THE SOWER

The problem I gave myself was to design a religion. No small task. It 
had to be completely reconciled with science, both existing and future, 
yet not be in and of itself scientific. It had to incorporate symbolism 
and ceremony yet not be an anachronism. Dogma or rigidity were best 
avoided. Most of all it had to be something I wouldn't feel silly in 
professing or practicing, if I was given to such things. Here is a 
sparse, incomplete framework I devised:

There is no story of the genesis of everything, only of the genesis of 
life. One does not make the soil but one can make life spring from it by 
cultivation. The genesis figure is The Sower. There are no pronouns 
associated with The Sower or other manifestations. The Sower, having 
determined the soil of the universe was ready, spread the Seeds of Life 
amongst the stars. The gesture associated with The Sower is a single 
casting motion with arm and hand suggesting the sowing of seeds. It is 
unknown if this was the first, last or even a unique planting of life, 
but with that single act The Sower's role essentially ends. However, 
metaphysically, The Sower represents a possible source of regeneration, 
a means for continuous renewal. If life on earth can happen once, it can 
happen again. If we can individually happen once, we can happen again. 
Indeed, both could occur an infinite number of times. But no guarantees. 
So much for cosmology.

Since we do not know The Sower's purpose in spreading life we also do 
not know the purpose of life itself. If life is some sort of crop, one 
to be gathered in when it has sufficiently ripened or matured, then we 
are subject to The Harvester. The gesture for The Harvester is a 
sweeping, cutting motion with the forearm suggesting the action of a 
scythe, one of gathering in. However, if life exists for its beauty, for 
some aesthetic reason, then we are subject to The Gardener. The gesture 
for The Gardener is a downward scooping motion with the hand suggesting 
a trowel digging into the earth, one of cultivating and tending. Yes, a 
bit of ditheism to keep it interesting.

The Sower, The Harvester and The Gardener are treated as separate 
entities although we have no proof of that. Rather than proposing 
certitude about everything, this belief attempts to incorporate the 
unknown and the indeterminate as well. Indeed, incertitude of our fate, 
individually and collectively, is a hallmark of the faith. Should The 
Harvester deem us ripe, our planet could be headed for the cosmic 
cannery. Should The Gardener find us withered or unattractive, we could 
be pruned and tossed into the cosmic compost heap, so to speak. Such 
possibilities cry for acts of ritual appeasement and a bit of trickery 
on our part. Hence, the (few) ceremonies of the faith. As is fitting, 
all celebrations and ablutions have something to do with food:

The religious calendar is divided into two equal parts. From the vernal 
equinox to the autumnal equinox is the realm of The Gardener. The other 
half, from the autumnal to the vernal, is under the influence of The 
Harvester. The Sower is unrepresented in the calendar.

In The Gardener's season the idea is to show the beauty and bounty of 
life here to avoid the pruning shears. Every meal should include fruit 
(fresh would be best) since it is freely available to eat without 
harming or harvesting the plant that bears it. While there are no 
prayers or blessings in this faith, there are several ritual gestures. 
For The Gardener one holds out both arms, palms up over the food to be 
eaten and looks skyward in a gesture of happy presentation. Ta-da! The 
summer solstice is supposedly the day The Gardener glances most closely 
at the Earth to see how it is doing (well, one hemisphere at least). 
That is a day for wearing bright florals and greens and for picnicking 
on huge spreads of fruit out of doors, preferably with other happy 
adherents.

The Harvester's season is much the inverse. The goal is to hide the 
bounty of the earth and avoid being gathered in. A root vegetable, 
underground legume, tuber, corm or fish is customary at meals. All hide 
beneath the surface, away from the eye, concealing their presence and 
value. For The Harvester one bends over your plate and makes a covering 
gesture with the arms while glancing nervously upwards (yes, a sense of 
humor is allowed). When The Harvester checks out the earth on the winter 
solstice believers stay indoors if possible, wear dead grays and browns 
if they must travel about and, in general, try to give the impression 
that nobody's home and the place is barren. The day's feast reflects the 
food of the season as well. Carrot cake is a ubiquitous dessert.

And there is a feast on each equinox as well. Those meals begin with the 
foods and gesture of the season that is passing and ends with those of 
the one arriving. On all feasts there may be simple, modest gift-giving, 
especially for the children. The symbolism of each particular feast of 
the year could be extended to the gifts, ceremonies, imagery and other 
observances. Such things tend to develop and evolve naturally over time 
so I won't deal with them here.

While there is no clergy, liturgy, canons, creeds, screeds or formal 
places of worship planned, a regular organized activity should be the 
potluck dinner, all in keeping with the general focus of the faith. Any 
charitable acts of the religious community could be towards feeding the 
hungry and helping them to feed themselves in the future. Political 
activism could be focused on the environment, in the broadest sense. 
Now, I suppose, all it needs is a name...

every@ma.sdf.org