Against Nature
A lot of neo-pagans emphasises what could be called “nature worship”. Some pagans have attempted to define neo-paganism entirely in terms of our relationship with nature. The following may be slightly contentious for some people, it is not meant to be, it just explains a point of view.
There can be problems with the use of "Nature" as a concept in contemporary neo-paganism.
It raises old demons. This definition of "nature" is a social and economic construct. The truth is that the wealth and health to be in the right kind of “nature” are not given to everyone. More than one young, healthy child of affluent parents has explained to me how “anyone” can spend a week on a neo-pagan camp if they “really” want to. This is the “Zac Goldsmith” end of neo-paganism where “everyone should buy a cottage in the country". This is nothing against pagan camps, many Mithraists go on them but the assumption that it is open to all shows a level of privilege that can be excluding. There are many who cannot afford to go or whose health would not tolerate even a few days in a tent. There are plenty of neo-pagans holding down long-hours jobs, those who have carer responsibilities or have health issues that would preclude attendance at these sorts of event. Being fortunate enough to live in a nice part of the world is great but it is not a reflection of your spiritual worth. Many neo-pagan groups make considerable effort to ensure access and equality. But that's hard to do when attendance requires pitching a tent in a field two hours walk from the nearest bus stop! Making neo-paganism about nature can amount to putting a wall around spirituality and it raises old demons of money and power. That doesn't mean that people are nasty to those less fortunate, simply that the tests applied exclude and make invisible those who do not fit a certain profile. We need to be aware of that.
It "others" nature. Going "into nature" is an interesting idea that should be challenged. Every human on the planet is an ecosystem of cells and symbiotic bacteria, every house will have something other than humans living in or on it. Even if you don't have pets, there are birds on the roof and ants in the wiring. So the emphasis on particular kinds of rural environment as “really natural” is troubling. That doesn’t mean that a camping holiday on the Pembroke coast isn’t nice, it is. But whether you want to be “in nature” or not, you are! Even in the inner city we are surrounded by life, it may not be pretty but it is certainly alive! The point here is that it is not "nature" it is the "right kind of nature", the pretty kind! The Othering of Nature is easy and dangerous. This attitude makes nature something that happens elsewhere and that we get to define as beneficial. It is a special place away from your daily life which for the vast majority of people, will be urban. Consider for a moment that this may be a potentially dangerous spiritual practice, it is actually a denial of the lived experience and a dissociation from the life that is around us every moment of every day. You don't need to go into nature, you are always part of it.
None of this is meant to imply that a holiday somewhere nice is other than a good thing. It certainly is not meant to suggest that nature magic, rituals in rural areas or the entire Druidic tradition are in any way invalid. It merely highlights that this approach to neo-paganism can have unintended consequences, some of which may be negative both spiritually and personally.
