Naturalistic Paganism
“Steps Toward A Dionysian Naturalism: Making the Earth Sacred in a Time of Ecological Disaster, Part 1” by Wayne Martin Mellinger, Ph.D.
This is Part 1 of a 3-part series.
Our Ecological Crisis
As I look out upon the world the most pressing problem I see confronting humanity is climate change. If we do not significantly curb our emissions soon and there is a 4° C rise in the global average temperature, most coral reefs would be killed, the Amazon rainforest would dry up and at least 40% of the world’s species would be doomed to extinction. Our species and our planet have never faced such an enormous human-made crisis. Modern industrial civilization, fueled as it is by petrochemicals, has drastically damaged the fragile biosphere that supports all life on this planet
Those of us living through the early 21st century are experiencing the dying of our planet. A massive wave of extinctions along with the ubiquitous degradation of diverse ecosystems are killing a significant portion of nature’s abundance and diversity. While during the last few centuries first Western societies and then increasingly others around the globe (including China, India, Brazil, Japan, etc.) have witnessed an economic experience which has greatly increased the amount of stuff one portion of our populations have, the consequence has been the destruction of our natural world. Many of us feel that it is not yet too late to avert a total environmental catastrophe. But it could be very soon. Indeed, this is a very frightening time to be alive. Read More
Summer Cross-Quarter
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Autumn cross-quarter or “summer thermistice” is celebrated on August 1 as Lughnasadh/Lammas. Astronomically, the event occurs on August 7th this year. Due to the seasonal lag, this is the hottest time of the year in many places in the Northern Hemisphere. Those in the Southern Hemisphere celebrate Imbolc at this time. Read More
“Spirituality From Science” by Brock Haussamen
Several pieces of scientific information have been important to me in finding direction and perspective in my life. This scientific information is spiritual insofar as spirituality concerns a larger entity of which we feel a part. Read More
[Pagan in Place] “Cicadas, Insect Allies” by Anna Walther
One way of grounding pagan practice in place is getting to know the insects with whom we share our environment. Both beautiful and dangerous, our insect allies pollinate our flowers and food, and they sting and spread disease. It’s estimated that insects have the largest biomass of any type of land animal, and that they comprise more than seventy-five percent of the species on our planet. We can hardly hope to engage with the mystery of life on earth without also consciously engaging with our insect allies. Read More
Announcing: An educational course designed for naturalists!
Spirituality is not about knowing something, but about living it.
Announcing: The first-ever online educational course designed for our community opens for enrollment August 2nd!
This is B. T. Newberg here. Since handing over the reins of HP to John’s capable hands, I’ve been working hard to advance our community in a different way: creating an online educational course designed not only for Pagans but for all naturalists with spiritual inclinations. Working with the Spiritual Naturalist Society, an organization for any path that combines naturalism and spirituality, I’ve spent the last two years creating something we Naturalistic Pagans can be proud of, and which will challenge us in fresh, new ways.
Thanks to the hard work of many at the Spiritual Naturalist Society, as well as a cohort of beta testers including our own John Halstead (thanks, John!), we’re ready for you. Read on for details. Read More
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
Naturalistic Paganism 