Every religion is both a product of its times and, to the degree its vision takes hold of practitioners, transforms those times.Ours is no exception. I think Pagans interested in our larger significance within American society as a whole will want to take a look at my new book, Faultlines: the Sixties, the Culture War, and the Return of the Divine Feminine, published last month by Quest.
It was as a guest at a NROOGD Midsummer Sabbat many years ago that I had my first and most powerful encounter with the Wiccan Goddess. After that encounter my life existed in a context I had not even imagined possible. It would be years before I began to grasp how different.
After I posted my very long list of recommended Wicca books, a couple of people asked if I would post a list just for beginners. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order.
The Spiral Dance by Starhawk
The Spiral Dance was written around 1979, when there were almost no beginner Wiccan or Pagan books on the market. Many, many people were introduced to the Craft through this book. It’s well-structured and full of great information and extremely useful exercises, meditations, and rituals. I have some quibbles with Starhawk’s view of the Goddess in history, and this book is a bit female-centric, but it is gorgeously written and can help women and men alike build a strong foundational practice. Get the most updated version if you can.
I frequently find myself inspired by the books I read, and sometimes, a good memoir can even encourage my wanderlust. I wanted to share three titles with you today that have me itching to get up and go experience the goddesses of these places:
I’m new to Wicca/I have been studying Wicca for a few years. What books do you recommend?
I am asked this question a lot! These are books I have liked myself and/or recommended to students. If you're a beginner--or even if you're not--don't feel like I'm telling you to read all of them. This is a starting point for further exploration. Pick what interests you, and leave the rest.
Per the suggestions in the comments, I will put together a top ten for absolute beginners. The books below are for everyone, not just newcomers.
As we roll around to a new year, I find myself reminiscing, thinking over the many many novels, anthologies, poetry collections, and graphic novels which I have read over the course of 2012. Most have faded, reduced to scattered scenes or memorable lines. Others remain more coherent, plot lines complete. A few notable books remain completely intact in my memory, characters permanently etched into my consciousness.
Life is too short to waste on bad books. As such, here are my literary discoveries of 2012. Some are brand new books, just published; others are new to me; still others qualify as rediscoveries, books read many years ago and mislaid or forgotten.
This month we’ll take a look at pagan elements in children’s fiction, beginning with the popular classic The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. Part of what makes this book a treasure is the magical aspects that exist right alongside the contemporary world. Cooper uses pagan symbols, like the number seven, magical names, and a one-horned man to weave her tale. Let’s look closer at the origins of these ideas.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...
Janet Boyer
I love the idea of green burials! I first heard of Recompose right before it launched. I wish there were more here on the East Coast; that's how I'd l...