Naturalistic Paganism
Category: John Halstead
“‘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.
Read MoreDE NATURA DEORUM: “The Mystic Demystified: Making theistic language serve the religious naturalist” by John Halstead
De Natura Deorum is a semi-seasonal column where we explore the beliefs of Naturalistic Pagans about the nature of deity. For the rest of this month, the theme here at HP is “Inspiration”. Some of our contributors have shared their…
Read MoreThe Earth, The Gods, and the Soul by Brendan Myers, a review by John Halstead
Brendan Myers’s book The Earth, The Gods, and the Soul is like candy for a philosophy lover like me. If philo-sophy is the “love of wisdom”, then I am a lover of the lover of wisdom, a philo-philosophe. And a book…
Read MoreStages of (My) Faith, a review by John Halstead
Understanding James Fowler’s stages of human spiritual development helped me make peace with my religious past and also gave me an inkling of what I wanted to move toward spiritually.
Read MoreLooking back, Looking forward, by John Halstead
Officially, my job as managing editor does not start until next Sunday, but I’m very excited, and I wanted to give you a preview of what’s to come. Looking back But before I do, I want to look back briefly….
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
Naturalistic Paganism 