Naturalistic Paganism

Category: uncategorized


Sacred Springs, Part 2 by Anna Walther

In “Sacred Springs, Part 1,” I described my first visit to Barton Springs, the most famous limestone springs in Austin, and explored the role that Barton and other major Edwards Aquifer springs play in indigenous spirituality. But there are many other artesian springs along Austin-area limestone creeks, including a small, unnamed spring just a mile from my home, near the headwaters of Walnut Creek in Northwest Austin. Last summer I spent time there grounded and centered, with senses wide open.

Read More

Sacred Springs, Part 1 by Anna Walther

Last summer I swam in Barton Springs, a spring-fed pool in the heart of downtown Austin. Native Americans have a vital, ritualistic relationship with the spring waters. The precise role the springs held in pre-Columbian indigenous spirituality is lost to time and conquest. I can take inspiration and guidance from Native American ways of relating to the Land, but must make my own practices and prayers.

Read More

Godless Paganism Book Review by Gangleri

And since I always tend to take sides with the underdog: of course I recommend this book! No matter how far some of the ideas posed here stand from my own, everybody has to walk his/her own path, come to his/her own conclusions and if these are different from my own, that is actually a good thing. So, whether you consider yourself ‘theistic’ (like myself) or not and whether you are pagan or not (or of whatever kind) here we have a book to get a bit of a feel of other people’s ideas.

Read More

[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…

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 More