Hi, folks! Sorry for the radio silence; my head hasn’t been in pagan space much lately so I’ve been dealing with a bit of writer’s block in that direction. I’m starting to come out of it a bit, though, and I have a few… Continue Reading
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Our Peaceful and Harmonious Pagan Community – Really!
I agree that it would be nice if we Pagans were completely harmonious and accepting of each other – but by comparison with practically anyone else, we are doing really, really awesome, and no one has killed or even physically attacked anyone, as far as I know. 
What American Gods Tells Us About the Need for Religious Ecstasy
American Gods possibly reflected and probably magnified a dissatisfaction among many Pagans with popular forms of Paganism. And it offered one possible alternative: literal belief in the gods and devotional forms of worship. Popular Paganism was failing to produce the kind deep religious experiences that many of Pagans craved, and devotional polytheism promised to answer that craving. There is a lesson here for Godless Pagans and other Religious Naturalists. If we want our religions to thrive, and if we want to experience the depths that spirituality has to offer, we must find ways to tap into the experience of transcendence and ecstasy.
Building a Strong and Free Pagan Community
I hope that moving forward, we are able to disagree respectfully, as friends, to recognize our common goals and community, and sometimes, to join in powerful and moving rituals, regardless of the fact that some of us see the underlying basis of those rituals differently. With that, we might be able to bring a life-centered Paganism to millions, who might fit better into this or that part of our wider Pagan community, with many of us working together to build a better future for the whole web of life.
The Shame of Being a “Non-Practicing Pagan”
Before you call someone a “non-practicing Pagan,” consider that their practice may just look different from yours, or consider that, even though you have very different beliefs, their practice may actually look quite a bit like yours.
The Problem and the Promise of Paganism, and Why One Looks a Lot Like the Other
In spite of the tendency of many Pagans to confuse the pre-rational with the trans-rational, in spite of the uncritical attitudes and superstitious ideas that haunt a lot of Paganism, I still call myself a Pagan. I am still a Pagan because I believe that Paganism is a door to the trans-rational. I believe that Paganism has the potential to bring together the wisdom of our animistic forebearers and the discoveries of contemporary science in a way that has the power to reenchant the world.
Ego-Paganism and the Tyranny of Structurelessness
Opposition to all organization on principle serves nothing but the egos of certain individuals. And it reduces our community to the lowest common denominator — the heckler and the troll. They should not be allowed to define our agendas, because their only agenda is the destruction of all agendas. We need to recognize ego-Paganism for what it is: dead weight for our community. While we need to create space for ego-centered Pagans, we cannot allow them to keep us from coming together to help make the world a better place.
Nothing to see here folks. Paganism is fine, really, just fine.
Sure, there’s a giant hole in center of the donut that is Paganism, but who wants donuts without holes? If more and more people are moving to the periphery of Paganism, who cares? Let them eat donut holes, I say!
Naturalistic Paganism’s Spectral Challenge – Part Four: A Ritual of Encounter by Émile Wayne
All Specters + Reps: [Joyfully] The way forward is open! The future awaits us, and this night is full of promise! Follow us!
Announcing The New go-to Site for Naturalistic Pagan Blogging: NaturalPagans.com!
Today marks the official launch of NaturalPagans.com – a blog aggregator collecting new blog posts from the popular blogs “A Sense of Natural Wonder”, “Atheopaganism”, Humanistic Paganism”, “Canadian Mutt”, and “The Allergic Pagan”! You no longer have to remember to check all these different blogs – here they all are on one site, which you can subscribe to as well.