{"id":9592,"date":"2014-03-01T01:10:10","date_gmt":"2014-03-01T06:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=9915"},"modified":"2014-02-28T21:54:36","modified_gmt":"2014-03-01T02:54:36","slug":"a-year-and-a-day-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2014\/03\/01\/a-year-and-a-day-8\/","title":{"rendered":"A Year And A Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Pagan in the City<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Many pagans live in bustling cities and manicured suburbs, far away from the untamed nature of rural communities.\u00a0 This is either by choice or because of other constraints, such as their job or family.\u00a0 But just because one doesn\u2019t live in a dense forest surrounded by native plants and wild animals, or live on a homestead that grows and raises its own food, it doesn\u2019t mean that one cannot be pagan.\u00a0 The city holds a variety of opportunities to tune into the natural world around us, as long as we take the time to seek them out and listen.\u00a0 Some ideas to connect with nature and the natural world are listed here.\u00a0 Try to find additional ones in your neighbourhood!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maintain good energy in your home, whether it be a house or tiny apartment.\u00a0 Use crystals, plants, incense or smudging to overcome negative energies of previous tenants or neighbours.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create a sacred space inside your home.\u00a0 Have an altar with pieces from nature, such as pine cones, branches, leaves, rocks, shells, or even a picture of a forest, mountain, or ocean scene.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If your home is tiny or if you don\u2019t wish to share your pagan beliefs with friends or roommates, make a portable altar or find a nice cupboard or box to put your items into after using them.\u00a0 If you\u2019re very concerned about privacy, you can avoid overtly \u2018pagan\u2019 symbols, such as pentacles or goddess statues.\u00a0 Little things can have big meaning, such as having a few nature items on your shelf or painting the walls blue to remind you of the ocean.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Participate in a community garden program if one exists in your neighbourhood.\u00a0 Grow your own plants and herbs indoors, or better yet on a balcony or outdoor space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Support local food growers by purchasing locally grown organic food or shop at farmers markets.\u00a0 Be mindful of the seasons and buy in-season fruits and vegetables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Place a bird feeder outside your window or balcony to attract local birds.\u00a0 Keep it filled with food to maintain a constant food source.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bring nature inside your home by listening to nature sounds, such as running water, birds chirping, or thunderous storms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find a local green space, even if just small urban park.\u00a0 Spend time listening to nature, such as the birds chirping, the wind blowing through the trees, or simply the silence away from the bustle of the city.\u00a0 Watch the squirrels, pigeons, birds or dogs and notice their habits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Better yet, take a trip outside the city and spend time in untamed nature.\u00a0 Use this opportunity to collect items to bring nature into your home, such as twigs, rocks, leaves, feathers, moss, etc. \u00a0\u00a0Note: Try not to disturb living plants and animals; the best items to collect are those that have already been discarded and are easily collected from the ground.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Connect with animals.\u00a0 Visit a local animal shelter, take shelter dogs for walks, spend time socializing with the kitties, or visit a humane petting zoo.\u00a0 Support no-kill animal shelters or refuge centres by volunteering time or money.\u00a0 The animals will thank you!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you\u2019d like a pet but can\u2019t commit long term, try fostering a pet from a local shelter.\u00a0 This keeps them out of small confined spaces, helps them socialize, and provides them with love and support while waiting for their forever home.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep track of the moon cycles, and try to catch a glimpse of the moon through the buildings if you can.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Embrace city living.\u00a0 There is a lot of energy in the city, the buzz of people and life.\u00a0 Tap into that energy and use it to your advantage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Living in a city means there is probably more chance to meet like-minded pagan individuals.\u00a0 Look online or on notice boards at your local metaphysical store for pagan groups who share your views and values.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find the magical in the mundane \u2013 Take time during your busy life to notice things like a patch of grass growing from a crack in the concrete, a glimpse of the stars beyond the skyscrapers, birds nesting in the balconies, or the rooftop gardens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pagan in the City &nbsp; Many pagans live in bustling cities and manicured suburbs, far away from the untamed nature of rural communities.\u00a0 This is either by choice or because of other constraints, such as their job or family.\u00a0 But just because one doesn\u2019t live in a dense forest surrounded by native plants and wild animals, or live on a homestead that grows and raises its own food, it doesn\u2019t mean that one cannot be pagan.\u00a0 The city holds a variety of opportunities to tune into the natural world around us, as long as we take the time to seek them out and listen.\u00a0 Some ideas to connect with nature and the natural world are listed here.\u00a0 Try to find additional ones in your neighbourhood! &nbsp; Maintain good energy in your home, whether it be a house or tiny apartment.\u00a0 Use crystals, plants, incense or smudging to overcome negative energies of previous tenants or neighbours. &nbsp; Create a sacred space inside your home.\u00a0 Have an altar with pieces from nature, such as pine cones, branches, leaves, rocks, shells, or even a picture of a forest, mountain, or ocean scene. &nbsp; If your home is tiny or if you don\u2019t wish to share your pagan beliefs with friends or roommates, make a portable altar or find a nice cupboard or box to put your items into after using them.\u00a0 If you\u2019re very concerned about privacy, you can avoid overtly \u2018pagan\u2019 symbols, such as pentacles or goddess statues.\u00a0 Little things can have big meaning, such as having a few nature items on your shelf or painting the walls blue to remind you of the ocean. &nbsp; Participate in a community garden program if one exists in your neighbourhood.\u00a0 Grow your own plants and herbs indoors, or better yet on a balcony or outdoor space. &nbsp; Support local food growers by purchasing locally grown organic food or shop at farmers markets.\u00a0 Be mindful of the seasons and buy in-season fruits and vegetables. &nbsp; Place a bird feeder outside your window or balcony to attract local birds.\u00a0 Keep it filled with food to maintain a constant food source. &nbsp; Bring nature inside your home by listening to nature sounds, such as running water, birds chirping, or thunderous storms. &nbsp; Find a local green space, even if just small urban park.\u00a0 Spend time listening to nature, such as the birds chirping, the wind blowing through the trees, or simply the silence away from the bustle of the city.\u00a0 Watch the squirrels, pigeons, birds or dogs and notice their habits. &nbsp; Better yet, take a trip outside the city and spend time in untamed nature.\u00a0 Use this opportunity to collect items to bring nature into your home, such as twigs, rocks, leaves, feathers, moss, etc. \u00a0\u00a0Note: Try not to disturb living plants and animals; the best items to collect are those that have already been discarded and are easily collected from the ground. &nbsp; Connect with animals.\u00a0 Visit a local animal shelter, take shelter dogs for walks, spend time socializing with the kitties, or visit a humane petting zoo.\u00a0 Support no-kill animal shelters or refuge centres by volunteering time or money.\u00a0 The animals will thank you! &nbsp; If you\u2019d like a pet but can\u2019t commit long term, try fostering a pet from a local shelter.\u00a0 This keeps them out of small confined spaces, helps them socialize, and provides them with love and support while waiting for their forever home. &nbsp; Keep track of the moon cycles, and try to catch a glimpse of the moon through the buildings if you can. &nbsp; Embrace city living.\u00a0 There is a lot of energy in the city, the buzz of people and life.\u00a0 Tap into that energy and use it to your advantage. &nbsp; Living in a city means there is probably more chance to meet like-minded pagan individuals.\u00a0 Look online or on notice boards at your local metaphysical store for pagan groups who share your views and values. &nbsp; Find the magical in the mundane \u2013 Take time during your busy life to notice things like a patch of grass growing from a crack in the concrete, a glimpse of the stars beyond the skyscrapers, birds nesting in the balconies, or the rooftop gardens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9592\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}