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At the Mercy of the Elements
So here it is again: evacuation in the face of wind-driven wildfires. Second time in two years. Climate change is real, y’all. More severe winds, higher temperatures leading to lower humidity: boom. Fire. It disturbs me how little the subject comes up as the whole community freaks out over the fires. This is not a random event. Once? Maybe. It happened in 1964, and again in 2017. But two years later. Again? After continuously record-breaking temperatures, month after month, year after year, this is not a random event. It’s an inevitable event. I’m sitting at friends’ house, glad to have a place to retreat to. We even still have power,…
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With Both Hands in Grave Dirt
‘Tis the season for we Pagany/witchy types. There is an entire aesthetic we—or most of us, anyway—enjoy that has a brief moment in the waning sun each year, and this is it. Now, as Atheopagans, we don’t believe in ghosts or spirits or Dark God/desses. But that doesn’t matter: there is plenty of rich fodder for ritual, for reflection, and for psychological transformation at this time of year. We’ve all been hurt. We’ve all suffered loss. And we have only to look out to the world around us to find ample and overflowing reason for rage, for sorrow and for lament. Bones, skulls, graves and funerary ceremonies are powerful images…
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Things End
I’m in an odd space right now. On the one hand, excitement about The Book and the newness of all the Author Stuff like promoting it, doing interviews, etc. is really thrilling. But on the other, beloved things are coming to an end, and I’m sad about that. Pantheacon, which has been the largest gathering of Pagans in North America, has announced that 2020 will be its last year. The owner of the event is retiring and no one else has been willing to take it over. Now, I’m skeptical that this will come to pass. There is enough of a population of people who love the event—and enough money…
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Hour-Long Radio Interview on Atheopaganism
I was interviewed about the new book on my local public radio station. Listen to this! https://media.krcb.org/podcast/mouthful/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/mful_20191006.mp3
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Out
As of tonight, I am out. I acknowledged the publication of my book and publicized a radio interview coming up on Sunday to my entire friends list on Facebook, which includes professional and political associates. For my entire career, I have kept my religious life out of my professional life. It doesn’t belong there, and the last thing I would want to do is to make anyone uncomfortable. But now I’ve written the book, and I’m about to do an interview that could be heard by thousands of local residents, and honestly? I just don’t care any longer. I’m out of the Atheopagan closet. Now, I live in a progressive,…
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The Book is Here!
I am thrilled to announce that as of today, Atheopaganism: An Earth-Honoring Path Rooted in Science is available for order in print and e-book formats! Atheopaganism is a handy guide to the path: the science background, the values, the Principles, the Sabbaths, crafting rituals, building a Focus, etc. The book has global distribution and can be ordered from any independent bookseller. The ISBN numbers are 978-0-578-57198-0 for the e-book and 978-0-578-57197-3 for the print version. Please don’t buy it from Amazon, which is a horrible company—I had no choice about having it included in their catalog. (I’m not sure where you can download the epub version other than at Amazon, however—I…
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The Big Questions
We had a great conversation in the Atheopaganism U. video conference today, in which it arose that for many participants, there simply hasn’t been a place in their lives for asking Big Questions like, what is my highest vision for my life? What makes me happiest? They are the very sorts of questions I pondered when I was first conceptualizing what became Atheopaganism, and at the time, I didn’t really have opportunity in my life to mull them over much, either. But circumstances forced them upon me; I had left the Pagan community over issues of unethical behavior and nonsensical cosmologies, and found my life barren without the rituals and…
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Protected: Welcome to New Students!
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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Finding Balance in a Sea of Chaos
So, Harvest is coming up: the autumnal equinox, Sept. 21. And all the usual seasonal meanings apply, of rich harvests and abundant fruits and vegetables and celebration of all the wonderful things that have come to us in the passing year. But there is a second meaning of Harvest. It is the moment at which the night and day are equally long: a moment of balance between darkness and light. And at times like these, the idea of balance is hard to find. So much turmoil in the world, so much insanity in the political sphere, and the Earth’s climate itself spinning out of control. And yet, we must. I…
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Citizens’ Climate Lobby launches Earth-based Spirituality Action Team
12 September 2019 — The CCL Earth-based Spirituality Action Team announces its formation and inaugural conference call. The team will offcially launch just after the southward equinox on 24 September 2019, with an interactive call featuring guest speaker M. Macha NightMare. Citizens’s Climate Lobby is a nonproft, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. “CCL has over 50 action teams in a wide range of areas, including a dozen faith-based teams,” said T. Todd Elvins, CCL Action Coordinator. “The Earth-based Spirituality team will give greater visibility to an often-overlooked religious orientation.” “The Earth-based Spirituality Team is for Pagans, Wiccans, Witches, Occultists, Druids, Gaians, Goddess-worshippers, Earth-worshippers,…
