PaganSquare


PaganSquare is a community blog space where Pagans can discuss topics relevant to the life and spiritual practice of all Pagans.

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Login
    Login Login form
Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in Pagan books

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

They're burning books in Tennessee. Supposedly "witchcraft" books, and I would tell you all to go read them, except they mean Harry Potter.

Read that too, if you wish, and if you haven't already. I haven't read it myself, but some younger people I know loved it as kids. The controversy over Harry Potter is that it supposedly promotes witchcraft. The author has become controversial due to anti-trans statements on social media, but the book series does not have much to do with that. There are ways to read a book without putting your money into it, if that is a concern for you.

...
Last modified on
Three cheers for oral traditions, and two for texts

 Unlike Abrahamic and Dharmic traditions, modern NeoPaganism has no texts regarded as divinely inspired. Perhaps the closest for some is the Hermetica, a late Classical text supposedly dictated by Hermes Trismegistus, but parts of which are truly ancient. Most NeoPagans have never read it, nor does it play much role in our practice. To the best of my knowledge, the Hermetica has never been used to determine who is, or is not, a NeoPagan. Nor, to my knowledge, are equivalent texts found in other Pagan traditions, unless you include Hinduism, which is usually included in the Dharmic traditions.

The New Forest Coven,  with whom Gerald Gardner  circled,  called themselves Wican (with one ‘c.’) The earliest Wican Book of Shadows about which we know was filled with directions for rituals and spell casting. Just as important, according to Gardner, these original texts were  fragmentary. To flesh them out, Gardner and Doreen Valiente  added important parts to create the existing Gardnerian BOS. As some have observed, a BOS is much more like a ‘cookbook’ than a scripture.

...
Last modified on
Recent comment in this post - Show all comments
  • Anthony Gresham
    Anthony Gresham says #
    About a month ago I got on Reddit. In one of the subreddits someone asked if there was a male counterpart to the Maiden, Mother,

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Theographies

In the intellectual adventure that is modern paganism, we've reached a pretty significant milestone.

We've actually created a new literary genre: the theography.*

I'll define a theography as, broadly, a book about a specific god.**

Some contemporary theographies are anthologies, with contributions by various writers. Others are a single author's tribute to a particular god.

I'm reading one such now.

I'm enjoying the book. My relationship with my own patron being what it is, I'm always interested to hear what other people have to say about their relationships with theirs.

Every theography must balance traditional lore with contemporary experience, and this author does a good job of doing just that. The book is both well-written and entertaining, with hymns, stories, rituals, and a thorough bibliography. All in all, it's much what you would want from a theography: both informative and useful.

But something is missing here. It's not so much what is being said as what isn't.

Last modified on
Every Day Magic: A Pagan Book of Days - Call for Submissions

Moon Books, the Paganism/Shamanism imprint of John Hunt Publishing, is accepting submissions for their 365 title Every Day Magic: A Pagan Book of Days. Deadline is September 15, 2016.

Editor Lucya Szachnowski invites you to write 80 words or less on pagan festivals, anniversaries, deities, practices, celebrated figures, observances, etc. Submissions can be spells, rituals, meditations, pagan prayers, aphorisms, divinatory techniques, recipes and craft projects. Be creative!

...
Last modified on
Book Review: The Other Side of Virtue by Brendan Myers

Brendan Myers is a Canadian Pagan author who has done two very difficult things.  One is that he has broken out of the Canadian market; the other is that he has broken out of the Pagan market.  He's a professor of philosophy in Gatineau, Quebec and this, plus his background in Druidry and Humanistic Paganism have come together in his 2008 book The Other Side of Virtue: Where Our Virtues Come from, What They Really Mean, and Where They Might Be Taking Us.  I've had a signed copy of this book sitting on my "to read" shelf since I saw Brendan at the Western Gate Festival a couple of years ago, but only now finally got around to finding time to read it.  I'm sorry I waited.

This book could be a modern manifesto for humanistic Paganism; but its theories can also be applied to most modern Pagan practice.  And it could also be read and enjoyed by humanists and naturalists of any faith. It could possibly even be held up to Neil deGrasse Tyson and Stephen Hawking as an answer on the value of philosophy.  Philosophy is not dead, Myers argues.  It has merely changed form.  A hard-core rationalist might ask "What use does philosophy have in the modern scientific and rational world?"  The answer is "to teach us how to live a good life without faith to fall back on."  But that being said, it does not challenge the existence of faith; rather, it suggests that ethics and values are essential and positive driving forces that cross the boundaries of religion or spirituality, and are equally applicable to everyone.

...
Last modified on

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

Kerr CuhulainKerr Cuhulain is an influential Canadian Pagan author. The first openly-Pagan cop in North America, Kerr’s work with the Vancouver Police Department, and his regular column at Witchvox, “Witch Hunts,” along with his book, “The Law Enforcement’s Guide to Wicca,” probably did more to help eliminate the systematic persecution of Pagans from the Satanic Panic than any other source. Recently retired from his involvement with the law enforcement to the Sunshine Coast, Kerr has retreated into a quiet life of writing and contemplation. I caught up with Kerr when discussing Vancouver Pagan Pride Day:

Question: Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! Tell us a little about yourself. Who is the man behind the story?

...
Last modified on

Hello there!  Thank you to all of you who entered the giveaway!  I only had one entry so she got the books!  Here's my Google Hangouts on Air video revealing the winner and talking about the next giveaway:

...
Last modified on
Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Debbie Edgett
    Debbie Edgett says #
    Merry meet... so am I to understand you MUST donate to win? Just found your blogs and it is just what I am looking for to help m
  • Sable Aradia
    Sable Aradia says #
    Hi Debbie! Yes, that is correct. My way of contributing to the cause. Either way thanks for connecting and if I am of help in y

Additional information