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In the Silken Air
At this time of year, I like to spend as much time without clothing as possible. The soft Spring air is delightful, caressing my body, and it just feels liberating and alive to be naked. Now, this isn’t for everyone, and I’m not saying it should be. You have to come to terms with the state of your body, which is a real challenge for some of us (not that their bodies aren’t fine as they are, but body-image issues are a real thing). I am a middle-aged man with a typical middle-aged man’s body, somewhat the worse for the COVID-19 (lbs.)’ weight gain over the past year. To be…
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Yuri’s Triumph
It is 60 years ago today that the era of humanity in space began with the remarkable, courageous orbit of Yuri Gagarin around our beloved planet. OFF WE GO! he said as his rocket, Vostok 1, began the long, roaring climb out of Earth’s gravity well. And nothing has been the same since. Today, we marvel at the Hubble images, the crystal-clear shots of our Solar System’s planets, asteroids, comets, the alien landscapes of Mars and the Moon. We look up to where human feet have walked on our Earth’s own satellite, and listen for the distant peeps of the Voyagers, far beyond the worlds of our Sun. We have…
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Joy Hunt
It’s been a long time. I mean, a really long time. For many of us, since long before even the pandemic. Since we strode, or ran, or wheeled, or paddled into the wild, lungs gulping precious air, consumed with The Moment of Aliveness. Or, being unable to do any of those things, simply witnessed one of the many miracles of life on this exquisite Earth—a sunset or rise, a rainbow, a bolt of lightning, a crashing wave, a moonrise, snow falling, an aurora—and had our breath taken away. It’s more than a year now since our socialization, our group activities were taken from us. And I’m writing now to suggest…
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Equanamity, Balance and the Equinox
As I write this, the Earth coasts in its slightly angled orbit towards the Ecliptic, the plane of rotation of the Sun. When we cross it, the days and nights will be of equal lengths (at the equator). It is the Vernal Equinox, the moment when the days begin to stretch longer than the nights in the Northern hemisphere. There are many themes associated with this holiday for Pagans, as we frame our Wheels of the Year based on our local climate and ecologies and, in some cases, on the agricultural cycle and/or the life cycle of a person. But one we don’t talk about quite so often is this…
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Doing the Work
As Atheopagans, we’re about being healthier, wiser, happier humans, and through action contributing to a better world. Some of that is about values. Ours are articulated in the 4 Sacred Pillars and the 13 Atheopagan Principles, and in this area particularly Principle 4: humility; Principle 5: perspective and humor; Principle 7:, inclusiveness; Principle 8: legacy; Principle 9: social responsibility, and especially Principle 13: kindness and compassion. Some of it is about healing: healing our wounds and shame, our self-esteem. Our fear. And some of it is about moving through and beyond our bullshit. Which, let us be clear, we all have. Personal work is core and essential in Atheopaganism. Willingness…
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High Spring: An Equinox Compendium
I’ve written various posts on celebrating the vernal equinox over the years. Here are a couple of them, to help you plan your celebration of this Sabbath. Happy Spring! The Sabbath of Innocence High Spring: Themes, Resources and Ideas
