![\"Earth](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2015\/04\/Earth-Day-candle-2015.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cIt is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness\u201d \u2013 origin uncertain<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Tomorrow, April 22, is Earth Day, the annual world-wide celebration of Nature and call to environmental awareness and action.\u00a0 Thoughts on Earth Day vary widely:\u00a0 from \u201cevery day is Earth Day for Pagans\u201d to \u201cEarth Day is like bringing flowers to the spouse you beat up last night\u201d to what is perhaps the most accurate \u201cit\u2019s just not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
This blog post is pretty much all of my observances \u2013 Earth Day isn\u2019t part of my cycle of holidays.\u00a0 I\u2019m getting ready for Beltane in a week and a half.\u00a0 I\u2019m co-leading Denton CUUPS\u2019 Beltane Circle<\/a> which will include a working to protect the land from those who would exploit it.\u00a0 Last November Denton passed a referendum banning fracking inside city limits.\u00a0 Now the Texas State Legislature is about to overrule it.\u00a0 Many of us are working through legal and political means to preserve the ordinance, but we\u2019re going to use all the tools in our toolbox, including our spiritual and magical ones.<\/p>\n
California is in the middle of a drought of historic proportions and the state recently issued new water-use restrictions.\u00a0 There\u2019s a meme going around Facebook that says \u201cI knew the polar bears were going to die, but nobody told me my lawn would turn to crap!\u201d\u00a0 We humans can do great things and show great compassion, but we can also be incredibly selfish.\u00a0 If something doesn\u2019t affect me, it\u2019s not a problem.\u00a0 And if it\u2019s not going to affect me for a long time, I can pretend it will never happen.<\/p>\n
The folks in Denton banned fracking because it was affecting them:\u00a0 fracking rigs in residential areas, heavy truck traffic carrying fracking waste, and the on-going danger of leaks and explosions.\u00a0 They could see what others could not\u2026 or will not.<\/p>\n
The legislators working to overturn the ban don\u2019t care \u2013 it\u2019s not in their neighborhoods.\u00a0 If we ban fracking, a few people will lose their jobs and we might have to pay more for energy.<\/p>\n
How do you rearrange people\u2019s priorities?\u00a0 How do you change their values?\u00a0 Mostly you don\u2019t.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I think the collapse of the West is inevitable<\/a>.\u00a0 Not enough people are willing to do the things that are necessary to smoothly transition to a sustainable lifestyle.\u00a0 It\u2019s a depressing realization.<\/p>\n
I see a lot of people in the Pagan community cursing the darkness.<\/p>\n
I share their concern.\u00a0 I understand their anger.\u00a0 I\u2019m a Nature-centered Pagan<\/a> who believes with all his heart that the Earth isn\u2019t a \u201cresource\u201d to benefit humans, the Earth is a sacred being with her own inherent value, worth, and sovereignty.<\/p>\n
Our materialist friends and neighbors \u2013 most of whom consider themselves Christians \u2013 have lived in utter darkness for so long they no longer know what light is.\u00a0 Earth Day may be the only candle in their lives, or at least the only candle they notice.<\/p>\n
Peter Grey, author of Apocalyptic Witchcraft<\/a><\/em>, has a guest post<\/a> on Patheos\u2019 feature on Global Care.\u00a0 He accurately describes the limits of Earth Day when he says<\/p>\n
When Earth Day talks about \u2018a conversation\u2019 and \u2018changing values\u2019 it pretends that our imminent extinction is some terrible mistake that we can rectify by patiently explaining the truth to those in power. Unless it identifies the cause of the crisis, and the severity of it, Earth Day will achieve nothing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I find Peter Grey\u2019s work inspiring, but I think he\u2019s wrong here.\u00a0 Yes, we need drastic action.\u00a0 Yes, those of us who are awake have an obligation to do much more than praise the Earth once a year.\u00a0 Yes, we need a witchcraft that gets its hands dirty \u2013 both figuratively and literally.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s still better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.<\/p>\n
This Earth Day let\u2019s light a candle for the children of those Texas State Legislators who will have to live in the world their parents create.\u00a0 Let\u2019s light a candle for the suburbanites who are so invested in their lifestyle they literally<\/em> can\u2019t imagine<\/em> another way.\u00a0 Let\u2019s light a candle for all those who are so accustomed to darkness they\u2019ve forgotten how to see.<\/p>\n
Because some of them will notice the candle, and they\u2019ll wake up and see what\u2019s going on around us.<\/p>\n
And we will be greater than we were before.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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