Your key book on paganism

[Drolefille]

Just fishing for reading recommendations and I'd like it if people would suggest their number one (and yes just your number one) book on paganism.

Doesn't have to be targeted at the newbie (or the oldbie).


The only break from the "number one" rule is if you have any fiction books with paganism themes you'd like to recommend, I've read.. most... of the House of Night series (it got really... really... bad.) for example and one of the two authors has written some Goddess focused books that were interesting if romance-y.

Suggestions?

 

[Deidre]

You know, I know very little about paganism, and would like to read about it more.
I will be lurking in this thread.

 

[te_lanus]

That's a difficult question. I can tell you my #1 writer (Scott Cunningham) but #1 book (ooh me don't know)

But currently reading Llewellyn's 2015 witches companion.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Just fishing for reading recommendations and I'd like it if people would suggest their number one (and yes just your number one) book on paganism.

Doesn't have to be targeted at the newbie (or the oldbie).


The only break from the "number one" rule is if you have any fiction books with paganism themes you'd like to recommend, I've read.. most... of the House of Night series (it got really... really... bad.) for example and one of the two authors has written some Goddess focused books that were interesting if romance-y.

Suggestions?

Gosh, that's a hard one, since I love to read. Here is a pagan book I keep at my side. It's not a how-to book or anything like that. It's called People of the Earth (The New Pagans Speak Out) by Ellen Evert Hopman and Lawerence Bond.

Synopsis:

Who are the Pagans, and what do they stand for?....Ellen Evert Hopman's own spiritual search led her down one of the most ancient religious paths and inspired her to seek out others who had discovered Paganism...People of the Earth is the first book to allow a variety of Pagan leaders and teachers to describe in their own words what they believe and what they practice. From Solfinna, an authority of Norse runes, to Oberon G'Zell, founder of the Church of All Worlds and publisher of the magazine Green Egg; from Lord Theodore Mills, a priest of Isis, to Margot Alder, an NPR reporter and author of Drawing Down the Moon, those interviewed in this book expressed the rich diversity of modern Paganism.

--end synopsis--

It's really easy to understand and laid out well. I like it because it reminds me that even though I share many different faiths, at heart I will always be a lady of the earth.
Amazon.com: People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out (9780892815593): Ellen Evert Hopman, Lawrence Bond: Books
You can get it at your metaphysical store I think. I got mine for $3.00 at a used bookstore.

Believe or not, some of Llewellyn's books have some good things in it just don't take everything at word value.

EDIT: Oh, I forgot, I got The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Practical Magic by Susan Greenwood and Raje Airey
The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Practical Magic: A Visual Guide to the Histo: Susan Greenwood: 9781846810442: Amazon.com: Books

Synopsis: A visual guide to the history and practice of magic through the ages--its origins, ancient traditions, language, learning, ways and rituals, and great practitioners. --end synopsis--

In addition to detailed historical and anthropological study...guide to contemporary magic...how to for beginners... over 60 spells.. and a lot of illustration

 

[Ingledsva]

I know you said one - but you get two. LOL!

If you are really interested in Paganism, especially Northern Paganism, you should read these books which have a lot of info on the whys.

THE WHITE GODDESS by Robert Graves. This covers many Pagan religions, and where a lot of their ceremonies, traditions, etc., come from. For instance it explains different Gods and Goddesses, Runes, The Tree Alphabet, and how such were used in Bardic Verse and lore.

For instance he tells us the Beth-Luis-Nion tree Alphabet was used in Druidism for divination. He says Nion is the Ash. In Ireland the Tree of Tortu, The Tree of Dathi, The Branching Tree of Usnech. It is also the Great Ash Yygdrasill, sacred to Woden/Oden. The Norns of Scandinavian legend, dispensed justice under the Ash.

He discusses the War of the Trees, and the magic associated with each. He even points out a tree section in the Bible.

Jdg 9:7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.

Jdg 9:8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

Jdg 9:9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

Jdg 9:10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.

Jdg 9:11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

Jdg 9:12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

Jdg 9:13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

Jdg 9:14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

Jdg 9:15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

The other is THE GOLDEN BOUGH by James G. Frazer - long, dry, and repetitive, but again, full of information.

*

 

[Drolefille]

Y'all suck at following instructions Thanks for the advice so far. Looking for more

 

[Riverwolf]

If you have a #1 of anything, you haven't experienced enough of that category. ^_^

Honestly, I just read the Old Stories.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

Few religions can be encapsulated in one book, unless they're made-up ones with a "sacred text".

My minimal set would be
Greek religion, by Walter Burkert.
Hellenic polytheism: household worship, published by Labrys
Hymns and initiations, translated by Thomas Taylor

 

[Jainarayan]

Honestly, I just read the Old Stories.

If I understand correctly, you mean the original mythology and lore... Eddas, Sagas, etc. If so I agree. I'm suspicious of novels that are based on that, no matter how well researched. To that end, if we're talking about original writings, I'd go with the Prose Edda as #1 book on Asatru.

Honorable mentions:

• The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland.
• Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson.

 

[Riverwolf]

If I understand correctly, you mean the original mythology and lore... Eddas, Sagas, etc. If so I agree. I'm suspicious of novels that are based on that, no matter how well researched. To that end, if we're talking about original writings, I'd go with the Prose Edda as #1 book on Asatru.

Honorable mentions:

• The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland.
• Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson.

For historically accurate information, yeah, modern novels aren't the way to go. I, personally, don't use the Prose Edda much simply because of its author, and do prefer the Poetic Edda. I've also, sadly, not yet read the Sagas.

Though when I say the Old Stories, I'm talking about more than just Nordic Lore. As I follow a more Anglic form, I also take into account that body of Lore: legends of King Arthur, lays of Robin Hood, etc. I also take into account Folktales such as those collected by the Brothers Grimm. These may all have Christian overtones, but beneath them are echoes and shadows of the Old Way.

 

[Jainarayan]

I, personally, don't use the Prose Edda much simply because of its author...

Do tell!

Yeah, I should add that anyone reading the Prose Edda for the first time may be (may be?) taken aback by the Prologue... I sure as hell was!

Though when I say the Old Stories, I'm talking about more than just Nordic Lore. As I follow a more Anglic form, I also take into account that body of Lore: legends of King Arthur, lays of Robin Hood, etc. I also take into account Folktales such as those collected by the Brothers Grimm. These may all have Christian overtones, but beneath them are echoes and shadows of the Old Way.

Ooh yeah! Love those stories. But Errol Flynn will always be the consummate Robin Hood. I gottz me a copy of Beowulf in Anglo-Saxon on one page, Modern English on the next. I read Beowulf in h.s. or college. Looking forward to reading it again. It reads very much like The Eaters of the Dead and The 13th Warrior...

Wait, wut!?

Seriously, as I get more into the old stories I cannot get over how much Tolkien actually did draw from them, sometimes almost word for word and name for name. But when I watched The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey I was puzzled why Gandalf burned fehu on Bilbo's door instead of gebo for 'G' as the mark of Gandalf. Maybe X is too pedestrian and doesn't really look like a rune.

 

[Riverwolf]

Do tell!

Yeah, I should add that anyone reading the Prose Edda for the first time may be (may be?) taken aback by the Prologue... I sure as hell was!

Yeah...

Well, that, and Sturlson was, I understand, just a generally horrible person.

Ooh yeah! Love those stories. But Errol Flynn will always be the consummate Robin Hood.

Costner's American accent in Medieval England all the way, here. ^_^

I gottz me a copy of Beowulf in Anglo-Saxon on one page, Modern English on the next.

I got Seamus Heaney's bi-lingual translation. ^_^

And one of these days, Imma pick up the DVD of Benjamin Bagby's performance of the poem.

I read Beowulf in h.s. or college. Looking forward to reading it again. It reads very much like The Eaters of the Dead and The 13th Warrior...

Wait, wut!?

Seriously, as I get more into the old stories I cannot get over how much Tolkien actually did draw from them, sometimes almost word for word and name for name. But when I watched The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey I was puzzled why Gandalf burned fehu on Bilbo's door instead of gebo for 'G' as the mark of Gandalf. Maybe X is too pedestrian and doesn't really look like a rune.

...huh. I didn't notice, but... yeah. I think in popular conception, fehu is kind of the symbol for runes in general, so that's probably why. Still wrong, though. LOL

 

[Jainarayan]

Yeah...

Well, that, and Sturlson was, I understand, just a generally horrible person.

Well, he was a Chri... nevermind, we won't go there.

Costner's American accent in Medieval England all the way, here. ^_^

He was speaking? I wasn't listening to him.

I got Seamus Heaney's bi-lingual translation. ^_^

D'oh! that's the one!

...huh. I didn't notice, but... yeah. I think in popular conception, fehu is kind of the symbol for runes in general, so that's probably why. Still wrong, though. LOL

It was no special talent, I kept trying to catch what runes were used where. I think Kili's talisman stone started with algiz, but I couldn't see the rest.

 

[Riverwolf]

It was no special talent, I kept trying to catch what runes were used where. I think Kili's talisman stone started with algiz, but I couldn't see the rest.

I admit, I'm not terribly familiar with the Runes, so whenever they pop up in movies I'm not really looking for which Rune it is.

 

[Jainarayan]

I admit, I'm not terribly familiar with the Runes, so whenever they pop up in movies I'm not really looking for which Rune it is.

Believe me, I'm nowhere near proficient. I know less than half of them, and that's being generous.

 

[Quintessence]

Depends largely on what I am recommending for.

There are two works I recommend for introductions, readable by those interested in possibly walking the path or those just wanting to know more as outsiders:

"Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religion" by J. and R. Higginbotham

"Seeking the Mystery: An Introduction to Pagan Theologies" by C.H. Kraemer​

For those interested in the history of contemporary Paganism from a more academic or scholarly perspective, I would honestly read all of them, but in particular:

"Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America" by C.S. Clifton

Anything by S. Greenwood, such as "The Nature of Magic: An Anthropology of Consciousness," "The Anthropology of Magic," or "Magic, Witchcraft and the Otherworld: An Anthropology." ​

If you're looking for something that will give you a good idea of the flavor of my path specifically, you'd want to read something like:

"The Earth Path: Grounding your Spirit in the Rhythms of Nature" by Starhawk

"The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature" by D.T. Suzuki​

I really have not done a lot of reading in the literature for the past several years, so I'm not as in touch with new releases as I used to be. There are a number of folks who are on my reading list, such as any of the works by Brenden Meyers and Emma Restall Orr. Just haven't gotten to them yet.

 

[Drolefille]

You guys really do suck at instructions

The limitation was to try to give me a reasonable reading list instead of the piles I just got :-/ Not because I Think any one belief system can be summed up in a single book.

 

[Quintessence]

Well, in my view, asking for a single book on Neopaganism is like asking for a single cook book. That doesn't do much good unless I know what kind of food you're wanting to eat. Different sources serve different niches. If you're in the mood for salads, doesn't make much sense to recommend a cook book of crock pot recipes. Ya get me?

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

The only introductory book I ever read was What do Pagans Believe? by Graham Harvey.

It's a short primer - only about 90 pages long and it tends to focus mostly on the more prevalent paths like Wicca, Druidry and Heathenry, maybe mentioning others a handful of times. Not great if you want to learn specifically about paths other than these but it's very good if you're looking for a basic introduction into popular Paganisms and associated elements like green politics, environmentalism etc.

 

[Drolefille]

Well, in my view, asking for a single book on Neopaganism is like asking for a single cook book. That doesn't do much good unless I know what kind of food you're wanting to eat. Different sources serve different niches. If you're in the mood for salads, doesn't make much sense to recommend a cook book of crock pot recipes. Ya get me?

I do, but sometimes you just want to learn about food, all kinds of it. I've sat down and read cookbooks - old ones, REALLY old ones, French cuisine, street food, etc. - just for the food knowledge.

If I were looking for a flavor I'd narrow it down for people, but I'm just looking for learning. I'm not actually upset FWIW, just amused and teasing y'all.