Naturalistic Paganism
“The Transcendentalists: An Original Relation to the Universe” by John Halstead
This essay was originally published at Neo-Paganism.com.
“In my Pantheon, Pan still reigns in his pristine glory, with his ruddy face, his flowing beard, and his shaggy body, his pipe and his crook, his nymph Echo, and his chosen daughter Iambe; for the great god Pan is not dead, as was rumored. No god ever dies. Perhaps of all the gods of New England and of ancient Greece, I am most constant at his shrine.”
— Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau’s famous quotation, near his cabin site at Walden Pond
Nature Religion in the United States begins with the Transcendentalists in mid-19th century New England, most notably with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Both Emerson and Thoreau were early conservationists, promoting the preservation of threatened forests. Read More
“Beyond Female Role Models: The Triple Goddess as Nature” by John Halstead
The Evolution of the Androcentric Triple Goddess
Probably no motif is more ubiquitous in the Neo-Pagan culture than that of the Triple Goddess in her threefold aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. While there are some historical antecedents for the Neo-Pagan Triple Goddess, she is really a 20th century creation of the author and poet, Robert Graves. Graves’ conception of the Triple Goddess evolved over several years. One of the earlier incarnations, in his book The Golden Fleece, took the form of “Maiden, Nymph, and Mother” which corresponded to the “New Moon, Full Moon, and Old Moon”. (“Nymph” is the Greek word for bride.) Absent from this description of the Triple Goddess was the dark “phase” of the Goddess, the “Crone”. In his next book, King Jesus Graves described her as the triform goddess of birth, love, and death, and associated her with the figures of mother, consort, and witch. Read More
“Nature and Values Beyond the Binary” by Crafter Yearly
Wicca and Wicca-Influenced Paganisms draw upon the symbols of the Goddess and the God. The two together represent balance. Central to their symbolic power is that each plays a role in creation. Together, they can create life through union. The magic inherent in their relationship is responsible for the continuing of life. Read More
“Humanistic Heathens defend their support of marriage equality” by John Halstead
This past February, I shared a report that an Icelandic Heathen group, Ásatrúarfélagið, also known as the Ásatrú Society of Iceland, was building the first pagan temple in that country in 1000 years. The report was of interest to Humanistic Pagans, because the high priest of the group, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, had been criticized by both theists and atheists — including some Pagans — in the U.S. for his statement that the the gods are “poetic metaphors” and “manifestations of the forces of nature and human psychology,” a sentiment which resonates with many Humanistic Pagans. This was something of an embarrassment for some of the more dogmatic Polytheists in the U.S. Some further investigation revealed Ásatrúarfélagið is a non-dogmatic faith, and that the beliefs of its adherents may range from atheism to pantheism to a tepid sort of theism. It was clear though that the group’s high priest, Hilmarsson, wished to distance himself from what he called the “fundamentalist Ásatrúar” in the United States. Read More
Mid-Month Meditation: “Power”: Cheryl Strayed reads Adrienne Rich
(Marie Curie, Adrienne Rich, Cheryl Strayed)
We encourage our readers to use these Mid-Month Meditations as an opportunity to take a short break from everything else. Rather than treating these posts the way you would any other post, set aside 10 minutes someplace quiet and semi-private to have an experience. Take a minute to relax first. After listening to the recording, take a few minutes to let the experience sink in. If it feels right, leave a comment.
Cheryl Strayed hiked a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail to put herself in the way of truth and beauty in a thoroughly transformative experience that became the magnificent memoir Wild that then became a major motion picture. In this recording, Strayed recounts her brush with the life-saving power of poetry and reads the first poem from Adrienne Rich’s 1977 masterwork, The Dream of a Common Language, titled “Power.” Folded into this nuanced homage to Marie Curie — a woman who died a “martyr to science” after a lifetime of crusading for curiosity and — is an exquisite meditation on what power really means.
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
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