Pagan Bloggers with Naturalistic Worldviews
Walking in nature is a very healthy thing to do. It’s exercise, it fills your lungs with good air and your eyes with beauty, it reduces stress and blood pressure and depression. It is a sacred activity and, all by itself, constitutes an “informal” Atheopagan ritual. This article is about adding a symbolic, ritual dimension … Continue reading Pilgrimage Hiking
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In times like these, those of us who are of sound mind and values know: we must do something. In Atheopaganism, we believe in the power and necessity of human ritual. We understand the science about why rituals work, and why they are important to us. We celebrate the turning of the seasons and personal and familial … Continue reading Rituals Are Important. But They Aren’t Activism.
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Friends and Allies, let us grieve. Let us grieve that an era of progress and forward thinking appears to be drowning in a sea of ignorance, hatred and fear. Let us grieve that reason has been swamped by credulity, and science by superstition and willful ignorance. Let us grieve. Let us tear the words from … Continue reading Requiem and Invocation
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We had a conversation on the Atheopagan Facebook group about a symbol for Atheopaganism, rather like the cross, star of David, crescent and star, pentacle, etc. Now, I should say a bit about this. I have been of decidedly mixed opinion about whether we should have a symbol, and when I present the symbols for … Continue reading Announcing a Contest! Inviting Designs for an Atheopagan Symbol!
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I don’t buy “pagan stuff”. No crystals (mined destructively from the Earth), no chalices or blades or wands or new Tarot decks. Sometimes I’m tempted, but I don’t do it. Well, other than candles. I already have enough incense to last the rest of my life, stored carefully so as to remain fresh and pungent. … Continue reading The Pitfall of Consumer Paganism
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“I don’t get it.” A comment I’ve seen and heard several times in relation to Atheopaganism: “I just don’t get what you’re doing, or why you’re doing it. Why would you do rituals if there is no magic and there are no gods?” (or, “what’s up with these rituals and holidays? Why do you do … Continue reading “I Don’t Get It.”
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I’m asked pretty frequently for sample Atheopagan group (as opposed to solitary) ritual scripts, and I never deliver them. Here’s why. I don’t write ritual scripts. I have hardly ever been to a group ritual where leaders/facilitators “read their lines” (or had obviously memorized them) that didn’t feel like a waste of my time, and … Continue reading Why I Don’t Write Ritual Scripts
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The Sun broom is both a Midsummer ritual and a tool you can use ritually around the year. You will need: A piece of tree branch for a handle. Don’t hurt a tree; go for a hike and find something that has already fallen to the ground. Thin ribbon or strong twine for binding grasses … Continue reading The Sun Broom—A Ritual Tool
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In many of the Pagan books circulating out there, a large chunk of the pages are devoted to “tables of correspondences”. These tables identify particular herbs, gems and minerals, incense scents, foods, and other materials with particular emotions, life experiences, times of year, and so forth. Well, I didn’t want Atheopagans to be left out … Continue reading An Atheopagan Table of Correspondences
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Sometimes in a ritual, a little special-effects magic can help to create that sense that “magic is happening”. Here are some effects I’ve collected from a conversation in the Atheopagan Facebook group. Burning Isopropyl alcohol. Use the full 90%+ stuff, not the 40% methanol “rubbing alcohol”. This is highly flammable and can make for a marvelous … Continue reading Ritual “Special Effects”
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