-
One-Handed Ponderings and Updates
It’s been more than a week since I broke my arm, and as a result, my writing has slowed to a crawl. Between pain, ongoing hassles with trying to arrange medical care, and the simple inconvenience of typing one-handed, this is no longer the easy medium it has always been for me. I’ve done a proof-of-concept video on the Atheopagan YouTube channel and I will try to keep updates coming there. But one thing about having only one arm is that simple dressing and grooming become very challenging, and I’d rather not vid myself while looking like a pale naked Swamp Thing. So we’ll see. I have spoken with an Atheopaganism Facebook…
-
THE WINNER! Your New Atheopagan Symbol
We gotta winner! We went through an extensive process and considered many possibilities, but in the end this symbol was the overwhelming favorite in the final round of voting to select an Atheopagan symbol. Congratulations to Linden Weaver and Rua Lupa for the concept and the finalization of this beautiful design! Now, nothing can please everyone. I’m sure there is some disappointment out there (my proposals, for the record, washed out before the final round of voting). Many of the designs were really good and I’m grateful to all of those who submitted them. As with everything in Atheopaganism, remember that if you don’t like this symbol, you are free…
-
My Pagan Purple Heart
I’m afraid that unless I find a voice-dictation solution soon, posts to this site are going to slow for awhile. I was helping to set up the ritual fire circle at Ignite last Thursday, and I fell from the back of a large pickup truck, belly-flopping onto the road with my left arm underneath me. It swelled instantly, but we (the onsite nurse and I) concluded it was a bad sprain, wrapped it, and I started a regimen of icing and NSAIDs. The pain was pretty serious, but manageable, and I went on to have powerful, beautiful experiences at the three all-night fire circles that followed. On Monday, after my return, I went…
-
Ritual Practice of an Hellenic Atheopagan
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Pagan path of Atheopaganism as it is generally described on this site is free both of credulity in literal gods and of “soft theism”, or the usage of god-images, names and meanings as metaphorical in religious practice. But for some, this soft theism adds a valued layer of meaning to their practice. Here, guest writer Richard C. Sansing describes how he has cross-referenced figures in the traditional Tarot deck with Classical Greek mythological figures. Richard’s Focus My ritual practice combines the intellectual foundations of Atheopaganism with the symbolism of Greek mythology. My Focus is simple, featuring a figurine of Prometheus bringing fire to mankind and my childhood copy…
-
Innovation Versus Tradition in Paganism
The mainstream current of modern Paganism has made much of celebrating “Ancient Ways” and “Old Gods”. This creates an inherent tension between old (or putatively old) practices and beliefs and the innovations and achievements of modernity. Elements of the broad Pagan umbrella range widely across this expanse. At one pole, you have Reconstructionists, for whom ancient ideas and practices are pretty much everything, and those of other paths who choose to continue to believe (despite much scholarship to the contrary) that today’s Paganism derives from an unbroken lineage of tradition stemming from medieval times or earlier. At the other, there is Atheopaganism, which draws forward some traditional activities, but contextualizes…
-
Ave Fortuna!
A guest post by Kaigi-Ron Ave is the principle of gratitude. Of recognizing, in each moment, how incredibly lucky you are…because it could’ve gone another way. It could be so very much worse…but, fortunately, it isn’t. Ave Fortuna! It all started with the Focus to Fortuna. In this world ruled by chaos, she rolls the dice. They cannot be unrolled. So it goes. I added miniature decks (both standard playing card and tarot), a pewter ship (the winds of change), plus a full set of D&D dice. May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor… …and I’m reminded of a passage from Leonard Mladinow’s book The Drunkard’s Walk – all about how we perceive randomness. Think for a…
