Practice
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On Spiritual Burnout and Bypassing
Sometimes, the ways and events of the world can weigh you down. Over the past 18 months or so, we have seen a LOT of that, what with the pandemic and the various awfulness happening in the news. I know things are starting to get to me when I am less drawn to my Focus (altar), less motivated to do my spiritual practices. It’s ironic, because spirituality is the cultivation of a feeling of meaning, awe, connectedness and joy, and you’d think we’d go running for that when times are hard. Some do. I’m just not one of them. Instead, my tendency is to lean into what’s the damned point,…
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Meanwhile, Down South…
Yesterday I posted on the impending Northern Hemisphere Sabbath of Summer’s Waning or Dimming. But of course, this also means that what approaches in the Southern Hemisphere is Brightening, the holiday marking the point at which winter is technically over and the days have noticeably lengthened from their shortest phase at the solstice. Brightening is a hopeful holiday, a time to make plans for achievement of the coming year’s goals. I wrote in more detail about it here. So to Southern Atheopagans, I wish you the new hope of the strengthening Sun, audacity and aspiration in your new plans, and the tenacity to get through this last little bit of…
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Summer’s Waning
So I’ve finally settled on a name for the August Sabbath…or two of them, really, because I like “Dimming” quite a bit as well. It’s not really “Summer’s End”–at least, not where I live–although I can still consider it the beginning of the autumn season. Hot days lay ahead, especially in September. But it is undoubtedly Summer’s Waning–the days are notably shorter than at Midsummer, and the sky has begun to find the hard blue of autumn. Summer’s Waning is an elusive holiday, particularly since it has no Overcultural corollary. Defining what it means and how to celebrate it can be tricky. But here is what I have come up…
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Some Ritual Etiquette
Once upon a time, long, long ago, people would gather in groups for social interaction. They had parties, attended performances and sporting events, and some of them, the Pagan ones, held group rituals. Perhaps soon, they will begin doing such things again. In the hope of that happy day, here are some of the many considerations when inviting people to join you for a gathering and ritual. In the invitation, let people know what to expect, especially if there are non-Pagans in your invitation list. You can’t “ambush” people into participating in a ritual–they have to want to be there. So for example, if you’re having a Sabbath feast for…
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Equanamity, Balance and the Equinox
As I write this, the Earth coasts in its slightly angled orbit towards the Ecliptic, the plane of rotation of the Sun. When we cross it, the days and nights will be of equal lengths (at the equator). It is the Vernal Equinox, the moment when the days begin to stretch longer than the nights in the Northern hemisphere. There are many themes associated with this holiday for Pagans, as we frame our Wheels of the Year based on our local climate and ecologies and, in some cases, on the agricultural cycle and/or the life cycle of a person. But one we don’t talk about quite so often is this…
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Doing the Work
As Atheopagans, we’re about being healthier, wiser, happier humans, and through action contributing to a better world. Some of that is about values. Ours are articulated in the 4 Sacred Pillars and the 13 Atheopagan Principles, and in this area particularly Principle 4: humility; Principle 5: perspective and humor; Principle 7:, inclusiveness; Principle 8: legacy; Principle 9: social responsibility, and especially Principle 13: kindness and compassion. Some of it is about healing: healing our wounds and shame, our self-esteem. Our fear. And some of it is about moving through and beyond our bullshit. Which, let us be clear, we all have. Personal work is core and essential in Atheopaganism. Willingness…
