Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

A Sense of Place

Home
Pagan
Creating a Place-Based Practice

Creating a Place-Based Practice

Last updated on: February 20, 2014 at 3:55 pm by Traci

Creating a Place-Based Practice 2014-02-20T15:55:02+00:00 Traci

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

my Little Bigs at Pedernales Falls

On the second dark moon of January, a group of 9 gathered in my front garden. We sought uncharted territory; in fact, were willing to risk vulnerability to find it. The group of explorers met to carefully plan the expedition. We knew the journey might stretch every resource and tool we possessed, yet we were drawn to try–to dare. For there, in my front garden that night, was the first meeting of an advanced working group committed to discovering the Place specific spirituality of Central Texas.

The background and expertise of the group was varied, but we shared a few things in common: a dissatisfaction with the ‘traditional’ seasonal wheel that clearly did not sync with our lived (place-based) experience, a deep desire to meet and work with the Powers of our specific Place, and a willingness (even desire) to listen for or create new tools and practices that matched our experiential discoveries. We were, in a real sense, willing to craft a Place-based cultus.

Our group identified a few areas of import, ones we felt were vital to our work. The first was developing, or honing, our observation skills, seeing again the landscape around us–which for most of us is urban–and looking with new eyes. Many committed to taking notes of significant occurrence, i.e., the cycle of plants, bird calls and flight patterns, celestial positions, etc. The second was a willingness and ability to use our witchcraft tools–or the tools of mindfulness and meditation–to facilitate deep listening, and a form of possession with/of the living land around us and the Powers we may encounter.

The third, and perhaps most important, was naming the need to build a secure, trusting container so we each felt safe expressing and acting upon impulses that may deviate from our previous Craft experience. Since the practices most of us had been taught were built on a largely European model, we surmised that energies/beings/Powers/Persons we encounter in North America–a continent away from the Euro-centric myths we all know–and specially central Texas, could feel different, express themselves differently, or generally interact with our energies in ways unique and different. With this in mind, we wanted to build trust in the group in order to enable the free expression and exploration of these fresh encounters.

Our group will meet monthly, and I hope to have many good things to share once the expedition is under way.

“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.”

Earth-based spirituality

Previous Post

February 18, 2014

The Value of Communities of Place

Next Post

February 21, 2014 The Garments of the Gods

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Africa Amazon Ancestors Animism Austin Boots Across Ireland Boston boundary crossing Bretagne Children Cities Community Connection Culture Detroit Druidry Earth Edinburgh Elements England Eskdalemuir Eugene experiential family Fiction Florida folklore France Glasgow Heathenry home how to build it Human Spaces imaginary landscapes Introduction Ireland Journeys Know your wild herbs Land Spirits London Maine memory lane Naturalizing Nature's Metaphors New York Poetry Remembering Ancestors Sacred Spaces San Francisco Scotland Seasons Seattle Tanzania Technology Texas the South Theory Top 10 traditions Travel Uncategorized United States video Water West Virginia Witchcraft Worlding

Select a Month August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

"I am the ____ and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Select your answer to see how you score.

Way Alpha Omega Word