Category: Members Posts

Posts from Pagan Nation members,

An Interview with Mandisa Thomas, from Black Nonbelievers! Recent Episodes of THE WONDER podcast, by Mark Green

   August 14, 2022  0 Comments on An Interview with Mandisa Thomas, from Black Nonbelievers! Recent Episodes of THE WONDER podcast, by Mark Green
The concept behind THE WONDER—named, of course, for the awe and reverence we feel as we contemplate the magnificent Universe—is that it will be an ongoing resource for non-theist Pagans to inform and inspire our practices and stimulate our thinking.

Knowledge, Understanding, and Anti-Colonialism

   August 12, 2022  0 Comments on Knowledge, Understanding, and Anti-Colonialism
I am an anti-colonialist and anti-racist. This is a life commitment I have made and, though like all people raised in a culture steeped in white supremacy and racism it is hard work to try to get beyond them, it is joyful work, even when it is hard. If you view the world through an …

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The Atheopagan Community at Ten Years

   August 11, 2022  0 Comments on The Atheopagan Community at Ten Years
(See also The Community Speaks on Atheopaganism, also to be published August 5) Although I researched and wrote my initial essay describing the rationale, worldview, values and approach of Atheopaganism between 2005 and 2009, the path didn’t really start to take off as a movement until the Facebook group was created in 2012. Today is …

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Playlist for the Wheel of the Year: Mid-Summer

   August 6, 2022  0 Comments on Playlist for the Wheel of the Year: Mid-Summer
Over the years, I have created rituals to celebrate the Wheel of the Year with my wife and children. Music has been an essential part of the experience.

FROM THE COMMUNITY: What Atheopaganism Means to Me

   August 6, 2022  0 Comments on FROM THE COMMUNITY: What Atheopaganism Means to Me
It’s Atheopaganism Day! In honor of the tenth anniversary of the Atheopagan Facebook group, which really launched us as a movement and a community, here are some statements from members of the community throughout the world on what their practices mean to them. They reflect the range of approaches, perspectives and practices of our diverse …

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The Dimming Sabbath, 2022

   August 2, 2022  0 Comments on The Dimming Sabbath, 2022
After much struggle to find a worthy name for this cross-quarter holiday, I have borrowed a suggestion from a member of the Atheopagan Facebook group and gone with Dimming, with its corresponding Brightening in February. “Dimming” says what this holiday is: yes, it’s summer, but the days aren’t so long now. Where I live, a …

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Happy Summer Thermstice/Lammas!

   August 2, 2022  0 Comments on Happy Summer Thermstice/Lammas!
Happy Lunasa! May we remember to celebrate, helping to keep our minds on this world, with both good and bad.

Honeysuckle Tea for Lammas, Protection & Psychic Work

   August 1, 2022  0 Comments on Honeysuckle Tea for Lammas, Protection & Psychic Work
This is a cup of tea I brewed for Lammas, the festival of the first fruits of the harvest, using honeysuckle I picked from my garden. I collected a mugful of the flowers, washed them, put them in a teapot, poured on boiling water and left the brew to infuse. The resulting tea was a beautiful golden yellow colour and tasted delicately floral and slightly sweet – just like honeysuckle smells to be honest. It was really nice and refreshing.
Honeysuckle blooms all year round in my garden, but the flowers are particularly abundant at the moment. Magically, honeysuckle is said to promote psychic powers and can be used in spells for abundance, according to Rachel Patterson in her book A Kitchen Witch’s World of Magical Plants and Herbs. It would be perfect to drink before doing a manifestation spell or a guided visualisation, such as this one called The Wise Woman’s Cottage. According to folklore, if it grows around your home it will protect the property and all inside from ill-wishing. I suspect the scent alone would sweeten up any visitors walking through your garden.
As well as making honeysuckle tea, I’m planning on using the vines to weave baskets. I’ve not done much basketweaving before, so it will be an experiment. If anyone has any recommendations for books or other tuturials on crafting with honeysuckle, please leave a comment.

You Can Receive the Monthly Atheopagan Voice!

   August 1, 2022  0 Comments on You Can Receive the Monthly Atheopagan Voice!
Formerly only emailed to registered Atheopagan clerics, the Atheopagan Voice newsletter contains resources, seasonal craft projects, recipes and other useful stuff for Atheopagan practitioners. Now you can receive it too! Just go to the website, and sign up with your email address in the field in the sidebar. Your email will not be shared with …

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Video: Dennis of Penge – a Play about Dionysus in SE20

   August 1, 2022  0 Comments on Video: Dennis of Penge – a Play about Dionysus in SE20

Fancy watching a play in which Dionysus, Greek god of wine and ecstasy, visits modern-day London to champion the rights of the poor against the injustices of the system? Dennis of Penge,  about “poverty, love, addiction, friendship, ecstasy, chicken and SE20” is available to watch free on video until Wednesday August 3. 

The play by Annie Siddons was put on by Guild Hall School earlier this month. Inspired by Euripides’ Ancient Greek drama, it draws on on real experiences and relationships from Siddons’ childhood in South East London. Living in Penge myself for most of my life, loving the older play The Bacchae and having once described myself as a teenage Maenad, I had to watch this. I thoroughly enjoyed it too.

You can find out more and register to watch the on demand broadcast for free here: https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/dennis-of-penge-on-demand-broadcast

The book of the play can also be viewed on Amazon.