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The Sun Broom—A Ritual Tool
The Sun broom is both a Midsummer ritual and a tool you can use ritually around the year. You will need: A piece of tree branch for a handle. Don’t hurt a tree; go for a hike and find something that has already fallen to the ground. Thin ribbon or strong twine for binding grasses to the handle. A bunch of long strands of dry grass. I harvest the grass at the height of the day on Midsummer—the peak of the power of the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere. In my particular area, wild oats grow very tall, so I use those, mostly. I bind them to the handle with…
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The Yule Log—A Winter Solstice Ritual
This year, the longest night of the year—Winter Solstice, or Yule—takes place on Thursday, December 21st. On the night of the Winter Solstice, an old tradition that we have adapted for Atheopagan purposes is the burning of the Yule log. Yule marks the moment in the year when the sun’s steady decline, with days growing shorter and shorter, comes to a halt, and the days begin to become longer again. The day the sun begins to return is celebrated by cultures throughout the world and going back far into prehistory; indeed, such archaeological marvels as the Newgrange passage burial in Ireland were constructed precisely so that they aligned with the sunrise…
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The Ritual Mask—A Project
Awhile back, I wrote about the ritual technique of adopting the “mask” of a Quality, attribute, natural phenomenon or even god/dess for purposes of embodying that personality in a ritual. I called the technique the “God mask”. While this technique can be used without an actual physical mask, it’s far more effective using one. And this means that among our ritual tools, it’s a good idea to have one or more masks that we can use in our work. As it happens, I own quite a few masks. I have a small collection of Sub-Saharan African artworks, among them some masks, and I have a few others as well,…
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Atheopagan “advent” calendar–a fun project for the holidays
Instructions for making your own Atheopagan “advent” calendar, complete with resizable clip art images you can use for the tiny pictures behind the windows. Includes education on Atheopagan principles and themes. This is a Word document, so the images could be embedded as resizable objects. Enjoy!
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An Atheopagan Rosary
I’ve been thinking about personal practices. They vary; for some, having a community of like-minded peers and going to a seasonal celebration of all or most of the 8 festivals around the year fulfills what they seek out of a religion. Others like to do something solitary now and then as well—or exclusively. Still others like a weekly sabbath, or even a daily practice that keeps them in touch with their values, gratitude and sense of wonder. I find that—when I can make myself do it—a daily mindfulness meditation adds a great deal to my experience of living, and I’d like to find a way to do that on most…
