What's an Atheist to do?

My wife is at it again. She’s getting ready for Burning Man and she doesn’t have anything to break her heart yet, so she’s coming up with another construction project. She wants to make a geodesic dome. I’m not too enthusiastic about it, because there are tons of them already out there. Our group, Comfort and Joy (Link) made a chill tent last year and it was a big hit. There was another chill space called The Lotus, at it was divine.

No, really, it had a blue guy there and every so often; people would come by and offer us tea.

As we ate dinner, I unfortunately had my sketchbook handy. I say unfortunately because I’m in puzzle-solving mode. I feel like that girl in the opening credits of Hellbound, (movie review) who solved all manner of puzzles by rote.

But I digress.

As we were eating, and talking and drinking wine, I concocted the following:

A sundial cordoned off with a lens in the center. When the sun shines at the right hour, the lens would focus the sun’s rays to burn whatever is in the right spot.

At the right position, there would be a metal plate serving as an altar. On that dais, there would be a bit of little chain to anchor the sacrifices.

Outside the cordoned off area would be a podium with a book, a pen and some instructions. The instructions would explain what the installation is all about. And some origami directions

The instructions would explain that this altar is to burn away the supplicant’s demons, using the sun’s ‘light of reason to banish the darkness of your fears’ or something like “Bring your personal monsters and demons into the light to be destroyed and set free.” You get the point.

So it would go like this:

1. Write down whatever’s bothering you, what you wish to set free.
2. Fold it into a little origami animal (I’d provide some sample instructions)
3. Place your ‘sacrifice’ in the bin next to the podium

At the right time of day, say 3:00, the sun will be in the right place to burn the little critters made by the people throughout the previous 24 hours. I would tie the origami to the chain with a bit of string, and maybe leave a few matchsticks underneath as kindling.

I’ll have to do some test runs beforehand, to get the right angles down and positions and all that.

Here’s the hard part:

I am an entrenched atheist. I think all religion’s bullshit, and only serve to cloud the glory of our existence, rather than add to the wonder and mystery that is the universe and our role in it and on this planet.

So, what’s a good atheist to do? I can’t create a ceremony for Lugh, Ra, Helios, Apollo, etc., without making a mockery of either the deities in question, or the whole point of the installation.

I was thinking of approaching it from a Jungian archetype or Hermetic Magic approach. I would talk about the symbolic act of cleansing to burn away things that hold one back, and that we hold the secret to our own salvation.

I don’t know. I'll think of something; I always do