Atheology
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What’s This Atheopaganism About, Exactly?
So, we’re doing this Atheopaganism thing. What’s its purpose? What are its goals? I think we talk around the edges of this question a lot, with discussions of Sacred values and Principles that clearly point their way to a vision. But it would be better to articulate that vision straight-out, so people are clear about where I come from, and so we can discuss and refine it if it doesn’t work for the Atheopagan community writ large. My vision for Atheopaganism is a nested set of Russian matryoshka. It exists on scales from the personal to the societal. Personally, I pursue my Atheopagan practice as a modality for healing my inner wounds,…
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Why Atheopagan Principles?
I am excited to announce that a new Facebook group has arisen for Atheopagans in the UK! Congratulations to Debi Gregory for starting the group. Those applying to join the group are asked to answer a short questionnaire, which originally asked for a commitment to abide by the 13 Atheopagan Principles. Some were puzzled by this, or felt they are too restrictive. So I thought I would unpack the issue a bit and discuss why ethical principles are a necessary part of a functioning religion. Obviously, everyone has their own moral compass. We act according to what we view as right and proper; even when we are breaking our own…
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Summer’s End, New Beginnings
The “cross-quarter” Sabbath between Midsummer (the solstice) and Harvest (the autumnal equinox) is a bit of a stepchild Sabbath for many Pagans. This is High Vacation Season, and many are off on adventures or otherwise occupied with the social season of summer. Not only that, but it marks the beginning of the autumn season, and in most places, that just doesn’t square with what is actually happening. Here, I detect the signs of Summer’s End at this time, but they are subtle. Blackberries have ripened, ready for cobbler and pie and all the wonderful things. The climate is firmly in the fog/heat cycle of coastal California: hot days which persist…
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Potok and the Hundred-Thousand Year Fire—A Campfire Tale
There was a night—long, long ago—when we had captured fire. This was many years before we knew how to make it. We found it in a tree which had been struck by lightning, carried it in a gourd to where we made a camp. And that night, we gathered around where the fire was fed to grow fat and snapping. We saw one another’s faces in the flickering light, and felt the warmth even in the dead of night. It was a miracle. No predator would dare come near. And we were all together, in a circle, about the dancing, magical fire. One night, meat was plentiful. A man named…
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Happiness, Ecstasy, and Threading the Needle
I stumbled out from the trees atop the mountain, Matagalls—the second-highest in Catalonia. I was teaching at a children’s language camp, and at the end of the camp we had taken a day to lead the students on an expedition to climb the peak. Cold weather had moved in and many of them had remained in a meadow at lower elevation with the rest of the adults. But I and a handful of kids pressed on. It was steep at the end, and my legs were burning as I climbed the forested trail to the summit. The scent of rain-dampened earth filled my nostrils, the cool air pumped smoothly in…
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What About Those Who Insist Their Gods Are Real? A Policy Statement.
Though I generally try to avoid engaging with them, there are those in the broader Pagan community who are quite adamant that their gods are real and that anyone who doesn’t think so isn’t a Pagan. Some of them feel the need to rail at people like Atheopagans and call for our expulsion from Pagan community. So I thought I would spell out my exact orientation to such folk, so my position is clear. Primarily, my inclination is to ignore them. They’re wrong, but they’re entitled to their opinions. If their beliefs make them happy, great. Though given the sour and caustic tone of some of them, there is reason…
