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

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

If you're looking for books about foundational metaphysical laws (and ethics, I'd step away from any cookbook style stuff, and get into the roots- like the Hermetic teachings. These teachings are the foundation of 99% of all modern magical practice, no matter what people claim.

I'd start pestering for "The Kybalion" or general books about the Hermetic tradition.

Hermetica: Lost wisdom of the ancient Pharaohs (Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy)

Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions (Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney)

No woo-woo, no newage nonsense, no l337 p0wrz or nonsense- just good, hard training.

I'm rather surprised that the Stars & Stripes bookstores even bother with any sort of an occult section.

[eiblyn.livejournal.com]

They have exactly one set of shelves, no more and no less. And these books have to share with everything from psychics and ghosts to the Freemasons. I think they are trying to "appear" fair to religious minorities while completely missing the boat as far as carrying books worth reading. There were serious complaints because they have three whole sets of shelves (on average) of books on Christianity. Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely look into these books.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

I was going to ask about the ratio of Christian to 'Other' books there- considering that the US military has become an unofficial 'missionary arm' of certain Christian sects, I would not be a bit surprised to find that bias reflected there.

Is there a lot of overt Christian activity in the ranks that you can see? We talk about that a bit on [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com], but have few 'insider' resources to give us proper readouts. And as Pagans, are you fairly treated, or just tolerated? Do you see any of command-sponsored religious activity, or do the commands give free reign to outside religious interests to contact members?

When I was in the USAF, there was a lot of Evangelical activity, but I have been told that it has escalated a lot since the Bush administration came in. I left in '93.

[eiblyn.livejournal.com]

I could write a book on this *chuckles*. But realistically, things have been better and worse for us than for others I've read about. A lot of the difference in our experiences have been that I grew up military, so I fully understand why, how and when official complaints have to be made or when the power of the civilian is just enough to make things better. elvnsword is also in a non-combat MOS which seems to make a lot of the difference.

As far as overt Christian activity, yes. It's there. It's everywhere. Some things are simple like my husband's NCO consistently standing up in family support group meetings to talk about the church options and the company first sergeant or chaplain offering prayers before group events. These are almost always done to "Father God" or some such, as opposed to more neutral terms, like "Creator," that I find inoffensive. I dealt with the NCO by calming joking to the head of the support group that the next time he stood up and made that announcement, I was going to stand up and announce we were hosting an open circle and it was a bring-your-own-baby event. She had a word with him about it privately and it stopped. Some things have been more derogatory. The chaplaincy informed my husband and I, erroneously, when we first got here that we were not authorized to practice Wicca or perform pagan rituals in our own home, because it is government property, as there is no "distinctive faith group leader" approved on post for paganism or Wicca. We combated that by providing regulations and were later told unofficially that he was simply passing on the guidance given him by his superior. They backpedaled though and that particular chaplain educated himself after the Jewish member of our company confronted him on warning elvnsword about animal sacrifice being unacceptable while in the military but not saying a word to him about it.

elvnsword's chain of command has overall been supportive. I can't help thinking though that some of it is because elvnsword has been seen to file unofficial EO complaints with the EO sergeant to get his point across. He also happens to have some very aware and compassionate officers. They have prevented his NCOs from taking part of his leave time when he gets a pass for religious events and they've counseled NCOs on the inappropriateness of making comments relating to a person's worth because of religion.

We had quite a few issues when we first got here. There were comments made about how elvnsword and I couldn't have a solid marriage because we aren't Christian. There were also comments on how elvnsword must have questionable morals. There were also some instances where a very poor soldier was commended for being a good soldier based solely on his or her church attendance. elvnsword made unofficial EO complaints about these comments and proved through his actions that the allegations against us were completely unfounded. We have been some of the first people to offer help to anyone who needed it, including those who made those comments about us. It sparked an opportunity for respectful questions about our beliefs and how those play out in our lives. It also has brought on a slew of "You are more Christian than most Christians I know." To which elvnsword replies, "I will take that as the compliment it was clearly meant to be. Thank you."

[eiblyn.livejournal.com]

We do not as yet have a distinctive faith group leader (DFGL). We are therefore barred from reserving space on post to use for religious functions. We tend to get around it by hosting feasts in our home that don't include rituals or barbeques. We also network with the other pagans on post and let them know they aren't alone. elvnsword was in the process of becoming recognized for this role, but he got deployed before he could get the paperwork through. Unfortunately, the paperwork does not transfer from post to post, so he would have to start the paperwork all over again downrange and it would only apply while he was deployed. And it would still leave all of us back here without a leader. I have thought about applying but the chaplaincy has been clear that they prefer a soldier because they are required to pay civilians and that is sometimes the deciding factor on approving someone. Other people have applied and been turned down, but they seem to think elvnsword is a good candidate. I think it's partly because he has made a clear distinction between his/our beliefs and Satanism and some of the others have not made such clear distinctions or have been some sort of pagan Satanist. There are also issues with the qualifications to become a DFGL. It requires that you be recognized by a group that has been approved by the army as legitimate. This is a roadblock for many pagans applying, but elvnsword did find a work around for that one.

Overall, we have the most success by being good citizens and neighbors and only raising a ruckus when it is absolutely necessary. It helps that elvnsword is a very hard worker and a good soldier. And I'm the treasurer for the family support group. So we look completely "normal", aside from our jewelry and our glares during group prayer.

[breimh.livejournal.com]

My own take on the idea of books as a form of teaching metaphysical ideals, philosophies or paths not-withstanding, if you're looking for books on Druidry and the druidic path, I'd look for titles by Phillip Carr-Gomm and John and Caitlin Matthews. All of their works have been wonderfully insightful, inspiring and quite on the up-and-up to my better sensabilities.

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?