Cultpunk An excerpt from the ever-increasingly-iconic Erik Davis’ 2006 essay on emergent cultic activity at Black Rock City: Thus it is with some trepidation that I turn to one of the more vexing questions that one might ask about Burning Man: can or should we speak of the event as a sacred gathering? Even if we … Read more“Beyond Belief: The Cults of Burning Man”
I visited the Tapu te Ranga Marae several times over the years when I lived in Wellington, NZ. Sometime in the late ’80s or early ’90s I had a memorably cryptic encounter with founder Bruce Stewart in the main meeting hall. The Marae (very loosely, “community center”) was an extraordinary place. Probably the first and … Read moreTapu te Ranga Marae
The Church of Omnism does not mandate or impose a universal creed or dogma, but possesses three core beliefs:
Arielle Domb writes for Cosmopolitan on the Satanic Temple’s telehealth abortion service: Never mind that Satanists don’t actually worship the devil. There are no ritual sacrifices or quests for supernatural powers at TST. In reality, Satanism is a nontheistic faith in which TST’s roughly 1.5 million global members view Satan more like a mascot, one … Read more“The Satanic Abortion Clinic That’s Pissed Off Pretty Much Everyone…and Might Beat the Bans Anyway”
In the hallowed tradition of inventing new holidays and rituals expressing the wants and needs of niche communities – witness the viral success of Wolfenoot, an annual festival of canine-themed kindness created by an imaginative seven-year-old, or Festivus, as popularized by Seinfeld – here is a modest but timely proposal for Forbidden Fruit Eve as … Read moreForbidden Fruit Eve: a Proposal for a New Satanic Yuletide Custom
Gaianism is a new ecoreligion aiming to: a) build a community of those who believe Gaia is sacred and that there is no calling higher than protecting and restoring Gaia; b) provide ways to stop the horrors that we are unleashing on the planet, ourselves, and countless other species; c) offer means to prepare–oneself, one’s … Read moreThe Gaian Way
Poet and playwright John Constable, sometimes known as the urban shaman John Crow, relates some of his communions with The Goose – the spirit of a medieval sex worker whose apocalyptic visions spurred the creation of the Crossbones Memorial Garden in Southwark, London.
Juju Lane writes for Psyche on the curious relationship between eco-activism and the faery faith: It may seem that Paganism has returned to Ireland. But the truth is, it never really went away. What is new about this modern resurgence is that it has become an Indigenous European response to ecological destruction. Paganism in Ireland … Read more“Paganism is a potent force in Ireland’s conservation movement”
Brian Klaas writes for The Atlantic on a perspective foreign to most analysts and pundits: Anthropologists note that nonrational, magical, or superstitious beliefs appear in nearly all human societies, helping to make sense of a world in which individual lives can feel like the playthings of larger, unseen forces or, sometimes, random chance. When, say, … Read more“Political Analysis Needs More Witchcraft”
