The Story Behind The Name

I am an atheistic pagan.  I do not believe in supernatural beings who are controlling the world or forest spirits that we should pray to and thank for our good fortunes.  I find the most Awe, Wonder, and moments that make me feel small in Nature and Science (which I have come to see as the study of Nature.  Science is often the mechanism we use to view the potent miracles of Nature, IMO).  Everything we have comes from Nature, and everything we need can be found in Nature.  I find solace in natural things, prefer to have natural textures in my home, use natural products on myself and my family.  

I have been working on turning this into some form of spiritual practice.  I am still trying to pin down what this looks like.  I have been doing a lot of reading and the reading says, do what works for you, but then describes festivals and rituals and seasons for an island halfway around the world with a completely different climate.  So, it’s been a process, a journey.  Here is where I am with that.  Nature has seasons, at least, here in the Midwest it does.  I want to build a practice centered around recognizing the seasons in Nature.  

Every year, the Earth tilts away from the Sun and the days get shorter, and every year, the Earth tilts towards the Sun and the days get longer.  I recognize those patterns.  Every month, the moon waxes and wanes, becomes whole, and then disappears altogether.  I recognize those patterns.  In these patterns, we can create rituals that honor the reflections of Nature in ourselves.  Every year, we (I) feel happier, fuller, and more alive in the Summer when the Sun reigns, the days are long, I can spend time outside, and all of the plants are blooming.  Every year, we (I) feel diminished, sadder, slower when the Earth is resting, the Dark reigns, and it is too cold to spend a lot of time outside.  I really hate the cold.  Every month, I feel more vibrant around the full moon than the new moon.  (Note, I am still working on connecting to moon phases.  I am hoping to write about this particular journey as this blog develops.)  

I would not call myself a happy person.  I am happy some of the time, but I do not feel like it is my default emotion.  My soul has dark, sticky places that I get trapped in sometimes.  Moods have seasons as well.  

So, I wanted to create a space where I can put all of these things together, along with all of the other things that I am passionate about.  This will be a space where I can document some of the ways that I am recognizing the seasons of Nature and the seasons within myself and hopefully gain insights from this farther along in my journey.  I want to write this for myself so that it is authentic to me, but if there are people out there that can connect with what I will write here, that would be the coolest thing.