The second in a 4-part series, originally published at The Woven Song. III. The Mythic Ecology of Ancestry (Water) “There was a time, the myths tell us, when the link between animals, humans and the land was fluid, magical. The…
“The Dead Can Dance: The Totemism of Evolution” by Mathieu Thiem
The first in a 4-part series, originally published at The Woven Song. I. Falling Towards the Ancestors (Sacred Space) “When the leaves fall, the bones are laid bare. Old scars are revealed.” – Émile Wayne Hauntings of autumn are carried…
10 Signs You’re Half-Assing Your Pagan Ritual
I have been fortunate to have attended some great Pagan rituals. But, gods know, I have suffered through a lot more rituals that were just terrible. A lot of you probably know what I’m talking about. I know fellow-Patheos blogger,…
Les Cafés Mortels, by Renee Lehnen
The aspects of dying that these two people shared taught me more than a library of reading could. We plan to hold another Death Café in winter 2018 if only to chase away the cold with cake, hot beverages, and intriguing conversation. Naturalistic Pagans are most welcome.
Save Herbalists from ‘Alternative Medicine’ By Rua Lupa
Herbal Medicine has merit, there is ample evidence and tests on herbal medicine performing better than a placebo and working as an effective treatment. It is clearly Medicine, so why has it been lumped into the ‘Alternative’ category here?
Happy Fall Equitherm (Samhain)!
Our Ancestors reach back in an unbroken chain billions of years long. Celebrations Death, the dead, and our Ancestors fill our minds today. Some of the ways many of us are celebrating were published a few weeks ago, and at least…
Teaching Death to Naturalistic Pagan Children, Addendum – by [Starstuff, Contemplating]
In the earlier post on teaching children about death, Kansas covered several important points. In teaching those, the additional ones mentioned above, basic family discussions (such as when a pet dies, hopefully before a relative dies), and more, the following resources could be useful.
Teaching Death to Naturalistic Pagan Children, by Kansas Stanton
We learn about death at school through literature, science, history, and mythology, but the topic alone never seems to be discussed. I feel like if sex education is taught in some public schools, we should be allowed to have death education. I think if we begin to discuss it with our children (whether someone they knew passed or not), it can not only help to teach them about its natural process, both miraculous and necessary as birth, but it can teach it to us, as well.
Raising the Flame Stone: Stones Rising, Four Quarters Interfaith Ceremony, Part 2 by Moine Michelle
I’m still looking at the stone when I hear the voices of the main ritualists begin to raise in a song. I cannot really hear the words. I catch snippets—something about the land. Something about belonging to the land and to each other. I let the singing, the voices wash over me—through me—around me. I cannot take my eyes from the stone as the current raises and turns raw.
And, like that, I am opened. I surrender to it.
Raising the Flame Stone: Stones Rising, Four Quarters Interfaith Ceremony, Part 1 by Moine Michelle
The enormous “Flame Stone,” a 4-ton and 22-foot slab of red, brown, and gray sand stone, is the 53rd stone to be raised at Four Quarters. Set in the North, the Flame Stone is the first stone of a larger interior circle that will take another ten years to build. 