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Naturalist rituals

In his book, “More than Discourse”, Donald Crosby said “Rituals of many types are appropriate for Religion of Nature. Examples are:

celebrations of the morning and evening;

rituals orienting to the four points of the compass, suggesting fealty to the whole of the earth and its creatures;

rituals recognizing the equinoxes and solstices;

rituals bearing on birth, entry into adulthood, marriage, career, child bearing and rearing, advancing age, and death;

rituals of rejoicing and those of mourning;

rituals of fasting and those of grateful communal eating and drinking;

rituals of confession, penance, and recommittment.

Crosby also discussed water as “a master symbol of the religious ultimacy of nature”

(with oceans thought to be the place of origin of life on Earth, an essential ingredient in photosynthesis, and essential for survival of every living being on earth).

He suggested that each time religious naturalists lift a glass of water to their lips,

“they can view this simple but necessary act
as a kind of ritual recognition and celebration
of the religious ultimacy of the natural world” . . .

“Water reflects like a mirror,
and for the proponent of Religion of Nature,
it reflects in its every aspect and role
the religious ultimacy of nature.”