Naturalistic Paganism
“The Mythology of Nature” by Xia
Originally presented as a paper at the Conference for Current Pagan Studies at Claremont College in 2005. Art:”Ophelia/Emergent Psyche” by Sunny Strasburg.
The old gods are dead or dying and people everywhere are searching, asking: What is the new mythology to be, the mythology of this earth as of one harmonious being?
Do we need nature? That was the subject of an essay contest sponsored by Shell Oil and The Economist magazine in August of 2003. Issues for the essay included genetic modification, biodiversity, gene therapy, nuclear power and renewable energy. The essays were to focus on the difficult choices to be made in politics, economics, society, and public policy between actions, or inactions, that seek to increase man’s control over nature and those that seek to reduce it, those that seek to bypass nature and those that hope to work with it, those that put a higher value on human development and those that value the preservation or even reconstitution of nature.
Do we need nature? To Pagans, who address air, fire, water, earth, and spirit–the essentials of life on the planet–in our opening and closing prayers, that seems like an absurd question. It’s like asking do we need the air we breathe, the water we drink. Do we really need to eat? These simple gifts of nature are mostly taken for granted. We eat, drink, and breathe without thought for nature, the source of our life-giving essentials. This thoughtlessness, this lack of consciousness regarding nature, bleeds into every aspect of life on the planet.
Now as we contemplate our role in nature and ponder the evolutionary path before us, what are the questions we should be asking? Are the problems, as the Shell/Economist essay implies, whether to bypass nature or embrace and work with it? Are we trapped between the dualities of increasing or reducing man’s control over nature? Are we left with the singular choice of valuing human development or preserving nature? Is humanity condemned to the limitations of these struggling dualities or is salvation found in the balance of these polarities? How do we find this balance? In the wake of potential environmental devastation in the not too distant future, must we not first look at how we got here? How has our society become so disconnected, so cut off from nature? What are the attitudes that have sped us toward the increasing deterioration of our environment?
[A Pedagogy of Gaia] “Awakening to Gaia” by Bart Everson
(Image by Alex Grey)
Can I share a secret with you? It’s my own personal vision statement, formulated back in January as part of a visioning workshop I facilitated. (If you’re interested in clarifying your own vision, I’ve collected a few resources that may be helpful.) I was amazed that I could boil it down to three words: “Awakening to Gaia.”
There’s a bit more. It continues thusly: “a transformation of consciousness in myself and others, toward an ecocentric perspective and a sense of divine possibility in life.” But those first three words really encapsulate it all for me. Read More
“Concepts of Gaia” by Bart Everson
A guest lecture given by Bart Everson at Loyola University, April 2015. Click on the player below to begin.
Concepts of Gaia from Editor B on Vimeo.
About Bart Everson
In addition to writing the A Pedagogy of Gaia column here at HumanisticPaganism,Bart Everson is a writer, a photographer, a baker of bread, a husband and a father. An award-winning videographer, he is co-creator of ROX, the first TV show on the internet. As a media artist and an advocate for faculty development in higher education, he is interested in current and emerging trends in social media, blogging, podcasting, et cetera, as well as contemplative pedagogy and integrative learning. He is a founding member of the Green Party of Louisiana, past president of Friends of Lafitte Corridor, sometime contributor to Rising Tide, and a participant in New Orleans Lamplight Circle.
[Starstuff, Contemplating] “Samhain Approaches …” by Jon Cleland Host
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
How Humanistic Pagans celebrate the Autumn Equinox
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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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
Naturalistic Paganism 