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Blue-Skying Under Quarantine
We are the people of the future, and we are organizing. So, there is going to be an Atheopagan religious nonprofit. As the working group (composed of Atheopagan scientists, Facebook group moderators, and other key supporters) comes together to work on this, I’m trying to dream really big for what the organization can do and be. I know a lot of what I don’t want it to be. I don’t want it to be a “church”, with a hierarchy and a doctrinaire approach to spirituality, and a rapacious thirst for money. You won’t have to “join” it to be an Atheopagan. It won’t even have a membership. Or membership…
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UPDATED: A Concept for Your Consideration: The Atheopagan Foundation (or something)
We have a discussion thread right now on the Atheopaganism Facebook group about “institutional religion”, and in it, I have made very clear that I don’t ever want to see Atheopaganism incorporated as a “church” or a legal religious institution. Atheopaganism is for everyone who wants it, and it is fundamentally free. It is a set of IDEAS, and religious ideas cannot be owned. That said, I’ve been thinking for awhile that it is becoming cumbersome and perhaps somewhat inappropriate that pretty much all of the Atheopagan materials production rests with me. I’m gratified that people are finding my ideas helpful and compelling, but I’m only one person and we’ve…
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Protected: Benediction and Graduation for Atheopaganism U.
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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Two Thousand and Counting
Atheopaganism started out with me talking to myself. Fifteen years ago, after two appalling experiences in the Pagan community, I quit. I retreated from the community and my friends, I let my altar gather dust, and I abandoned my rituals and observances. But soon I missed my ritual life, and so I began an exploration into the meaning of religion, how it serves the various appetites of the human brain, and how a religion can be based in the real world as described by science, and yet still meaningful, moving, and life-enhancing. The story is told in the essay that grew out of that period of exploration, and in my book.…
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A Walpurgisnacht/May Day Vigil Ritual Menu
As we collectively shelter in place to slow the advance of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, the world and the Wheel continue to turn. Spring is rolling around into summer (at least, in many places in the Northern Hemisphere), and we have come to that major pillar of the annual celebrations of many Pagans, May Day or Beltane, and the night before, which is known by many as Walpurgisnacht. While we may not be able to conduct the usual festivities, we can still observe this Sabbath in all its richness while sheltering in place. This ritual is a vigil: staying up all night either alone or with a partner or family. If…
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Earth Day, and Happy Silence
Since the beginning of the shelter-in-place order in response to the coronavirus pandemic, it has been utterly gorgeous here. The skies are clear and the green mountains stand out crisply. The mustard is golden in the vineyards, and the forests are growing bright new leaves. The silence broken only by birds’ calls, the scant traffic on the roadways and the clean, perfumed spring air remind me of how beautiful this world could be if we could just find ways to stop mucking it up. We’re all sheltering inside, of course, except for those of us on necessary errands or—like me—working in essential industries. We’re going stir crazy, having brain fog…
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Protected: Atheopaganism University: Week 10
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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Beyond the Walls: Reflections
So it’s been a month now since the shelter-in-place orders and the dawning realization of just how serious this pandemic really is. I feel grateful that this disease hasn’t touched my life yet. But I recognize that it is only a matter of time. I’m starting to see signs of real cabin fever in friends’ communications. Especially in California where the weather is mostly mild, people just aren’t prepared for what it is like to have to stay inside for weeks/months on end. But we must. We must continue to hunker down and protect one another from infection to as great a degree as possible, pursue our projects and hobbies…
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REBLOGGED: Paganism in the time of coronavirus – part 3: Virtual rituals
Some useful observations and tips for performing virtual rituals online. I will be starting to try this soon myself!
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Protected: Atheopagan University: Week 9
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
