Naturalistic Paganism
“The Forgotten Gods of Nature” by Lupa Greenwolf
De Natura Deorum is a monthly column where we explore the beliefs of Naturalistic Pagans about the nature of deity. This essay was originally published at Paths Through the Forest.
When you think of the gods of nature, who do you think of? Do you think of the Wiccan Lord and Lady (also beloved of many non-Wiccan pagans), she a long-haired woman wrapped in vines and fruits and grain, he a man hirsute and burly and surrounded by large, wild mammals? Do you imagine Artemis or Diana, huntresses and maidens and carriers of the moon? Or perhaps Gaea, her swelling belly the Earth itself? I wager that nine times out of ten, the deity you first thought of took the form of a human, female or male or otherwise, but almost certainly formed in our own image. Read More
HP Pride: Meet C.F. Cooper
HP Pride is a new monthly column where we interview members of the Humanistic Paganism community and other like-minded friends. One or more interviews will be published every month. If you are not a “Big Name Pagan”, or if you have never written online before, all the better! We want to hear from everyone! If you’d like to be interviewed, just click this link and follow the instructions.
Today we are interviewing C.F. Cooper, author of Songs of the Metamythos. Read More
The Draft Pagan Community Statement on the Environment is available for public comment
LATEST UPDATE
In honor of Earth Day, the statement has been published at ecopagan.com where you can add your signature on Earth Day or any time after. The statement represents the beginning of a conversation, not the final word. Join us in our call to all people to rise to this historic moment in order to protect all life on Earth by signing the statement at ecopagan.com. You can sign on your on behalf or on behalf of a group or organization. Read More
“Peace and Harmony” by Richard E. Jensen, PhD, ABPP
Peace and harmony from what? Why do we need them? I refer not only to peace within ourselves, but also harmony with the world around us. Maybe you already have them. Maybe they are not an issue for you, and perhaps I’m speaking to the wrong audience. But, I doubt it. Peace and harmony are basic goals for our lives. They are aspirational values offered by many thinkers who remind us we need to tune into ourselves to find them. We are seldom mistaken about whether we have them or not. We all die. The vast majority of our forbearers born just 100 years ago are long gone. We are temporary, impermanent; we come and we go. This is likely to fill us with denial, pretense and minimizing. When I was about 10 years old, my Dad pointed out some of these more awkward “facts of life.” I was a bit shocked at that time, but over the decades I have found inspiration and comfort in his forthrightness about these critical matters. Read More
[Rotting Silver] “Lilies and Cedars and Corn” by B. T. Newberg
– 1. Ignorance –
Come to me, soft Gratitude:
As maiden Truth I am rolling in excrement,
Picking it up and turning it,
Molding figurines of deer and antelope,
Cedars and mountains and absolutes,
Exceeding so far in beauty
I almost forget their origins;
I cavort here with Ignorance my sweet;
He is handsome and calm
Like a well-worn shoe;
We roll the familiarity
As time goes by without a scent;
Our scent is all that we know;
It stops up our nostrils
With comfortable stucco;
The lily smell does not come in,
The cedar smell does not come in,
The ripe smell of corn does not come in;
This is our hut of mud and thatch,
Where we last forever… Read More
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
Naturalistic Paganism 