Send us your reflections!
We are now accepting submissions!
The more diverse, the better
We’re looking to multiply the number of voices represented on Humanistic Paganism. The more different views and perspectives are represented, the more robust this path will become. And the more we of like minds come together and share, the more recognized and accepted we’ll become in the larger community. So, don’t hold back. Have your say!
You need not identify as a “Humanistic Pagan” to submit. Other perspectives, including those that challenge Humanistic Paganism, are welcome in the spirit of constructive dialogue.
You will be credited by name and retain full copyright to your work.
Words
Speak your truth! We’ll consider just about anything you send us, but we’re especially interested in a few key areas:
- Personal Experience or Essay – a true story or narrative describing a personal experience, or an essay related to themes of Humanistic Paganism
- Experiment – a report of a first-hand empirical trial of a hypothesis, spiritual practice, or other activity related to Humanistic Paganism; in other words, tell us what you tried and describe the results (examples may include meditations, rituals, tarot, runes, astrology, alternative medicines, psychological theories, scientific theories, new ways of thinking, etc.)
- Naturalistic mythology – recount a myth or legend, or describe a deity or pantheon, including possible interpretations from naturalistic perspectives
- Critical Challenge – a constructive critique of certain aspects, ideas, or practices within Humanistic Paganism
- eBook Article Submission – see our September 23rd post for details on our upcoming ebook and how you can contribute!
If you make claims of a scientific or metaphysical nature, it is best to support those claims with evidence and/or reputable, authoritative sources. Submissions with claims lacking sufficient support may be returned for revision.
If you reference mythological or religious material from a Native American, Hindu, or other major living religious tradition, it is best to acknowledge that tradition and note potential differences in interpretation. In other words, do not speak for the tradition, speak only for yourself. If you belong to that tradition, say so. This is intended to avoid issues of cultural appropriation.
Please NO RANTS OR FLAMES.
Images
Get your work seen! We’re especially interesting in the following themes:
- nature
- mythology
- intersections of the artificial and natural environment
You may interpret the above themes as you will. If you send it to us, rest assured we’ll consider it.
Appropriate submissions include photographs, artwork, logos, sigils, diagrams, comic strips, cartoons, etc., for which you hold full copyright. Include an explanation of the work where necessary to its understanding. Please no obscene or pornographic images.
In order to create a consistent “look”, Humanistic Paganism typically runs images through a number of filters (exposure, contrast, focal effects, etc.). Images may be modified in this way to improve consistency without notification.
Images created by combining other images, one or more of which is not your own, should give full credits to the original image author(s) for all images used. A link to the site where you found the image is acceptable, provided the original author has not stipulated further restrictions on use of the image. Images without such credits will not be accepted.
Specifics and editing policy
Text submissions should be between 500 and 1500 words. Aim for 700 words as the ideal length.
Include name, photo, and short bio with your submission. The name need not be your real name (real is encouraged, but we understand if it’s not); it should be the name under which you wish to receive credit. The photo need not be of you; it could be a tree, star, or other image that represents you (please no nudity or profanity). The bio should be short and sweet, conveying who you are and what your interest or background is. If you have a product, service, or website to promote, you may do so in your bio.
All submissions should use proper grammar, spelling, and citation of sources.
We expect a certain level of reflection and rigor in submissions. In order to provide the best quality for readers, submissions may be returned with suggestions for revision.
Submissions may be edited before publication. In the event that a submission needs extensive revision, a reasonable effort will be made to inform the author of any major changes prior to publication. Spelling, grammar, typos, and awkward or wordy phrasing will be corrected without notification.
Plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable and will result in the removal of any published material and banning of further submissions.
We will not publish any work expressing views of a racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise discriminatory nature.
Advertising: If you have a product, service, or website to promote that is relevant to Humanistic Paganism, you may do so in the short bio that accompanies your text submission.
Submitting
Text submissions should be submitted in one of the following formats: MS Word, ASCII, or Rich Text Format (RTF).
Images should be submitted in one of the following formats: JPEG, GIF, or BMP. Resolution should be high enough to be clear and crisp at a width of 500 pixels, but need not be exactly this size.
Send submissions via email. Include only one text submission or up to five images per email.
Please note the nature of the submission in the subject line. For example:
- Essay: Walking in Nature.
- Photo: Bridge Over Creek.
- Artwork: Humanistic Paganism Logo
Submissions will not be returned to the sender, unless specifically requested.
Send all submissions to:
humanisticpaganism [at] gmail.com
Note: Be sure to remove the spaces and replace [at] with @. Address intentionally disrupted to avoid detection by spam robots.
Legal
Authors retain full rights to content of all submissions.
By submitting, you grant us limited, non-exclusive, worldwide electronic rights to your content (that means you agree to let us publish your stuff, but you retain full rights to your work).
Humanistic Paganism retains the right to accept or reject submissions without providing a reason.
Humanistic Paganism retains the right to edit, update, or otherwise modify submissions before or after publication without advance notice of the author.
All submissions reflect the opinions of their respective authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Humanistic Paganism.
Past Contributors
Trent Fowler is an English teacher in South Korea. He graduated with a degree in Psychology from Hendrix college, where he also studied philosophy and neuroscience, among other things. Though he considers himself a staunch atheist, he is still very much interested in ritual, meditation, and various religious practices which can serve as a means for exploring and changing consciousness. As a writer, he has worked for numerous websites, blogs, and small businesses. He also enjoys hiking, playing guitar, dabbling in electronics with mixed results, and learning everything he can about anything he can.
AtheistWitch
AtheistWitch: I was born in the middle of the United States, but have been living in Europe for most of my adult life. I was raised an Evangelical Christian, but started to disconnect from my denomination at around the age of 16 when I realized I was gay. I only admitted to being an atheist around the age of 23. At some point, I started researching Wicca and Paganism in depth and liked most of what I saw, but didn’t want to give up my Atheism. Since Wicca’s symbols are nominally related to real natural events or aspects, I realized I didn’t have to. While I don’t consider myself a Wiccan, I today call myself a naturalistic, atheistic eclectic, solitary witch. I celebrate the wheel of the year, meditate, do rituals both complex and simple, strive towards better understanding of self and others as I try to be an ecological eater and walk through the greener parts around my area on a regular basis. It is an ever-evolving practice, one that attempts to remain scientifically and logically grounded, while at the same time involving a lot of humor and being very “me”.” Here is the link to my blog: atheistwitch.blogspot.com
Bart Everson
Bart Everson is a writer, a photographer, a baker of bread, a husband and a father. An award-winning videographer, he is co-creator of ROX, the first TV show on the internet. As a media artist and an advocate for faculty development in higher education, he is interested in current and emerging trends in social media, blogging, podcasting, et cetera, as well as non-technological subjects such as contemplative pedagogy and integrative learning. He is a founding member of the Green Party of Louisiana, past president of Friends of Lafitte Corridor, sometime contributor to Rising Tide, and a participant in New Orleans Lamplight Circle.
Ian Edwards is the Pagan editor for the on-line magazine “Bellaonline”. He has been practising magick since he lived in Mexico in 1979, and following the Pagan path since the mid 1980s. Ian spent most of his early life travelling as his father was first in the British Royal Navy and later part of the British Embassy staff in various parts of the world.
During his travels he saw and learned about the indigenous spiritual paths of many countries and also trained in several martial arts with strong psycho/spiritual roots including Aikido, Fung Sau Kung Fu, and Ninjutsu. He is a third degree black belt in the latter which he was presented with by the Grandmaster of the Bujinkan system after studying the art in Japan.
He also helped out at a Pagan shop called “Broomsticks” in his natal city of Portsmouth (UK) run buy an existentialist Pagan. Ian learned a lot about that path in addition to appreciating the many different spiritual systems that used the shop for supplies and discussing esoteric matters.
He is the author of The Wizard’s Way to Wealth published by Cappel Bann Publishers.
Eli Effinger-Weintraub is rooted in the Twin Cities Watershed. She practices a mongrel brand of naturalistic Reclaiming-tradition hearthwitchery influenced by Gaia theory, naturalistic pantheism, and the writings of Carl Sagan. But she tries not to think too deeply about any of that and mostly just rides her bicycle, instead. Eli writes plays, creative nonfiction, and short speculative fiction, often inspired by the visual art of her wife, Leora Effinger-Weintraub. She is also a mercenary copyeditor. Find her online at Back Booth, on Twitter as @AwflyWeeEli, and at the Pagan Newswire Collective blog No Unsacred Place, where she writes the Restorying the Sacred column.
Jake Diebolt
Jake Diebolt works as a GIS Technician (translation: map guy) on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada. By night he reads, writes, and cooks (he does the best he can). He also enjoys archery, hunting and getting pushed face-first into snow banks (see photo).
Jonathan Blake
Jonathan Blake: Born into a Mormon family who had followed railroad work to the Mojave Desert, Jonathan Blake struggled with religious doubts from early childhood but went on to serve as a Mormon missionary in upstate New York and to marry his first love during a secret ceremony in a Mormon temple. With the birth of his two daughters and a growing sense of responsibility for their welfare, he sought greater certainty about his religious beliefs and more knowledge about Mormon history. What he learned caused his faith in Mormonism to fall away and his eyes to be opened to a world with more freedom and beauty than he had imagined. He now seeks to live according to the dictates of his own conscience and to learn as much as humanly possible about the cosmos. Still living in the Mojave, he recently completed a Master of Science degree in computer engineering and earns his living as a data warehousing professional.
Thomas Schenk
Thomas Schenk: “If asked, I’d call myself a Space-age Taoist, Black Sheep Catholic, Perennial Philosophy Pantheist, Dharma Bum. In other words I am a kind of spiritual and philosophical mutt. I’m not out to change the world, for I believe the world has a much better sense of what it is supposed to be than I ever could. But I do try to promote the value of the contemplative life in these most un-contemplative of times. I don’t know if the piece presented here has any value, but I feel blessed that I can spend my time thinking about such things. My version of the American dream is that here, as the child of a line of farmers and peasants going back through the ages, I have the privilege to live with my head in such clouds.”
Thomas is also the author of the naturalistic spirituality blog Golden Hive of the Invisible.
C Luke Mula
C Luke Mula is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Endlessly fascinated by meaningful experiences of all stripes, he is constantly experimenting with ways to make life more meaningful, a process he calls “faith design.” He co-directs The Way to Actuality, a website founded to foster the discussion and discovery of Purpose wherever it can be found, regardless of religious or secular context.
Heather Wiech
Heather Wiech is an international relations scholar, philosopher, human rights activist, blogger, tutor, culinary artist, photographer, techie nerd, mythology enthusiast, and spiritual naturalist. http://heatherwiech.com
John H. Halstead
John H. Halstead is a former Mormon, now eclectic Neopagan with an interest in ritual as an art form, ecopsychology, theopoetics, Jungian theory, and the idea of death as an act of creation. He maintains the website American Neopaganism and the newly-minted blog The Allergic Pagan.
Rua Lupa
- Balance within nature: An interview with Rua Lupa
- The indifference of nature
- Understanding word use and how science relates to myth and religion
Rua Lupa is a Canadian Metis of Celtic and Anishinabek (Native peoples of the Great Lakes region) descent. By studying what is being rediscovered about the Celts, and getting involved in the spiritual practices of the Anishnabek, she hopes to find out more about herself, bring to light valuable insights from these cultures, and maybe bring about a new way of being. Rua’s strong love of Nature has led to a passion for photography and Wildlife Technician degree. She dedicates her life to conserving what is left of our unaltered wilderness, and helping humanity regain balance within Nature through Ehoah, a naturalistic path. Rua founded the Sault Community Drum Circle, the Gore Bay Drum Circle on Manitoulin Island, and has been a board member of Bike Share Algoma. She also has a background in tandem canoe tripping, winter camping, lifeguarding, advanced wilderness first aid, and a myriad of other outdoor activities.
Drew Jacob
- Encounters in nature: A book review
- Encounters in nature: An open-air dialogue in the North Woods
- Spirituality without religion: An interview with Drew Jacob
Drew Jacob is a priest of many gods, a seasoned nonprofit professional, a writer, an observer and all too frequently a student of his own misadventures. He follows the Heroic Path: the idea that the highest goal in life is to live gloriously, to distinguish oneself through one’s deeds, to be clever and brave and become known for it – to use the moments of life to leave a lasting and worthy impression on the world. He is the author of Rogue Priest and the new ebook Walk Like a God: How to Have Spiritual Moments With No Church and No Dogma. Currently he is in preparation for the Great Adventure, a walk across two continents from Minnesota to Brazil.
Urban Haas
Urban Haas, a.k.a. Oungan François, finds humor in life while strumming to a different tune. He’s a musician, blogger, traveler, activist, Vodouan, technologist & mediator. Urban Haas is a priest of New Orleans Vodou, and the author of Chasing the Asson. He lives on a hobby farm in southern Minnesota with his wife, two dogs, and his horses.
Maggie Jay Lee
Maggie Jay Lee lives in west Tennessee with her husband, cat and two
dogs. When she is not working as an environmental consultant, she likes to spend
her time enjoying nature, dancing and learning about this strange, beautiful world.
Maggie is a naturalistic pagan with a particular interest in ancient Greek religion.
Ryan Spellman
Ryan Spellman lives happily in the foothills of Appalachia with his wife of seven years and three spoiled kitties. He is lucky enough to spend his day job working at a library and does a little web and graphic design, painting, drawing and almost anything else creative he can get his hands on as time allows.
Rhys Chisnall
Rhys Chisnall grew up in the Suffolk countryside and as such has a deep interest in nature and wildlife. He works as a lecturer at Otley College of Agriculture and Horticulture, specifically with special needs students, and is currently studying for a degree with the Open University in Philosophy and Psychology. He has been interested in Paganism since his teen years and was lucky enough to be trained by a coven who takes a naturalistic approach to the Craft. He later joined that coven and now runs a training group for those interested in initiatory Witchcraft.
B. T. Newberg
- What is Humanistic Paganism?
- Words into action: A Humanistic Pagan retreat
- Retreat, day one: Divination and ritual
- Retreat, day two: Nature and the Five +1
- Retreat, day three: Meditation
- Retreat, day four: Psychology and mythology
- Retreat, day five: Socialization and dialogue
- Retreat, day six: Displacements
- Retreat, day seven: Reflection, vulnerability, and the goal
- No rapture: Resonance, not transcendence
- Nontheistic ritual: Is it effective?
- To build a fire: The spiritual art of socialization
- Neither religious nor secular: A home for those with none
- Speak your truth
- Spirituality without religion: An interview with Drew Jacob
- How Persephone killed the gods for me
- Encounters in nature: Complete ebook
- Balance within nature: An interview with Rua Lupa
- Ten years after 9/11: World politics is an existential condition
- Symbols in the sky
- Real religion?
- Saving the marriage of science and myth
- Four critical questions for HP in the coming year
- Nature Shock
- The new Copernican shift: How science is revolutionizing spirituality
- In defense of “gods”
- A review of Loyal Rue’s “Religion Is Not About Gods”
B. T. Newberg is an author, editor, teacher, and husband. For eleven years and counting, he has been practicing meditation and ritual from a naturalistic perspective. After leaving the Lutheranism of his raising, he experimented with Agnosticism, Buddhism, Contemporary Paganism, and Spiritual Humanism. Currently he combines the latter two into a dynamic path embracing both science and myth. He headed the Google Group Polytheist Charity, and organized the international interfaith event The Genocide Prevention Ritual. In 2009, he completed a 365-day challenge recorded at One Good Deed Per Day. As a Pagan, he has published frequently at The Witch’s Voice as well as Oak Leaves and the podcast Tribeways, and has written a book on the ritual order of Druid organization Ar nDriocht Fein called Ancient Symbols, Modern Rites. Several of his ebooks sell at GoodReads.com, including a volume of creative nonfiction set in Malaysia called Love and the Ghosts of Mount Kinabalu. Professionally, he teaches English as a Second Language, and also runs an SEO writing business at www.BTNewberg.com. After living in Minnesota, England, Malaysia, and Japan, B. T. Newberg currently resides in South Korea, with his wife and cat. Follow their Korean adventures at Bibimbap Litterbox.
