Round We Dance

Mark A. Green is active in the Atheopagan community and serves as a councilmember of the nonprofit Atheopagan Society. He has presented workshops and lectures on non-theist Paganism at such conferences as Pantheacon and the Conference on Current Pagan Studies, and to atheist and Unitarian Universalist groups all over the United States. He lives in the watershed of the Russian River, occupied Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok land in Northern California. Visit him at Atheopaganism.org. Arwen Gwyneth is the chair of the Atheopagan Society Council and co-host of the podcast The Wonder: Science-based Paganism. She is also an ecologist and science teacher.

• ContentsForeword by Arwen Gwyneth (Yucca) xiIntroduction 1Part 1: A PrimerChapter 1: Spirituality 9Chapter 2: About Rituals 21Chapter 3: Ritual Basics 27Chapter 4: A Practice for Yourself 49Chapter 5: Ritual Skills 55Chapter 6: Ritual Arts 67Part 2: Rituals in PracticeChapter 7: Occasions for Celebrating Rituals 91Chapter 8: Rites of Passage 113Chapter 9: Working with the Dead and Dying 129Chapter 10: Personal and Healing Rituals 139Chapter 11: Building Community for Sharing Rituals 153Chapter 12: Beyond Rituals: Living the Spiritual Life 159Conclusion: Welcome to the Journey! 173Part 3: ResourcesSeasonal Crafts 177Seasonal Recipes 199Guided Meditations 213Recommended Ritual Music 225Glossary 229Annotated Further Reading and Online Resources 235Works Cited 239

"This book is a wealth of resources for creating a meaningful spiritual path without dogma and without a prescribed set of beliefs and structures. From a foundation of science and critical thinking combined with creativity, Mark A. Green has provided support for creating practices and rituals that reconnect us to the natural world, to each other, and to our inner wisdom. This is real magic—rekindling the awe and wonder of being alive."—Selene Kumin Vega, PhD, psychotherapist and Saybrook University professor"I felt a bit overwhelmed trying to decide how I want to celebrate holidays and what I want to do as a personal practice. Not only have I really enjoyed implementing some of the suggestions in this book, but reading it also sparked some of my own ideas that are now scribbled in the margins. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning some new ways to celebrate the phases of the year or about ritual in general. I feel filled with energy to go out and celebrate this amazing place we call home and how I experience it."—Rebecca Nordhauser, MS, software engineer and an Atheopagan Society Council member"Mark A. Green takes us by the hand and leads us on a journey. Along the way we learn to create science-based practices for improving our well-being, living in greater harmony with nature, and building a connected, authentic life. Accessible, well-organized, and useful, this book is both a road map and a companion, encouraging us to make the path our own."—Rachel Beal, licensed counselor"This book is a fundamental primer for building a solid practice in ritual. It brings what seems to be pure magic down to earth allowing everyone to crack open the many aspects of a ritual life. It gives us the opportunity to include others with common values through ritual. All the little details are explained so there can be a good understanding of building ritual and activities for different occasions. I want to hug the book and keep it close."—Dris Bobilin, fine artists and photographer