If you’ve practiced secular mindfulness and felt that something was missing — that the practice was somehow disconnected from the living world around you — you may be ready for pagan meditation. These practices are simpler, more embodied, and more rooted in the natural cycle than typical mindfulness work.
Here are five practices, each takes 5–15 minutes, and none require any background.
1. Earthing — 10 Minutes
What it is: A grounding meditation done barefoot on the actual earth (grass, soil, sand, or stone).
How to do it:
- Find a spot outside where you can be barefoot — a yard, a park, a beach.
- Stand or sit so your feet are in direct contact with the ground.
- Close your eyes if it feels safe. Open them if not.
- For 10 minutes, do nothing but feel the contact between your feet and the earth.
- Notice temperature, texture, pressure. Notice what is alive there.
Why it works: Direct skin contact with the earth is a practice as old as humanity. It’s grounding in the literal sense; it tends to drop anxiety quickly. Try it before a hard conversation.
2. Tree-Sitting — 15 Minutes
What it is: Quiet sitting with your back against a tree.
How to do it:
- Find a tree. Any tree, but you’ll know one when you find it.
- Sit with your back against the trunk.
- For 15 minutes, do nothing.
- If your mind wanders, return your attention to the feeling of the bark behind you.
- If you feel something — any quality of presence — let it be.
Why it works: Trees are long-lived, slow, deeply rooted. Sitting against one tends to slow your nervous system. Many people find that a particular tree becomes a familiar friend over time.
3. Candle Gazing — 5 Minutes
What it is: A simple concentration practice using a candle flame.
How to do it:
- Light a candle on a stable surface in a dim room.
- Sit comfortably, the flame at eye level or slightly below.
- For 5 minutes, watch the flame. When your eyes get tired, close them and watch the after-image until it fades, then open them and continue.
- Try not to think. If thoughts come, return to the flame.
Why it works: Candle gazing (called trataka in yoga) is one of the simplest meditative practices in human history. It’s also a doorway to the inner imagination — many people report vivid images, dreams, or insights afterward.
4. Breath of the Sea — 10 Minutes
What it is: Breathing with the rhythm of an imagined or actual tide.
How to do it:
- Sit or lie comfortably. Close your eyes.
- Imagine a slow tide on a shore — or if you’re at one, listen to it directly.
- Inhale as the wave comes in. Exhale as it withdraws.
- Slow the breath to roughly six seconds in and six seconds out.
- Continue for 10 minutes.
Why it works: The tide is older than human consciousness. Aligning the breath with its rhythm tends to drop heart rate quickly. Especially helpful before sleep.
5. Ancestor Visit — 15 Minutes
What it is: A meditation of gentle communication with someone who has died.
How to do it:
- Choose someone — a grandparent, a friend, a teacher — who has died and whom you loved.
- Light a candle. Place a photo or named card on a small surface.
- Sit comfortably. Speak to them, aloud or silently.
- Tell them what’s been happening in your life. Tell them what you miss.
- Then — and this is the part most people skip — listen. Don’t manufacture anything. Just sit in the possibility that something might come back.
- Close by thanking them for the visit and blowing out the candle.
Why it works: Across cultures, ancestor practices are among the most consistent forms of meditation. They’re not about contacting the dead in a spiritualist sense; they’re about staying in relationship with the people who shaped you. Most practitioners find this practice slowly heals grief.
Building a Weekly Practice
If you want to make these stick, the simplest approach: one practice per day for a week. Try earthing on Monday, candle gazing on Tuesday, and so on. By the end of the week, you’ll know which two or three resonate. Make those your regular practice.
Practice in community is also powerful. Our New Moon Circle is essentially a group meditation with intention-setting. Check our Events page for the next one.