Ritual
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Rites of Passage #2: Into Adulthood
Some time ago, I wrote a piece about Atheopagan Rites of Passage. In it, I described life milestones that might be celebrated by an Atheopagan, and which we as Atheopagan “clergy” (we’re all clergy, since we have none) might be asked to officiate over. On reflection, it occured to me that just talking about these rites of passage probably isn’t helpful enough: that having some guidelines for each such rite would be helpful to the community. So here is the second installment in a new series: Rites of Passage. Modern Western cultures, with a few exceptions such as the Jewish community, do not mark rites of passage into adulthood. This leads…
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Rites of Passage #1: Naming Ceremonies
Some time ago, I wrote a piece about Atheopagan Rites of Passage. In it, I described life milestones that might be celebrated by an Atheopagan, and which we as Atheopagan “clergy” (we’re all clergy, since we have none—below, the ritual leader’s role is noted as “celebrant”) might be asked to officiate over. On reflection, it occured to me that just talking about these rites of passage probably isn’t helpful enough: that having some guidelines for each such rite would be helpful to the community. So here goes the first installment in a new series: Rites of Passage. A Naming ceremony is a welcoming ritual for a newly born person. In this…
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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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An Atheopagan Table of Correspondences
In many of the Pagan books circulating out there, a large chunk of the pages are devoted to “tables of correspondences”. These tables identify particular herbs, gems and minerals, incense scents, foods, and other materials with particular emotions, life experiences, times of year, and so forth. Well, I didn’t want Atheopagans to be left out on this sort of thing, so I’ve rigorously compiled the Atheopagan Table of Correspondences below from the great dusty volumes of the Atheopagan Book of Shadows that reside on my Focus. Enjoy! 😀 Material Correspondences Color (any): Whatever you…
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Ritual “Special Effects”
Sometimes in a ritual, a little special-effects magic can help to create that sense that “magic is happening”. Here are some effects I’ve collected from a conversation in the Atheopagan Facebook group. Burning Isopropyl alcohol. Use the full 90%+ stuff, not the 40% methanol “rubbing alcohol”. This is highly flammable and can make for a marvelous ritual effect. I have a shallow basin on a dragon-shaped pedestal that works perfectly for this. When you light it, it flares up beautifully and burns for a few minutes; if you want for it to last longer, put epsom salts in the bottom of your burning basin, which will absorb the alcohol and release…
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Summer
Though weather varies widely across the planet, of course, the traditional meaning of May Day in Europe was “the beginning of Summer”. Thus, the summer solstice was termed “Midsummer”, et cetera. Here in the U.S. the unofficial beginning of summer is a little later, with the passage of Memorial Day at the end of May. Here in the Mediterranean climate of coastal northern California, our hills are now turning from green to gold as the grasses go to seed and turn tawny. It is the signal that summer has truly arrived, and we have days to match: 70s and low 80s, not quite hot enough yet to provoke the fog…
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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…
