"Let us a little permit Nature to take her own way; she better understands her own affairs than we." - Michel de Montaigne

Paganism is often defined as any of several earth-centred spiritual belief systems that acknowledge the presence of Divinity within the natural universe and within the forces of nature. As Pagans we also acknowledge that humanity exists as an integral part of the natural universe, rather than as its master.

However, the term, earth-centred spirituality, can be confusing for many, because it may conjure images of tree-hugging radical environmental Pagan activists, which, I believe, does not describe everyone who practices a large number of paths within Paganism.

In essence, it is true that Pagans strive for balance and harmony both within themselves and the environment in which they live

… in essence, I said.

However, the reality is that not every contemporary Pagan is “deeply” passionate about environmentalism - which does not mean that they do not try their best not to harm the earth or its inhabitants as much as they can and keep a proper perspective of humanity’s role in nature.

Earth-centred spirituality, eco-spirituality and environmentalism are in fact entirely different things.

• An environmentalist is a person who works to protect the environment and ecosystems from pollution. This is more of a vocation that requires a certain level of commitment and expertise, and not everyone is well-suited for the job. No religious or spiritual affiliation is necessary.
• Earth-centred spirituality, in my opinion, means that the earth is a source of spiritual wisdom and inspiration.
• Eco-spirituality is the “stewardship” of the earth as a spiritual path. Eco-spirituality is a philosophy that says we are stewards of the earth, not masters over it.

A Pagan can be a “good earthling” without being eco-spiritual, even if nature is a source of wisdom and inspiration in her/his faith. Not everyone has to be an environmentalist to be a good child of Mother Earth. A person can act according to their conscience and make modest efforts to reduce their environmental impact.

When claiming Earth-based spirituality as a requirement for contemporary Paganism some inconvenient facts are in fact often overlooked. The definitions of Paganism and the vocabulary used to describe Pagan paths are drawn too often from a much too narrow pool of modern paths and ignore the reality of ancient Pagan paths.

Some environmentalists consider Paganism, Native American shamanism and various Eastern religions, to provide a strong model of human harmony with nature. Indigenous, largely animistic, religions are often considered to avoid the split between human and other living creatures, to grant divinity to the grass, the trees, to individual animals. For the ancient Greeks, each tree, spring, grove and hillock had its own genius loci (spirit of place) - a guardian spirit. Similarly, many ancient tribes have been intimately connected to geographic location through nature, which defines one’s world.

Place and the nurture it brings are closely related in many indigenous tales, creating an intimate relationship between natural resources and the people who use them. For Native Americans and even our own Bushmen, the relationship between hunter and prey was not just a processing of material resources; many native hunters apologised to the animals they killed.

One must beware, however, of simplifying and romanticising these traditions.

Our Pagan ancestors built cities and urban centres; at times they used resources to excess and imposed their will on the landscape. Most of the forests in Northern Europe were cut or burnt down by the time the Iron Age ended. Romans channeled water and enslaved rivers. Some Native American tribes, for instance, drove buffalo off of cliffs in unnecessary large numbers. Imagine the impact on nature the building of the pyramids or Stonehenge or Teotihuacan or Machu Picchu or the Nazca lines and other ancient geoglyphs, etc had. For example, Druids, unlike their modern Neo-Druid imitators, were politicians, doctors, lawyers, judges, ect, not woodsmen and tree-huggers.

All these ancient people did indeed live with the Earth on a day-to-day basis and understood in their very bones the cycles of the Earth and the web of life, but they would not have understood the suggestion that they should not do anything to impact the environment. They lived in the environment and were part of that environment and were intimately part of the process of change.

Ed Fitch, author of Magical Rites From the Crystal Well wrote: “Although our Pagan ancestors honoured, even deified, natural forces in their religions, they did so because their lives were dependent upon these forces for successful hunting and a good harvest. Today, life is very much changed and the average person is practically divorced from Nature. It would not be feasible to try to return to the more natural lifestyles of the past. Thus, modern Paganism concentrates on a more spiritual ideal, and strives for higher consciousness and spirituality.”

And I agree. “Pagan emphasis” is no longer focused on the fertility of crops, animals and humans, but rather on the fertility of the Pagan mind and spirit. There is simply no going back to what many still believe were “the good ole days”.

Also, the idea that any spiritual or religious path should impose political or activist opinions on its adherents could prove to be dangerous.

Over the past decade, environmentalism has increasingly become an integral part of our everyday lives. Products are touted as environmentally friendly or environmentally damaging with their uses being cast as morally right or wrong. In fact it has developed to the point that virtually every social, economic and legal issue is promoted as an environmental cause.

Environmentalists argue that our world is lacking an environmental ethic - that somehow the relationship between man and nature has gone seriously askew, creating an explosion of ecological and environmental problems. Rather than respecting and treasuring nature, man has exploited and even abused it. So are we in fact assuming that we are capable of really disrupting the balance?

Also, are we not perhaps in danger of establishing a dangerous precedent by going down the rights-to-nature path as such a course will surely lead to greater control and power by the organised environmental special interests in the form of government agencies, large corporations, and “independent” environmental groups who often have no idea where their funding really comes from or choose not to know.

Rather than formulating an alternative religious and ethical view of man and nature, or proliferating a new Environmental Paganism, an alternative approach is to accept “personal human responsibility” towards nature and find a way to guide us in sharing the planet with all other life forms.

I think the answer lies in “personal accountability” and not a proliferation of stronger laws and regulations and increased governmental ownership of natural resources, and environmental businesses - such as carbon emission trading.

It is indeed very important to recognise the critical crossroads that we are at, but we should also recognise that the emotionalism of environmentalism will without a doubt lead us further down the path of regulatory control.

When we talk about the environmental crises what we really mean is that it is mankind’s crisis. The Earth is more likely to survive than we will; it will still exist even if the history of man comes to a violent halt. And perhaps it is our own hide that we are trying to save, and not Earth’s.

The concept of immanence is key to Pagan spirituality: The Divine is in all creation and everything has Divinity within. But the reverence for nature should include, I suggest, an understanding of the fact that change is a fundamental part of nature; the cycles we talk about are not static cycles endlessly repeating the same orbit, but dynamic ones where each journey round the cycle is subtly different to all the others that have gone before or those that are yet to come. We were are dealing with are ever-changing natural cycles, for we, the humans, are part of nature.

For me being a Pagan, an Earth-Based Pagan, means embracing this fact of change and accepting that the environment is not only subject to change but that change is a natural, and indeed, fundamental part of the Earth. However, although we need to accept that the Earth and its environment will change and that we are going to be part of that change does not mean that we can do whatever we like to the Earth because being Pagan does indeed bring with it other things that should inform us how we look at and interact with our environment. And here I think that how each of us personally interacts with Earth is what is of utmost importance.

So, does loving and protecting the earth necessarily imply support for environmentalism? I guess that depends on what exactly you think the earth needs protection from. I believe in Gaia, the planetary-scale divinity of which we are all part of. I consider the well-being of Gaia to be of extreme importance.

"A living planet is a much more complex metaphor for deity than just a bigger father with a bigger fist. If an omniscient, all-powerful Dad ignores your prayers, it's taken personally. Hear only silence long enough, and you start wondering about his power. His fairness. His very existence. But if a world Mother doesn't reply, Her excuse is simple. She never claimed conceited omnipotence. She has countless others clinging to her apron strings, including myriad species unable to speak for themselves. To Her elder offspring She says - go raid the fridge. Go play outside. Go get a job. Or, better yet, lend me a hand. I have no time for idle whining." - David Brin

-- IMPORTANT--

THis article is not an attempt, in any way, to deny the amazing work being done by SAPC members, especially Damon, when it comes to defending Mother Earth.

SOURCES:

www.acton.org/publications/randl/rl_article_53.php;
http://www.helium.com ;
http://www.uushenandoah.org/cuups/about_paganism.html;
WitchVox;
http://artdurkee.blogspot.com/2009/02/essentially-pagan-nature-of.html;
http://lovestarz.com/ucwr.html;
www.dreamsmith.org)’
http://www.sirc.org/articles/how_deep.shtml;
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/envrel/review.php;
http://www.us-environ.info/Other/Religion-and-Environment---Other---Envi...
Wikipedia