Community
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Atheopagan Web Weaving 2023
It was virtual, but it felt great. 84 registered attendees. 15 presenters. 8 moderators and other volunteers. One keynote speaker. And a whole weekend of interactions, learning, socializing, fun and friendship. It’s been a couple of weeks now, but I wanted to say something about the Atheopagan Web Weaving 2023 conference before it got too distant in memory. Some thoughts: First, the commonly-available technology is just amazing. It is incredible that for less than $100, we could host that many people, hold workshops in simultaneous breakout groups, share slide decks, host a common keynote speech…even host a burlesque lesson for this month’s Adult Salon! Say what you like about Zoom–it’s…
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How to Lobby Officials and Decision Makers
In Atheopaganism, our religion is organized around two broad goals: greater individual happiness and empowerment, and creation of a world that is more ecologically balanced, kind and just to all people. That second goal means that our path is intrinsically tied up with the concept of Social Responsibility, which is our 9th Principle, and with a requirement that we be engaged civic actors and activists. I have even proposed that the 13th of each month be an Atheopagan activism day, when we can express ourselves to our elected officials and otherwise work to make our voices heard. Now, this comes much more naturally to some of us than others. I…
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May Day: What do YOU Think?
Atheopaganism is a religious path in a general sense, but it’s really a diverse set of individual paths that each of us crafts for ourselves, using pieces of my work or the work of other community members and our own creativity and spirituality. That’s the way we want it! I hope your Atheopagan practice is exactly as you want it to be so it brings you the most meaning, wonder, joy and inspiration possible. You can hear about the diverse ideas, rituals and observances of some Atheopagans on our YouTube channel and through the guest posts here and on the Wonder podcast; feel free to borrow anything that strikes your…
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Why Hexes Don’t Scare Me
As Pagans, we live in a vivid world full of wonders. For we naturalistic Pagans, those wonders have names like photosynthesis and aurora borealis and cumulonimbus and flamingo. We pay attention to the world around us, and learn about its extraordinary creatures, phenomena and history. Science and reason are our toolbox for discovery of the endless glories of the Earth and the Universe. For many in the broader Pagan community, however, living in an “enchanted world” means believing in a lot of stuff that doesn’t really pencil out when scientifically tested: omens, pseudosciences, instrumental magic, communication with deities and spirits, fairies and so forth. These things are believed out of…
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Aging, Intimacy and Atheopaganism
Intimacy is the gold standard of human relating. It is the authentic, vulnerable sharing of the inner worlds of those connecting with one another, and is a deeply nourishing, though sometimes scary experience. It is a human need; we thrive when we have it, and often suffer when we don’t. Under the Overculture, intimacy is usually conflated with sex, the idea being that the only times we are intimate and the only people with whom we are intimate are those we connect with in our sexual lives. This is a sad state of affairs, and one we should work to transcend. It is one of the places where our Atheopagan…
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GUEST POST: Atheopagan Testify! A Banishing Ritual
A guest post by Kaigi-Ron I needed to purge some major ugliness from my life, and command it to GET LOST, so I could move forward with my life. Banishing Ritual: For my banishment items, one was a stick figure of a particularly negative person. I embellished it with stink lines and 3 buzzing flies. Then X-d out her heart and face. And lastly, burnt her. So there, nyah. Did it work? YES!! I felt immediate relief afterword. And I was left with a feeling of greater command over my life, and a feeling of stronger security. I kicked those creeps outta here! So I hereby TESTIFY, AP clerics and…
