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Post 600
This website was created on August 19, 2014. At that point, it had become unwieldy to share information and resources as Facebook files to our growing community, and it was clearly time to have a publicly accessible venue for development of thought, exploration of ideas, announcement of events and access to downloadable resources. More than 120,000 site visits, two books (with one on the way), 137 podcasts, 28 YouTube videos, 3 in-person community events and the help of dozens of community volunteers later, here we are, with the 600th post to the blog. Our community has mushroomed in size and complexity, including formation of our own nonprofit Atheopagan Society, and…
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Ever Think,”I Should Be Doing Something?”
One of the things about spirituality is that without some effort, it can become a bit…navel-gazing. It’s not a failing, nor anyone’s fault. What we do through our religious paths helps us to grow, heal, and cultivate joy, all of which are internal things. They help us to build community, too, which adds to happiness and contentment in life. All great stuff, really important. I have always said, though, that Atheopaganism isn’t one of those paths that thinks that politics and activism “aren’t spiritual”. Working to make the world a better place isn’t some sideline or secondary concern in Atheopaganism–it is important, just as the rituals and Sabbaths and sense…
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GUEST POST: A New Year’s Ritual
by Danford and Hawthorne Happy Belated New Years, Atheopagans! I hope your year has been kind to you so far <3 ManifestationLike many Atheopagans, I try to celebrate the turning of the Gregorian Calendar with special occasions.This usually involves beer, friends, and sharing New Year’s Resolutions (perhaps more beer thanresolutions, lol, but always in good company). My friends and I did something similar this year, but witha twist – we decided to add a layer of ritual to our resolutions – both to release what should be left in2022 and to materialize what we want to bring with us into 2023. My initial idea for this was pretty simple –…
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The State of the Atheopagan Community 2023
Hello, lovely community! It’s been awhile since I wrote a general report on everything that’s going on, and it’s State of the Union address time in the U.S., so I thought I’d do one of our own. We have a lot happening! Here’s the lowdown: The Atheopagan Society (TAPS): Producer of our media channels and events, the nonprofit religious organization TAPS is in the midst of its first strategic planning process, which will set our action and program priorities for the next 2-3 years. The TAPS Council is also looking at how we can best keep social media moderators and other leadership in the loop about everything that is going…
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A Brightening Ritual
It’s the February Sabbath! Midpoint between the winter solstice (Yule or Midwinter) and the spring equinox (which I call High Spring), it is the time when the light is noticeably returning after the deep darkness of winter, and the hope of spring is growing. It can thus be called Brightening, anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Where I live, it’s the time when it rains constantly, and so I have named this Sabbath, for my own purposes, Riverain, the Festival of Water. This is a concept for a Brightening/Riverain ritual I came up with this year. We did an adapted version of it in the Atheopagan Saturday Zoom Mixer today. The…
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REMINDER: Submit Your Presentation Proposals!
Atheopagan Web Weaving 2023 will take place June 3-4 of this year: an opportunity for our community to gather online, see one another’s faces, interact and socialize, and see great presentations by our members…and we need your presentation to really make the schedule hum! Please CLICK HERE to download the 1-page presentation proposal form, fill it out with your cool idea for something to share with our community, and email it to atheopagan@comcast.net by midnight on Jan. 31. You can share workshops, rituals, performances, crafting sessions, etc. Here are some ideas: We look forward to seeing your proposal(s)!
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NATURALISTIC PAGANISM: A Challenge to the Paradigms of the Overculture
A Presentation to the 2023 Conference on Current Pagan Studies: January 15, 2023 THANKS for inviting me to present to the 19th annual Conference on Current Pagan Studies! I’d like to extend my appreciation to the organizers and co-creators of this event. We live in times of deep crises: Clearly, people who are aware of the challenges we face need to be vocal about their concerns, and work to see them gain traction. We also live in times of deep religious transition: These phenomena offer both challenges and opportunities for Pagans.As stated in the description of this conference, the witch embodies a rebellious archetype, and on the face of it…
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COLUMN: Paint By Season/January 2023
Welcome to Paint by Season! My name is Raena Parsons, and I am an artist, poet, and educator living in Jackson, Wyoming. Paint by Season is a new monthly column where you can follow along with me to create a monthly seasonal painting to celebrate the wonders of that season. I live in a harsh mountain climate that has two solid seasons (winter and spring) and occasionally has two short but sweet transitional seasons. My art reflects where I live and likes to pull from the joy of each season. For this month, we are celebrating the longest night of year with a night sky painting. Grab your paintbrushes and…
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ANNOUNCING: Atheopagan Web Weaving 2023
Hi, everyone! The Atheopagan Society is excited to announce a two-day online conference for our community, the Atheopagan Web Weaving 2023, on June 3-4. The event will feature workshops, presentations, socializing, rituals, and other experiences, with lots of opportunities for engagement and interaction with your fellow Atheopagans! Right now, we are calling for proposals for presentations to the conference. Please visit https://theapsocietyorg.wordpress.com/aww2023/ to download the application form, and remit to atheopagan@comcast.net by Jan. 31. More news as it develops. We look forward to seeing you there!
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A Special Announcement for Atheopagans!
