A comprehensive guide to a growing religious movement
If you want to study Paganism in more detail, this book is the place to start. Based on a course in Paganism that the authors have taught for more than a decade, it is full of exercises, meditations, and discussion questions for group or individual study.
This book presents the basic fundamentals of Paganism. It explores what Pagans are like; how the Pagan sacred year is arranged; what Pagans do in ritual; what magick is; and what Pagans believe about God, worship, human nature, and ethics.
For those who are exploring their own spirituality, or who want a good book to give to non-Pagan family and friends A hands-on learning tool with magickal workings, meditations, discussion questions, and journal exercises Offers in-depth discussion of ethics and magick
By:
River Higginbotham,
Joyce Higginbotham
Imprint: Llewellyn Publications,U.S.
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions:
Height: 232mm,
Width: 190mm,
Spine: 17mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780738702223
ISBN 10: 0738702226
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 08 July 2002
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Contents Acknowledgments / xi Introduction / xiii 1 What is Paganism? 1 General Characteristics of Paganism / 3 What Does ""Pagan"" Mean? / 6 Who Is a Pagan? / 7 How Many Pagans Are There? / 12 Where Pagans Come From and What They're Like / 13 What Pagans Do and When They Do It / 15 An Earth-Centered Religion / 16 The Wheel of the Year / 16 Rites of Passage / 25 What Is a Ritual? / 30 What Happens in a Ritual? / 30 Ritual Tools and Symbols / 33 Is Ritual All Pagans Do? / 38 What Do Pagans Believe? / 38 Principles of Paganism / 39 2 You Are What You Believe 45 How Do Beliefs Work? / 46 What Is a Belief System? / 54 Claiming the Power to Choose Your Beliefs / 58 Search: Paganism's Spiritual Foundation / 66 3 A Pagan View of deity 75 Concepts of Deity / 78 What Do Pagans Believe About Deity? / 79 The God Map / 80 A God Map Story / 92 4 What About Satan? 101 How Do Pagans View Satan? / 102 Pagans, Witches, and Bad Reputations / 103 Why Witch-hunts? / 106 What Happened to the Accused? / 108 A Look at the Biblical Witch Bias / 108 A Fabricated Image / 109 The Social Roles of Satan / 111 The Mythological Roles of Satan / 113 Who Is a Satanist? / 120 Can a Satanist Be a Pagan? / 121 5 The Living Universe 131 The Current Western Mindset / 132 Unbroken Wholeness: Science and a Magickal Universe / 135 The Ground of Being: Mysticism and a Magickal Universe / 145 The Universe as a Cosmic TV / 155 Personal Experience and a Magickal Universe / 161 6 Magick 163 The Mechanics of Magick / 165 The Iceberg / 172 The Applications of Magick / 179 The Limitations of Magick / 184 Your Magickal Pager / 187 7 Ethics and Personal Responsibility 197 Who Are You? / 197 The Multidimensional Self / 199 The Afterlife / 201 Ethics: What Are They? / 206 The Western Religious Ethic / 207 Ethics: The Pagan Approach / 210 Pagan Ethical Systems / 214 Notes / 225 Glossary / 231 Bibliography / 235 Recommended Reading / 239 Index / 245
Joyce and River have taught Paganism classes throughout the past decade. They have planned and organized local and national Pagan gatherings, written articles for Pagan publications, appeared on radio and television broadcasts, spoken at Christian and Unitarian churches, and attended interfaith councils. They also helped found the Council for Alternative Spiritual Traditions, which hosts public Pagan and alternative events in the Midwest. Joyce and River have taught Paganism classes throughout the past decade. They have planned and organized local and national Pagan gatherings, written articles for Pagan publications, appeared on radio and television broadcasts, spoken at Christian and Unitarian churches, and attended interfaith councils. They also helped found the Council for Alternative Spiritual Traditions, which hosts public Pagan and alternative events in the Midwest.
