Columns | Naturalistic Paganism

[Pagan in Place] “Even Here”, by Anna Walther

Posted on May 17, 2016 by NaturalisticPaganism

See? Even here and now, in the cracks of this suburban sidewalk, you spring up, green hands open to catch the rain.

[A Pedagogy of Gaia] “The Surprising Results of Magical Thinking” by Bart Everson

Posted on May 10, 2016 by NaturalisticPaganism

Generally speaking, philosophical naturalists don’t believe in magic, so any invocation of the term is likely to be pejorative. For those with a naturalistic mindset, the phrase “magical thinking” is often a diss or a criticism, a suggestion of logical gaps or inconsistencies, similar to wishful thinking. But I think wholesale disavowal goes too far. So next time you’re down in New Orleans, come take a walk on this path made from dreams. See for yourself the glorious results that can come from magical thinking.

[Rotting Silver] “Haiku Collection: Beetles” by B. T. Newberg

Posted on April 25, 2016 by B. T. Newberg

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A struggling beetle Emerging from the toilet Slides into the piss A beetle scurries On the floor; an eye flashes A shoe thunders down A hounded beetle Dashes madly for the wall Almost, almost, al A horn…

The Naturalistic Pagan Toolbox: Speaking of/to Nature

Posted on April 18, 2016 by John Halstead

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Robin Kimmerer argues for changing our language as a way of changing our relationship to nature. She urges us to adopt a “grammar of animacy.” She calls this “a kind of reverse linguistic imperialism, a shift in worldview through the humble work of the pronoun.”