Tag: things a Pagan will want to know

I love the podcast "99% Invisible" (who knew glass was so interesting?) and have frequently thought that I would listen to the host, Roman Mars, read the phone book. A recent episode - "The Smell of Concrete After Rain" - included a bit where Roman read some parts of a list called "Two Hundred Fifty Things An Architect Should Know", and I was completely charmed by it. I looked it up and read the rest of the list later, and though I didn't understand all of it, I was still taken by it even without Roman's lovely voice. What I most enjoyed was the mixture of whimsical (247. The depths of desire / 248. The heights of folly) and practical (11. The insulating properties of glass), academic (173. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and poetic (78. The quality of light passing through ice), easy (38. The color wheel) and aspirational (133. Finding your way around Prague, Fez, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Kyoto, Rio, Mexico, Solo, Benares, Bangkok, Leningrad, Isfahan).

I once read an article about what Pagans should learn about their local environment - things like where your tap water comes from and what grows locally at different times of year. I tried to find the article again to see what else was on the list - finally, my collection of old Pagan magazines would be useful again! Alas, either I no longer have the magazine it was in, or maybe it wasn't in a magazine at all. I thought it was by Chas Clifton and I thought it was in PanGaia... if it rings a bell for anyone, please let me know. I remember that it seemed like a good, practical list. A good start for a summary of things for a Pagan to learn, though lacking in whimsy.

I try to avoid the word "should", so my list can't be "Things a Pagan Should Know". I don't know if I can get to two hundred and fifty on my own, so I welcome additions and suggestions.

(Some) Things a Pagan Will Want to Know

1. The scent of the nearest body of water.
2. Where your tap water comes from.
3. When strawberry season starts where you live.
4. The feeling of being alone in a forest.
5. On a beach.
6. In a desert.
7. In a rain forest.
8. Where to put your hands when skyclad.
9. How to conduct a ritual with no tools or accessories.
10. The four centres of Paganism.
11. How to write a ritual for each centre.
12. How to write a ritual that will please all the centres.
13. How to get wax out of fabric.
14. How to get wax out of carpet.
15. What animals live in your neighbourhood.
16. The geological history of the land you live on.
17. The political and sociological history of the land you live on.
18. How to grow a plant from a seed.
19. The origins of "may you never thirst".
20. How people pray.
21. What consent means.
22. How to hug a tree.
23. How to compost.
24. A dozen different ways to raise energy.
25. Why a ritual works.
26. Why a ritual doesn't work.
27. How to be a good ritual participant, even if the ritual doesn't work.
28. Mythology.
29. Cells through a microscope.
30. The moon through a telescope.

To be continued...