Pagan Bloggers with Naturalistic Worldviews
So, last year I wrote about a new tradition for Riverain, the Water Sabbath, which is how I celebrate the holiday that falls between the Winter Solstice (Yule) and the Spring Equinox (High Spring). Riverain comes at the height of the wet season in California’s Mediterranean climate, when the hills are green and the creeks and … Continue reading The Ritual Cycle of the Rain Baby: An Example
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It’s a sadly familiar tale in the Pagan community: the coven or local organization that is run by a charismatic “high priestess” or “high priest” (or both), doling out “training” and “degrees of advancement” based on how well the subject toes the line, fawns over the “priest/ess”, and, in some particularly sad cases, provides them … Continue reading No Gods. No Masters. No Priesthood.
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Today, the revelation of accusations of child molestation against the late Ar nDraiocht Fein founder Isaac Bonewits hit the Pagan community. This comes in the wake of the conviction of Kenny Klein, founder of Blue Star Wicca, ongoing concern about Pagan sexual culture provoked by the likes of the Frosts, and community discussion about violation … Continue reading Killing the Sixties: Abuse, Consent, #MeToo and the Pagan Community
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I’m a white guy. I mean, a seriously white guy. My 23andme.com DNA profile shows me as having 100% Northern European ancestry, pretty much all of which is English/Irish except for 1.2% Scandinavian, which has GOT to be a Viking raider. Not one of my ancestors ever had the courage to mate out of group, to … Continue reading Approaching the Animal Self
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The fundamental difference between theistic Pagans and Atheopagans is that the former propose that there exists an “Otherworld”: a parallel dimension of reality in which reside gods, spirits, fairies and other such beings. Atheopagans, having a naturalistic worldview, don’t subscribe to this idea. As I look around the community, I think there are questions about … Continue reading Crunch Time: Pagan Priorities and the Otherworld
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January is a hard damned month for me. There, I said it. After the colorful lights and parties and presents and many festivities of Yule comes a dark, cold time when we all go back to work. No fun for us now: just trudging through the snow or freezing rain, in the dark, to and … Continue reading Introducing SLOGG: The Winter Demi-Sabbath
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2017 saw more content than ever posted at Atheopaganism (as well as an upsurge in membership of the Facebook group). Here are five of my favorites among this year’s posts, in no particular order. Farewell, 2017, and happy New Year to you all! A Dawn Prayer Care and Feeding of the Atheopagan Activist There is … Continue reading My Five Favorite Posts of 2017
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If you are gathered with friends or family for New Year’s Eve, here is a light ritual you can do that isn’t interruptive of festivities but can add some meaningful heft to the launch of the new calendar year. Place a dollar coin, for luck and prosperity, into the bottom of an iron cauldron or Dutch … Continue reading The Cauldron of Hope: A New Year’s Eve Ritual
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There has always been something about the Wiccan Rede that has bothered me, and I’ve finally figured out what it is. The Wiccan Rede, for those new to the community or coming into Atheopaganism from atheist/skeptic circles, is the only widely (though far from universally) adopted moral precept in the Pagan community. It reads: “An (if) … Continue reading “Harm None” Ain’t Good Enough: A Call to Action
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My final wish for you all this Yule season is that you be surrounded with love. We are social apes, we humans, and loneliness is a terrible burden to us. Here at the dark and cold time of year, we can feel even more isolated, even more as though we must face life’s trials on … Continue reading Yule Offering #3: Love
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