TechnoPaganism

[Pathless]

Anyone out there practice any form of what you would consider technopaganism?

For those unfamiliar with the term, as I am--I've heard it in passing before, but am just beginning to look into this concept--the nutshell idea seems to be that technology can be imbued with spirit and used as a tool in magical/spiritual ritual.

This is an attractive idea for me right now, for a couple of reasons. I currently spend more time than I should in front of my computer, compulsively watching videos on youtube, posting and reading here, or otherwise surfing the internet.

Also, since I was a teenager, I've found a kind of trashy beauty in modern technology, especially when abandoned and left to the consumption of nature. I feel that things like a shopping cart overturned in a field and being overgrown with grass and weeds should be somehow morally and intellectually offensive to me, but really, I think scenes like that are filled with some kind of weird gorgeousity. See the attached photograph for an example of a beautiful rusty thing in a field.

And then of course there is the notion that no form of technology can be considered "unnatural," since every artifact of technology has been created with the materials provided by nature. Possibly there is an argument against this if you want to make the case that materials manipulated in and technological advancements acheived through research in outer space qualify as "unnatural." I guess it comes down to how you define "natural."

I guess it does come down to that as well in this whole concept of technopaganism. In seeing technology as spiritual, perhaps we stretch our imaginations and traditional beliefs about what is sacred. I'm not sure how far off this concept is, though, because certainly many indigenous people imbued their technological artifacts with spirit, or believe that spirits inhabited them, and used them in ritual. A clear example is the "shaman's drum."

If we approach objects of technology with reverence--assuming first that we approach living plants and animals and also minerals and other "natural" creations with reverence (and even that starting point is a stretch for some people!)--if we approach our technological creations as well as the creations of the more natural world with reverence, our interconnection with the world is heightened. This kind of approach, I think, can heighten sensitivity, awareness, self-knowledge, and compassion for the Other. This last, compassion for the Other, is especially crucial for humanity as a species, immersed as we are in a planetary ecosystem that is very much at the mercy of our technology. When respect for our technology and respect for our planet combine, we begin to walk more lightly, and miracles follow.

[bgruagach]

I imagine that technopaganism is an offshoot of chaos magick, or perhaps of the Temple of Psychic Youth (however they spell it with their "creative" spelling!) It likely also blends into pop culture magick and things related to that -- see Taylor Ellwood's work for that sort of stuff.

You might enjoy NewWitch magazine too if technopaganism interests you. It's not specifically technopagan, but it is definitely leaning towards cutting edge witchcraft and magickal spirituality.

; )

Ben Gruagach
http://www.witchgrotto.com