Pagan religious study.

[Silicon Hero]

Hello all!
I am undertaking a study of pagan/neopagan religions and I would like to know what some of your "holy texts" would be and how I could get them. Please post the name of the religion and the name of the text and any info or comment you wish.
Thank ya!

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Hi, Silicon!

I'm afraid that most pagans write their own 'holy texts'- some call them 'book of shadows' or by another name. I'm not sure if we have any official holy texts.

 

[Gentoo]

That would be a lot easier if we had one As far as I know, there is no pagan 'holy book'.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Would you like ones that we, individually, consider holy? Or maybe books that might be good to read in order to gain an understanding of our path? (We tend to be book-oriented people, hehee!)

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Thier is the Wiches Bible by Jannet and Stuart Fannar.
My favorite author is Konstantinos.

Allthough I have to agree with Feathers, that thier aren't any 'Holy Text', such as a Bible, Koran, or Torah.

 

[Zephyr]

Well I'm really a different sort of pagan around these parts (whether I fit in this subforum or not is up for debate) but we do have religious texts of sorts. I'd recomend checking out the Poetic and Prose Eddas, the Havamal, and some of our many Norse sagas. You can also see all sorts of crazy old historical documents that will help illustrate it all. We Heathens sure love historical validity.

 

[BFD_Zayl]

with us our religious scriptures are passed from master to apprentice, we memorize these, and pass them to the next line. suffice to say i cannot give you any, even if i did feel like typing for a very long time i have obligations that prevent me from telling you. i apologize

 

[Burchfam]

Hello all!
I am undertaking a study of pagan/neopagan religions and I would like to know what some of your "holy texts" would be and how I could get them. Please post the name of the religion and the name of the text and any info or comment you wish.
Thank ya!

You might consider the Oera Linda Book, which can be found on my website linked below.

 

[Kay]

Depends on what you mean by "pagan." For early Mediterranean area pagans, Plato's writings were somewhat holy, as were many Hermetic texts. The same held true for many Gnostics (who also incorporated Paul's writings).

Pagan is such a broad term.

 

[Silicon Hero]

Pagan is such a broad term.

Yea I know hehe. There are many religions that fit under it. I guess you could say the types of pagan that people typically think of. If that helps at all.

Hi, Silicon!

I'm afraid that most pagans write their own 'holy texts'- some call them 'book of shadows' or by another name. I'm not sure if we have any official holy texts.

Could you explain a little bit more about this "Book of Shadows"? I have read about it before, but have only found vague information on it. Maybe I am just looking in the wrong places xD.

 

[Radio Frequency X]

Hello all!
I am undertaking a study of pagan/neopagan religions and I would like to know what some of your "holy texts" would be and how I could get them. Please post the name of the religion and the name of the text and any info or comment you wish.
Thank ya!

A Wiccan Bible, By AJ Drew
Witchcraft In Europe, 1100-1700, By Alan C. Kors
Drawing Down the Moon, by Margret Adler
A History of Pagan Europe, by Prudence Jones
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy, by Ronald Hutton
The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton
The Paganism Reader by Chas Clifton, Chas S. Clifton, and Graham Harvey


In Hinduism: Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Bhagavad Gita.

Egypt:
The Ancient Pyramid Texts, R. O. Faulkner, Aris & Phillips, Warminster, 1969.
The Book of the Dead, The Papyrus of Ani, E. A. Wallis Budge, Dover Reprint, New York, 1967.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Book of the Going Forth by Day, R. O. Faulkner, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1994.

Wicca:
The White Goddess, By Robert Graves
Aradia, Gospel of the Witches, by Charles G. Leland [1899]
The Syrian Goddess translated by Herbert A. Strong [1913]

 

[Mike182]

The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy, by Ronald Hutton
The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton

ah yes, the truely exhalted one!

Ronald Hutton is the leading historian in the field of neo-pagan religions and their origins, plus a damn good public speaker! these are two books i myself will be looking to buy - thanks for the reminder!

Edit: as to the book of shadows, it is basically a diary that a Pagan may choose to keep to record feelings and experiences during his or her life, stick in astrological charts if their ritual workings rely on astrological principles (like lunar phases, for example) or for sticking in copies of favourite poems, stories, recipies, photos of friends and relatives.... it's basically a very personal book that you make yourself, and add to untill you run out of pages.... then you either add more pages (if it's a ring binder) or buy another book, and carry on