Its that time of year when Death is displayed in all its G(l)ory, and so is also a time when most families have to start the conversation on what Death is and how to come to terms with that.
Save Herbalists from ‘Alternative Medicine’
The problem is that there is a conflation between ‘alternative medicine’ and ‘medicine’, and along with that, that ‘alternative medicine’ is even an acknowledged term to begin with.
Escaping the Otherworld: The Reenchantment of Paganism
The real danger to Paganism is not so much that our religion will be outlawed, but that there will be no reason to outlaw it. The danger is not that guardians of the overculture will go to war with Pagans in a second “Burning Times”, but that they will have no reason to go to war with Paganism, because any difference between the two will have become merely superficial. The danger is not that we will forced to consume some counterfeit experience for the genuine re-enchantment, but that we will no longer be able to tell the difference.
Fight Fire With Fire, Not Prayers and Rituals
In case you aren’t aware, the Columbia River Gorge is on fire. Over the weekend, a group of teenagers setting off fireworks in the Eagle Creek canyon set dry brush ablaze, and as I write this over 20,000 acres are now burning, to include… Continue Reading
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Start With the Animals and the World Will Appear
Last weekend I presented my Nature Spirituality From the Ground Up workshop at FaerieWorlds. It’s one of my favorite topics, because I’m helping workshop participants connect with their bioregion through the animal, plant, fungus and other totems there. It’s also frustrating as there’s so… Continue Reading
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Miracles of Reality: Reflections on the Impending Solar Eclipse
It’s spectacular. Seriously. When I was a little kid, my parents took me to North Carolina to view a total eclipse of the Sun. I couldn’t have been more than six, but I remember those 2-1/2 minutes of totality vividly, right down to the taste of the chives growing in the field where my father … Continue reading Miracles of Reality: Reflections on the Impending Solar Eclipse
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Potok and the Hundred-Thousand Year Fire—A Campfire Tale, by Mark Green [an Atheopagan Life]
One night, meat was plentiful. A man named Potok had killed a cave bear after a fierce battle. Our bellies were full and grease hissed in the fire, and when we had eaten, Potok stood and told his tale: how he had lured the bear and crept upon it, how his spear went deep, and then he leapt upon the bear with his flint knife. The bear’s fangs hung, fresh and bloody, from a thong about his neck.
Fasting for Naturalistic Pagans, by Renee Lehnen
In early August, many Pagans will celebrate Lammas or Lughnasadh. As I type these words, raspberries are ripening on canes, sweet peas rest in their pods, the first tomatoes are blushing, and bees are buzzing in the lavender. There is so much goodness in our gardens, orchards, and farms. Fasting is a time-tested, spiritual practice that can help Pagans to receive these summer gifts in health, joy, appreciation, and thanks.
Lupa’s Essential Books For Pagans
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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Literal Gods Are for the Literal Minded: Re-Enchanting the Gods
The disenchantment of the world happened, not when we stopped seeing gods and spirits in nature, but when we stopped seeing our essential connection to nature. Personifying rivers and trees with dryads is not going to accomplish this. Rather, we need to realize our essential oneness, the manifold ways in which we are connected to the rivers and the trees–whether or not we find gods in them.