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The Allergic Pagan

polytheism

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August 2016

August 30, 2016

What’s A Nice Atheist Like Me Doing At Gods & Radicals?

My worldview does not accommodate supernatural beings that exist separately and independently of human beings....

June 2016

June 29, 2016

Is There a Place for God in Paganism?

Choosing to say "God" instead of "Goddess" allows us to speak about divinity separately from...

June 08, 2016

I don’t often agree with polytheists, but when I do …

I don't often agree with polytheists about religious matters, so I am excited when I...

April 2016

April 19, 2016

The gods are “like warm apple pie”: The hidden meanings behind our metaphors

I don't know what is going on with all the apple metaphors. First, John Beckett...

April 13, 2016

The Awkward Adolescence of the Polytheist Movement: Defining Community at the Edges

The contemporary Polytheist movement is in its adolescence, and like every adolescence, it's awkward and...

March 2016

March 20, 2016

Tell Me Again That Jungians Can’t Be Pagan (edited)

The claim that Jungians can't be Pagan ignores the (at least) thousands of Pagans who...

March 19, 2016

American Gods and the Growth of Devotional Polytheism, Part 2: Dilution and Transcendence

American Gods reflected -- and probably magnified -- a dissatisfaction among many Pagans with popular...

March 19, 2016

American Gods and the Growth of Devotional Polytheism, Part 1: Fantasy and Inspiration

There has always been a close relationship between fantasy and contemporary Paganism, and for the...

March 18, 2016

“How Do You Like Them Apples?” On Gods and Metaphors

I have noticed -- especially recently -- that rigidity of definitions tends to correspond to...

March 11, 2016

From a Flatland Metaphysics to the Ecology of the Gods

Let's acknowledge that all of us are talking about gods, but we're talking about them...

February 2016

February 18, 2016

Want To Be A Pagan?: “Climb a Fucking Tree!”

"If you want to worship nature, you don’t need a sunwheel, pentacle, or a goddess...

January 2016

January 14, 2016

“Less Christian Than Thou”: Neo-Paganism and Polytheism Beyond the Christian Divide

Neo-Pagans and Polytheists -- have fundamentally different issues. Polytheism and Neo-Paganism don't just represent different...

December 2015

December 09, 2015

Someone said something stupid on the internet … so I went to my altar.

Yesterday, I read a blog post that tested my recent commitment to abstain from Internet...

November 2015

November 28, 2015

How Pagan Spaces Become Toxic to Non-Theistic Pagans (Part 2)

I present this as an example of the kind of animosity and vitriol that non-theistic...

November 28, 2015

How Pagan Spaces Become Toxic to Non-Theistic Pagans (Part 1)

I present this as an example of the kind of animosity and vitriol that non-theistic...

November 08, 2015

My Religion is Rooted in the Holy Powers of the Soil

My religion is rooted. In fact, it is a religion of roots ... and of...

October 2015

October 29, 2015

I Hold These Things To Be Sacred: A Reply to Sarenth Odinsson

I hold these things to be sacred and holy: all life, the earth, nature, our...

October 29, 2015

“Atheist Pagan” Does Not Equal “Secular Pagan”

Yes, atheist Paganism is "a thing." And it should neither be confused with secularism nor...

September 2015

September 04, 2015

Believing In Our Myths, Without Believing Them

We need to find a way to live mythically, without taking our myths literally --...

September 02, 2015

Don’t Tell Me I Haven’t Met Any Gods

If you're a polytheist who believes in multiple pantheons, then you have to acknowledge the...

August 2015

August 25, 2015

“The Disenchantment of Hard Polytheism”

"... Human beings have consistently demonstrated a collective unwillingness to place the needs of our...

August 23, 2015

If It Doesn’t Help Me Save This World, I Don’t Want Your Polytheist Revolution

It has become more clear to me than ever why I am opposed to the...

August 21, 2015

“Pantheism, Archetype, and Deities in Ritual” by Shauna Aura Knight

Check out this great 3-part series by Shauna Aura Knight discussing deities and archetypes and...

May 2015

May 28, 2015

EGO-Paganism and the Tyranny of Structurelessness

Ego-Paganism is not focused on connection or relationship, but on individual freedom and self-expression. Ego-centered...

April 2015

April 01, 2015

We are the Earth … aren’t we? (The power of the preposition)

The purpose of the Pagan Community Statement on the Environment is not to create some...

January 2015

January 13, 2015

Non-Violent Writing: Selma and the “Pagan” question

How are we to respond when other claim the exclusive right to use certain words?...

August 2014

August 16, 2014

Are monism and polytheism a matter of temperament?

It would be beneficial if we as a community would stop looking at one another...

June 2014

June 25, 2014

Why I don’t trust the gods (at least not if I’m alone with one)

I think it's a mistake to assume the gods are benign. The word "worship" derives...

March 2014

March 10, 2014

“A mighty host respond”: Pagan unity through diversity

Is it possible to build a religious community around the idea of celebrating difference? Is...

March 08, 2014

A Devotional Practice with the World at its Center

I realized that devotional practice is not limited to deity-centered religion. There can be an...

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