Naturalistic Paganism

Category: practice


Your Chance to help those in Orlando – Naturally.

Have you ever gone to the funeral of an Atheistic loved one, and found your loved one’s death used to proselytize a religion she or he didn’t agree with? I have – too many times to count, in fact. It’s like getting kicked in the face when you are already grieving. If I can spare that for anyone, it’s worth it. That’s why this opportunity struck me as being so important.

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The May Cross-Quarter (Vernal Equitherm) is just two weeks away!

In the Northern Hemisphere, May 1st time is traditionally celebrated in the Neo-Pagan Wheel of the Year as Beltane. The name derives from the Irish Gaelic Bealtaine or the Scottish Gaelic Bealtuinn for “Bel-fire”. Beltane is reputed as a day of unabashed sexuality, visible in the phallic symbolism of dancing round the Maypole.

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“‘As mortals pour, so do the gods’: A critique of divine reciprocity” by John Halstead (Part 1)

As I pour out the water or wine or honey on the earth, I create, in the form of the stream of liquid, a living connection between myself and the earth. It is a visual and visceral representation of my connection to the earth. And in so doing, I experience both an “emptying” and also simultaneously a “filling”, as if I am both emptying the vessel of myself and filling myself at the same time, as if I am both the cup that pours and the earth which receives. In this act, I restore in a small measure that sense of sensual connection I have to the world. This for me is the true meaning of divine reciprocity.

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“Letting Go of the Side of the Pool” by DT Strain

In earlier articles I’ve discussed what spiritual transformation could mean in a naturalistic context. Many times the real essence of these profound experiences can be difficult to communicate. They involve glimpses of such things as: unconditional compassion, greater humility, extreme…

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Mid-Month Meditation for June

We bring our late spring theme, “Practice”, to a close with this thought by Mary Jo Weaver: “First the appearance, then the dance, then the story.” Pagans often claim that they have no orthodoxy (right belief), only orthopraxy (right practice), by…

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