Naturalistic Paganism

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No Nonsense Paganism: The baby and the bathwater

One of my perennial concerns is why liberal and naturalistic religion often seems to lack transformative power. I think at least part of the reason for this is because of its ambivalent attitude toward ritual.

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No-Nonsense Paganism: Creating a Ritual (part 2)

Ritual is the product of a conscious form applied to unconscious content. The most evocative rituals I have created came from somewhere other than my rational mind. They combined intuitive bodily movements with what W.H. Auden called “privately numinous words”, words that I had read or heard which had a talismanic-like effect on me.

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No-Nonsense Paganism: Creating a Ritual (part 1)

Ritual is the product of a conscious form applied to unconscious content. The most evocative rituals I have created came from somewhere other than my rational mind. They combined intuitive bodily movements with what W.H. Auden called “privately numinous words”, words that I had read or heard which had a talismanic-like effect on me.

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A Pedagogy of Gaia, by Bart Everson: “Spring in the Subtropics, Spring in the Self”

How do we cultivate a “spring in the self,” a season of renewal and rebirth within. Spring and the equinox are experienced differently at different places. The body is, of course, the ultimate localization. All our dreams start here. Let’s aim to change the world, starting with ourselves.

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