Pantheistic Ceremones and Their Corresponding Dates
Aug 12: Perseids. People assemble away from the city at night and each person should hold a candle. They should meditate briefly, with each person blowing out their candle once they are finished. When all the candles are out, they watch the meteor showers.
Feb.14: Day of Partners. Couples should spend the entire day and night with each other, making sure to celebrate their love with a romantic dinner or something along those lines.
March 21: Spring Equinox. There should be a feast and all friends and family should be invited , with every person bringing an article of food to share. This also represents mothers day, so all women are celebrated this day and mothers are given gifts.
Aug 26: Krakatoa. Every Pantheist refrains from eating meats or synthetic foods, and attempt to eat many fruits, vegetables and grains.
Sept 21: Autumn Equinox. Same as the Spring Equinox, with concentration on the death of year instead of the birth. This is also Fathers Day, and all men are celebrated and fathers given gifts.
April-June: Gaia. This is the birth of a child from a mother. The new mother is offered gifts and praise and the father is offered praise. A child born to candlelight at night will be more spiritual than one who is not.
Sept 21-Oct 21: Starnight. This is the night of conception. See our full description of Starnight by visiting our Starnight page.
May 21: Festival of Pan. All should celebrate with games, music, art and feasting.
July 5: Supernova. At night, a group assembles away from city light pollution and exchanges small home-made gifts. Then they meditate briefly and watch the stars for a while.
Dec. 21: Winter Solstice. This is the longest night of the year, and so friends and family celebrate with feasting and gift exchanges.
Pantheist Rituals
Birth: A child's birth is an exciting and important part of everyone's life, and of the life of the Universe. It should be a joyous occasion and well-celebrated. The parents should be given a personal moment alone with their child, where they snuggle and reflect on the life they have just brought back into the corporeal. Family and friends should meditate on the new parents and the child, and the Community should welcome the child to the world through the Temple President (the parents will not want a hundred people tromping through their room).
Death: An individuals death should be a solemn occasion in that there are no wild celebrations involving alcohol and fun, as with other Pantheist celebrations. Their Comet amulet should be passed on to the next-of-kin. Candles should be burned for one month following the burial/cremation by all those who loved the deceased.
There are some interesting concepts among Pantheists on how funerary arrangements should be made. We believe that ultimately it is up to the individual, and every person should have funeral arrangements in their will. The Pantheist Temple of Hamilton is currently trying to raise funds to purchase several acres of forested land which contains a stream and a small field. We plan to use this as a burial ground, and we will place plaques on the trees near where people are buried. We will include several nature trails through the grounds, so that visitors can enjoy a peaceful day in nature while paying their respects. Eventually we hope to have enough money to build a shrine temple at the entrance, where candles and momentos can be permantly placed in honour of the dead.
Coming of Age: When an individual reaches the age of 16 (natural age of adulthood in the human species), they are prepared to accept a spirituality and a philisophical viewpoint. Whatever their beliefs, they should be respected. Those who choose Pantheism should be given a large celebration on their 16 birthday, as this is also the day they officially become Pantheists, after 16 years of spirituality through life. In a solemn ceremony, the Temple President bestows a Comet amulet upon the new adult, and the parents should be the ones to welcome the new adult to the Community. The drawback is, however, that the new adult will have to pay the annual membership fee, if they wish to be full-members of the Temple Community.