Pagans & Polytheists Aren’t Failing The Earth, We Are Failing Ourselves

We’ve been pretending to give a crap about the earth since “Earth Day” became a thing (which falls on my birthday no less).  Lip service about the damage to our environment ongoing since around the 1980s. And yet climate change is likely to doom us all since not enough effort took place to stop it.

There are polytheists of the revivalist/reconstructionist/traditional downplaying the “earth centered religion” thing. Oddly enough, this is despite actively taking up a spiritual path that revolved around agriculture and the seasons. Hellenism is one such classical polytheistic religion–or rather, series of religions–that meets this description.

Those of us who DO pay attention to such things and honor them in our daily rites may or may not be aware of how much the cycles of life and death tie into the seasons. Naturally this is something which is covered by mystery traditions which were inspired by the Eleusinian Mysteries. Such mysteries directly cover that link between agriculture, mysticism, spiritual elevation and ultimately a life beyond death.

As much as we care both spiritually and in our day to day lives, our efforts as individuals can only matter so much. They are vastly outweighed by corporations and governments which seek to dismantle the world in which we live in order to profit. Now the ice caps are melting, large amounts of forests including the Amazon are on fire, and there’s the pollution of what we’ve got left of our oceans and rivers. Deregulation hasn’t helped us. We are literally under siege by a sociopathic minority which doesn’t care about the rest of us and the generations to come.

We can’t pretend thoughts and prayers are going to help us. Prior to the Amazon and other regions of Africa and Siberia on fire, the UN estimated that we had about 11 years left to actually do something about climate change. But let’s not call it “climate change”, as it sounds too vague and non-threatening. Let’s call it what it is: climate disruption and destruction.

Certainly we can do magic about it, but magic is best backed up by practicality. The only way we are going to reach the leaders is through mass demonstration and civil disobedience. Recycling, boycotting plastic straws, eating less or no meat–all of these things are a drop in the ocean. These things are ultimately too little, too late, and I say this as a long time vegan. We require both drastic and immediate change and for those in power to implement it. Protests can work if done right. It’s not like we’re not talking about minor complaints. We’re talking about the continuation of our species on this planet. And that’s something which none of us can afford to lose.

Complacency in the end will literally kill us. If we are to pay our gods more than mere lip service–not to mention live to see old age–we must act in whatever capacity that we can. Some are already planning protests. Others of us either instead of or in addition to have been doing magical workings. Examples include sending rainstorms, influencing forces around the politicians and people in positions of leadership.

What can we do? Here’s a good list:

• Join a local, regional, or international organization devoted to fighting climate change. Here are just a few:
  • Greenpeace
  • 350
  • Plus a compiled list at Rise  for Climate
• Donate to organizations geared towards actively fighting it.
• Do magic around the issue. There are a number of articles on my blog on the ways to do magic practically.
• Join organized protests.
• Take a course in civil disobedience, you might need it. The phrase now is also “climate disobedience.”
• Vote and advocate for politicians who are actively planning and/or doing something about this. Specifically those talking about this in terms of a climate emergency.
• Other suggestions and information are also available on Wikipedia.