Online Resources for Polytheist-Animist Monastics

Explore elements of monastic life and infrastructure in the modern polytheist & animist revival, and find other monastics.

Religious infrastructure and organization are vital for building sustainable religions over the long term.

I like to dream big. I’d like animists and polytheists to have monasteries, convents, hermitages, chapels, and temples. I’d also like us to have theological seminaries, professional spiritual guides, midwives, hospital chaplains, funeral directors, libraries, endowments, stipends, education scholarships, retreat centers, and retirement homes. There’s a long way to go, but we have to start somewhere, right?

With that in mind, I gathered this list of resources to help other would-be monastics explore the possibilities and find others who are similarly inclined. I put it together because I found nothing like this out there, and it is much needed. Many of us spent years thinking we were the only ones in the modern polytheist revival who were drawn to monasticism. Hopefully, if we do our work well and document as much of it as we can, the next generations of aspiring votary (monks and nuns) might have an easier time of it than we have.

As promised, this is an edited and updated version of the list that originally appeared in 2016 on my Black Stone Hermitage blog, and again in 2019 on the now-defunct Polytheist Monastic forum. I resurfaced the list from my archives as part of a special collection of materials that will live on the Substack site indefinitely and be updated sporadically.

Not all of the entities on this list are currently active, but their work is still valuable for historical purposes. Especially for the sake of future monastics, it’s important to keep a public record of some of the monastic work happening in these early stages. Just learning that some polytheists are living monastic lives has inspired others to take steps toward building a monastic practice of their own.

The list is not intended to be comprehensive or definitive.

(Note: inclusion of sources on this list does not constitute endorsement. This list was compiled for reference purposes only.)

LAST UPDATED: MAY 2022

RESOURCES

The Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater in Palenville, NY – launched in 1997, this is the first and only legally recognized Pagan convent in the USA (a status for which they had to fight a lengthy and expensive legal battle). “We re-introduced to the world a model for Pagan Monasticism….We do not require anyone to renounce anything to join us.” Rev. Catherine Platine’s book The Cybeline Revival is available at Lulu, and the Maetreum has an active Facebook page. (You can also check out their old website from the 1990s!)

(Also note that if you use Amazon Smile, Amazon will donate to the Maetreum. I did this for years. It’s not much, but it’s not nothing, either. They fought for years to establish the first legal Pagan convent, which sets an important precedent for all future polytheistic monastics.)

Nemeton of the Ways - Founded by Archdruid Rev. Jeremiah Lennox in New York, who also works with the Maetreum of Cybele. One purpose of the Nemeton is ​“to establish sanctuaries and shrines for those practicing Earth-based spiritual systems.” The group also has a Facebook page.

Julie Bond of the Order of the Sacred Nemeton – a blog maintained by a long-time member of one of the few existing monastic orders in the modern polytheist religious movement (it also has a Facebook group.) Julie writes:

“Although I am now with the Order of the Sacred Nemeton (OSN), a contemplative Druid monastic Order, I had been working on my own, developing a Druid monastic practice, for some years prior to that. I became a novice with the OSN in 2010 and took my full vows in 2012, but I had been studying monastic practice, mostly Christian monastic practice, since the 1990s.”

Sisters of the Krokopeplos - an early-stage monastic community launched by Sara Mastros in spring 2021.

“Sisters of the Krokopeplos is a monastic community in service to the Goddess of the Krokopeplos. Sisters freely and joyfully swear to serve as teachers, oracles, and spiritual companions for those who seek Liminality, Liberation, and Learning; the Goddess of the Krokopeplos, in any of her infinite forms.”

Harvest Home Hermitage – Patricia Sue Christmas writes and vlogs about her eremitic path “dedicated to the worship of the Goddess Habondia and the God Cernunnos. Like any hermitage, it is both a physical and a spiritual place…”

Notes From a Hermit - a newsletter and vlog by Hermit of Joy Gwynne Michele, a “queer heretic nun, polytheistic mystic, and spiritual anarchist.”

Oaken Roots Hermitage - The Illuminating Spark is the weekly newsletter for this Brighidine monastic hearth tended by Ashli Hall (aka NíDara), a votary, artist, and poet of the goddess-saint Brighid.

The Monastery of Annwn - “a virtual space and a place of sanctuary for those who serve the Gods and Goddesses of Annwn, leading paths of inspiration and devotion, carrying the wisdom of the Brythonic Otherworld into this Thisworld.“ Founded by Lorna Smithers.

Pagan Monastery Podcast - “The story of how we established the first pagan monastery in Europe! A podcast-as-proposal to inspire spiritual growth & cultural healing, hosted by pagan educator and business coach Danica Boyce.“

Pagan Abbeys – A Practical Heritage for Spiritual Lay and Professional Cloistered Communities - a legally incorporated religious nonprofit in Newfoundland, Canada. “Promoting humanist principles in a framework of neopagan and traditional beliefs and practices.“ Also see Pagan Religious Communities: Part I – Finding and Connecting.

Clann Bhride, Children of Brighid – “a devotional group dedicated to Brighid in all Her guises.”

Her Eternal Flame - Erin Aurelia, author of the forthcoming book The Torch of Brighid: Flametending for Transformation, writes about her monastic flame-tending practice.

Treasury of Apollon – “an organization of Apollon’s women from across the globe, each dedicated in love and honor to our Lord, Apollon…”

Occulta Femina group on Facebook – “A sisterhood of multicultural Pagan/Polytheistic women who choose to cover their hair as part of their spiritual practice. The group is open to all who identify as women and are Pagan/Polytheistic friendly.”

Pagan Veiling Facebook group - “A place for pagans and witches to share resources, build community, and help each other grow.“ All genders welcome.

Pagan Monasticism: Dreaming of Community - a 2020 blog post by Rev. Mx. Amy Rhea, who invites would-be Wiccan monastics to join a Facebook group.

What Pagan Monasticism Could Look Like - a 2016 blog post on elements of monasticism by Matthew James.

Pagan and Polytheist Monasticism Discussion Group - a Facebook discussion group founded in September 2016 by Merri-Todd Webster. (I am a retired admin of this group.) It’s been quiet in recent years, but I recommend searching the archives for topics of interest; there were many excellent discussions there for the first few years. From the group description:

“There are no established monastic traditions within modern paganism and polytheism, but it’s clear that the need for them is growing, so some of us are working toward building traditions ourselves.”

AMPP - Alliance of Monastic Polytheist Pagans - a website and Facebook group started by Syren Nagakyrie in 2018 to help connect would-be monastics with one another and to encourage the formation of monastic mutual aid networks.

Modern Pagan & Polytheist Monasticism: A Revolutionary Vision – a 2018 blog post by Syren Nagakyrie on monasticism as a form of resistance to coercion.

An ADF Monastic Order – page maintained by Kirk Thomas of White Mountain Druid Sanctuary. Kirk writes:

“It has been a dream of mine for some time now to found an ADF style monastery…it’s still early days, and I haven’t settled on a name yet. […] I’d also like to see us become a seminary, providing on-line and in-house classes for folks wishing to become ADF Priests, ADF Initiates, and Monks of the Order.”

Pagan Monastic and Frankincense and Wine – UK-based blogs by David Popely, a Hellenic devotional polytheist. David writes:

“As a Polytheist I believe in the autonomous, sentient agency of a diversity of Deities. This makes me uneasy when I’m expected to participate in Wiccan-style open ritual, often without being asked, and the assumption being made that because I am Pagan, I am either also Wiccan, or at least willing to ‘join in’. Polytheistic belief renders me unable to tacitly sit by while ‘the Goddess’ (which Goddess exactly?) is honoured, or while quarters are called. I have good theological reasons for believing that there are a multiplicity of Deities, and I can give an account for them if asked.”

Church of Asphodel and the Order of the Horae – a site with a wealth of resources for polytheist monastics, including the Pagan Book of Hours, a closer look at their official documents for becoming a legally recognized 501(c)3 church, and a series of excellent books published by their non-profit author cooperative Asphodel Press.

From the Pagan Book of Hours main page:

“The Order of the Horae is building and exploring monasticism within a Neo-Pagan religious framework. We are an eclectic contemplative order open to pagans of any gender…Our eventual goal is to found monastic houses in New England where pagans drawn to a life focused on spirituality, simplicity and service can live together and follow the cycles of the day, month and year with ritual and meaningful work.

“We are not great spiritual leaders or all-wise gurus with the keys to enlightenment. We are merely folks who are drawn to the simple, devotional lives of monks, nuns or hermits, but have no framework for this within the pagan faiths. Together, we hope to build that framework.”

I especially recommend their Pagan Monasticism FAQ. I’ve never met any of the folks involved in this group, but I will always be grateful to them for creating this document (and all the other resources they made available to would-be Pagan monastics) and posting it at the time they did. I found it in 2006, and I recognized elements of my own fledgling path in the words they wrote. I remember feeling so bowled over to discover that there were other polytheists in Heathenry/Paganism that were interested in monasticism. I felt a stirring of interest when I discovered the Matreum of Cybele as well, but it was the writings of the Church of Asphodel that marked a turning point for me.

The Way of Mystical Quest - a helpful section on Pagan monasticism from Six Ways of Being Pagan by Raven Kaldera. From the piece:

“People won’t get it. That’s not a reason not to be a monastic, but after the 43rd time you’ve had someone ask, “A what?” or blink at you while saying, “But I thought only Christians had nuns,” you will be heartily sick of explaining yourself. You don’t have to, of course, but be prepared for most people – even most fellow Pagans – to not understand that yes, you really are living a life of monastic dedication to the gods, and have renounced certain things (what, exactly, depends on you) and are, in fact, serious about all this suspiciously un-Pagan-sounding stuff.”

– Elizabeth Vongvisith

I’d also like to add a word of thanks to Elizabeth, whose blog Twilight and Fire was an inspiration to me (and many others!) in the early days while I was discerning my own calling to monasticism. The blog is no longer online, but for a sampling, check archive.org, through which I found this and this.)

Eremitical Life for the Layperson – a post from the Contemplative Wicca blog by Teresa Chupp.

“This blog is meant to provide an exploration of a new pagan theology, a theology of contemplative Wicca.”

Thoughts on Pagan Religious Dress - a blog post from 2010. Quote: “I’m not looking forward to seeing any sort of Pagan monastic orders that wear tie-dye Celtic knot robes with pewter sandals and crushed velvet hats!!”

Mystik Nomad - a blog post from 2013 with interesting things to say about the transition out of polytheistic monasticism.

Fellowship of the Nine Waves – a polytheistic monastic order founded in 2017. Does not appear to be currently active, but one of its founders, Oisin Doyle, is the author of A New Monastic Way: Modern Polytheistic Celtic Monasticism.

Pagan Monastics, A Few Thoughts – blog post on Veiled Witch’s Mirror. A quote:

“When we consider the works of Theresa of Avila, Dame Julian of Norwich, or Hadewijch, we discover they had luminous, intimate, and visceral experiences of their deity. […]

“These women are, in many ways, the foremothers of modern monasticism. Through their writings, we find a road map that leads us from the mundane, often profane, life to a place where we can directly interact with deity and be aware of deity’s response to us. It is at times difficult to express this path to others. In our highly secular society, people who have intimate relationships with the divine are viewed as suspect. Doubly so if their faith is not some flavor of Christianity. […]

“I contend that monasticism is flourishing and doing quite well within the pagan community. With organizations like the Maetreum of Cybele becoming more visible within the community, monastic paganism moves from a vague idea to a concrete reality. There are individuals who live as monastics within the secular, non-pagan community. Their practices are no different from those of the anchorites who lived within the medieval communities, not when you consider what their relationship to deity is.”

Where are we Going? A Response to “What I Expect From My Church” 20 Years Later – a blog post by Stevie Miller about a wish for more structure and organization in Paganism and polytheism. Stevie writes:

“It seems that this was something of a golden age for alternative religious paths like ours. Many of you have similar stories from the 1990s, of discovering a new faith, one filled with Gods and Goddesses, with magic, with rituals, through books, perhaps festivals or college groups, and eventually, through the internet. Even though for a lot of us, it felt like coming home, there was so much to piece together! So much research to do! It was like an entire world of spiritual truth had been hidden from us. […]

“I bet you had to piece it all together for yourself. It would have been so nice to have one central place to go, somewhere with warm and welcoming people who would patiently explain what was going on…what you probably found were scattered, loosely gathered groups of well-meaning people with…lack of organization, poor planning, no central location, no funding, no infrastructure, and no well-trained or qualified leaders.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned from my journey to find my religious path, it’s that I don’t want to do it this way again. […]

“We need to start finding groups of people with whom we can agree enough to build something. We need to organize.”

Ask the Puritans for Your Money Back – another great post by Stevie Miller (with a comment by me) about the influence of Puritan views on money, work, and moral living, and how this can affect our religious pursuits. We need to work through this stuff and collectively get beyond the “adolescent” stage about money if we’re ever going to have the extensive religious infrastructure – such as, say, monasteries – that we say we want.

“I’m going to perform and talk about money magic. I’m going to talk about clergy, mystics, diviners, magicians, and spiritual counselors receiving pay for their services. I’m going to continue to patronize Pagan and Polytheist craftspeople, and contribute to spiritual organizations whose services matter to me. I’m going to talk about hospitality, gifting, and reciprocity, which are quite literally the spiritual foundations of all the Indo-European religious traditions. (That’s everything from Iceland to India, kids!) Let’s start acting like the pagans we are, and leave the Puritans in the dusty annals of history.”

Prayer in a Heathen Context – informative blog post by Marc, aka thelettuceman.

“Prayer” is one such practice which tends to find derision and criticism in contemporary Heathen groups. This is largely due to the associations with popular, particularly Christian, instances of prayer. The role and use of prayer within ritual are rarely, if ever, discussed within contemporary Heathenry, and individual practitioners often cannot articulate the purpose of prayer. This work will serve as an example for our discussion of prayer in the wider Indo-European context, in an effort to position the idea of “prayer” within a native Germanic tradition.”

The Gnostic Celtic Church: A Manual and Book of Liturgy – book by John Michael Greer for Druid monks that is perhaps the only one of its kind.

Quotes from the book summary and reviews on Amazon:

“The GCC has chosen to establish what was once called a regular clergy, as distinct from a secular clergy-that is to say, something much closer to monks than to ministers. This was the core model for clergy in the old Celtic Church in Ireland, Wales, Brittany, and other Celtic nations, in the days before the Roman papacy imposed its rule on the lands of Europe’s far west. Members of the Celtic clergy were monks first and foremost, living lives focused on service to the Divine rather than the needs of a congregation, and those who functioned as priests for local communities did so as a small portion of a monastic lifestyle that embraced many other dimensions.”

“Each soul, according to the Druid Revival, has its own unique Awen. To put the same concept in terms that might be slightly more familiar to today’s readers, each soul has its own purpose in existence, which differs from that of every other soul, and it has the capacity — and ultimately the necessity — of coming to know, understand, and fulfill this unique purpose.”

“… the rule of life that the clergy of the Gnostic Celtic Church are asked to embrace may be defined simply by these words: find and follow your own Awen. Taken as seriously as it should be — for there is no greater challenge for any human being than that of seeking his or her purpose of existence, and then placing the fulfillment of that purpose above other concerns as a guide to action and life — this is as demanding a rule as the strictest of traditional monastic vows. Following it requires attention to the highest and deepest dimensions of the inner life, and a willingness to ignore all the pressures of the ego and the world when those come into conflict, as they will, with the ripening personal knowledge of the path that Awen reveals.”

Questions on Pagan Monasticism – 2013 article by Heather Freysdottir.

“…many Pagans are not aware that monasticism is a vocation in our faith, and certainly even fewer people outside Paganism…”

The Little Pagan Monastery Weekend – a retreat organized by Joanna van der Hoeven at Chalice Well Gardens, Glastonbury, UK, in 2014.

Ask a Historian: Was there an equivalent to monasticism in pagan religions? – reddit Q&A. Mentions the Vestal Virgins of the Roman Forum.

Stained glass windows featuring Norse deities – these windows can be seen at the Cardiff Castle in Wales. If Christians and Tibetan Buddhists can have beautiful stained glass windows in their monasteries, why not us? Even more beautiful, I think, are the Freyr and Odin windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris in 1883 for an estate which featured a suite of nine stained glass windows with Nordic themes.

Viking Women’s Headwear – a Pinterest board featuring head coverings that could be adapted for would-be Norse polytheist monastics. There are lots of Pagan veiling resources out there, but few that are specific to Norse culture, as far as I know.

Pagan monastic garb inspiration – a Pinterest board by yours truly.

Monastic inspiration for Pagans – a Pinterest board by Justin Shingara.

OTHER RESOURCES

Here are a few resources from other religions and groups that members of the Pagan & Polytheist Monasticism discussion group have found useful in monastic endeavors, so that we don’t need to “reinvent the wheel,” as it were.

Our Lady of the Redwoods Monastery – a short video documentary in which a Roman Catholic contemplative order of nuns in Whitethorn, CA provide a glimpse into their way of life. When this was posted to the Pagan & Polytheist Monasticism discussion group, many of us thought that if it weren’t for the fact that they mention Christ a few times, they might as well be Pagan. Here are a few of my comments in response to this documentary:

Well done. I like the way it gives the viewer a glimpse into the day-to-day life of the nuns (laundry duties, ironing, chopping vegetables, etc.) juxtaposed with their religious services and prayers. That’s one of the reasons monastic life appeals to me: I consider my day-to-day life to be part of my religious practice. The manual labor I do, for example, feels like a form of monastic practice to me. On good days, it even feels meditative. I especially like these things the nuns said:

1) “There’s a vocational call which doesn’t leave you at rest if you don’t pay attention.”

That’s definitely been my experience – that I have long had a vocational call. But unlike these contemplative nuns in the Roman Catholic tradition, I have no monastery to live in, so my only choice at the moment is to live out this call the best I can in the “mundane” world. Monastic without a monastery, as it were.

2) “The monastic journey is about learning how to listen.”

That’s one of my favorite things about the monastic journey as I experience it. It is teaching me how to listen much more deeply than I did before.

3) “How do we best become who we were created to be?”

A good question for contemplation…

I am floored by the beauty of this place, and the quiet, unassuming way they live and work, and the way they talk about the importance of nature. I love the way the monastery is nestled away among all those towering trees. I love the half-circle, interconnected spatial arrangement of the buildings on the land. I love the fact that there are several separate homes/meditation huts on the property. I love that in-house library they have with the study table (shown at 4:49), and the layout of the space in which they gather for worship. I paused the video many times, especially between 1:00-1:10, so I could take everything in and appreciate it more deeply.

“None of us alone can be what we are together,” says one of the nuns. Indeed!

The Beguines – a short documentary and “A Lost World Made By Women,” a NYT article about lay religious orders in semi-monastic communities.

“If feminism means a desire for independence from patriarchal authority, the beguines — a Roman Catholic laic order that began in the 13th century and branched across northwest Europe — represented, perhaps, the world’s oldest women’s movement.”

Medieval Mystical Women - The Beguines - an informative, fascinating, and scholarly 18-min. lecture on the Beguines. (Also note the proper pronunciation of the word Beguines!)

"This episode explores the radical and probing mystical spirituality of the Beguines, a lay culture of women who worked in the skilled trades, publicly preached, aided the poor and destitute, all as part of their own autonomous spiritual vocation. These women were also extraordinary mystics and theologians. We briefly explore three of these amazing women here: Hadewijch of Antwerp, Mechthild of Magdeburg & Marguerite Porete to reveal how their mysticism abounds in love, light, madness, and annihilation."

The Sisters of the Valley – activist ‘weed nuns’ in California who pray and make cannabis-based medicines ceremonially. They describe themselves as Beguine revivalists. See their Book of the New Beguines for more information.

History of Ideas: Monasticism – a brief video overview of monasticism. My comments:

I like the emphasis on how monastic life grants freedom from the demands of romantic relationships. While I don’t think polytheist & Pagan monasteries would necessarily need to involve mandates against members being involved in romantic relationships, I do understand why monastics might choose celibacy.

I also like the emphasis on the way cooperative life frees people from having to handle all domestic responsibilities on their own, and thereby frees up time and energy for religious practice. What a boon for women, especially, since they typically carry more than their fair share of the domestic burden.

“Being a nun means she’s supplied with meals, laundry, and heating without having to organize everything for herself…there are many benefits of monasteries which are not really tied to religion at all…the monastery removes the problem of finding work-life balance.”

The Monastery and The Convent – BBC documentaries (continuing through four hour-long episodes) about ordinary men and women who spend 40 days in British abbeys with monks and nuns. Lots of food for thought here.

Powerhouse of Prayer: Millenials are drawn to monastic life in Prairie du Sac – in-depth profile of Cistercian nuns. My comments:

While I have never been a Christian, I can’t help but feel envious that they have an established monastery and tradition that works for them. I feel the same kind of envy when I go to The Grotto Portland, near where I live, as there are monks and nuns who live on-site and work at the sanctuary.

I do believe we will have Pagan & polytheist monasteries and religious orders one day, and I want to help make inroads in that direction. But we’ve certainly got a long way to go.

There are many things that appeal to me about the way these sisters live: spending the majority of their time in silence; running a monastery-based business (instead of having to find a secular wage labor job to earn a living); doing manual labor to maintain the monastery; the clothing they wear; and the way they serve the community by taking prayer requests. I like the photo showing the way they kneel in unified formation before the altar.

And I sure can relate to the sister who described her frustrations with dating as one of the factors involved in her decision to turn to monastic life! Heh.

But the lack of variety in their meals, and giving up a passion for music…those things would be deal-breakers for me. Aside from the fact that I don’t hang with Jesus, I mean.

The minimalist, austere decor of the monastery is not particularly appealing to me either. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries strike me as much closer to what Pagan/polytheist monasteries should be like – shrines with lavish, colorful artistic displays, sacred dance, and music.

A Tibetan Buddhist Nun Blazes a Trail for Other Women to Follow – “Sravasti Abbey is one of the only communities in the US where women can become fully ordained in the tradition.”

“Chodron said she was inspired to start the monastery because in the Tibetan tradition, there wasn’t a place for monastics in the West to prepare for and receive proper monastic training. “There are dharma centers,” she said, “but they are designed for lay practitioners, even though some monastics may live there.”

“In other words, for Buddhism to flourish in the West, there needed to be a stable sangha, or community of monks and nuns.”

Here are some fascinating reflections (starting around 2:30) about what life was like in the early days of the abbey when the founder lived on the site alone.

“You’re Becoming a What? Living as a Western Buddhist Nun” is an interview from 2010 with Ven. Thubten Chodron in which she tells her personal story from her early years in Buddhism in the 1970s. There are some interesting reflections on the challenges she faced as a trailblazer starting an abbey. For example, Ven. Chodron writes:

“I am concerned that a variety of lifestyle options is not being presented to Western Buddhists. While many people believe the monastic model is stressed too much in Asia, we must be careful not to swing the pendulum to the other extreme and only present the house-holder model in the West. […]

“As one of the first generation of Western nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, there are certain challenges that I face. For example, because our Tibetan teachers are refugees from their own country, they cannot support their Western ordained disciples. Their primary concern is to rebuild their monasteries in exile and take care of the Tibetan refugee community. Therefore, Western monastics have no ready-made monasteries or support system. We are expected to provide for ourselves financially, although it is extremely difficult to maintain our vows if we have to put on civilian clothes and work in the city.”

Blessed Simplicity: The Monk as Universal Archetype - an out-of-print anthology from 1982. Available to read online in full through the Internet Archive (a free account is required).

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