Naturalistic Paganism
Ritual
I’m a big fan of keeping my practices tangible so that I know what impacts I’m actually making in the world. I’m personally not interested in involving Deity-speak (my use of the word meaning including the mention or reference to deities as metaphors). I honestly feel hypocritical if I did do that as I personally don’t believe in the existence of deities and so feel no need to incorporate them. I find leaving them out makes things less confusing in interpretation and is a way of respecting those who do believe in them. However, all the rituals and ceremonies I share as a Saegoah are purely optional and can be freely redone by other Saegoahs who are theistic to suit their needs. Any rituals and ceremonies provided by any Saegoah is seen as a potential guideline to build upon rather than a writ in stone ritual or ceremony for what Saegoahs do, unless of course its an official ceremony or ritual written by and is intended only for their specific group within the Ehoah Path. We’re very open to sharing and trying new things to help one another in our quest for Ehoah (complete harmony within Nature). Below is one such optional custom and ritual.
Sacred Land
Whatever co
mes from Nature is of Nature, no matter its form or its location. Nothing is separate from Nature. In knowing this we as Saegoahs choose to ensure our connections within Nature are harmonious and encourage life, instead of ignoring the workings of Nature and inadvertently cause disharmony. One such thing that can be done is vermicomposting (learn how you can do that here) and from vermicomposting comes an inoculate – a liquid fertilizer chock full of micro-organisms that are beneficial to a soil ecosystem. We can take this vermicomposting resource and put it to good use by providing it to the land. Either feeding it to our own gardens that we directly reap the benefits from, or we can make it a libation – a sacrificial offering that we personally don’t directly benefit from. This can be done by way of going to land that you don’t personally own and pouring these libations there. Or, you can set aside land that within our societal legal system you 
do own, but have made it to be its own place – being sanctified as land that belongs to itself. This can be of any size, be it a square meter (square yard) or hundreds of acres. This land grows in its own way, and it can be cared for in a way that benefits it further. It can be offered native seeds in compost and libations of inoculate to promote life. Such a place can be considered a sacred grove for ritual and ceremony that you, or your group, are dedicated to (to learn how you can establish a self-sustaining forest for this purpose go here).
Inoculative Libations To The Land
“In gathering what has been left from my toils in sustaining myself, and with the workings between species that share this land, this enriched liquid was cultivated.
Instead of keeping this enriched liquid for my personal gain, I offer it here, to this land so that this land may itself be enriched for its own benefit, and through it may all others of this land prosper.
pro solterrestriale vitae*”
*Latin, “for solar-earth life”
Rua Lupa
Rua Lupa is a Canadian Metis of Celtic and Anishinabek (Native peoples of the Great Lakes region) descent. Living on the ‘Great Whitestone Island of the Lake Seas’, Rua Lupa is a Permaculture Designer, Wildlife Technician Alumna, Founder of Ehoah, Saegoah, Naturalist (Both in studying Natural History & Naturalism), Bioregionalist, and Citizen of Earth. Their primary interests are Homesteading, Historical Craft (SCAdian in Ealdormere), Bushcraft and Forest Gardening.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.
Naturalistic Paganism 
Rua, another excellent post. I think one of the things that makes me more engaged in my practice is the fact that things are grounded in reality. One of the things that many of my friends who have come to (various forms of) Paganism is that for them it did not feel real to them… I mean calling out to “Deity X” just did not resonate, even though many of them actually stuck with a particular group or groups for several years, they just could not get beyond the feeling of authenticity and being grounded in reality. Most of them were of some sort of Christian background (just as a fyi…). In my own personal practice, I often use simple rituals and prayers (more properly affirmations) as a part of my ritual process. Keeping it reality and tied to nature fills me with such a sense of awe and connectedness to the land I live. I just want to say that I am so thankful to you and those here at H.P., for offering a voice and perspective for all of us. Not only does it help me feel like a piece in larger movement, it gives me ideas to better my own ritual practice. For that, I would like to offer a huge THANK YOU!
May your day be peaceful,
Kelley aka Zenistao
Goodness, Thank you Kelley. I am immensely pleased to hear that I and other non-theistic practitioners here have been able to provide that for you. My hope is that this sort of sharing grows and develops a life of its own that empowers all of us to live more harmoniously. 🙂
I love the idea of “land that belongs to itself.” There is a famous “tree that belongs to itself” (in the context of our societal legal system) in Athens, Georgia. We made a pilgrimage there a dozen years ago.
Yes, I’ve read about that tree, and I believe there was another out there as well. I find it fascinating how we don’t normally think of other beings as belonging to themselves – especially plants and land. So this practice was intended to teach us to step back and really consider our relationship with the earth.
Pointing out that anyone that uses the term “ensure our connections within Nature are harmonious and encourage life,” Should become Vegan.
Death is part of of the circle of life. The wolf isn’t considered a keystone species for nothing – because without it the forest ecosystem becomes out of whack, and is at risk of collapse if not collapsing because of already having a lack of species diversity. You can consume meat and still live harmoniously within Nature, lest we consider wolves, bears, eagles, bass, pike, etc. to be not living harmoniously within Nature also?