Naturalistic Paganism
Samhain poem by Linette Jensen
by Katerina Plotnikova
They are here!
It is time!
They come in every rustle of the leaves,
in the tempered “whoosh” of a match lighting,
In the rising of the sun,
and the falling of twilight’s silent curtain.
They gather, feast, delight in what’s been set for
them.
They speak quietly but surely to our hearts.
I want to know what they know,
but they tell me they have forgotten,
forgotten the hardship that is earthly life,
they are busy remembering all that is good,
food, drink, the company of loved ones,
the coolness of water, and the warmth of fire.
It’s sensual, this life.
Enjoy every good thing,
they say.
When you die, you will forget the hardships,
but it is the earthy things you will long for,
return for.
The scents, tastes, sounds of life,
everything solid that holds us fast to it.
I see their shapes forming in the smoke of the copal,
then in a breath they dissipate again.
Starstuff, Contemplating: “The Spirituality of our Ancestors … with a Pitch” by Jon Cleland Host
We are assemblages of ancient atoms forged in stars – atoms organized by history to the point of consciousness, now able to contemplate this sacred Universe of which we are a tiny, but wondrous, part.
Over 500 years ago, Polynesian islanders crafted the monumental figures on Easter Island as embodiments of spiritual power. What are we creating today to express our sense of the sacred?
As Samhain approaches, the lives of my Ancestors are increasingly on my mind. Of the many ways their lives were so radically different from ours (such as the overall level of difficulty), their way of viewing spirituality/religion was very different as well.
Today, for many of us, religion/spirituality seems to be tacked onto an otherwise “normal” life. One can see this by noticing that for millions of Americans, watching them or talking to them, even for days or weeks (especially if you don’t see them Sunday mornings) will not tell you their religion. This is the case for most of the people I work with – I see them for hours every day, work with them, talk with them, and often have no clue as to their religion. Religion is not part of most decision making discussions, and most aspects of our daily lives are not seen as directed by this or that supernatural entity. Nearly all of us agree on nearly all aspects of what we think is real, despite the fact that we have very different religions. Read More
Partial Solar Eclipse Thursday Oct. 23
On the afternoon of this Thursday, October 23rd, two weeks after the Moon passed through Earth’s shadow, the Moon will cast some of its own shadow onto Earth. For more information, check out the NASA eclipse site. Remember to take appropriate safety precautions when viewing the eclipse. America’s next total eclipse of the Sun is three years away, on August 21, 2017.
10 days left … and we’re over half way there!
Our Goal: To place an add for HP on the main page of The Wild Hunt.
What we need: $538
What you can do: Go to HP’s Indiegogo campaign.
You can help HumanisticPaganism place an add at The Wild Hunt, the primary online destination for news relating to and of interest to contemporary Pagans. The Wild Hunt is our third largest referrer of traffic to HumanisticPaganism.com, after Facebook and search engines. HumanisticPaganism is piggybacking on The Wild Hunt’s Fall Funding Drive.
The Wild Hunt is offering to place a graphical underwriting ad on the main page of wildhunt.org for the first 20 people to contribute $500. An ad at The Wild Hunt would greatly increase the visibility of HumanisticPaganism and draw more people to our community.
If we reach our $538 goal ($500 + $38 Indiegogo fees), we will contribute $500 to The Wild Hunt and receive a graphical underwriting ad on the main page of wildhunt.org. If we don’t reach our goal, $150 will be contributed to The Wild Hunt (making us an affiliate) and the balance will be retained for next year’s campaign.
Any contribution over $10 will get you a shout out at HumanisticPaganism (unless you prefer to remain anonymous). Contribute $25 or more and we will link to the website or blog of your choice on the front page of HP. To contribute, go to HumanisticPaganism’s Indiegogo campaign.
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
Naturalistic Paganism 