ellen@ucla-cs.UUCP (10/22/84)
[ "Holy Hairy Wombats, Batman!"]
hi!
due to a generally positive response, i'm posting an annotated
listing of Pagan/Wiccan books. thanks to everyone who sent
positive and curious messages. to others: please keep the
discussion on the net. any other unanswered questions may be dealt
with on a personal basis, if i can figure out how to send mail
on uucp.
i'm glad to see some people expressing a healthy interest in
contemporary paganism, not necessarily interest in converting
(after all, one has to find the most suitable way for oneself),
but at least an interest in learing more. personally,
i think that the healthiest attitude is a desire to learn more,
not to sit complacently, thinking one has found the final answer.
here are several books i would recommend, of various flavors.
i recommend them because i feel they are well-written, interesting
to read, and useful. i do not necessarily agree 100% with everything
expressed therein. i'm not an occultist nor do i think that
all of humankind's great discoveries and creations were inspired
by little green men from Sirius.
BOOK LIST
1. `Drawing Down the Moon' by Margot Adler, Beacon, 1981 (paper).
an over-view of paganism in the US. interviews with originators
of various serious sects; good bibliography, although its list
of periodicals is out-of-date. a serious journalistic, book,
not sensationalistic. not flaky. (unless you assume that
beliefs alien to one's own are either fiction or superstition)
2. `The Spiral Dance' by Starhawk, Harper & Row, 1979 (paper).
a BEAUTIFUL book. useful to almost anyone because of its
deep spirituality. very well-written, well-organized,
concise, poetic, expressive. Clear descriptions of the reason
for the existance of contemporary Witchcraft, its meaning and
usefulness as a spiritual path; the tools of the Craft, their
meaning and use; ceremonies; solo and group work; symbolic
associations (color, direction, ritual objects, herbs, days,
planets, spiritual entities, etc.) THE NUMBER ONE BOOK about
the contemporary way of the Craft. Read this before you flame.
(BTW, why HAVE you been eating brimstone?)
3. `Mother Wit: A Feminist Guide to Psychic Development; Exercises for
Healing, Growth, and Spiritual Awareness' by Diane Mariechild,
The Crossing Press, 1981 (paper).
DON'T BE THROWN BY THE TITLE. a friend of mine (a MAN, NOT gay
or a witch) uses it for guided meditation/visualization.
the book is female-oriented but NOT exclusive of males. the
author has two sons and they are included in her spiritual
practice. the Craft is good for men, too. (`Spiral Dance'
explains clearly - relates to Jung's ideas, too.) covers topics
like meditation, healing, witchcraft, self-affirmation, dream
work, spirituality for children, etc... each chapter contains
meditations and guided visualizations on the topic being discussed.
gentle, loving, and lovely.
4. `Positive Magic: Occult Self-Help' by Marion Weinstein, Phoenix
Publishing Co., 1981.
this book is not really about occult matters, but about
alternative methods of self-help and personal problem solving.
the author covers topics such a magic, positive and negative
and ceremonial (she is opposed to so-called black magic);
various coersive religious cults and how to guard oneself against
them; witchcraft as a contemporary religion; using the Tarot,
astrology, I Ching for personal growth; self-affirmation tech-
niques, etc... extensive and reasonable.
5. `Real Magic' by P.E.I. (Isaac) Bonewits, Creative Arts Book Co.,
1971, revised 1979 (paper).
this is the guy who got a B.A. in Magic, from UC-Berkeley,
legitimately, back in the '70's. he's rather arrogant (this
is from personal experience, not mine, but a friend's) and
he believes in things that i don't, such as various psychic
phenomenon (i'm agnostic on psi-phenomenon). he's serious,
intelligent, obnoxious, and VERY FUNNY (huh? well, Magic
is a system of paradoxes that work together. read this book
and see how).
when i have more time, i may post quotes from some of the above books,
or others i have in my library (sure i'm demonic: i am a BOOK FIEND).
contacting Pagan groups is not always easy, because of persecution
on the part of believers in other traditional religions, fundamentalist
Christians in particular, and general lack of understanding on the part
of most people who unfortunately know little about the true beliefs of
less established religions. however, Pagan and Wiccan groups on the
East coast, the Mid-West, in the South are much more overt and aggressive
than they are here in Southern California. one way to find out what's
going on is to go to metaphysical book stores and those bizarre occult
shops which exist in most big cities, take classes, and watch for
flyers and announcements.
there are many sensationalistic books on related subjects (witchcraft,
the occult, ritual magic, satanism) and i have a few of them, too.
in many cases, the authors are believers in the subjects on which they
write, but, unfortunately, these books are not intelligently written or
well-organized. these play right into the hands of antagonistic non-
believers by enforcing old stereotypes, but they can be fun and funny
to read. sure, i get a little angry at them sometimes, but i can laugh
about them, too.
i would like to hear how people feel about these books, after reading them.
i also read on art history, yoga, tantrism, taoism, sufism, gnosticism,
as well as buddhism, and occasionally on Judaeism-Christianity-Islam,
tho' the last batch remain too paternalistic and patriarchial for me.
[ happy trails to you.....]lab@qubix.UUCP (Q-Bick) (10/26/84)
> 5. `Real Magic' by P.E.I. (Isaac) Bonewits, Creative Arts Book Co., > 1971, revised 1979 (paper). > this is the guy who got a B.A. in Magic, from UC-Berkeley, > legitimately, back in the '70's. A degree in Magic? There aren't that many aspiring prestidigitators out there, so I can only conclude that a *state-supported* school has established a religion. -- The Ice Floe of Larry Bickford {amd,decwrl,sun,idi,ittvax}!qubix!lab You can't settle the issue until you've settled how to settle the issue.
smb@ulysses.UUCP (Steven Bellovin) (10/29/84)
> From: lab@qubix.UUCP (Q-Bick) > Subject: Re: Other Spiritual Paths: BOOK LIST > Message-ID: <1467@qubix.UUCP> > Date: Fri, 26-Oct-84 15:12:26 EST > > > 5. `Real Magic' by P.E.I. (Isaac) Bonewits, Creative Arts Book Co., > > 1971, revised 1979 (paper). > > this is the guy who got a B.A. in Magic, from UC-Berkeley, > > legitimately, back in the '70's. > > A degree in Magic? There aren't that many aspiring prestidigitators out > there, so I can only conclude that a *state-supported* school has > established a religion. > -- > The Ice Floe of Larry Bickford > {amd,decwrl,sun,idi,ittvax}!qubix!lab Come now... Anything, from magic as a sociological phenomenon to magic as a religion to christianity as a religion is a fitting subject for academic inquiry. The only constraint I'd apply is that the matter be studied academically, not theologically. There are many religion departments at secular (and state-supported) universities; they're merely a recognition that religions exist, and have had significant impacts on society, philosphy, etc. It would be discriminatory to say that such departments were allowed to study Christianity only, or "Judaeo-Christian" [sic] religions only. I don't even object to *objective* study of religion in lower grades, though I think it would be a poor idea. Even at the university level, many students can't handle the conflict between academic opinions and their own religious beliefs; I'd hate to see what would happen to an elementary-school teacher who (for example) questioned the authorship of the Torah (Five Books of Moses). --Steve Bellovin
lab@qubix.UUCP (Q-Bick) (10/31/84)
> > > this is the guy who got a B.A. in Magic, from UC-Berkeley, > > > legitimately, back in the '70's. > > [me] > > A degree in Magic? There aren't that many aspiring prestidigitators out > > there, so I can only conclude that a *state-supported* school has > > established a religion. > [Steve Bellovin] > Come now... Anything, from magic as a sociological phenomenon to magic as a > religion to christianity as a religion is a fitting subject for academic > inquiry. The only constraint I'd apply is that the matter be studied > academically, not theologically. There are many religion departments at > secular (and state-supported) universities; they're merely a recognition > that religions exist, and have had significant impacts on society, philosphy, > etc. It would be discriminatory to say that such departments were allowed to > study Christianity only, or "Judaeo-Christian" [sic] religions only. A degree in religion or religious studies is one thing. A degree in Magic/Christianity/Islam/Buddhism/Ubizmo/... is something else. -- The Ice Floe of Larry Bickford {amd,decwrl,sun,idi,ittvax}!qubix!lab You can't settle the issue until you've settled how to settle the issue.