Naturalistic Paganism
Michael Dowd, who gave us all so much, has died [Starstuff, Contemplating]
With a heavy heart I must bring the news that Michael Dowd died this past weekend. He was a bright star who, along with his wife Connie, have brought a scientifically real, cosmically inspiring, reality based spirituality to literally hundreds of thousands of people. They were instrumental in getting me on the path of proclaiming our awesome evolutionary roots to the world.
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Gratitude for Ancestors, and the Treasure Trove of Knowledge they gave us – Remembering W. Jason Morgan [Starstuff, Contemplating]
It’s easy to take for granted the wealth of knowledge we have today. Today’s third graders today know more about our Universe than the educated elite of the Renaissance – and so many of us know so much more than today’s third graders! So many of our Ancestors would have paid any price imaginable for even just a tiny slice of the knowledge we take for granted today.
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Happy Fall Equinox!
Happy Fall Equinox, or Mabon! Of course, our spherical planet also gives us the beautiful symmetry of the Spring Equinox (& Ostara) being celebrated now by our Southern Hemisphere friends. The equinoctial moment, this year, is on September 23rd, at ~6:50 am UTC (or 2:50 am EDT). Coincidentally, the possible awakening of the Vikram lander and Pragyaan rover with the Lunar sunrise are anticipated near the moment of the September Equinox!
No-Nonsense Paganism: Cultural Appropriation in Pagan Ritual
In this series, “No-Nonsense Paganism”, I have been striving to strip Paganism down, take away its ancient or faux-ancient terminology, its mythological and legendary pretensions, its foreign (to wherever you are) folk practices, its superstitious and pseudo-scientific justifications, and its esoteric ritual structures, and get down to the phenomenological core of pagan experience: our interaction with the earth and the other-than-human beings who we share it with. You can check out previous posts in this series here.
Recently, I’ve been very critical of the Pagan services at my Unitarian Universalist congregation. To some extent, this is unfair. The people who organize and lead these services are volunteers and have the best intentions. I know from experience that planning and leading services for my Unitarian congregation can be challenging and can feel vulnerable. But, still, it’s important to turn the critical gaze inward now and then, or we stop growing.
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
Naturalistic Paganism 