Descriptions
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Pilgrimage Hiking
Walking in nature is a very healthy thing to do. It’s exercise, it fills your lungs with good air and your eyes with beauty, it reduces stress and blood pressure and depression. It is a sacred activity and, all by itself, constitutes an “informal” Atheopagan ritual. This article is about adding a symbolic, ritual dimension to a hike in nature: turning a walk into a pilgrimage to a special place with meaning and significance. Here’s how: 1. Identify a destination for your hike: a spring, a pool, a waterfall, a rock formation, a particular stand of trees, a mountaintop, a spectacular overlook. 2. Decide what that destination stands for (a theme…
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The Sun Broom—A Ritual Tool
The Sun broom is both a Midsummer ritual and a tool you can use ritually around the year. You will need: A piece of tree branch for a handle. Don’t hurt a tree; go for a hike and find something that has already fallen to the ground. Thin ribbon or strong twine for binding grasses to the handle. A bunch of long strands of dry grass. I harvest the grass at the height of the day on Midsummer—the peak of the power of the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere. In my particular area, wild oats grow very tall, so I use those, mostly. I bind them to the handle with…
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Loving the World: An Atheopagan Sex Magic Primer for May Day (NSFW)
CONTENT WARNING: This post contains frank discussion of sexuality, and is meant for adults. If you’re not one, please stop reading and go elsewhere. … … … … … … … … Loving the World: An Atheopagan Sex Magic Primer for May Day (NSFW) Spring is often thought of as the season of sex. Trees and plants are flowering, birds are nesting, and the weather finally warms up enough that people wear less clothing and thoughts turn to desire. It’s now April, coming up on May Day, which is the Sabbath celebration the metaphorical meanings of which include sexuality, attainment of adulthood and celebration of sensual pleasures. This is a time-honored…
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How’s that Maypole Thing Work?
Merry May! I thought I’d write a post about Maypoles because many people want to do Maypole rituals for May Day but don’t know the details. So here goes… First, you’re going to need a pole at least 12′ long and 5″ in diameter. These dimensions are important: you need to embed at least 18″ of the pole in the ground in order for it to be stable during the Maypole dance, and a pole of any narrower diameter will take FOREVER for the ribbons to be wrapped on the pole. Think about it: if every turn around the pole is only taking up a few inches of ribbon, you’ll…
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Sigils: Barcodes for your Brain
In Atheopaganism, we understand ritual “magic” as the manipulation of consciousness according to desired outcomes: as “programming the mind”. It’s not supernatural, and it doesn’t affect things at a distance, but it does have a powerful ability to change our selves: to increase our courage, our focus, our attention to things we find important. Over the centuries, many cultures have used drawn symbols to communicate magical meaning. Examples ranging from Roman curse scrolls incised on lead sheets to European ceremonial magic in Enochian script to Vodoun vé-vés have signified the invocation of results, magical beings or deities. This is an old practice, and one Atheopagans can use as well. A…
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The Cauldron of Hope: A New Year’s Eve Ritual
If you are gathered with friends or family for New Year’s Eve, here is a light ritual you can do that isn’t interruptive of festivities but can add some meaningful heft to the launch of the new calendar year. Place a dollar coin, for luck and prosperity, into the bottom of an iron cauldron or Dutch oven. Pour in 2″ of fresh water (rainwater if you have it). Add a handful of kosher salt or sea salt, for strength and patience, and stir until as much salt as possible has dissolved into the water. Each guest is invited to drip a small libation in the cauldron from whatever they are drinking,…
