Pagan Book Section

[eiblyn]

So we have a fairly limited selection of pagan books here. They get new ones occasionally, but it's usually just the same old basic level drivel that I've glanced through and thrown down in disgust or things that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Anything that has goth in the title or has the title written in a font not easily read is right out of consideration. Today we had roughly 8 hours to kill so I went and sat down with one of the books that I had no interest in reading, but that they seem to keep ordering copies of, so someone must be buying them. I was reading through and finally managed to put my finger on what it was that made me so uneasy about the book. This book is on druids and the modern druid religion. So why should the first section of this book be on magic and the powers that druids have? It makes absolutely no sense to give someone the axe before they've learned to swing it and it is dangerous!! It scared me actually, because the ethics and spiritual aspects of druidism/druidry were the last section of the book. It seems that more and more books are following this trend. It saddens me. Plus it really makes the whole of paganism look trite. I hate to say this, but when the biggest focus of our beginner books seem to be on "powers" and "magic(k)," then we are missing out on a lot. And we create an environment where people aren't given the tools they need to make positive decisions for the well-being of themselves and others. That's how people get themselves into messes they don't know how to get out of. It is hard to come to any path solely through books and stumbling in the dark; this is even more difficult when those sources you can get your hands on are full of crap and when your religious texts have less guidance for your conscience than Spiderman does there's something amiss.

Incidentally, anyone have some decent suggestions of higher level books to read? I wish I could trim down what I'm looking for, but I'm not sure what it is myself. Maybe if you all make suggestions, I can look and find something that pulls.

Comments

Here ya go!

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

True Magick by Amber K

Witchcraft Today by Chas S. Clifton (three volumes)

Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner

Witchcraft for Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente

Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft by Ray Buckland

The Spiral Dance by Starhawk

Drawing Down The Moon by Margot Adler

Walkers Between the Worlds by John and Caitlin Matthews

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Wheel of the Year by Pauline and Dan Campanelli

A Book of Pagan Ritual by Herman Slater

Creating Circles and Ceremonies by Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca Craft by Miria Liguana and Nina Metzner

Tarot for Every Day by Cait Johnson

Coven Craft by Amber K

Dreamtime and Inner Space by Holger Kalweit

Fire In The Head by Tom Cowan

The Training and Work of an Initiate by Dion Fortune

Maat Magick by Nema

.... some of these may be out of print by now, though. Most (if not all) of these authors have other books as well. They all have reviews on Amazon.com, to which I had provided links, but then Frank the Goat came and ate my post, so I had to rewrite the whole thing.

Heh, long ago one of my students said that studying with me was like standing behind a dump-truck full of books and hollering "Okay, let'er go!". He got that right, you betcha. BTW, three of the above authors were my own Initiatory students, so I had some input in their books as they were writing them. Won't tell which three, though; all I'll say is that Gerald Gardner was not one of them. :)

Enjoy!

Links to Amazon.com reviews restored...

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Over here.

Re: Here ya go!

[eiblyn.livejournal.com]

Had a question. Did you mean all three volumes of Witchcraft Today by Chas S. Clifton?