The Allergic Pagan – NaturalPagans

Paganism: The Little Religion That Could Have Been

August 29, 2018 John Halstead Climate Change, end of the world, Environmentalism, Natural Pagans, Paganism, The Allergic Pagan

I’m not blaming Paganism for the end of the world as we know it. Well, not entirely.

Paganism Needs a Prophet (but it ain’t me)

July 6, 2018 John Halstead Community, devotional polytheism, gods, literalism, Magic, Natural Pagans, naturalistic paganism, Neo-Paganism, occultism, Paganism, pre/trans fallacy, The Allergic Pagan

I hope a prophet does come along to lead Pagans out of the wilderness of dogmatism and superstition … but it ain’t me babe!

Rebooting My Altar

July 5, 2018 John Halstead altar, Natural Pagans, sacred space, The Allergic Pagan

The process of “rebooting” my altar made it come alive for me again. Each object resonated with significance, and the whole once again became holy.

Naturalistic “Pagan” Books You Won’t Find in the Metaphysical Section

July 2, 2018 John Halstead Natural Pagans, The Allergic Pagan

Originally posted on Humanistic Paganism:
I love bookstores and libraries. Honestly, I feel more at home surrounded by books than I do surrounded by people. But since becoming a Naturalistic Pagan, my trips to the bookstore have become a lot more complicated. Every time I go into a bookstore, I visit the Paganism section, or…

Pagan with a small “p”

December 15, 2017 John Halstead animism, belief, Community, contemporary Paganism, Natural Pagans, Nature, pagan, Paganism, The Allergic Pagan

For every gem of genuine ecological wisdom I have found in the Pagan community, there is a deluge of crystals and correspondences, divinities and divination apps, wizards and wishful thinking. Maybe it’s time to face up to the fact that, while I am spiritually and religiously “pagan” with a small-p, culturally I am not a capital-P “Pagan”.

The Fairies Have Left the Building: Enchantment is an Experience, Not a Belief

December 14, 2017 John Halstead belief, disenchantment, disenchantment of the world, enchantment, fairies, Natural Pagans, Practice, The Allergic Pagan

What is needed is not belief, not fantasies and wishful thinking, but but practices which get us out of our heads and away from fantasies and wishful thinking. What is needed is not belief in an otherworld populated by fairies and dragons, but practices reveal to us where we actually are and the holiness of this place we call earth.

Is UU Atheism a Form of White Privilege?

December 1, 2017 John Halstead Black, God, God-talk, language of reverence, Natural Pagans, race, Racism, The Allergic Pagan, Theism, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, UU, UUA, UUism, White, White privilege, White Supremacy

I am atheist. But I think, if we are truly to fight racism–both within and without–we just might need God after all.

5 Ways Paganism Needs to Grow Up

November 21, 2017 John Halstead Community, criticism, egocentrism, egotism, Ethics, interconnectedness, Natural Pagans, Paganism, Rede, self expression, spiritual development, stages of faith, The Allergic Pagan

It’s time for Paganism as a whole to grow up. If we don’t, as a community, mature beyond the first stage of spiritual development, then we will continue to only attract people who are in the first stage of spiritual development, and we will only keep them for as long as they are in that first stage. When they make the transition to the second stage, they will leave Paganism.

My Religion is Rooted, Literally.

November 8, 2017 John Halstead body, Earth, earth-centered, matter, Natural Pagans, Nature, relationship, Religion, The Allergic Pagan

My religion is rooted. In fact, it is a religion of roots…and of tubers and worms and actinobacteria. I am a dirt worshiping Pagan. My gospel is the gospel of compost.

The Wild Hunt for Justice: At the Intersection of Ritual and Protest

November 6, 2017 John Halstead Activism, environmental, LGBT, Natural Pagans, pagan, Protest, racial, ritual, The Allergic Pagan, Wild Hunt

I was recently invited to the New Orleans Pagan Pride Day this year to lead the opening ritual. This was my attempt to bring together elements of Pagan ritual with elements of political protest.