Bending and Shaping with the Arc of Life
Earth-centered: what does it really mean?
To me the term means that there will always be Christmas and Easter Christians, but also Samhain and Beltane pagans.
And why not? Even those of us who have no time for religion sometimes find ourselves yearning for ritual. At the root of nearly all holidays are seasonal expressions. We need to string extra lights in the winter because the nights are long. We need to express themes of liberation and renewal in the spring because we feel the evidence all around us. Whether or not we realize it, nearly all religious rites are “earth-centered” in some way.
And yet, when I first became aware of the phrase “earth-centered spirituality” it was in the context of Unitarian Universalism, and it seemed to me to be a replacement for other, often inter-locking movements – such as contemporary Paganism or feminist spirituality, or Wicca and even Occultism.
Gradually this term has rolled across my tongue as an easy descriptor, but I was not always comfortable with it in the beginning. In fact, I was suspicious. What does it truly mean to be “earth-centered?” And why do we as Unitarian Universalists mean when we use it? Why use them instead of other words?
It has been my experience than most Unitarian Universalists are agnostic or atheistic. Many consider the books of the Bible, for example, and other scriptures as literature with profound revelation, arising from the best teachings of human beings. We disavow supernatural claims. We value reason rather highly, and in many cases question the lessons learned from the mystical, distrusting assertions about deity, miracles, or anything that can’t be tested and evidenced. We want our lives to be guided by justice, by a shared sense of values, and by the profound solace of community; we want to include the stories of the world’s religions among our stories, but we want them to remain stories.
When I explain to my Unitarian Universalist co-religionists what I mean when I use the word witch, or Wiccan, I use the same etymology for those words that I learned at the beginning of my learning curve as Wiccan nearly 24 years ago — before I was a Unitarian Universalist–that I use today, but I come to a different conclusion about how that etymology applies. For if the root of the word “witch” or “Wiccan” refers to bending and shaping, it does not just mean that the Witch, wise in the ways of nature, has the ability to bend or shape reality with the wisdom obtained from a mystical connection to nature. It also means — to me, at least– that constant atunement to nature means that I am as shaped by that connection to the earth as I am the one doing the shaping.
Recently, the Paris climate talks concluded on a tenuous note of hope. Perhaps now reason will guide our efforts-individual and collective- to put the planetary health in the center of our concerns. Perhaps the love of the earth’s beauty- an experience owned by both theists and non-theists alike- will be the motivating factor. Perhaps the will to survive alone will be the key. It remains to be seen.
One thing is for certain, all of us, no matter what, how, or if we worship, are defined by the earth- and therefore we must all be earth-centered.
I am shaped by the passage of seasons- not just by the beauty of winter and summer and by the emotions that come with harsh winds or high humidity. I am shaped by my deep unease of what might be happening when the middle of December brings 60 degree weather. I feel bent and distressed whenever I see a place that once was beautiful touched by pollution or urban blight brought about by greed I am bent, altered, and crafted by the same forces- be the man-made or unknowable- that give rise to creation or destruction every day.
How can we not be, no matter or faith or lack thereof?
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