Naturalistic Paganism

[The Dionysian Naturalist] “Nature Religions and Revolutionary Social Change, Part 1” by Wayne Martin Mellinger, Ph.D.

Part 1 of 5:  Nature Religions

Introduction

By far the greatest challenges that humanity has ever confronted are global climate change and the other environmental problems created by modern industrial civilization.  Monthly the news seems to get worse as we learn that the ecological crisis is far bigger than we first thought and the time left before we face a potential environmental collapse is far shorter.  Some well-informed researchers say that it is already too late to avoid catastrophic destruction of civilization or to “save the planet”. Read More

Early Autumn Theme: Ancestors and Descendants

In Deep Time, early autumn can remind us of the Cretaceous extinction event – the cataclysm of fire, tsunamis, and earthquakes that banished the (non-avian) dinosaurs to extinction and led to you looking at your computer today.  Gone were countless forms of life, giant sauropods, tyrannosaurs, and pterosaurs – and even many mammals.  Yet, a tiny, thin thread of many types of animals and plants survived – including the Ancestors of you and I.  They then shaped that ruined world into the world we have today – we owe our world and our very existence to them.  Can we call on their perseverance and effort to spur us to make the world a better place for future generations?   As with all themes, this just an optional muse.

Late Summer (September 22 – October 31)
Cosmic event: The Cretaceous Asteroid Impact (65 million years ago)
Theme: Ancestors and Descendants

Questions: How can we show our gratitude for our Ancestors?  What Ancestors especially speak to you today?  How can our spirituality spur us to make the world a better place for future generations, who will count us among their Ancestors?  

[Pagan in Place] “Live Oak Trance”, By Anna Walther

Entering

At dusk I sat under three live oak trunks that grow in woods near my house. I cleansed, grounded, and centered and began square breathing*, with eyes open and attention focused on the tree.

I imagined that, like the tree, wide roots extended from my feet into the shallow topsoil and deep into the porous limestone. I felt the cool water in the aquifer below and the slow, strong pulse of sap flowing from the roots up through my trunk. With arms and hands extended, I stretched gnarled branches up and out to harvest the day’s remaining light. I concentrated on the pulse of sap: steady, sweeping waves washing through me. Something fluttered against my left upper arm. A moth? I turned to see.

poison-ivy

Poison ivy climbed the trunk beside me, and Virginia creeper crept across the ground in the shade. I recalled the saying to distinguish the two vines: Leaves of three, let it be. Leaves of five, let it thrive.

Life, as Above

The metallic green of a Fiery Searcher beetle drew my eye as it flashed against grey-brown bark. I watched the bark, where ants and other insects crawled, and where numberless microorganisms grew, I knew. Then I imagined traveling along the surface of the tree as it extended back down into the earth, as the bark thinned, covering the tree’s roots, reaching out with hairy branches for nutrients and water, teeming with still more microorganisms.

so Below.

I was not just sitting one-on-one with the tree, as I had intended, but I was connected with a community of organisms, a local web of life. I silently thanked the tree and its community for the insight, said goodbye, and committed to return.fiery-searcher

Trance, a state of expanded awareness and non-ordinary perception, is not just for those who believe in transcendent deities or astral realms; there are realms enough to explore in this physical, embodied world. As in the live oak trance I describe here, observing and deepening my understanding of the beings with whom I share this world changes my own.

In trance states we apply our physical senses to external objects and allow our internal perceptions and symbols—our imaginations–to unfurl as they will. And we trust that what begins in imagination may become real.

* Square breathing is a simple technique for relaxing and inducing a light trance state. It involves sitting or standing comfortably and repeating segments of breathing to a count of four, as in:

  1. Inhale, 2, 3, 4.
  2. Hold, 2, 3, 4.
  3. Exhale, 2, 3, 4.
  4. Hold, 2, 3, 4.

Anna Walther

anna walther

Anna Walther lives in Austin, Texas, where she practices place-based paganism, by honoring ancestors, observing the movements of the sun and the moon, collecting local stories, visiting trees, creeks and springs, and learning about the plants, animals, and minerals with which she shares her home. Anna is a student nurse, and she attends First Unitarian Universalist Church with her husband and children.

See Anna’s posts

Expand Your Pagan Cred This October, by B. T. Newberg

The annual online course designed for people just like us is back this October. SNS 101: Introduction to Spiritual Naturalism is a course for Naturalistic Pagans and others of like persuasion. Discover how our practices and beliefs fit into a wider spectrum of naturalistic movements, like Secular Buddhism, Humanistic Judaism, Christian Naturalism, Pantheism, and more. Read More

[Rotting Silver] “Parable of the Wrestler’s Lover” by B. T. Newberg

In the wanderings of the Goddess, she came upon a traveling wrestler challenging all comers. The wrestler said, “They call me ‘I am.’ For within this ring, I am the power that determines the worthy. All that are not worthy shall be cast out. Then, when all are cast out, only I shall remain. Therefore they call me ‘I am.'”

Now the crowd was inflamed, and three of the heftiest of them rose one by one to the challenge. To the first the wrestler said, “I shall call you Greed. Thus calling you, I grasp you. Thus grasping you, I cast you out!” And Greed was cast out. To the second the Wrestler said, “I shall call you Ill Will. Thus calling you, I grasp you. Thus grasping you, I cast you out!” And Ill Will was cast out. To the third and final the Wrestler said, “I shall call you Misperception. Thus calling you, I grasp you. Thus grasping you, I cast you out!” And Misperception was cast out.

All comers were called by one of these three–Greed, Ill Will, or Misperception–and all were cast out in just this way. The crowd surged forward with praise and reward. But the wrestler refused all, mounted a wagon, and left.

The Goddess followed the wrestler. In the next village, the same events took place. All comers were called Greed, Ill Will, or Misperception, and all were cast out. Still the wrestler refused both praise and reward.

In a third village it was so yet again. Finally the Goddess approached the wrestler. She said, “Fellow wanderer, stop apace and talk with me. What is it you seek, if neither praise nor reward?” The wrestler answered, “They call me ‘I am.’ But I am not worthy. Therefore I feel obliged to seek someone worthy of ‘I am.’ Everyday I cast out all comers, countless incarnations of Greed, Ill Will, and Misperception, and I never find anyone worthy of that name.”

Then the Goddess said, “Wrestle me.” They did and she was called Greed, but she was not cast out. Then she was called Ill Will, but she was not cast out. Finally she was called Misperception, but she was not cast out.

Then the wrestler cried, “At last!–someone worthy of ‘I am!’ I shall call you my Self! Thus calling you, I grasp you. Thus grasping you, I cast you out!” And the wrestler was cast out.

The next day a crowd came looking for a bout, but they found the wrestler sitting idly in the wagon. The wrestler explained, “She followed me and stayed with me all the radiant, blissful night. But in the morning she was gone. Now there is no one left to wrestle. Never again need I ask ‘Is anyone worthy of ‘I am?'”

 

Image Credit: “Conscience” by Kharlamov

Rotting Silver is a column devoted to this Earth in all its tarnished radiance: poetry, prose, and parables of ugliness alloyed with joy.

This piece was first published at The Witch’s Voice.

The Author

B. T. Newberg

B. T. Newberg:  Since the year 2000, B. T. has been practicing meditation and ritual from a naturalistic perspective. He currently volunteers as Education Director for the Spiritual Naturalist Society, where he created and now teaches an online course in naturalistic spirituality (including Naturalistic Paganism!). His writings can also be found at Patheos and Pagan Square, as well as right here at HP.

He also hosts a new podcast called Dead Ideas: The Podcast of Extinct Thoughts and Practices. It explores ideas once believed to be true, but no longer.

Professionally, he teaches English as a Second Language, and hopes to begin a PhD program in the psychology of religion soon.  After living in Minnesota, England, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, he currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife and cat.

After founding HumanisticPaganism.com in 2011 and serving as managing editor till 2013, he now serves as advising editor, and feels blessed to be a part of this community.