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Intermediaries
When I think about Paganism, the first thing that comes to my mind is reverence for Nature–for the physical Earth. For Life, here and now. And I think that’s true of a lot of theistic Pagans, too. For Pagans–theists and Atheopagans alike–direct access to the Sacred* is a core aspect of our spiritual experience. We need no intermediaries–unlike, say, the Abrahamic monotheisms, where the sacred rites must be performed by a trained man (usually) who serves as an intercessionary between their god and ordinary humans. In Paganism, on the other hand, subjective personal “gnosis” is often presented by theists as evidence of their gods’ reality. It seems to me that…
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The Reality Settles In
I ‘m hearing it all over: the days are blending into one another. Every week is the same. My memory sucks. I feel anxious all the time. I’m depressed. I’m feeling it, too. Even though I still get to go to work every week (and yes, that feels like a privilege), I feel cooped up and like nothing ever happens except work. Work itself is incredibly stressful: the food bank has doubled throughput of food since March and everyone there is stretched just short of the point of breaking. The “adventure” phase of the pandemic has passed. No longer is this a project of pulling together and overcoming adversity. Now…
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Here Come the Atheopagans!
When I first wrote an essay outlining the rationale, Principles and practices of Atheopaganism, I did it for myself, to sort out my thinking and decidedly mixed experience of the Pagan community. That was in 2008-2009. After it was done and I was settling into my new practice and approach, a handful of people I talked with about it expressed curiosity about it, so I threw the essay up on Scribd. It wasn’t long after that people started coming to me at gatherings and conferences and expressing like-mindedness, and Atheopaganism as a movement was born. As the founder, I was naturally the central figure in creating materials, resources, analysis and…
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Homily
Sisters and brothersAnd genderqueer others, beloveds:Let us not bow our heads. No, let us not bow our heads. Instead,Let us fling them back, arms stretchedWide to the world, mouths gaping in awe For there–THERE–is the sky. The simple,Miraculous sky, blue or gray by dayDark by night, pale scrim of air That is breath that is rainThat keeps the radiation out.The sky’s wide vault, the Temple of Being Upon this good wide Earth.Gaze upward, knowingThis is what I am, where I live, This is the miracle that is me.Do not despair. Be of stout heart, for surelyThose who live entire lives in a Temple Must be blessed. Know your good fortune.Say…
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So, um…Wanna Get Ordained?
Today, I learned something amazing: In the U.S., if your religious organization’s income is ordinarily expected to be $5,000 per year or less, YOU DON’T HAVE TO FILE FOR TAX EXEMPT STATUS! What this means is that The Atheopagan Society is ALREADY a tax-exempt nonprofit. We have some steps we have to take, like formally convening the Society Council and filing some documents with the state, but we don’t have to mess with convincing IRS that we are a “real” religion until we have much higher income than is projected to be needed for the first year or two, at least. And so–like any religious nonprofit, anywhere–we can ordain people.…
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Paganism and Transgression: Some Questions
From Gardner’s nudism and enthusiasm for sadomasochism, which he folded into the foundation of Wicca… …to taking and embracing the label “witch” (and, to a lesser degree, “pagan”)… …to taking unusual names and adopting radical environmental and social politics… …to everything about Aleister Crowley… …the roots and modern realities of modern Paganism are heavily sown with trangression: with deliberate contravention of societal norm. It’s not a surprise. In the US, the modern Pagan movement arose simultaneously with and within the context of the countercultural movement of the 1960s, which was, well…counter-cultural. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. But it could be an inherent impediment to Paganism ever becoming a…
