The Earth is a Witch: Ecofeminism, Deep Ecology, and the Pagan Movement

Deep Ecology is a way of looking at the world centered around the basic principles or norms of biocentric egalitarianism and the development or realization of ecological Self. Deep Ecology moves beyond the basic understandings of scientific ecology regarding the interconnectedness of life and life forms to approach an intuitive and at times almost pantheistic reverence for all life and Nature, simply because it is. Deep Ecology does not place artificial, materialistic "value" on some aspects of Nature or "natural resources" due to their utility to humans, their biological closeness to us on some secular version of a "Great Chain of Being," or their aesthetic appeal, in human terms (as is frequently the case with mammals in general, and "charismatic megafauna" such as bears, wolves, bison, etc.).

* Biocentric Egalitarianism is a viewpoint in which all creatures, ecosystems, and natural processes are accorded equal intrinsic value or inherent worth. A typical biocentric position might be that Grizzly Bears (or Gray Wolves, Whales, Redwood Trees, Mycorrhizal Fungi, etc.) have no less right to live free and work out their own destiny than do humans. A more radical biocentric position might be that an individual Grizzly Bear has a greater right to exist than does an individual human, because there are vastly fewer Grizzly Bears compared to humans.

The term "Ecocentric" is preferred by some Deep Ecologists to "Biocentric" because it more closely reflects the fact that Deep Ecologists see "life" more broadly than its merely biological definitions: rivers, mountains, forest or prairie ecosystems, etc., are all "alive" from a Deep Ecology perspective. Perhaps the classic expression of an ecocentric perspective is Aldo Leopold's statement that "a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." This statement provides an appropriate basis for a value or ethical system based on Deep cology principles.

* Realization of Ecological Self is an awareness of one's Self in relationship to all other members of the land community, human and non-human, including creatures both great and small, ecosystems, and natural processes. This "broad" or "deep" Self is achieved by direct and intuitive experience of natural places, and is a conscious effort to attune oneself with their natural rhythms and spirit.

It is a coming to view oneself as not apart from Nature, but as one with what the Native Americans refer to as "all my relations": it is reaching an awareness of oneself as what Aldo Leopold called a "plain citizen of the Land Community." Realization of ecological self is deeply threatening to the dominant social paradigms of modern commercial/materialist society which see the world divided, in the words of Gifford Pinchot (first head of the National Forest Service), into "people" and "natural resources."

Bioregional consciousness, the association of oneself with a particular bioregion ("life- region"), may be both a vehicle towards, and a result of, the realization of ecological Self. This identification may be with one's home bioregion, or with another bioregion for which one feels a deep empathy: the tropical rainforest, for example, or the Old Growth Forests of the American Northwest.

Arne Naess and George Sessions have stated that those who agree with Deep Eco logical principles have incurred thereby an obligation to work, directly or indirectly, to bring them about, or "implement the necessary changes" (Devall and Sessions 1985, Devall 1988, etc.), in both the public and private arenas. Deep Ecology is not solely-or even primarily-a system of belief or a philosophy, but a model or blueprint for practice.

After Arne Naess and George Sessions (Devall and Sessions, p. 70); some emphases added.

The well-being and flourishing of human and non-human life on Earth have value- in-themselves (synonyms: inherent value/worth, intrinsic value/worth). These values are independent of the usefulness of the non-human world for human purposes.

Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the realization of these values and are also values in themselves.

Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital needs. [These vital needs] "go beyond such basics as food, water, and shelter to include love, play, creative expression, intimate relationships with a particular landscape (or Nature taken in its entirety) as well as intimate relationships with other humans, and the vital need for spiritual growth, for becoming a mature human being" (Devall and Sessions, Deep Ecology). They do not include the "need" to run roughshod over the non-human world, its ecosystems, species, etc.

The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of non-human life requires such a decrease.

Present human interference with the non-human world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening.

Policies must therefore be changed. The changes in policies affect basic economic, technological, and ideological structures. The resulting state of affairs will be deeply different from the present.

Theideological change is mainly that of appreciating life quality (dwelling in situations of inherent worth) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher "standard of living." There will be a profound awareness of the difference between big and great.

Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation directly or indirectly to participate in the attempt to implement the necessary changes.

"Rejection of the man-in-environment image in favor of the relational total-field image. Organisms are knots in the biospherical net or field of intrinsic relations." From an ecological perspective all individuals or units are intrinsically made up of their relationships with other individuals or units in the ecosystem.

Biospherical (or ecological) egalitarianism in principle. "The 'in principle' clause is inserted because any realistic praxis necessitates some killing, exploitation, and suppressionŠ [but] to the ecological fieldworker, the equal right to live and blossom is an intuitively clear and obvious value axiom."

Principles of diversity and symbiosis. "Diversity enhances the potentialities of survival, the chances of new modes of life, the richness of forms. And the so-called struggle for lifeŠ should be interpreted in the sense of ability to coexist and cooperate in complex relationships, rather than ability to kill, exploit, and suppress."

Anti-class posture. "The exploiter lives differently from the exploited, but both are adversely affected in their potentialities of self-realizationŠ The principles of ecological egalitarianism and of symbiosis support the same anti-class posture. [This statement may be of particular interest to ecofeminists.]

Fight against pollution and resource depletion. This stance may, however, act to the detriment of the total deep ecological stand "when attention is focused on [these aspects] rather than on other points, or when projects are implemented which reduce pollution but increase evils of other kinds."

Complexity, not complication. "The theory of ecosystems contains an important distinction between what is complicated without any unifying principles-[i.e.,] finding our way through a chaotic cityŠ and what is complexŠ Organisms, ways of life, and interactions in the biosphere in general exhibit complexity of such an astoundingly high level as to color the general outlook of ecologists."

Local autonomy and decentralization. "The vulnerability of a form of life is roughly proportional to the weight of influences fromŠ outside the local region in which that form has obtained and ecological equilibrium. This lends support to our efforts to strengthen local self-government and material and mental self-sufficiency."

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The Earth is a Witch: Ecofeminism, Deep Ecology, and the Pagan Movement