Naturalistic Paganism

Category: Contributors


“‘Goats’ Heads or Gaia?’: Instrumental Magic and Pagan Values” by John Halstead

Our late autumn theme here at HP is “Responsibility“.  This is the second in a 3-part series, looking critically at contemporary Neo-Paganism from an earth-centered perspective. Note: The views expressed in this essay are the author’s and are not necessarily representative…

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“How Earth-Centered is Neo-Paganism Really?” by John Halstead

Does nature merely serve as a backdrop to our rituals which are inwardly focused? Are we, in the words of Posch, “standing with our backs to the world” — both literally and figuratively? Do we worship gods of nature or the God(dess) that is nature? Is our “magic” an expression of wonder, or just another attempt to achieve mastery over the natural world? Is our religion eco-centered or ego-centered? To what extent do our religious values translate into ecologically responsible practices, individually and collectively?

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“Gaia’s Heartbeat: practicing empathy for the Mother of us all” by Brandon Sanders

This essay was first published at the SolSeed blog. According to James Lovelock’s popular Gaia hypothesis, all life on Earth, in combination with the geochemical cycles it interacts with, can be treated as a single living organism called Gaia. Humanity…

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“Leopard in a Minefield: The Flourishing of Nature” by Chris Highland

This article is part of the Patheos Public Square 2014 Summer Series: Conversations on Religious Trends. It is republished here with the permission of the author.  The naturalistic reformers of nineteenth-century America call us to love this world and no other….

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“Spell, spell, what the hell?” by Telmaris Green

This essay was originally published at Skeptical Witch. What is a spell? If you would be kind enough to indulge my inner word-geek for a moment, I promise to get on to the enchanted frog part soon.  The following etymologies…

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