Naturalistic Paganism

This is the fourth in a 4-part series on a new Humanistic Pagan tradition currently being shaped, called “Earthseed”. If you would like to become a Shaper of the Earthseed Movement, contact John Halstead.

Like many naturalistic religions, the Earthseed described by Octavia Butler in her Parable series is light on ritual. Many naturalists are skeptical of anything that reminds them of theistic religion, and this includes ritual.  And yet, as Naturalistic Pagans know, ritual can be very effective in cultivating certain desirable states of mind, while also promoting social cohesion.  Ritual helps us feel what we know in our minds, in a way that just talking does not.

So I created this Earthseed ritual, drawing on texts from Earthseed’s “Book of the Living”.  It also draws on the Five Elements motif that is common to Neo-Pagan ritual.  Adaptation is at the heart of Earthseed, so please adapt this ritual to suit your needs.  For example, you may choose other elements to represent change, or choose other texts from the “Book of the Living” to correspond to each element. Read More

This is the third in a 4-part series on a new Humanistic Pagan tradition currently being shaped, called “Earthseed”. If you would like to become a Shaper of the Earthseed Movement, contact John Halstead.

This is the second in a 4-part series on a new Humanistic Pagan tradition currently being shaped, called “Earthseed”. If you would like to become a Shaper of the Earthseed Movement, contact John Halstead.

In her Parable series, Octavia Butler includes many verses from a fictional book of scripture called the “Book of the Living”.  These verses have been collected here and describe the basic theology, ethics, and eschatology of Earthed.  Although she uses theistic language, I believe that Earthseed has much in common with Humanistic Paganism. Read More