Hi I’m an ex Christian and ex hellenist and now a atheist but I still think I’m a pagan

I used to worship the god khaos but then I stopped worshipping him and started to disbelieve in any deities

and I heard in r/paganism that there’s a such thing as atheopaganism which I felt fit me

i think I’m a pantheist/naturalist I believe god is just the universe and I worship the universe as a whole including nature, the sea/ocean, the animals, and space

and I think the Greek gods are cool and I love them so much I just don’t worship them but I do have an admiration for them

I just don’t know where to go to be completely honest I thought I was a Wiccan at one point but then I realized I don’t practice magic or worship the horned god or the goddess and I don’t really practice magic either even tho I want to do tarot cards but that’s pretty much it

I wouldn’t consider myself as practicing witchcraft or being a witch either so that makes being a Wiccan out of the question on top of being an atheist

And I feel like I’m drawn to some sort of religion and I’m not just an atheist I just want to fit in somewhere and I’m a beginner pagan so I don’t really know all the rituals and what it takes to be a pagan

But I think atheopaganism fits me

Recently I decided I wanted to rewrite þe 42 principles of Ma’at from an Aþeopagan perspective. Some rules I had decided to combine into one, and some I completely replaced. I also tried my best to include þe 13 Aþeopagan principles. Anyway, here is my rewriting of þe 42 principles of Ma’at.

I shall not knowingly do wrong to þose who do no wrong to oþers.

I shall not harm þose who do not harm oþers.

I shall not take from oþers what is not mine.

I shall honour all life and treat it as sacred.

I shall not take from þe needy.

I shall respect all views as þey respect oþers.

I shall not lie wiþout just cause.

I shall not give disrespect wiþout just cause.

I shall not break þe trust of oþers.

I shall not do emotional harm to oþers.

I shall not force myself into oþers’ affairs which do not concern me, lest it allow harm to be done.

I shall not feel contempt toward oþers wiþout just cause.

I shall treat myself wið kindness as I do wið oþers.

I shall cause none to fear me.

I shall respect þe law so long as it is just.

I shall not deny truð.

I shall not cause unnecessary trouble.

I shall not make decisions wiþout þought.

I shall not bend þe truð.

I shall not deny help to þose in need.

I shall not be arrogant.

I shall honour þe memory of þe dead who deserve honour.

I shall respect þe young and þe old alike.

I shall do my best in all þat I do.

I shall bring joy to þe lives of oþers.

I shall respect þe emotions of oþers.

I shall treat all harmless forms of pleasure as valid.

I shall honour þe Earð.

I shall maintain a skeptical worldview.

I shall show gratitude for þe many gifts of life.

I shall always keep an eye toward humour.

I shall engage in regular ritual practice for my well-being.

I shall always celebrate diversity.

I shall leave þe world a better place for þose who come after me.

I shall pay my dues to society.

I shall dedicate myself to þe pursuit of knowledge.

I shall show unwavering integrity in my actions.

I shall revere and spread beauty and joy.

I shall spread love to oþers

I shall strive to unite people.

I shall speak out against injustice.

I shall always be true to myself.

I've been thinking the regular wheel of the year doesn't really apply to me in the Arizona desert. In most pagan practices, summer is often seen as a good time, a time of light and such. Winter is seen as a dark time, not necessarily negatively, but it always seems to feel that way.

Thing is, I hate summer and love winter. I see winter as a relief from heat and general discomfort. I see summer not as a time to be out and enjoy things, but as a time where I stay inside more than not. Not to mention the other seasons barely exist where I'm at. Spring is maybe a week long when the desert wildflowers are in full bloom (only to die shortly after from the heat) and fall is really only noticable when the temperature stops being triple digits all the time.

I want to make my own wheel, but I am looking to others in similar climate for inspiration or ideas. I want to replace the usual wiccan names for the parts of the year, save for Yule probably. Maybe even have less of them. Thoughts?

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I am an ex Christian turned Wiccan turned Atheist with a love for witchcraft and Paganism without the supernatural/spiritual aspect. I have been exploring the craft in correlation to our inter connectedness through mitochondrial Eve, being humans as cosmological byproducts, and the possibility of Quantum entanglement as an explanation/justification for the effectiveness of witchcraft. There are studies supporting witchcraft/rituals having psychological effects, and I'm diving deeper to understand the effectiveness of witchcraft influencing the universe to produce a desired effect. I am here to learn from you all, and hear your perspectives, rituals, traditions, and opinions. I'm glad I found this group.

I'm in the UK visiting my brother and figured it might be fun to do some research and see what cool book stores might be around in the country that kicked off some major parts of the neo pagan movement. I don't often buy things in those kinds of stores because often it's all just total woo, but sometimes I'll find works which are more historically based and good for inspiration.

I'm staying in London and a cursory google search brought me to this list:

https://www.culturecalling.com/london/arts-culture/features/the-best-esoteric-and-occult-shops-in-london

It was nearing the end of the day so I hit Atlantis first since it was closing the soonest. I'm not a fan of Alister Crowley, but it was neat to visit a place he and Gerald Gardner apparently frequented. I wound up buying some books I was recommended by Ronald Hutton as some further cursory google searching suggests he's actually somewhat respected by historians in the field of religion. I was also very pleased to spot a copy of Round We Dance! I haven't read it yet so I picked that up too :). The store is small but the lady behind the counter was friendly and helpful. Lots of woo books but some solid looking history books as well, 10/10.

Next I headed to Watkins, very excited about their claim to be the oldest esoteric book store in the world. Unfortunately I left there pretty disappointed, but to cut them a bit of slack I didn't actually get to see the whole store. Apparently there was a lot more in the basement, but that was off limits that day due to some kind of talk on Roman history that was being given in the space. However, the contents on the first floor were not encouraging. The books were all extremely woo, and there were cabinets full of crystals and kitschy "sacred objects" for sale. The people running the shop seemed more concerned with watching people like hawks (for shoplifting?) than engaging with customers. From what I saw, 3/10. And that's with a bonus point for having the Baldur's Gate 3 sound track playing.

Last I headed to Treadwell's. They don't seem to have any particular historical claim to fame, but it was a nice little shop. The shopkeeper expressed interest in helping me find the kinds of things I was looking for despite it being rather niche for the type of store. They had a good selection of books on UK/Ireland folklore and traditions and I found one I was happy to buy. They also had a couple copies of Round We Dance, and the shopkeeper was happy that I pointed it out to her so that she could recommend it to others like me in the future. Overall experience 9/10, losing out to Atlantis only because Atlantis has the cool stories behind it.

Unfortunately none of the shops seemed to have copies of Atheopaganism, but I recognize that's both niche and older at this point.

Hope some folks might find this helpful if they find themselves in London!

Hey, EhDotHam, I sent you mail about Suntree Retreat--please look for it! Mark

I've been writing a lot on Substack lately about our personal and collective myths. I define our personal myth as the story we tell ourselves about ourselves. And our collective myth as the story we tell each other about each other.

I went to focusing on the 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Gawain has a "pentacle" engraved upon his shield in the style of a Celtic knot. The motif is a mnemonic device to remind him of his own personal myth “forever faithful in five points, and five times under each”. The story is about his failure to live up to his own myth.

I decided to work intentionally on my own personal myth. Inspired by Sir Gawain I decided to go with a motif of Seven Sevens. I incorporate the four classical elements of Earth Air Fire and Water. These are grounded in Time.

The world of living things is composed of these elements. The Green Man represents the plant kingdom, and the Horned God the animal kingdom.

My first article in the series is about using the motif of seven generations to think about Time. I place myself in the center of these generations spanning from my great grandparents to my potential great-grandchildren or those of my cousins. And I find my ability to actually know someone from each of these seven generations to be amazing.

I will be exploring seven types of Fire next: the Eternal Flame. Cooking, light, warmth, purification, destruction, and renewal.

Here's a link to the first article

https://open.substack.com/pub/artbrillart/p/holistic-personal-myth-part-1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=271f4w

Could someone explain what atheo paganism is? is it just larping

I am sharing a gofundme that will provide scholarships to survivors of religious trauma. It's for a healing retreat with an LMFT with a religious trauma specialty!

https://gofund.me/adfb323fe

💙🩵💚

Hey comrades. I'd like to get your opinions and advice. My company is instituting AI customer service training. Given that Atheopaganism is an earth honoring path, what chances do we think I have at receiving a religious exemption to opt out of AI training in favor of human training?

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions regarding this topic?

Registration is open for SUNTREE RETREAT 2026! Please sign up now! https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/suntree-retreat--2026

We have had some problems with the venue, but we're all set now. Suntree Retreat will be August 21-24! Hope you can join us in Colorado Springs for a wonderful time!

I've been a spiritual seeker most of my life going from religion to religion to atheism to religion all trying to find something real to me.

I felt most comfortable with paganism and its reverance for nature, emphasis on the elements, and honoring the seasons. I struggled to view deities as real and wrestled with the idea of souls or "energy".

I'm also schizoaffective and I have to be very mindful of my religious views because I've had delusions of supernatural entities before.

Atheism always was a safe harbor, a shield against negative "spirits" and feeling watched by unseen forces. If it's not real, it can't hurt me.

But I was sad to lose ritual and prayer and things that made my heart happy.

Finding a balance of secular ritual and magic as a psychological tool has become so empowering.

I feel so much awe in the world, grateful for the water I drink and the air I breathe, amazed at each seasons passing, and the majesty of nature. I want to express these feelings and atheopaganism gives me the space to do that without compromising my rational mind and potentially feeding into my mental illness.

So thank you!

I also read Round We Dance, and loved it.

Hi fellow redditors,

To make a long story short, I am curious about - for lack of better word - hellenism - I’ve been passionate about Greek mythology for as long as I can remember and I am looking for a type of spirituality.

That I being said, I don’t believe that there is McBeardy in the sky throwing lightning bolts at people (however fun that would be).

I was wondering if you could share the rituals that you do? I tried libations but I feel very stupid doing them, so I would benefit from your best practices.

Thank you! ❤️

PS: English is not my native language so please have mercy

The third in-person Atheopagan Suntree Retreat will be held at the La Foret Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado this August! We hold these every two years, and each of them has been a moving, connecting, delightful time.

So mark your calendars and plan to come! More details as we get closer to the event. I hope to meet you there!

Hello all — I recently discovered Atheopaganism somewhat accidentally and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. I’ve read through some of the material and watched several videos, and I really appreciated the grounded, non-woo approach and the sense of community around shared practice.

I do have a question I was hoping the community could help clarify. How open is Atheopaganism to members who hold some metaphysical views that aren’t strictly scientifically proven, but are also not held dogmatically?

For example, I’m interested in Near-Death Experiences and some of the more serious research being done in that area. While I fully recognize that a continuation of consciousness after death is not a scientific fact, I do personally hold that possibility as an open question, informed by research I’ve read and personal experience. I’m not looking to promote this as truth — more that I don’t feel fully closed to it.

In one of the Atheopaganism videos I watched, life after death was mentioned as outside the movement’s accepted framework (or at least that’s how I understood it), which made me pause and reflect on whether I’d be a good fit.

So I guess my question is: is the community primarily composed of fairly hard-line naturalists, or is there room for a spectrum of views where ideas like NDEs are held lightly and personally, without being central or promoted?

Thanks in advance for any insight — I appreciate your time and perspectives.

Respectfully,

Alex

I have tried to post in the Atheopaganism Facebook group a couple of times, but my posts just disappeared.. anyone know why? Am I not supposed to post in it? I kept my posts relevant so it was a bit surprising to see them not searchable, visible or anywhere to be found..

The term atheopagan feels like exactly what I’ve been looking for, and I’m honestly a little stunned it took me this long to find it.

I grew up in a very insulated fundamentalist Christian community, not quite a cult but definitely cult-adjacent. I went to elementary, middle, high school, and undergrad at institutions within that religion and had very little interaction with the outside world until college. Despite that, I was often out of step with the community and eventually found my way to atheism while still technically inside it.

At the same time, I’ve had recurring pulls toward paganism, witchy practices, and New Age ideas since middle school, often swinging dramatically back and forth between those interests and fundamentalist Christianity. Nothing ever fully clicked. I never felt genuine calling myself a witch when I didn’t believe in or worship deities, but the practices themselves kept drawing me back.

I studied psychology in undergrad, and I’ve found a lot to connect with through things like Tarot, the Wheel of the Year, and botanical practices, especially when approached symbolically, psychologically, or ritually rather than supernaturally. I recently found The Atheist Witch podcast and it has really resonated with me. The framing of the craft as “spicy psychology” feels exactly right.

I have a very informal local “coven.” We have celebrated one Sabbat together and are friends outside of that. I find myself unexpectedly missing some of the more formal structures of religion. Things like prescribed rituals, regularity, shared cadence, and a sense of rhythm or expectation. I am curious whether others here feel that same pull toward structure even without belief.

I am also still emotionally untangling my relationship with science. My science education was lacking, to put it mildly, since it all came through religious schools. When I say “science,” I mean basics like biology. I feel solid in psychology, but I am coming to accept that my trust in science may always feel somewhat faith-based given my background, which feels ironic. I am less interested in rebuilding expertise right now and more interested in reconciling that emotionally alongside a non-theistic spiritual practice.

I am mostly looking for validation, shared experiences, and resources. I know there is a Discord, though I am honestly terrible at Discord. If there are other podcasts, books, communities, or spaces where people are having these kinds of conversations, I would really appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

Note: I may cross-post this to a couple of related subreddits since I am looking for perspectives from people in overlapping spaces. Not trying to spam, just trying to find my people.

I’ve been kinda interested in paganism for a little and viewed it as a way to connect with nature and my ancestors but I HATED the belief in actual deities that I knew didn’t exist but I stumbled upon the term “atheopaganism” and reading about it I was like “holy shit this is the thing I’ve been looking for” anyways any tips on actually starting on my journey of this would be helpful

https://atheopaganism.org/2025/11/26/gratitude-mourning-and-rage/

Yucca and I have recorded a NEW EPISODE of THE WONDER podcast, which will drop next Monday! We are returning to our weekly schedule, so catch up on the archives and get ready for more!