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Doing It Right
I have done things in my life that I am ashamed of. They are things that when I think of them–even though I no longer think in these terms–I think, “it takes a bad person to do that”. Not often, but I have done them. And I have been on the receiving end of behavior that was cruel, corrupt, underhanded and/or disregarded human value and dignity. Sadly, not nearly as rarely. While my family carries the lion’s share of responsibility on that front, some of that behavior came from within the Pagan community…particularly, from self-appointed leaders in that community. And I’ve seen behavior towards others by such leaders that is…
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GUEST POST: Practical Atheopagan Practices
Featured image: macro photograph of False Indigo Bush A guest post by Jess Rollar. When I stumbled onto Atheopaganism back in 2019, it felt like I had finally found my place. I’ve been an Atheist all my life and I’ve also leaned heavily towards Paganism, but my practice was on a more scientific and naturalistic perspective. As an Atheopagan, my practice is centered around gardening, the cosmos and my local bioregion here in the Arizona White Mountains. I’m always looking for ways to connect to my Atheopagan practice in a more practical and everyday sense. Ritual and big celebrations have never suited me, I much prefer a more simplistic approach.…
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Wisdom
It’s a word that makes some of us cringe a little: wisdom. Because pretty much anyone who claims to have it is automatically suspicious, right? It’s those who don’t claim to have it who very often do. My contention is this: if you are living in a manner open to growth and change, the trade-off for the physical infirmities that come with age is the accumulation of wisdom: of internal tools so that you are able to contend calmly with adversity, of a big-picture perspective that helps you not to sweat the small stuff. And the recognition that nearly all of it is, in the end, small stuff. Wisdom comes…
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Circling Round the Suntree
A reflection on Suntree Retreat 2022 by Summer LaJoie From all directions, north, south, east and west, we came to gather in the meadow Circling round the suntree, with open minds and open hearts we clad the limbs with treasures The sky took notice to our song and the forest quietly listened We spoke our words of growth and healing to set our intentions With honor and respect, for ourselves and each other, we acknowledged the land and all of our ancestors And with a unified breath, we gently opened a sacred and beautiful container And as it opened we could see the artistry of careful consideration in all of…
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Reintegration
Coming down from the mountainI have seen the lofty gloryI will go again some dayBut for now, I’m coming down. –Meat Puppets There is an ache in my heart right now, a longing for the people and experiences of Suntree Retreat. It isn’t that I’m not glad to be home. I like my life, by and large. But I have had a peak experience and there is a feeling of sorrow, of yearning now that it is over. At the Retreat, I came to feel a deep caring for every attendee and for what we were doing together: the rituals, the vulnerability, the courage, the socializing, the celebration. Such an…
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Suntree Retreat 2022: A Revelation
Suntree Retreat 2022 has come and gone, and now I have to try to communicate this amazing, moving, inspiring event and how it has affected me, as well as its implications for the Atheopagan community going forward. My voyage to get there took 2-1/2 days, carpooling with fellow Atheopagan Society Council member James from the earliest hours of Wednesday so we could be in Colorado by 3 pm on Friday. We drove through green vineyards, over into the broad flat of the Sacramento Valley, climbed into the snowy peaks and forests of the Sierra Nevada past Lake Tahoe and then down to the broad sagebrush desert valleys of the Great…
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Welcome to the Resistance (US)
With the leak of a draft opinion overturning the pivotal Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed all people with uteruses the right to an abortion through the first trimester of pregnancy, shock waves are rippling across the United States. It won’t stop here. This Court has revealed its radical, reactionary and activist nature. It is highly likely that the right to access contraception, the right to privacy in consenting conduct between adults (which legalized same-sex sexual acts but also has implications for people in alternative relationship configurations like BDSM relationships and polyamory), and even the right to same-sex marriage are on the chopping block. Unless some unforeseen change…
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GUEST POST: A Moon Ritual to Dispel Imposter Syndrome (Plus: Added Imposter Syndrome!), Pt. 2
A guest post by D. J. Smith As I was going through the motions, I started to wonder if this was going to be one of those spiritual lessons where I needed to just learn to forgive myself for being imperfect and not always having the right answers. I started working a mantra, getting into that “woe is me” mindset that begets sympathy, and I distinctly remember how volatile my reaction to that mantra was. I didn’t want to be pitied, I was answers! What I felt next could best be described as “Pride”. In some religions, Pride is shit on as a sin to be forgiven, but in my…
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GUEST POST: A Moon Ritual to Dispel Imposter Syndrome (Plus: Added Imposter Syndrome!), Pt. 1
a guest post by D.J. Smith “The Devil is in the details” is a perfect encapsulation of what these 72hrs felt like to me. I originally intended for this post to be a cute, sorcerous spin on Pink Moon rituals, but this instead became a fight for my pride and an exploration of my quirks (to include some experiential learning on altar etiquette). I’ve broken the post into 4 main parts: the story, the ritual, the math, and a conclusion. The post’s themes will bleed into all 4 parts, but this ordering made the most sense to me. Also, if you like math, hang tight, because there’s gonna be a…
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Guest Post: My Atheopagan Life (Pt. 2)
by Holly H. Weekly In my kitchen I have five bins; one of general recycling and one for glass recycling, both of which are picked up by my council, one compost bin of food waste that I compost myself for the garden, one general bin which normally contains bread or fat food waste and is rarely used. The final bin contains all the plastic or foil film packaging that food producers are still insisting on wrapping around various foods. This last bin is something I created in the last couple of years, having discovered that my local supermarket now has a big cage in which you can recycle everything from…
