Naturalistic Paganism
Category: Contributors
[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.
Read MoreAre We are all Green-Men and Women? by Renee Lehnen
Shortly after my father died, my sisters and I received letters that he had written, tobacco stained fingers punching keyboard, weeks earlier. My atheist, politically conservative father wrote…..
Read More[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.
Read MoreIt’s Easy to be Pagan in the Wild, by Lupa Greenwolf
It’s easy to be pagan in the wild. It’s easy to find the heart of a nature-based pagan path when you’re immersed in a quiet forest or secluded desert highway. Connecting with the divine is a simpler act when your breath catches at the sight of a graceful doe or soaring raptor. But what about deep within cities, with graffiti-tinged cement and stinking hot asphalt under the burning summer sun? Where is the sacred in a clearcut, or a landfill, or a mountaintop mine?
Read MoreLonging and Contradiction in (Re?)Creating Modern Paganism by Emile Wayne
I feel this situation speaks to a deep and important longing among modern Pagans. We admire the non-creedal, integrated, world-affirming lifeways of ancient paleo-pagans and hope to (re)create that form of religion for ourselves, working past centuries of religious alienation produced by religions which insist that any experience of “depth” must be “Not of this World.” But the societies in which ancient paleo-pagan religions were practiced no longer exist; if we celebrate paleo-paganisms because of their seamless integration with daily life, natural systems, and cultural milieu, then the fact that we live in entirely different circumstances means that, even if we could recover these systems in their entirety, we could not successfully integrate them into our own lives, which is the goal in the first place.
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Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
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