Naturalistic Paganism

[Starstuff, Contemplating] “Samhain Approaches …” by Jon Cleland Host

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Except perhaps for the Winter Solstice, Samhain is the most meaningful holiday of the year to me.  The gratitude for our Ancestors pervades my life and helps guide my actions, as many familiar with my posts already knows.  So I was very happy to learn, last year, that our CUUPs chapter would have the opportunity to include our Samhain ritual as part of a local interfaith series (earlier examples included Muslim, Jewish, and Christian services, etc.).

Planning the ritual required the careful balance between making it understandable to those with no previous experience with Pagan rituals, while still conveying the sacredness of Samhain.  Similarly, this Samhain ritual needed to speak to a wide range of Pagans, regardless of their individual Pagan paths.  Any concerns I may have had proved to be unfounded, with the ritual leaving me moved to tears of gratitude for my Ancestors, and for the community around us that helped make it happen.

In the event that you are already planning your Samhain ritual, here’s a recording of this ritual for ideas.  If not, then it may be a Samhain inspiration for you.  Either way, we hope you find it as moving as we did.

Blessed be — Jon Cleland Host

 Category: Jon Cleland Host, Latest Posts, Seasonal, Starstuff, Contemplating    

How Humanistic Pagans celebrate the Autumn Equinox

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In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumn equinox is celebrated tomorrow (Sept. 23) as Mabon, also called Harvest Home by some.  (Those in the Southern Hemisphere celebrate the spring equinox, Ostara, at this time.)

Mike Nichols writes of the day: “Mythically, this is the day of the year when the God of Light is defeated by his twin and alter ego, the God of Darkness. It is the time of the year when night conquers day.” The metaphor for the natural solar cycle is perfectly clear, and easily appreciable by naturalists.  Likewise with the agricultural myth of John Barleycorn, personification of the ripened grain:

“Often this corn spirit was believed to reside most especially in the last sheaf or shock harvested, which was dressed in fine clothes, or woven into a wicker-like man-shaped form. This effigy was then cut and carried from the field, and usually burned, amidst much rejoicing.”

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 Category: Latest Posts, Seasonal    

Why do you call yourself “Pagan”? — A Call for Articles

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Next month, Humanistic Paganism will be publishing articles and essays about why we call ourselves “Pagan”, why we don’t just call ourselves humanists or atheists.

The month of October is a fitting time to discuss this.  On October 12, atheists and secularists will observe “Freethought Day”.  This day coincides with the anniversary of the effective end of the Salem Witch Trials.  And of course, the month of October culminates in Halloween, which is commonly associated with witches, and Samhain, which is perhaps the most well known Pagan holiday.  This juxtaposition offers us an opportunity to discuss how the unique intersection of rationality and religion that is Humanistic Paganism.

Lately, there have been many theistic Pagans on the internet who have been arguing vociferously that “Atheist Pagan” is an oxymoron, that literal belief in gods is a necessary condition of calling oneself “Pagan”.  But for every one of those people who has said we can’t be an atheist and a Pagan, I have met another person — perhaps someone like you — who has found a sense of peace and belonging in this small but significant community.  Whether you call yourself a Humanistic Pagan, a Naturalistic Druid, an Atheist Witch, an Atheopagan, or by some other similar name — we want to hear from you.

Tell us why you call yourself “Pagan”.  Tell us what Paganism adds to your commitment reason and science.

Send your articles and essays to humanisticpaganism [at] gmail [dot] com.

 Category: Announcements, Latest Posts, Superstition and Reason    

“A Declaration of Interdependence” by Tiffany Shlain

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When in the course of human events, it becomes increasingly necessary to recognize the fundamental qualities that connect us,

then we must reevaluate the truths we hold to be self-evident:

That all humans are created equal and all are connected.

That we share the pursuits of life, liberty, happiness, food, water, shelter, safety, education, justice, and hopes for a better future.

That our collective knowledge, economy, technology, and environment are fundamentally interdependent.

That what will propel us forward as a species is our curiosity, our ability to forgive, our ability to appreciate, our courage,

and our desire to connect…

That these things we share will ultimately help us evolve to our fullest common potential.

And whereas we should take our problems seriously,

we should never take ourselves too seriously.

Because another thing that connects us…is our ability to laugh…

and our attempt to learn from our mistakes…

So that we can learn from the past, understand our place in the world, and use our collective knowledge to create a better future.

So perhaps it’s time that we, as a species, who love to laugh, ask questions, and connect….do something radical and true.

For centuries, we have declared independence.

Perhaps it’s now time that we, as humans, declare our interdependence!

 Category: Gaia/Earth, Latest Posts    

“Gaia, Our Mother Earth” by John Halstead

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This essay was originally published at Neo-Paganism.com.

“I compare the earth and her atmosphere to a great living being perpetually inhaling and exhaling.”

— Goethe

In 1979, James Lovelock published Gaia: A new look at life on Earth, which popularized the Gaia Hypothesis, later called the “Gaia Theory”. He had been working for NASA, trying to determine whether life might exist on Mars when he had this insight. Lovelock and others who followed him, like the biochemist Lynn Margulis, envisioned the Earth as a complex self-regulating system, the various parts of which interact with each other to maintain homeostasis, the conditions conducive to life, including the stability of global temperature, ocean salinity, oxygen in the atmosphere, and other environmental variables that affect the habitability of Earth. Lovelock theorized that, Read More

 Category: Gaia/Earth, John Halstead, Latest Posts    

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The views and opinions expressed by individual authors do not necessarily reflect those of the staff. Not all contributors necessarily identify as Naturalistic or Humanistic Pagans or share the views expressed elsewhere on this site.

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