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Cozy
Here in the northern hemisphere, it’s dark time now. Three weeks to the solstice, with lights going up on houses and cars with trees atop showing up in traffic, en route to home and decoration and love. There is the consumer frenzy of the Overculture, too, of course, but I avoid all that. We no longer give gifts–we have enough things, and when we really need something, we just buy it. We choose instead to have lovely experiences and celebrate a bunch of holiday observances, which are detailed here. As the skies darken and the days shorten, grow wetter and colder, I find myself drawn more and more towards comfy…
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Now Comes the Tainted Holiday
It’s American Thanksgiving again. Time for turkey, stuffing, cranberries and cognitive dissonance. Like so much of the history of the United States of America, Thanksgiving is a happy smiley story layered over appalling crimes against humanity. Ask the Wampanoag what they feel about the meal they shared with white colonizers 400 years ago. It is not a happy, smiley story. They are not grateful for encountering those people, or for that day. And yet, part of me is so pulled to the concept of a holiday for gratitude. Which is, after all, one of the Atheopagan Principles. Shouldn’t we have one of those? Yes, I think we should. The Harvest…
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The Atheopagan Libation–A Ritual We Can Share Globally
Recently, as we interviewed her for THE WONDER podcast, guest Susan Paterson of the Atheopagan Society Council suggested that it would be cool if there were a particular ritual that was shared by Atheopagan practitioners all over the world. I love this idea, so here is a suggestion that Atheopagans across the globe can adopt if they so choose. Thirteen being a special number for us, I suggest Atheopagans do this ritual at Thirteen o’clock (1 pm) on the 13th of each month, wherever you are–or whenever you gather with other Atheopagans. If you are at work (as I will be if it’s a weekday), take a few minutes to…
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A Quick Index to Resources on this Site
There’s a lot here. More than 600 posts, going back to 2014. Essays on Atheopagan values and Principles, ritual skills and techniques, ritual outlines, suggestions for seasonal celebrations of the wheel of the year, rites of passage and personal rituals. A lot of useful ideas for help with building your own Atheopagan practice. But it’s a little daunting to navigate, and the search tools are unfortunately limited. So this post is to help you find what you’re looking for. It doesn’t by any means index everything on the site, but it will give you access to many of the key resources here. Getting Started–Beginning Your Practice Page of links and…
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Keeping Cool Stuff in Ornate Containers
Maybe this is where it all started. I remember, when I was very young, perhaps seven or eight, I read one of those stories about an Olde Curiosity Shoppe that appears, sells something Unusual to the protagonist, and then was gone when he went back to find it again. The shoppe was full of stuff. Cool stuff, in strange dusty bottles and jars and boxes (some of which had eerie sounds coming from within). I loved the sound of that place. I wanted to go to there and root through all the weird, magical things. It started with a brass oil lamp, like an Alladin-style lamp I bought in Spain.…
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New Title, Better Boundaries
If you’re familiar with this site, you may have noticed that the title has changed. Now, it is “Mark Green’s Atheopaganism Blog”. That’s to make it clear that the thoughts, opinions, ideas, and resources presented here are mine. Not necessarily those of the nonprofit Atheopagan Society, which is administered by a Council on which I have one of thirteen seats. We are evolving and growing as a community, and it is deeply important to me that Atheopaganism not be “mine”. So this is a step to ensure that the community and its collective activities are directed by itself, not by me, and that includes speech. Nothing will change here, content-wise.…
