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October
In the arc of the Pagan wheel of the year, October is the time leading up to Samhain or Hallows (the midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice). It is, of course, the time when we all go a little crazy with spooky décor and witchy aesthetic, leading up to Halloween night, although the actual midpoint is around Nov. 7. October is a time when we contemplate mortality and memory, remembering those who have died and our ancestors leading back into the mists of time. The skulls and bones and spider webs remind us that we are here only for a limited time, and will also one day…
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GUEST POST: A Memorable Mabon
A guest post by Sue Irwin In 2016, after a lifetime of religious affiliation, I walked away from it all. I became an atheist. Although it took me several months to realize it, I was a new atheist with a hole. I was a new atheist with desires. Freed from the mental and financial shackles of the organized religion I’d been born into, I realized I could do anything that I wanted to do. For someone raised in an oppressive religion, this thought is life changing. And what did I want to do? Two things topped my agenda. First, I wanted to read anything and everything I’d missed in all…
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Atheopagan Community Priorities Survey
Hi, folks of the Atheopagan community! The Atheopagan Society is gathering data to inform our prioritization of various proposed activities. Please take a moment and fill out this survey–thanks! https://forms.gle/cfmU56QjN17MdJQt6
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GUEST POST: This is Not My Beautiful House
A guest post by JD Stillwater: ©JD Stillwater 2022 | jdstillwater.earth My spouse and I have a beautiful house here in central Pennsylvania. Our names are on the deed, but it is not our house. No, this is not a post in which I confess to forgery or identity theft. Our legal system asserts that my house is rightfully mine, but it is that system that I want to challenge, and what its spiritual depravity does to us as human beings. Especially human beings in this country, at this time in history, with so. Many. Possessions. If you were an adult in the 1980s, you may now have a Talking…
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Autumn and Harvest 2022
Outside, blessedly, it is raining. It’s the first rain we have had since April, and it seems like enough to damp down the annual wildfire season we suffer through here in California. Ah, the scent of the wet Earth! The sound of the rain on the roof! The buffets of the wind in the wind chimes, set swinging wildly with each gust! Finally–only a week after we had temperatures up to 117–it feels the corner has been turned to Autumn, and the season of Harvest. I live in a richly agricultural region, and now is the time: gardens are pouring out vegetables, and the wine grape harvest, known locally as…
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Who Does That Mark Guy Think He is?
Recently, I have come to thinking about my role in the Atheopagan community. While I am a founder, certainly, I don’t want to be an authority, and I refuse to take on the hierarchical powers that such a role would entail (not that I think most members would want me to). So, then…what, exactly, IS my role in our community? Well, I think I have three of them, actually: The one people tend to recognize is that I am a thinker/philosopher/content creator who helps to define and inform the path. I write for the blog, record podcast episodes, make YouTube videos, create materials and resources for practicing Atheopagans. There, I…
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Talking with Friends and Family About Your Atheopaganism
It can be tricky. With some of them, it can be impossible. So my first recommendation, when it comes to talking about our path with those who don’t share it, is to be aware of your needs, and take care of yourself. If your grandparents are rabid evangelical Christians who think anyone who isn’t like them is a hand-puppet of the Devil, discretion is probably the better part of valor. That said, there are a lot of people out there who are more reasonable than that, and who may be genuinely curious (and maybe a little concerned) that you have taken up a new spiritual direction. Here are some pointers…
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A Pagan in a Christianized Society
We discussed many of the ideas in this post in this week’s episode of THE WONDER podcast–check it out! Being a Pagan often isn’t easy–and especially being a naturalistic Pagan, in a world dominated by an Overculture that flies in the face of one’s values. I live in the United States: a country deeply steeped in conservative Christianity and in which, as belief in more traditional religions wanes, the most reactionary of Christians–including a majority of our Supreme Court–are scrambling to enshrine their beliefs into laws we must all follow. On issues like sexual morality, gender equality, bodily autonomy, racial equality, environmental protection and reproductive rights, these Christians could not…
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Knowledge, Understanding, and Anti-Colonialism
I am an anti-colonialist and anti-racist. This is a life commitment I have made and, though as for all people raised in a culture steeped in white supremacy and racism it is hard work to try to get beyond them, it is joyful work, even when it is hard. If you view the world through an Atheopagan lens, it becomes pretty evident that colonialism, capitalism and their resultant white supremacy and genocidal engagements with other cultures have been disasters for both the Earth and for its so-successful species, humanity, and have created tremendous suffering for those colonial empire has not valued. As such, I take listening to marginalized voices very…
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The Atheopagan Community at Ten Years
(See also The Community Speaks on Atheopaganism, also to be published August 5) Although I researched and wrote my initial essay describing the rationale, worldview, values and approach of Atheopaganism between 2005 and 2009, the path didn’t really start to take off as a movement until the Facebook group was created in 2012. Today is the ten-year anniversary of that launch, and I thought an update to the community about what we have achieved and what is happening now would be appropriate. So here goes! The state of Atheopaganism is exciting and growing! We have so many things happening, and coming off the invigorating success of the Suntree Retreat in…
