Extraterrestrial wiccans, pagans and the like

[kengr]

Dunno if I'd actually, use this in a story, but I figure that it's an interesting question in its own right.

What affect would being on another planet have on pagan/wiccan practices?

Both other places in the solar system, Mars, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn , etc and colonies on earth-like worlds around other stars.

Lack of the moon, *being* a moon, and in the casae of extra-solar colonies, the very constellations being different would be the merest beginning.

so, anybody have ideas?

Comments

[freetrav.livejournal.com]

Having said that, you now have to go deeper - is the timing of the seasons and lunar influences and etc. what’s important, or is it the fact that they exist, and come in a more-or-less steady pattern? If the latter, then transporting them to a different, habitable world would require some adaptation to the changed lengths of the cycles, but not to the conceptual framework.

Another issue that would need to be considered is offerings, if the tradition requires them. Is the specific contents of the offerings what is important, or is it merely “first fruits”? If the latter, adaptation is, again, relatively easy; if the former, you have a problem if the new world’s cycles don’t allow for those particular products.

This sort of analysis, even if 90% of the results never make it into a story, is what makes the difference between a well-built world and a “‘flat’ for the actors to stand in front of”.

[kengr]

On early space habs, those first fruits may be something like some algae and a guinea pig. :-)

Ok, algae isn't likely to be more than an intermediate stage. but it could be *very* symbolic.

Ooo! a "feast" celebrating survival of major damage to life support. Eating algae and rats or guinea pigs or the like in remembrance of what people had to eat while waiting for the new crops and animals to reach harvestable age.

Ceremonies for establishing a new habitat or colony. Bringing in "starter" plants and animals, placed in a special "greenhouse". They wouldn't be the actual "starters", but a symbolic thing. For the nature types, that would be a holy place.

Hmm. some special plants and animals traceable clear back to Earth that are mostly for ceremonial use. Mistletoe? Doves?

And sometimes new ones get added from planets that had compatible planets.