#naturalist paganism

[booksandwitchery]

Demystifying Energy in Witchcraft

Throughout my life I've heard the word "energy" used, viewed and treated in the spiritual sphere as some ethereal, supernatural force. I even saw a TikTok the other day claiming that secular and atheist witches do not believe in energy work. I'm not sure where this treatment of the term "energy" started, but it likely has a lot to do with some more "woo" practices like Reiki and crystal healing.

I think we need to remove this stigma from the term "energy" in the Craft because 1) energy is an objectively real, observable material and 2) the benefits of working with and understanding energy shouldn't be packaged and branded as a medium for the "mystics only" club. This was something really meaningful that I took from Psychic Witch, where Mat Auryn explains energy in more scientifically observable terms.

Rather than defining energy as a mystical force, he explains that reality is, in fact, entirely composed of energy. The majority of us don't really think about reality this way, but anyone who has taken a physics class can tell you that this is a fact. Reality is energy--this is not a mystical perspective; it is a fact of the laws of physics. The scientific method has shown us that even things that appear solid, (diamonds, skeletons, my coffee mug, for example) are merely energies vibrating at a slower rate. Everything is made of particles perpetually in motion.

Still with me? Okay, so--Auryn breaks this down further by stating that the five senses are just various ways that we perceive energy. So in a sense, we are achieving a rudimentary form of energy work just by perceiving the world around us. Put in this context, many other animals are superior to humans with certain types of energy work (I wonder if this is part of why animals are so sacred to us witches). Dolphins and bats can legitimately use echolocation to experience sound waves as a form of sight. Indeed, we humans are far from the top of the totem pole when it comes to energy perception--it's almost as if humans were not created to rule over the rest of the earth (such a crazy concept).

Some examples of energy that our bodies cannot perceive include magnetic fields, radiation, wireless signals, and ultraviolet light.

What I'm trying to say is that Auryn's book really helped me to think of energy in terms of empirical reality, and reinforced my (somewhat) recent realization that magick is a valid, observably effective tool that can be used to achieve the changes we want.

[rainsandrains]

I wish I knew how to handle the wish for the gods for be real. I feel emotional connections to certain figures, but I also know rationally they're not real. I see other pagans talk about the comfort they get from their faith in god/s and I wish I had that. I've tried worshipping a specific pagan god in a sort of symbolic/archetypal sense and in a "I know this is make-believe but I'm doing it anyway" sense and it brought some comfort for a few days at a time and then began to feel wrong and uncomfortable because I knew it wasn't real.

[anthology-enthusiast]

Me when I remember this account exists… (alt text below)

Ritual

What would you say if I told you I searched for holiness in every puddle and raindrop, but each only reflected back my own face? What about if I said I looked for God in the tops of trees, but all I felt was the way I fitted into their trunks and branches, and all I saw was leaves- green and freckled- that felt like my own eyes staring back at me? What would you say if I told you I tried to find scripture the damp earth below smooth grey stones, but instead found wormholes and roots spreading life like my veins? Or if I told you I desperately searched the sky for Heaven, but instead found constellations and shooting stars and bright astronomical light refractions that made my freckled and scarred and blushed and bruised skin feel like its own kind of sacred? And what would you say if I took you to one of the first places that taught me what it feels like to be in the presence of something divine, and it was not a church or temple but rather vast, rippling ocean at sunset, when the sun dappled the water in pinks and oranges? What if I showed you the goddesses I obsessed over as a child, full of bumps and curves and lines, and who looked so beautifully human? What if I could show you me and you through my eyes, so you could see the streams and flowers and trees and stars and ecosystems, then look in the mirror and still see them? If I could give you my eyes, would you see what I see? Would you understand? Would you feel it? Can you already?

What would you say to that?

[thetimebeforethelasttime]

what i find so beautiful about finding out about the ancient mythology and spiritual beliefs of my country is that it's all about places i've been. seeing lists of places connected to a story and being able to say "oh ive been there!!" and not had any idea that it meant to much to people before me, but getting to learn about them feels so indescribably special. it's how religion should be to me - about people and connections and the land that's shaped us and brought us here today.

or, in summary, YESSSSS I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT BIG ROCK ON THAT HILL LOOKED COOL AND IT TURNS OUT SO DID PEOPLE 2000 YEARS AGO YAYYY!!!!

[cleverwitch-wolfskin]

I love iNaturalist. I love being a part of a community of people who share their photos and knowledge of flora and fauna with one another. I love that actual scientists will use the data we collect if it is good enough. I love contributing to naturalism in every way I am able. I love it so much that I make a point to hike around my property and take pictures of everything I can. I love to learn the names, the historical uses, the lore around each plant and animal.

[zoe-the-bimbo]

Simmer pot tiiiiiime

About half of the contents of the pot are herbs I grew myself and I’m weirdly proud of that

[asocial-squash]

Introduction

my name is Pumpkin and I have loosely identified as atheopagan for a few years now. I've struggled to incorporate this identity and/or practice into my daily life when I just don't have the time, access, or motivation to do actual rituals often. I have ADHD, building habits is just difficult. I think one benefit to faith-based religions is that you don't necessarily have to do anything for that religion to exist within you and your life. It is possible to just believe and still consider yourself religious. Where a religion like atheopaganism pretty much relies on actions to fully exist within your life. But I want to make it a bigger part of my life, so I made this blog in order to reflect on how atheopaganism is present in my day-to-day experiences and hopefully encourage myself to stay motivated in this goal.

as a disclaimer: I was raised christian. I have never connected with faith or appreciated a lot of the ideas that were taught to me in church growing up. However, while I do not have great experiences with or trust in organized religion, I recognize the benefits and comfort in those kinds of practices. And I find it personally important to remain respectful and appreciative towards other people's faiths despite my own doubts. I do not want to promote any hostility towards anyone's religion or faith, and I will only discuss my own experiences and ideas which are open to change and grow and are not meant to be dismissive of others' experiences and ideas. I am an atheist, but I do not claim to understand the universe better than someone with faith. I do not believe in magic but I do not intend to belittle witches that do.

I don't really expect anyone to find or follow this blog, it is primarily to promote my personal engagement in atheopaganism as a religion. But if you do, you are very welcome to follow whatever rambly posts I make and add to the conversation if you want to

[anxiety-disaster]

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

i spent like six months as an atheist when i was a teenager. and a year or two as a very hyper-rational highly skeptical agnostic deist, which basically felt like being an atheist (just with a secret feeling there was something more).

and i gotta say life is so much more enriching and fulfilling when i believe in gods and spirits and magic and when i care about ritual and tradition. the world just feels so much more alive and full of meaning and excitement.

enchantment is the best word for it i guess. the world is more enchanting.

[alexthepleb]

THE PROMETHEAN ORDER

I'm working on my new idea for a non-theistic religion, inspired by The Satanic Temple. Some key ideas:

1. The primary symbol of the new religion is Prometheus, the Titan of Fire from Greek Mythology. In the myths, he stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humanity. He was severely punished by Zeus, but he still taught humankind civilization. He represents courage, curiosity, freedom, enlightenment, scientific knowledge, and much more.

2. As 'The Satanic Temple' focuses on the issue of religious freedom, 'The Promethean Order' would focus on the popularization of knowledge to the public. We would promote knowledge of science, philosophy, and culture to the general public.

3. Rather than strict atheism, The Order might embrace a non-dogmatic approach.

4. There would be a full set of ritual practices and festivals.

5. The religion would be run in a democratic manner, possibly modeled after the Presbyterian Church.

This idea has been ruminating in my head for a long time. I plan on developing the further. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts and any possible advice!

[king0fcrows]

.

[booksandwitchery]

Greetings and Life Update

I really miss being on here and talking to you all! I hope everyone on Witchblr is doing well and enjoying the season.

I want to say that I have been undergoing a bit of a career change and that's why I haven't been on here as much. I have transitioned from being a librarian to...dun dun dun...a historical archivist! In February, I accepted a new position at SCV Historical Society. When I was in grad school I had no idea that museum archival work was even in the cards for me. It's crazy how much can change in just a year. This was emotionally difficult for me because I was so attached to the library and the work I was doing there. The commute, however, was slowly killing me and I didn't feel like I was being challenged. I took the new job because my intuition was firmly telling me it was the right thing to do, but it was not an easy decision.

Now that I am (more or less) adjusted to the new position and sleep schedule, I'm excited to be more active on here because everything witchcraft makes me feel at home. I'd also like to give a quick update on where I'm at on my path:

As with a lot of secular witches, I had a phase of reading about Chaos Magick and finding ways to adapt this model to my own life and practice. The idea of creating servitors and working with archetypal deities really resonated with me. I'm now reading a book called Why Woo-Woo Works: The Surprising Science Behind Meditation, Reiki, Crystals, and Other Alternative Practices by David R. Hamilton Ph.D. It really helps solidify for the reader why all religions/spiritual practices tend to work for people (at least some extent). The book pairs well with Chaos Magick and witchcraft in general because the author highlights the importance of belief in achieving your goals, getting results, living a better life, etc. He also cites a startling amount of scientific studies and lists them in the references at the end of the book (for skeptics like me that want to be sure that the author isn't stretching the truth or taking any liberties with explaining the results of the experiments).

Next--over the winter holiday, I was gifted a shitload of calligraphy supplies for some reason. So I've started to get into calligraphy and various ink colors and pens. Naturally this calligraphy hobby really has me obsessed with color magic and ink magic (I still don't know if ink magic is a thing, but it should be).

Between work and all the craziness of life, I've also been steadily working on a master list of personal correspondences. I started on paper, but soon transitioned over to a digital list because it really is a living, iterative document that can change from day-to-day. For this I've been using the whiteboard feature on Canva, and I've also been working on some other stuff on there that really deserves its own post.

I also have way too many witchcraft books to read; it's really intimidating at this point. If you have any tips on how to set up a reading schedule or reading priority list, let me know. Actually if you have any advice on how to keep up a reading habit while also keeping up with everything else, please please please throw it my way.

I've got so much to say! I could go on and on. It's good to be back.

[rainsandrains]

ever since i saw a tiktok video by a folklorist named liam* about left-wing "patriotism" of a sort i've been trying to grapple with the idea. plus videos by stella marie, whose work i have... some problems with... but who talks about uk indigenous spirituality, and defends the use of that term.

it's interesting because so often claims to indigeneity from white people become exclusionary and xenophobic, i mean here in england you almost exclusively hear people talk about "native" english people as a way to divide us from migrants and people of colour - for example claiming that people of colour who were born in the uk still aren't "real" british people, or trying to suggest that refugees are a threat to us, etc.

so i guess that language has always put me on edge a bit. but if we're careful to steer clear of that, and conscious of our privilege as white people and how we impact others, i think... well, if other people can connect to their heritage and ancestry and practice the traditions of their ancestors and honour the land they come from, why can't we? and that will sound so fucking obvious to some people, but throughout my life "patriotic" has been almost exclusively a bad thing to be. it's been synonymous with royalists, november remembrance day services that glorify the military, violent football fans, and racism. but as liam pointed out, there's so much else to love about english folklore and about the land itself. and as stella marie points out, these are OUR traditions, and OUR sacred practices going back thousands of years.

what this thought process has looked like for me since 2021 is basically considering the native flora and fauna of the uk as sacred to me, as my heritage; learning a bit about folk customs; trying to research pre-christian english religion (though it's really quite difficult to find good sources); grappling with how to relate to the arthurian mythos... what it doesn't include is finding out my own family history and the names of my ancestors and all of that. my mum's been doing stuff about our family history so i know basically we're english as far back as we can trace with probably some welsh and irish mixed in a bit, but really i care more about the places i have a connection to. i don't believe that anything spiritual is passed down via blood, so i don't care where my great great great grandma was from.

i care about the small stuff: landscapes i've grown up around, the woods i've been to since i was a kid, the cities i've lived in. and i care about the very big stuff: the country as a whole, the folklore and spirituality and legend of england and the uk in general, the plants and soil and animals and water and climate of this, my home.

i don't know how i feel about it all yet. but that's what i'm grappling with at the moment.

*i forget the account name because i'm not on tiktok anymore but he's on instagram as the.seasons.round)

[anthology-enthusiast]

I'm currently working on a novel that discusses my spiritual journey, struggles I was met with along the way, and how I have grown as a person. I aim for it to be a resources for people who, like me, didn't have many resources on Paganism when they first started exploring (specifically; atheist form of Paganism).

My questions to the community are; would this have been a helpful resources when you started exploring? If you're currently exploring, is it something that would help you? Is there anything in particular you think would be helpful to discuss?

Any feedback would be lovely <3

[child-of-frigg]

The Spirit & The Moon: My journey thus far.

I began my spiritual journey years ago, in the same town where I was born after spending much of my childhood away. At first it was merely a quest for understanding, a journey into the cosmos to find peace with existence itself. In time the things which I wished to understand became so much larger than myself, I began to truly understand how infinite the cosmic forces and all their knowledge really were; and that they just like us had names.

My research began with the Spirit itself, the very thing that makes us mortals what we are, our will to fight and to survive, or to die in honour. During this period of my life I explored various different faiths and researched their ideologies and values as well as the roots of their spiritual beliefs, and it was during this time that the cosmic forces which shaped these various faiths became so apparent to me. This led me to my eventual faith as a Pagan, a worshipper of trees and stars, the old Gods, and the very Moon herself. As a Devotee of the Moon I continued my search for answers to the mysteries of the universe, under her light I sought the voice of the universe itself, and there I heard the sounds of ancient energies at work, the winds and the grass speaking to one another in a language long forgotten. The first tribes understood this language, and their children's children inherited this knowledge in repetition long after spreading across the land, spoken by those who would come to be known as the Norse and Gaels.

This language was once understood by tribes spanning the globe, from the East to the West stories have survived that carry its essence, the understanding of nature itself, however the earliest it was ever described in text was in the runes gifted to mankind by Odin, so the path of an Asatruar became clear to me. Having since learned of my Gaelic heritage my understanding thus far of what remains has only widened, and so I chose to begin writing a public journal in hopes of better cataloguing my research, and sharing what I've learned with those who are on similar paths to mine, however far along they may be in their journey.

There is much peace to be found in understanding, and though the universe may always keep its dearest secrets, it will whisper to those who listen.

[zoe-the-bimbo]

Being a witch in Texas focused on practices of NW European origin is real fun because the seasonal correspondences and symbolism are all out of whack.

“Life re-emerges when spring starts” spring? You mean tornado season?

“Summer is when life is at its strongest” not if you’re anything but a mosquito

“Any berries not picked before Lunasa are for the spirits” means fuck all when berry season is April to June

At least early spring is absolutely stellar from all the wildflowers, and winter’s starting to get more spooky here thanks to ERCOT