Naturalistic Paganism
Cosmic Calendar: Emergence of our sun
On Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Calendar (illustrated as a comic strip here), which maps the entire history of our cosmos onto a single year, September is particularly interesting.
Since the Big Bang in January (13.7 bya or billion years ago), the universe has been gradually increasing in organizational complexity. Little of local significance has occurred, though, apart from the formation of the Milky Way galaxy in May.
Now, in September, a good three-fourths of the way through the story, our little corner of the cosmos gets interesting. On the 1st (4.57 bya), our own sun emerges.
The HPedia: Symbol
Your help is needed! Please critique this entry from the HPedia: An encyclopedia of key concepts in Naturalistic Paganism. Please leave your constructive criticism in the comments below.
In Naturalistic Paganism, deities and magic are often interpreted symbolically in some sense. Mirriam-Webster defines a symbol as:
something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance; especially : a visible sign of something invisible
In common parlance, symbol might be used more or less synonymously with allegory or metaphor. For example, Athena may be symbolic of wisdom, or Thor of thunder. However, in Jungian psychology, symbols are distinguished against metaphors. John Halstead explains:
The meaning of a metaphor is known. But a symbol carries with it a surplus of meaning which cannot be conveyed through explanation. A metaphor is a known quantity, but a symbol is practically inexhaustible. Ritual uses symbolic words and actions to evoke this surplus of meaning.
I have heard the complaint by some atheists that we should just say what we mean and then symbolic language would be unnecessary. But I believe this betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of symbol. Symbolic language is not representational language; it is evocative language. If we can embrace this understanding of symbol, I think our rituals will become less wordy, more evocative, and potentially more likely to be transformative.
See also “Allegory” and “Metaphor.”
Check out other entries in our HPedia.
Why is community the focus of HP?
Community is key.
– by B. T. Newberg
The focus of HP is community. Why?
Though this website started as an outlet for one guy’s thoughts (mine), it soon became clear that there were many others of like mind out there. Pretty quickly, the site began to showcase the writings of other naturalists. Eventually, the site fell into a rhythm of publishing equal amounts of articles by the editor and by guest authors.
There were several reasons for this shift. Showcasing the work of other naturalists provides several benefits. For example, it:
- creates a sense of community
- demonstrates our numbers
- illustrates diversity and breadth
- shows our increasing development and maturity as a movement
Read More
The HPedia: Allegory
Your help is needed! Please critique this entry from the HPedia: An encyclopedia of key concepts in Naturalistic Paganism. Please leave your constructive criticism in the comments below.
Allegory is one of several ways that naturalistic traditions have historically interpreted myth.
Mirriam-Webster defines allegory as:
the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence
The Stoics, for example, read Greek myths as referring to natural phenomena: Zeus to sky, Hera to air, Poseidon to water, etc.
Jungians distinguish between allegory and symbol (see “Symbol”, below), as elucidated in the following chapter by David and Sharn Waldron:
Jung clearly differentiates between symbols and archetypes embedded in culture and consciously constructed forms […] According to Jung, consciously constructed images are allegories and signs that give reference to psychological archetypes deeply buried in the unconscious mind. They do not represent the archetypes themselves and are thus not symbolic as such. Allegories and signs have a conscious and known meaning whereas a symbol must always and necessarily be an unknown quantity. If a symbol can be totally explained or rationalized within the confines of the conscious mind, then it ceases exercise the power of a symbol and becomes an allegoric reference. From Jung’s perspective, symbols represent those unquantifiable aspects of the unconscious that have a numinous quality, creating meaning for the individual or the collective. They play an illuminating role, revealing the hidden aspects of the psyche. However, when a symbol becomes a consciously apprehended and constructed image, it ceases to be a symbol and, although it may masquerade as a symbol, it becomes a representation of the personal. Therefore it ceases to be a union of opposites and becomes a collaborator in the suppression of the shadow. (Waldron and Waldron, 2008).
See also “Metaphor” and “Symbol.”
Check out other entries in our HPedia.
Praying to the Goddess as good financial advice, by Thomas Schenk
Prayer may plant a little seed of timelessness
The rice planter’s mistake
In China, there is a story told about a husband and wife who are rice farmers. They have just finished planting the crop. The husband, though, is not content just waiting for the crop to grow. He wants to do more; he thinks he can do more. This worries his wife. Even when the shoot have become ankle high, the husband is still edgy, still convinced there is something more he can do to make the rice crop grow faster and better.
One morning the wife wakes up to find her husband out of the house. She looks for him out in the rice paddy, and there he is surrounded by the shoots of rice that he has pulled up in his attempt to make them grow faster. “What have you done!” she yells….
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
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