Urban and rural paganism

[Nymeria]

Do people feel as though there are a difference between how paganism operates in rural and urban environments?

[alternatingSelves]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

I think that there is, to a certain extent. when you live in a city it's harder to access nature. so you can't like go to a forest for worship or a spell. but you can still like cast spells that require parts of nature. like you can use a leaf to represent the outdoors, something like that

[Rick]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

Of course. There have been books written on the subject.

[Raphaeline]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

It has definitely affected the way I practice, in a negative way, to move from a very rural area to the middle of the city. We were forced to move last year (family drama, long story) so it wasn't something I wanted to do in the first place. I've been trying to find a way to practice that embraces where I live, but it doesn't come naturally to me.

I feel distanced from the "real" world, disconnected from nature, crowded and overwhelmed here. I've lived in the city before, but it was never really home to me or I was only here for a short time, for instance, when I lived in a dorm in college. This is the longest I've lived in an urban area and it hasn't been easy to adjust.

[thalassa]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

Not really...but...I live in an urban area with a decent amount of greenspace, and a built-in Bit of Nature (a big giant bit!) called the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The only real difference here is that seasonality isn't tied to crops--but that has less to do with the urban/rural divide, and more to do with it being a coastal region of fairly temperate climate...its not unusual to wear shorts in November and break out the swim suits in March.

[Ophidia]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

I'm a full-out urban Pagan. I find that I don't need a constant connection to 'nature' in my worship because 'nature' really is everywhere. I'm becoming a bit more focused on my microcosm - my home and back yard. Just because I live in a city doesn't mean there's no wildlife or local flora - I've got at least 4 different species of spider, 2 species of lizards, 3 species of native bird (and invasive bark scorpions and pigeons) in and around my home. I find that I'm becoming more of a humanist, too - I'm more concerned about the homeless, food security and the impact urban spread and decay has on people and the border where urban and 'wild' meet than I am about say, global warming. I find ways to connect to the greater web of life while staying 'in the now' while doing things like cleaning and cooking.

I feel kind of bad for people who find humans, and things humans do, unnatural, or as if being in a human environment cuts them off from everything else. Being able to find spirituality in my home was one of the easiest things for me to do once I stopped feeling like I could only practice my religion in the middle of the redwood forest or on a deserted beach somewhere.

[anubisa]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

I think that there is, to a certain extent. when you live in a city it's harder to access nature. so you can't like go to a forest for worship or a spell. but you can still like cast spells that require parts of nature. like you can use a leaf to represent the outdoors, something like that

I agree with you. It's harder when you are in the city to get closer to nature. You can try growing plants indoors to try to get closer to nature.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

Probably depends on the city too. Both Vancouver and Berlin have easy access to nature. In Vancouver, you're always a short drive away from forests and mountains, and I think it affects the lifestyle of the city to a great extent (a lot of people are dressed like they're about to go hiking at the drop of a hat). Berlin has a lot of parks and green space and is bordered by farmlands and quite a few forests. The city doesn't have sprawling suburbs, so once you're out, you're pretty much out. A one-hour train ride or bike ride from the city center will get you to a forest. I know that there are a lot of pagans on the west coast of canada and a few nature types here (though I'm not sure exactly how popular paganism itself is). I think part of the reason could be proximity to nature. To be honest, I don't really notice much of a difference between how people practiced in my hometown (which is bordered by forests, mountains, and beaches...I grew up next to a large forest) and how people practice in larger cities in the area, but that really could be because the proximity to nature is still really high.

[thalassa]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

I feel kind of bad for people who find humans, and things humans do, unnatural, or as if being in a human environment cuts them off from everything else. Being able to find spirituality in my home was one of the easiest things for me to do once I stopped feeling like I could only practice my religion in the middle of the redwood forest or on a deserted beach somewhere.

I agree with this...

<------------------------------------------------------THIS MUCH--------------------------------------------->

(and even some more than that)

[Nymeria]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

Oh really? Any you can recommend? I need a good book to get stuck into

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

When I lived in the city, I would feel closer to nature when I went camping.

Now, I live in the middle of nowhere, with trees for neighbors, and I never feel particularly close to nature.

You don't feel "close" to the things habitually you swim in - you seldom hear people say "I feel close to oxygen," because they are immersed in it, and it goes without notice.

However, I AM close to nature (in all senses).

I'm thinking that feeling "close to nature" or "not close to nature" is more a matter of contrast than anything else.

I doubt if our ancestors felt particularly good about being close to nature when they woke up cold and hungry in the morning, hacking up flem or dripping puss with no antibiotics, and had to labor an entire day to get a more or less filling meal of beets (anybody who imagines that self sufficiency/back to the land is easy, or even pleasant work, is in for a shock when they give it a go... You will most likely work painfully hard all your life, wreck your body, and die hungry when you can't work anymore because your back and joints are destroyed. Sorry to shatter the myth...).

This "back to nature" thing is modern. I think most of our ancestors would have preferred central heating and hot showers.

[Ophidia]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

This "back to nature" thing is modern. I think most of our ancestors would have preferred central heating and hot showers.

I do enjoy taking day-trips to go hiking or mountain climbing out here in the desert - and I like coming home to my indoor plumbing even more

[Nymeria]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

I feel that whereas individual's connect with their environments in their own personal ways, pagan groups kind of operate differently depending on location...I used to live in a really rural area in and during the moot I attended was a social gathering which would take place outside. We often went to camp outs also. When I moved to the city, I found a huge difference in the way things worked; there was more of a emphasis on ritual and on learning, it was an entirely different kind of energy (not in a bad way).

[DanieMarie]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

This "back to nature" thing is modern. I think most of our ancestors would have preferred central heating and hot showers.

As someone who is pretty hippie dippie, I'll second that.

I think it's possible to reconcile modern and natural lifestyles. Like, I try to conserve electricity and gas, reuse things, repair things, bike, grow food, eat very little processed food, etc. BUT I take modern medication, use heat and electricity, and fly (admittedly not very green, but there aren't really alternatives to go see my family half way across the world) and take trains for transportation, and I do those things gladly.

[Vigdisdotter]

Re: Urban and rural paganism

Sure. Settings are different. Available supplies are different. Energy is different. People/attitudes are different...

But practising a pagan paths is what you DO, not where you ARE.

If you're a pagan stuck in the big city, you are still a pagan. I've heard people claim that those in the city are "lesser" because they aren't "close to nature". Needless to say, by BS detector went off big time on that one.