual tools).  Also includes ritual wearables, artwork, and divination tools (yes, Naturalistic Pagans can use divination as a way to get a better idea of our own inner thoughts).  A great Tarot deck for Naturalist Pagans is also available, with Lupa’s The Tarot of Bones .

Pagaian Meditation CDs

These deeply moving meditations (with ritual instructions) can be an important part of  your spiritual practice.  Though Goddess based, they can be used by men also.

A Cosmala is a set of sacred Pagan beads which tell the story of our history, from the Big Bang until today.  My set includes many of my Ancestors, and is my most powerful ritual tool.  Though not available commercially, the instructions for making one are here – an especially good choice for those who prefer to hand-make the gifts they give.

Big History Car Decal!  These colorful decals show our history from the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago until today.  Will we build a just, healthy and sustainable world for future generations?  Join me in helping everyone see both our deep past as well as the choices before us by getting this decal for your car too (Video description).  But you can’t see your car when you are in your kitchen, right?  You can also get these same images as inexpensive refrigerator magnets – sharing our past and hope for the future with your family.  The magnets allow our history to be arranged as you like on your refrigerator.  Images by Liza Littlefield.

DNA Card Game  

This game looks like a fun way to learn about DNA.  Has anyone tried this game?  It’s one of the few things on this list that I haven’t tested out myself in my family.

Replicas

We are so lucky to live at a time when we know more than our Ancestors could have imagined about our world and our history.  I revel in this knowledge, and can get replicas of so many sacred objects (I try to get ones that are the actual size when possible, too).  here are a few of the ones that others or myself have.  In addition to often being effective ritual tools, can help our kids learn our family culture. Many of us have an altar or Focus – a perfect place for their presence.  What deity do you, a loved one, or your family feel especially connected to?  Prometheus, the Triple Goddess, the Green Man, and others come to my mind.  If you don’t see her or him here, check Sacred Source, Ebay, Amazon, and Google.  I try to buy from Sacred Source or other small shops before the others when I can.

Kernunnos, God of the wild wood. Timeless, tireless guardian of all living things, the Horned One.   The Celtic Father of Animals, with his companion Stag and Boar, is an archetype of mature masculine energy in balance with the natural world. Taken from the Gundestrup cauldron, this image shows the forest god in his typical yogic pose of meditative entrancement with nature.

Venus of Willendorf (25,000 – 28,000 BC)
This figurine was found in the Austrian village of Willendorf in 1908 and dates back to the Paleolithic period of prehistoric times.. The voluptuous female figurine is cut from oolith (limestone), a type of stone which originally was not found in this area. “Goddess figurines” is a collective term for prehistoric female figurines found throughout Europe and elsewhere.   The original meaning or meanings of the Goddess figurines is unknown. It is likely that, in the hunter and gatherer society of those days, their corpulence stood for prosperity and fertility.

Wheel of the Year (also look for others)

Honor the Solstices, Equinoxes, Thermstices and Equitherms of our sacred year with this seasonal pictorial wall plaque- and you don’t even have to show any math! Rich symbolism in loving detail.   We have four Wheels of the Year in various places around the house.

Nebra Sky Disk  

The worlds oldest star map – an exact, full-sized replica of the 3,500 year old disc recently discovered within a Neolithic woodhenge observatory near Nebra, Germany. The original, bronze with gold plated stars, shows several constellations, including The Pleiades.  If you have Asian, African or European Ancestors, then your Ancestors made, revered, and used this.  

This fossil of Archeopteryx is probably the most important and famous fossil ever discovered.  Found when the controversy over Darwin’s Origin of Species was raging – before evolution was settled science, it is a perfect example of the transitional fossils predicted by Darwin.  The skeleton is that of a theropod dinosaur, and possesses teeth, a long bony tail, abdominal ribs and three digits on each hand – characters absent in birds. It also shows bird characteristics such as a furcula (wishbone) and a retroverted pubis (characteristics also shared with some d
inosaurs) and an opposable hallux (big toe) for perching.  The most spectacular feature is the distinct impression of feathers around the forelimbs and tail.   I have a replica like this on my living room wall.

   Everything we touch is made of these elements – this starstuff!  Here is a rich Periodic Table of the Elements, showing both the elements as well as their place on the table.  We have one of these, in a 3′ X 5′ frame, on our living room wall, between the archeopteryx.

Acheulean hand axe  To hold one of these ancient artifacts in your hand, to know that it was made hundreds of thousands of years ago by an earlier human – likely one of your Ancestors – to aid in daily survival, is truly a humbling experience and a direct connection to our far distant past.  Useful both as a ritual tool and on one’s Altar or Focus.

23andme DNA test!  It’s incredible to imagine that we can tap into the information in our DNA, opening a window to our Ancestors both recent and ancient.  For me, reading my own DNA has been a spiritual practice, one that you can share in.  Here is an article and video about it.  The “Ancestry only” version costs half as much as the full test

Books & DVDs for Adults

While many Pagans today believe in literal gods, there are a growing number of Pagans who are “godless.” Today, the diverse assemblage of spiritual paths known as Paganism includes atheist Pagans or Atheopagans, Human- istic and Naturalistic Pagans, Buddho-Pagans, animists, pantheists, Gaians, and other non-theistic Pagans. Here for the first time, their voices are gathered together to share.  Available as paperback and ebook.

Lupa Greenwolf’s Books   Lupa explains: Nature-based spirituality has been a conscious part of my life since 1996, though nature has always been sacred to me to one degree or another, ever since I was very young. I especially gravitated toward animals, so it was no surprise that animal totems and other such beings have been central to my practice. My first book, Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic, was published in 2006, and I’ve had several titles published since then.  The newest book is the The Tarot of Bones .

Carl Sagan’s Cosmos (available on DVD) Carl Sagan’s Cosmos is my #1 recommendation to families for giving children the priceless gift of our Universe, which they will carry with them into adulthood.  It’s essential inspiration for me, as an adult, too.  Nearly all of the original version is still wonderful and relevant today.  The original and new versions have a lot of different content – I highly recommend owning both, and sharing them with your kids.

In his gripping book, New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows that despite the ceaseless news about war, crime, and terrorism, violence has actually been in decline over human history. Exploding myths about humankind’s inherent nature, this ambitious provides a remarkable picture of an increasingly enlightened world.  editor’s note:  This book helps show a Humanistic worldview more than any book I know.  It changed my view of history, and I consider it essential reading for all Pagans, naturalistic and otherwise.   Available in both book and audio form.  The audio is especially useful because it’s not a short book, and so listening on workouts or commutes works well.  I personally rank this as my #1 book (well, tied with the original Cosmos DVD) all people should read.  It literally changes your worldview.

Colors of this Hungry Sky This collection of 20 poems, new and old, celebrates the magic of the everyday and the wild. In the age of the Druids, poetry, storytelling, ritual, and wise counsel were inseparable from prophecy, trance, and divinatory practice.

Fantasyland, by Kurt Andersen.   Especially important for all naturalists (not just Naturalistic Pagans) this is essential reading for all Americans, and I rank it as tied with “War on Science” as being second only to Pinker’s “Better Angels” and “Cosmos” (both below) in importance.  It traces the history of why delusional thinking is so prevalent in America, from the 1600’s to today.  By showing that (and the reason why we have President Trump), it makes so much of our culture – both on the right and on the left – understandable, if not excusable.  Also available on MP3 audio, for listening during your commute, workout, walk, or whatever.  This is not a kid’s book.

My Name is Stardust What a wonderful book to introduce our origins to our kids!  This book combines the wonder and awe we feel for our Universe with the awesome reality of our stardust nature.  Written by a 10 year old, this make s a great complement to both the original and the updated Cosmos DVDs.  Because engaging the next generations with joy and awe is the key to a just, healthy, and sustainable world, this book is an incredible blessing to us all.  If you have people in your life with kids or grandkids, you just found a great gift for them!

Spinning in Place  The book describes a cycle of eight seasonal celebrations which humans have observed for thousands of years in various ways. These are the equinoxes and the solstices as well as the so-called cross-quarter days.  Here is an interview of the author.

Equally comedic and insightful, Letting Go of God is Sweeney’s brilliant one-woman show about her struggle with her faith. While faced with door-knocking Mormons and wise-cracking priests, Sweeney takes listeners on her very personal journey from God to “not-God”.  For me, this has been a helpful door key, making it easier to come out of the Atheist closet to Christian family and friends.  It’s non-threatening, using comedy to safety open discussions of Atheism.

The Ancestors Tale takes us modern humans back through four billion years of evolution on our planet. As the pilgrimage progresses, we join with other organisms at the forty “rendezvous points” where we find a common ancestor. The band of pilgrims swells into a vast crowd as we join first with other primates, then with other mammals, and so on back to the first primordial organism, meeting our Ancestors that many of us don’t yet know.  Here Dawkins shows us how remarkable we are, how astonishing our history, and how intimate our relationship with the rest of the living world.  The audio version is especially good, being read by Dr. Dawkins himself, who is so cool that he autographed my Darwin Cosmala bead in 2017.

Pagaian Cosmology  brings together a religious practice of seasonal ritual based in a contemporary scientific sense of the cosmos and female imagery for the Sacred.  This book is well referenced academically and emphasizes the Goddess naturalistically.  An excerpt is here.

Bible Stories YPNTY   There exists in the world today a nearly universal presumption that the Holy Bible is a “good” book. Bible versus are etched into the walls of our national monuments. Churches operate tax exempt. Even the President of the United States takes his oath of office with one hand planted firmly on a copy of the Bible.  But actually reading a Bible, we
see story after story of looting, murder, genocide, torture, slavery approved by this god.  For people who have ready a Bible cover to cover (as I have), this is redundant – but for others, it is an eye-opener that saves many hours of readying boring lists of begats.

My spirituality if future-focused.  It is future generations who will determine the fate of humanity and the rest of our family of life on Earth.  We have the opportunity to help give them some tools for that task.  Or we can leave it to popular culture to fill their minds.  It’s our choice.  Here are first, items, then book/DVD, holiday gifts for parents & kids.

Items for Parents & Kids

 Evolution board game  As with so many other topics, kids learn best while playing a game.  Though I haven’t personally played this one, it looks like a game the whole family can enjoy, and is more affordable than the game we have here at our house (Evo).  Our Evo game has been played so many times that it’s pretty worn out, and has several odd items being used as substitutes for missing pieces.

A glimpse of life half a billion years ago! The first ancestors of many animal groups appeared over 500 million years ago.  This set includes five scientifically accurate toys, and each toy comes with a tag explaining the animal’s phylum, class, actual size, modern relatives, and more.  Our Ancestor, pikaia, is included.

Similar (and more affordable) toys are available in Toobs, (though the Cambrian Life Toob doesn’t include pikaia).  Many other Toobs are very educational, including mammal skulls, Powhatan Native Americans, venomous animals, and more.  Parental discretion is needed, as there are also Toobs of things that aren’t real.

Timespirals enable you to grasp the enormity of the 13.8 billion year story of the universe, allowing you to comprehend the awesome scope of the events and processes necessary for you to be on planet Earth at this time.

DVDs and books for Parents & Kids

Carl Sagan’s Cosmos (available on DVD) Carl Sagan’s Cosmos is my #1 recommendation to families for giving children the priceless gift of our Universe, which they will carry with them into adulthood.  It’s essential inspiration for me, as an adult, too.  Nearly all of the original version is still wonderful and relevant today.  The original and new versions have a lot of different content – I recommend owning both.

Essential Books for all Families:
Understanding how we got here gives a child roots – a foundation on which to build a life.  For the youngest kids, aged 3 to 7, “Grandmother Fish” is the best introduction to evolution out there.  “Our Family Tree” by Lisa Peters is also very good. Next, for ages 5 to 10, is the “Born with a Bang” trilogy by Jennifer Morgan. After that the child can read on their own, so Richard Dawkins book, “The Magic of Reality” is a good choice for kids over 11.

Both Grandmother Fish and Mira & the Big Story (video trailer here) are great for young kids, and especially for kids’ story time, such as at UU churches.  Mira helps kids understand that there are mythical creation stories out there, and that those stories can cause divisions among people.  Another evolution book for kids is here – it looks good.  It’s brand new & the only one I don’t yet personally own and read to my kids – it just came out.

My name is Medusa – A kid’s introduction to Goddess Spirituality  by Glenys Livingstone  “A wonderful introduction to and re-framing of the myth of the wise, powerful, fabulously snaky-haired Medusa. The magical pages of this gorgeous book teach children love for the Earth and for all of Her creatures.” Review by Miriam Robbins Dexter, author of Whence the Goddesses.  Also available – the Girl God Calendar.

Elemental Birthdays lets anyone celebrate birthdays while having fun with science. All the elements of the universe have an atomic number (Z). Elemental Birthdays matches that number with a birthday. The book uses this simple idea to incorporate the elements into fun, easy party themes, and it provides a step-by-step guide to games and activities. The result: a party where kids and adults have fun learning science!

The BBC “Walking with” series is excellent – especially “Monsters”, “Cavemen”, and “Beasts”.  Many people think of the dinosaurs as the first inhabitants of the earth, but this prequel to Walking With Dinosaurs puts viewers in the midst of a host of strange creatures that inhabited the earth millions of years before the dinosaurs ever existed. With the help of complex computer animation and the research of hundreds of paleontologists, the BBC presents an extremely realistic picture of the earth’s earliest, most primitive aquatic inhabitants and chronicles their evolution to the precursors of man himself and the mighty dinosaurs.

For younger kids, the need for evidence is shown by: ”Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete First and Second Seasons (1969)”.  Many of us Gen-Xer’s learned critical thinking and the need to look for rational explanations for supernatural claims from this lovable dog.  The best thing is that kids love it – asking to see episode after episode.  To me, this is the “real” Scooby – after these two seasons, the series declined, losing some critical thought and becoming a mediocre, regular, (and, shall we say…) “scrappy” kids cartoon.  

This is the yearly Gift List Post.  Did I miss a great gift?  Put it in the comments section!