Naturalistic Paganism

Category: Columns


The Naturalistic Pagan Toolbox: “Spiritual Naturalist Drumming” by DT Strain

As the famous jazz musician John Coltrane said, “All a musician can do is get closer to the sources of nature, and so feel that he is in communion with the natural laws”. Drumming, like any practice, may not be for everyone, but it is this very real and very natural enhanced perception that makes drumming a potential source of spiritual transformation.

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[Rotting Silver] “Hymn to the Winds” by B. T. Newberg

Gentle wind, rough wind, our wind, no wind– Many are the winds that help us. One by one we sing a hymn to you, singing: Help us appreciate our home. Gentle wind, you massage the tree leaves, Lead the rope…

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

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

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

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.

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

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…

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