News

Godless gather under the full moon

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HEALDSBURG, Calif –The light of the full moon which shines down on the mighty redwoods here will, in August, illuminate a gathering of non-theistic Pagans as the second annual Moon Meet is convened. Hidden deep in the forest, they will share meals, share knowledge, and share sacred space in much the same way that other Pagans do. Event organizer Mark Green prefers the term “Atheopagans” to describe this particular subculture-within-a-subculture, but that relatively new term describes a mindset that has been part of the contemporary Pagan movement for decades. He wrote about becoming Pagan in the 1980s for Witches & Pagans issue 35: “Several prominent voices in the community at that time were clearly in the gods-as-metaphors camp,” he recalled, also noting that he “found deep meaning and joy in celebrating the changing of the seasons, in the ritual circles that I shared with community . .

Paganism

Column: a Quest for Faith Over a Year, and Over the Years

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From the point of view of many global onlookers, most of Western and Northern Europe might seem an oddly secular, even religion-less place. Despite a history of (ofttimes violent) religious upheaval during the Christian era and a relative growth of Islam in the present day, there is no denying that religion, and more specifically the expression of religious sentiment, has little to no place in the public sphere in many European nations. As such, even simply discussing religion, and especially Pagan and magical ones, isn’t something nearly as self-evident as in other regions, like North America, where a similar degree of religious freedom is the law of the land. In such a context, the experiences of individuals who might want to experiment with various spiritual paths are rarely if ever publicized or talked about. Yet under this veneer of secularism lies a dynamic and ever-changing religious landscape that has much to offer to those willing to get real with religion.

Paganism

Column: Bergtatt and the Mountainborne Faith

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While I may live in a relatively tiny city by most standards, my Norwegian hometown of Tromsø, with just over 70,000 inhabitants, still has all the characteristics of a much larger metropolis, including a unique architectural heritage. While some of the town’s most famed constructions are old wooden wharfs and shoddy fishermen’s cabins, the one building that is maybe the most closely associated with the image of the city is, as it is often the case with other cities in Europe, its church: the Arctic Cathedral. Designed and built in 1965 by the Norwegian architect Jon Inge Hovig, the church, which is in fact not a cathedral but a “mere” parish church, was thought of from the start as a symbolic focal point for the town. Located across the bridge leading to the mainland, the church, which can be seen from any point in the city center, attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year who come to gaze at its inspired architecture or attend one of the numerous concerts organized daily in its main hall. The Arctic Cathedral is, by all means, a beautiful building.

Paganism

Afterlife

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“I’ve got a question. You know Eric, right?” asked Tim. He and three more of my friends, Dylan and Lydia and Calvin, had just sat down to lunch. They were at a buffet off Highway 63 in Kirksville, Missouri, the town where we all went to college. I wasn’t there to see it; Tim didn’t tell me this story for months.

Paganism

Crowdsourcing Pagan Theology

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The following statements are true:
★ There is one god. ★ There are many gods. ★ There is a god named G-d. ★ There are gods that are nameless. ★ There is a God and a Goddess.