Naturalistic Paganism

Pagan in Place is a column devoted to place-bound paganism. My goals are active engagement with my environment via meditation, walking outside, ritual, journaling, storytelling, and acts of social and environmental justice. Being pagan in place is about getting out of the house, putting foot to ground, and doing my holy work directly, at the closest creek, at my neighborhood park, at the community garden, and in my own backyard.

The elements, plants, animals, and seasonal patterns that inspire my practice manifest in specific places; therefore I must be grounded in a specific place in order to interact with them. To become rooted in place, Starhawk suggests choosing a “home base” or “secret spot” from which to observe the change of seasons (56-58). She suggests the backyard or a neighborhood park, but any place that is accessible on a daily basis will do. A home base for practice need not be wilderness; cities, with their unique structures, communities of organisms, and seasonal changes, are nature, too. The key part of a home base practice is simply showing up over and over again with a sense of curiosity and wonder. How do air and water flow through the environment? What communities of organisms grow together? What changes over time, and how? What patterns can be perceived? See the “Where You At?” quiz in Chas Clifton’s essay “Nature Religion for Real” for bioregional knowledge questions that could be applied to a home base, too. Read More