Recommended Reading on Paganism

September 20, 2013 by Patheos Editors

Continued from Page 1

Christine Hoff Kraemer asks central questions about the varieties of Pagan belief: Why is multiplicity so important to contemporary Pagan understanding of deities? How do Pagans experience divinity in nature? In what way can the human body be a sacred site? And what are "virtue ethics" for Pagans? With an estimated 1.2 million Pagans in the United States and significant numbers elsewhere, Seeking the Mystery is important for Pagan self-understanding and also for non-Pagans who want to understand what their Pagan neighbors believe. This short introduction to Pagan theology-or better, theologies-is a valuable primer for students and practitioners alike.

Nigel Pennick, The Pagan Book of Days: A Guide to the Festivals, Traditions, and Sacred Days of the Year

A daybook containing information about rituals and celebrations that have for centuries been associated with the changing seasons of the year

Sarah Pike, Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and the Search for Community

Sarah Pike's engrossing ethnography is the outcome of five years attending neo-pagan festivals, interviewing participants, and sometimes taking part in their ceremonies. Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves explores larger issues in the United States regarding the postmodern self, utopian communities, cultural improvisation, and contemporary spirituality. Her personal experience and insightful scholarly work concerning ritual, sacred space, self-identity, and narrative result is a compelling portrait of this frequently misunderstood religious movement.

Starhawk,Diane Baker, and Anne Hill,Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions

Goddess tradition embraces the wheel of life, the never-ending cycle of birth, growth, love, fulfillment, and death. Each turn of the wheel is presented here, in eight holidays spanning the changing seasons, in rites of passage for life transitions, and in the elements of fire, air, water, earth, and spirit. Circle Round is rich with songs, rituals, craft and cooking projects, and read-aloud stories, as well as suggestions for how you can create your own unique family traditions

Thea Sabin, Wicca for Beginners: Fundamentals of Philosophy & Practice

Wicca for Beginners provides a solid foundation to Wicca without limiting the reader to one tradition or path. Embracing both the spiritual and the practical, Wicca for Beginners is a primer on the philosophies, culture, and beliefs behind the religion, without losing the mystery that draws many students to want to learn. Detailing practices such as grounding, raising energy, visualization, and meditation, this book offers exercises for core techniques before launching into more complicated rituals and spellwork.

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