Make Paganism Acceptable Again

Earth worship is a sacred part of all of Humanity's ancestry. We all hail from small communities of farmers, and hunter gatherers. Once we lived in harmony with our natural environment, because it was understood that we owe our very survival to the verdant beauty of this, our Garden of Eden. This is not only true of one particular race, or ancestry, or culture. It is true of all peoples of the Earth. We see remnants of monuments from the Neolithic Age in all populated corners of the world. Monuments which were mysteriously aligned to stars in the sky and specific astronomical events. From Stonehenge, to Machu Picchu, to the Giza complex, no ancestry of humanity was without nature worship if one only looks far enough back.

Our modern world is dizzying, and complex. It is quite easy to become distracted by this world of rampant consumerism and spiritual disdain. Today, newer is better, and Nihilism is sexy. We're indoctrinated from children to buy into the story that nothing we have is enough unless we have the newest gadget which will make our lives just grand. You only live once, after all, why not live in the fast lane and be damned the consequences! Those are someone else's problem, and you'll be long dead by then. The problem with both of these false, limiting beliefs can be easily summarized. This type of living is not sustainable.

Humanity is not separate from nature, nor is Spirit. Nature is intelligent, and there are no coincidences. "Chance" is just a word we use to place hold for phenomena we don't understand. Over the past two thousand years, we have been steadily deviating from nature, and this vacuous lack of true Spirituality has been steadily sowing the seeds of our own demise.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" - Book of Proverbs

The arrogance of Humanity in believing they are separate from, and superior to nature, is the seed of the destruction of life on Earth. This errant belief is the root cause of every ecologically disastrous mistake we have ever made. Humanity must be humbled in the awe inspiring face of our life giving creator, and destructive Mother Earth. We must recognize our true place as an intelligent life form is to accept responsibility for Stewardship of ourselves and our home planet.

We can easily accept the concept of Terraforming the barren wasteland that is Mars, and yet we cannot simply form Terra into a sustainable environment in which to live? We are so eager to run from our mistakes, and yet cowardly in the face of amending them.

As it pertains to this particular state of crisis in our environment, the list of ways in which we've gone wrong could certainly be a long and intimidating one. That wouldn't, however, be very helpful. The more monumental the task, the more difficult it is to begin. So while I could happily tell you that I plan to do my part in correcting our mistakes by reducing my water and plastic consumption, creating my own natural and organic products for my home and body, and reducing my fossil fuel consumption, those aren't the things you truly need. They are long, slow, difficult changes you may or may not have the time or energy to make. You would probably cry for days if you knew all of the ways you are personally poisoning your groundwater and our oceans from under your kitchen sink and inside your bathroom cabinet. You love your pesticides, GMOs, and processed poisons. You love them so much you're even genetically modifying yourselves!

What is needful, and occurring, is a Spiritual Awakening. Energy is neither created nor destroyed, it only changes forms. Your body is not material, your lives are not material, the planet is not material. Everything is energy. You do not only live once, you are reborn again and again. The planet you destroy today is the same one you'll be born into in your next life. The society we create that is not sustainable is the failing society we have to deal with in our futures. We have forgotten this. Our medicine men and women, our Shamans, our Priestesses, our Druids, Bards, Hedge Witches, and healers of many tribes, were brutally slaughtered. Their wisdom was destroyed with them. Their practices and traditions made illegal for many years. It is fortunate that pieces of it still exist under unturned stones in wild places in the world, because this is the wisdom we need if we are to reverse our course towards inevitable destruction.

The role of the tribal wisdom bearer is not lost. It is alive and well today. This is an Archetype in our ancestry that cannot be destroyed. What has happened, is that when these souls are incarnated into this world now they are persecuted, gaslighted, and have difficulty surviving in a world that ignores their wisdom and disrespects their existence. Instead of being able to restore balance and provide healing to the planet and people, they are feared, maligned, even attacked. Many are too afraid to make waves to honor their sacred calling and walk the path of the witch. But it is Paganism that the Earth needs to survive. The people of the Earth need their Priestesses, Shamans, Brujas, Druids, and Healers to heal from the memory of their burning, and have the courage to step forward and lead once again.

We must stop internalizing the fear of our ignorant, misguided recent ancestors. The Earth has called us here and now to save it. This task will not be possible so long as every powerful wave maker fears their own power, their own shadow. It will not be possible so long as people are too prideful to admit their mistakes, not humble enough to accept that they were wrong to force their religion on anyone. Or force their lack of faith on anyone.

When you're ready to find out what you can do to care for our Home, ask a Witch. Ask a Druid, ask a Shaman, ask a holistic wellness practitioner. They've been telling you all along, you just thought you knew better. Health, Wellness, and Sustainability are on the other side of Arrogance and Fear, for ourselves and our planet.

So if I can do anything, in my life, to make waves for our oceans and our planet, it won't be simply in the sustainable choices that I make for myself. It will be in inspiring other closeted spiritual healers to step forth into the world fearlessly, so they might heal it also. It will be in taking a stand against persecution, proselytizing, and oppression. It is my sincerest wish to empower humanity to save itself instead of waiting for an ephemeral savior to arrive and fix it for them. The only one who can save you from yourself is you.