We are Cultpunks. We affirm that belief systems, rituals, symbols, pilgrimages, tenets, holy days, shrines, festivals, taboos, mythologies and pantheons can and should be created as works of art. If so, then surely any sufficiently advanced magic is likewise indistinguishable from technology, and religions may usefully be considered as psychological technologies. Just like any other tech, … Read moreRead this first: “A Cultpunk Manifesto”
A short documentary on two rural sanctuaries that are part of the Radical Fairie movement.
In Sound of My Voice, amateur documentarists Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius) go undercover to investigate a secretive cult led by the enigmatic Maggie (Britt Marling, who also co-wrote the story), who claims to have traveled back in time from the year 2054. According to co-writer/director Zal Batmanglij: We were interested in fringe … Read more“The Sound of My Voice” (2012)
A simplified history of English Wicca as the life’s work of Gerald Gardner, gamely hosted in classic edutainment style by Professor Ronald Hutton.
M.L Clark writes for OnlySky: One unspoken tenet of anti-theist discourse is that we are limited by the religious stories at the core of our culture. For that slice of the nonreligious spectrum, it’s not enough not to believe, personally, in a god. The nature of religion poses a narrative problem that anti-theists feel must … Read more“Solarpunk humanism: How we dream bigger than despair”
Host Aviv Shahar of the Portals podcast interviews Layman Pascal and Brendan Graham Dempsey, organizers of the Metamodern Spirituality Labs at Brendan’s Sky Meadow Retreat in Vermont. My own memoir of attending the Spring 2024 Lab is available here.
Patrick Barry writes: “Living wisdom” carries this idea of a dynamic, growing, becoming, manifesting sort of project. It’s not just what some wise dudes wrote a long time ago. It’s ongoing, a living project. It, itself, can and will evolve over time, as we slowly, collectively learn. We can be less confused, more wise, more … Read more“Call it ‘Living Wisdom’”
Taking place during late August of 2024, the inaugural Sky Meadow Mystery School was a free, week-long, residential immersion into wholesome permaculture practice and the mythopoetic mysteries of Life and Death. As an experiment in countercultural community-building, the Mystery School was also a time and place to learn new skills and perspectives. One of our … Read moreThe Sky Meadow Mystery School, Harvest 2024 in a few words and many images
In this episode of Brian James’ Howl in the Wilderness podcast, Brian and myself discuss the potentials of CultPunk and Poetic Faith as new arts of meaning-making, as well as the philosophy of memento mori ergo carpe diem – “remember death and therefore seize the day”.
An interview with Dr. Erik Steinhart on his development of a philosophically rigorous and deeply scientific view of religious practice reconceived outside of mainstream western Christianity.
Morgan Shipley writes for Psyche: What is a spiritual practice, exactly? It is a regular discipline or ritual undertaken with intention to cultivate and enhance spiritual growth. Some common examples include mindfulness meditation, yoga, journaling, communing with nature, manifesting and affirmation cycles, or the use of tarot or astrology. A routine practice that promotes wellbeing … Read more“How to find new spiritual practices”