Book Review: Paganism

        Paganism    

                                    An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions

                                    By Joyce and River Higginbotham

I went to the library a few days ago, armed with a list of books I wanted to read about women and pagan religions and goddesses.  I couldn’t find any books on my list, but I did a search for paganism, and this one popped up.  So I took it out and started reading it.  In between nursing Sprout, cooking dinner, hanging laundry to dry, and occasionally sleeping, I finished it in two days.  I couldn’t put it down.

The book is divided into seven chapters: What is Paganism?, You Are What You Believe, A Pagan View of Deity, What About Satan?, The Living Universe, Magick, and Ethics and Personal Responsibility. 

The first chapter dispels myths about witches and paganism and the people who practice any of the myriad of religions that fall under the umbrella of paganism.  The book is generalized toward the type of people who consider themselves pagans without focusing on one particular religion.  Some of the religions mentioned that fall under said umbrella are Celtic paganism, Druidism, Ceremonial Magick, Santeria, Voudon, Asatru, Shamanism, Eclectic paganism, Solitary paganism, Blended paganism, Wicca, and Family Traditions.  There is a brief description of each and its roots.

The rest of the book mainly focuses on finding what you believe.  It has exercises in each chapter—journal writings, meditations, group discussion questions, etc.—designed to help the reader find her way to whatever practice and/or religion fits what she believes.  There is a strong emphasis on personal responsibility, accountability, the sacredness and interconnectedness of Earth and all her living creatures, and ethics.  While different religions come to light in different sections, it gives a very interesting objective view of them and mainstream religions. 

My favorite part of this book is the emphasis on personal worship.  The meditations and exercises are designed not to ‘convert’ one to paganism, but to unlock what you truly believe in your heart and to remove limitations that keep you from practicing those beliefs.  The chapter on Magick compares spells and rituals to what other religions call prayer and divine inspiration—after reading the chapter, I agree!  Sending a thought or intent or ‘spell’ out to the ‘universe’ and expecting things to happen while going about doing everything you can to help it along is just about exactly the same as sending your prayer to Heavenly Parents and having faith in your righteous desires.  The authors even specify that if the inspiration you receive during meditation (or prayer, or whatever you want to call it) involves hurting someone else, or breaking the law, or hurting yourself, it’s not true inspiration and you should ignore it.

I highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to know more about paganism in general, or is seeking to bring more pagan ritual into her life but is concerned about the implications for church activity, or even anyone who is lost and looking for any religious or spiritual path.

http://www.amazon.com/Paganism-Introduction-Earth-Centered-Religions/dp/0738702226 (please go through The Amethyst Network if you want to buy this book, as they get a percentage of each sale: http://theamethystnetwork.org/  just use the amazon link on the right of the page)

Wicca: A guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Scott Cunningham has written several books about Wicca, ranging from herb guides to books about divination or ritual, and probably the most popular, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner which is a little bit introduction to what Wicca is, and mostly a guide for how to practice Wicca if you don't have anyone around to teach you in person.

Obviously we here at Mother Wheel are not practicing Wicca, but Wiccan guidebooks are helpful because their belief and worship system is quite similar to ours, centered primarily in belief in the God and Goddess (whom we know as Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother), and observations of the Wheel of the Year and Lunar Esbats. Furthermore, as Cunningham says, there is no right or wrong way for a wiccan to worship or celebrate; each practitioner should consider what is meaningful to them and then develop their own rituals and traditions. Because of this, the book is most definitely a guide (to creating your own worship and ritual), but not so much a "here's what to do" book. In that, I feel it was a great resource for an LDS observer of the Wheel of the Year, Lunar cycles, and/or the Divine Feminine.

Cunningham does give many suggestions about how to develop rituals and deepen personal interpretations of spirituality. He writes at length about various symbols and tools which are commonly used for rituals; but also continually reminds the reader that is an open spiritual path in which there is no 'right way' to do things, but simply just the way that feel best to the practitioner. The book also includes his personal "Book of Shadows" (which is the title for any wiccan collection of rituals and spells), so there are many ideas to help a beginner with developing their own things.

One part of the book that particularly stuck out to me was in the beginning, where he talked about his experiences with shamans from various parts of the world. He explains that shamans found spirituality and power "...through ecstasy--alternate states of consciousness in which they communed with the forces of the universe. Early shamans first attained this state through the use of such 'tools' as fasts, thirsts, self-infliction of pain, ingestion of hallucinogenic substances, concentration, and so on....
"Today, Wicca has dropped the ordeals of pain and the use of hallucinogens in favor of chanting, meditation, concentration, visualization, music, dance, invocation, and ritual drama. With these spiritual tools, the Wicca achieve a state of ritual consciousness similar to those attained by the most brutal shamanic ordeals. 
"I deliberately used the term 'alternate states of consciousness.' Such changed consciousness states aren't unnatural, but are a deviation from the 'normal' waking consciousness. Wicca teaches that nature includes a broad spectrum of mental and spiritual states of which most of us are ignorant. Effective ritual enables us to slip into such states, allowing communication and communion with the Goddess and God."
I really liked that explanation of the purpose of ritual--to bring us out of our mundane 'normal' mind and into a state of heightened awareness of and 'communication and communion with' our Heavenly Parents. I also appreciated the point that there are many ways to reach that state of awareness, and that the key is not to do a certain thing (such as a specific ritual) so much as it is to do whatever thing it is that brings me, personally, to the relevant mental state.

Book Review: The Dance of the Dissident Daughter

(cross-posted on my blog)

There is a great review of this book at With Your Mutual Approbation, so I won't repeat what she said, (you should just go read that review too!) but I will add some thoughts of my own as well as a few quotes.

The book has four sections, chronicling Kidd's journey "from christian tradition to the sacred feminine." The sections are Awakening, Initiation, Grounding, and Empowerment. The book is a little like a diary, or a documentary of her personal journey of discovery. She has excerpts from her journal, she talks about art she created, dreams she had, rituals she did, and her conversations and research during the time (it covers several years). She draws from MANY sources, some of which clicked for me more than others. Art, history, theologians, psychology, mythology, and feminism combine in her own personal melting pot of putting in all the pieces and creating a new self and a new view of the world.

I think the greatest point of this book is that it approaches the idea of the Divine Feminine from a Christian perspective. In other words, it does not discount Christianity, it merely broadens the view.

I feel like I have been or am doing some similar things (pulling from many sources to make a new paradigm), however my own feelings and conclusions aren't all the same as hers. I think she makes some good points though. In the first half or so of "Awakening" I thought wow, this could be me writing this; but then in the later part of that section, plus most of "Initiation," I felt like I really didn't relate. In those parts she was pushing back against the repression she felt in the patriarchal society, particularly the patriarchal church. The LDS church is pretty patriarchal in practice, but it is NOT so much in doctrine (ie, we already have a belief in  Heavenly Mother), so I don't feel nearly so repressed or disenfranchised as Kidd did. As the book got into the "Grounding" part I started relating again though, and really liked many of her conclusions.

Kidd's experiences combined feminism with spirituality, and while there is a lot of room for overlap, I feel that there is also lots of room for separation. So I took the intellectual stimulation and lapped it up as food for thought...but without feeling any obligation to agree with any particular part. I was intrigued by her interpretations and insights in some areas, and more or less apathetic about others. In the long run though, I found it difficult to put the book down, and would heartily recommend it to anyone (especially any woman, but really any one) who is open to thinking about things from a broader perspective.


Here are a few quotes or ideas from the book that I particularly liked:

"I often went to Catholic mass or Eucharist at the Episcopal church, nourished by the symbol and power of this profound feeding ritual. It never occurred to me how odd it was that women, who have presided over the domain of food and feeding for thousands of years, were historically and routinely barred from presiding over it in a spiritual context. And when the priest held out the host and said, "This is my body, given for you," not once did I recognize that it is women in the act of breastfeeding who most truly embody those words and who are also the most excluded from ritually saying them" (15).

An LDS acquaintance recently made the point that women literally shed their blood for others in menstruation, the marriage bed, and childbirth. (Those, along with lactation and menopause, are the five pagan "women's blood mysteries" and are considered sacred, which I think is appropriate. How wonderful would it be to raise daughters to think of their bleeding as sacred rather than as a curse?!)
In a later part of the book, Kidd mentions that the phrase "El Shaddai" (used in the Old Testament as a name for God) has usually been translated as "the almighty," but in fact 'shad' is also a Hebrew word for breast, and the 'ai' ending is feminine. So another reasonable interpretation is "the breasted one," or nurturing mother. And how many times in scripture does God speak of gathering us "as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing"? Indeed, I must agree with Ms Kidd that the Old Testament is actually FULL of positive female references.

"The question then occurred to me: Well, [if] the Divine is ultimately formless and genderless, what's the big deal? Why all this bother?
"The bother is because we have no other way of speaking about the Absolute. We need forms and images. Without them we have no way of relating to the Divine. Symbol and image create a universal spiritual language. It's the language the soul understands. 
"And yet--and here's the crux--the images that have pervaded our speech, thought, and feeling about the Divine have told us the Divine is exclusively male. They have told us there is only one form and that form is masculine. Indeed, the image, language, and metaphor of God as male has been used so exclusively, for so long, that most people seem to believe that God is male. 
"How many times had I heard someone say "God is not male, He is spirit"?" (137-140).

The author is writing from a mainstream Christian perspective, and of course LDS theology does not quite align with this--we believe that God the Father IS male--but we also believe in the existence of God's wife, a Mother and Goddess, His partner and equal. And so, while I would word the issue differently, I still have to ask--if this is a true thing, why won't we talk about it?

I particularly liked a part where the author wrote about Matroyshka dolls (russian nesting dolls). She had a dream where a wisewoman archetype (who appeared in a lot of her dreams) gave her a doll, and showed her essentially the wisewoman (goddess) within herself. Later she learned that 'matroyshka' means 'mother' and she was struck by the idea of a mother within a mother within a mother. I was thinking about that, and how a woman's eggs are inside her when she is born. In other words, when a woman is pregnant with a daughter, it is not only her daughter but also her granddaughters who are within her. Just like the mother doll. And if you go back through enough mothers, we come all the way to Eve, and to Heavenly Mother. She talked about sitting in the "Great Lap" of Heavenly Mother, just as a child would sit in the lap of an earthly mother or grandmother.

Kidd concludes with some thoughts about why we benefit from having female authority as well as male, and it is because the two sexes simply do things differently. Men are naturally inclined to create hierarchical pyramids, whereas women are more likely to create weblike networks. Men compete, women build teams. It is not that one way is superior or inferior, it is that they both have their place, and neither should be pushed out by the other. As women, living in a predominately male-organized culture, we benefit from finding or creating female authority patterns in our lives, because we understand and relate to them better. Just as I felt a greater understanding of the atonement when I thought of being a mother sending my son to die (rather than the oft-repeated "God sent his Son"), so too we can grow closer to God the Father (as well as God the Mother) by acknowledging the presence--and differences--of each.

"I think women understand that 

we create change 

as we live out the experiences of our souls 

in the common acts of life" 

(222).

The Art of Ritual by Beck and Metrick

I recently read The Art of Ritual by Renee Beck and Sydney Barbara Metrick. I liked this book quite a lot, because it doesn't spend so much time laying out ready-made rituals as it does discussing symbols and ideas and processes, and essentially giving the reader all the tools (even work pages) to create their own rituals. (There are a few specific rituals described in the book, covering events ranging from family dinner, to a wedding, to a group healing ritual that the author was part of after 9/11.)

The book begins with some background about the role of ritual in our lives, including myths and symbols that feed ancient and modern rituals. Next it discusses types of rituals and the process of designing a ritual (the steps that are typically included). Finally the book goes into applying the five elements (earth, air, fire, water, spirit or 'essence'), and the creation or use of altars and other tools that can be used in rituals.

One thing I particularly liked about this book was that it sorted rituals into five types. Rituals can be done for many reasons, and the authors gave categories which I found helpful for determining not only whether to do a ritual, but also what sort of ritual might be appropriate. Rituals are good for marking:

• Beginnings (births, new jobs, new homes, coming of age, etc)
• Mergings (marriages, new roommates, etc)
• Cycles (birthdays, anniversaries, seasons, etc)
• Endings (death, divorce, retirement, menopause, loss, etc)
• Healings (balancing things--physical or otherwise--that are imbalanced)

Beginning rituals help balance the fearful transition between an old and a new way of being. Merging rituals help balance and enlarge the relationship between two separate entities. Cyclical rituals help us balance our lives by increased understanding of our relationships with time and with other larger forces. Ending rituals offer us a way to deal with the polarities of life and death; they provide us am approach to understanding questions fundamental to human nature and of existence. Whenever we touch the energies that fuel and direct life, healing can happen... Healing rituals offer a time for you to be fully present with the pain as well as a means to finding acceptance of it. (p 53)

I was familiar with all the types of rituals except healings...for whatever reason, I had just never thought about utilizing ritual in that context. However the book described a couple of beautiful healing rituals, and it is something that I am beginning to incorporate in my life (albeit in a much simpler and less-formal form than in the book!)

I mentioned in my review of the other ritual book that it was not one I would particularly recommend to someone looking for a good starting point sort of book. This book IS the one I would recommend. ☺

Everyday Rituals and Ceremonies by Lorna St Aubyn

"Today, ritual has almost disappeared from Western society... In many people's lives the only important milestone or rite to be observed is their funeral. Other major events of all kinds remain unacknowledged; no cycles are defined. Instead of celebrating beginnings and endings and transition points, we drift through the years, dragging behind us tatters of the past which should have been unequivocally buried. This in term prevents us from stepping into the future whole heartedly.
"The return to performing rituals is one way to reinstate a belief in the connectedness of all life. In today's society many people feel a sense of separation and isolation. For many there is a nagging sense that there must be something more to life. Rituals can help us to see we are part of something larger, a part of a living breathing earth. They can give us a feeling of unity and a sense of security and support in an increasingly difficult world. We can again begin to sense the sacredness in the ordinary which can add the depth and meaning so often missing from our lives."

~Lorna St Aubyn  in Everyday Rituals and Ceremonies

This book is not so much one for reading straight through as it is a reference book for specific rituals. I did not read every page, I just skimmed through it and read a few of the specific rituals. It is not a religious ritual book, although the rituals do usually connect to Nature/Mother Earth or the elements in some way. It would be very easy to adapt these rituals to your own needs and beliefs.
Honestly it was not my favorite ritual book, because so much is already laid out that it feels like it takes more effort to adapt these rituals than it would to just invent one from scratch. Most of the rituals are fairly complex, and involve lots of props and steps. However, for someone who wanted something to start with, this might be a good resource book.
The thing I appreciated the most was the kinds of things this book had rituals for. For example, most of us recognize the validity of doing a ritual for the birth or death of a person, but isn't it also appropriate to formally recognize the death of a beloved family pet? Other changes, such as starting a new job, having surgery, or even just responding to a public event (political or social) can be valid reasons for holding a ritual.

Here is a list of some of the rituals in the book:

• Rituals for life stages (puberty, menstruation, marriage, naming ceremony, child leaving home, divorce, menopause, becoming a parent-in-law, retirement, death)
• Rituals for your spiritual journey (incarnation, taking your power, re-attaching yourself to the Source)
• Rituals for traumatic events (rape, abuse, before surgery, abortion, miscarriage, a public tragedy, death of an animal)
• Rituals for new beginnings (ending therapy, the end of an illness, leaving an organization, making resolutions, a birthday, starting a new project).
• There is also a section of rituals for opening/closing/healing each chakra.

Descent's Wheel of the Year Guidebook

As a guide for my family as we start this endeavor to observe the natural cycles of the year, we are using the book "Circle, Coven, and Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice" by Deborah Blake. Its offers a ready-made ritual for each seasonal observance of every month of the year. The reader can use it to get ideas and can be adapted to meet their circumstances, needs and practice style.

I have been enjoying the flexibility but also the basic guidance so I can learn the basics of ritual and make it work for my comfort level and what would be developmentally appropriate for my children. I consider it a starting point and then from there I can take what inspiration I can glean from it and then develop something that I'm happy to do.

In fact, I based my winter solstice observance off of the ritual shared in the book though what I did was very different than the book, but like I said, I was glad for the guidance it gave me as it stimulated ideas.

The book is organized by month and each chapter covers a little bit about the season relating to that month and background into any of the 8 sabbats that might be occuring in that month. After the introduction and description of that month, rituals are provided for the New Moon in that month, the Full Moon as well as Sabbat. Often in months where there is a Sabbat, ideas for a celebration and gathering are given in addition to the ritual.

I recognized that I needed a crutch to help me as I committed to learning about the Wheel of the Year and each seasonal celebration. I had been wanting to do this for a couple of years but always was thwarted in my intention because of losing track of the times of the year and not having enough time to prepare, or missing it all together. This year, I'm being more intentional about it and recognizing that I likely will not have a great deal of time to learn and prepare something from scratch.

If you follow my posts throughout the year, you'll see what sorts of ideas I generate from using this book as my guide. Though I will warn you that many of our observances may bear little resemblance to what is contained in it. And other times, you may find that I completely steal from it, perhaps because I ran out of time to prepare anything more personally suited to me, or because I find that what was written was already perfectly suited to me and my family.

Book Review: Drawing Down the Moon

I just finished reading Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and other Pagans in America by Margot Adler. It was recommended to me as a source that thoroughly covered 20th century NeoPaganism in the USA (and somewhat in Britain too actually), and that is definitely accurate. There is a LOT of information there, and  I think this book is an excellent resource for dispelling myths about witches and other pagans.

Nearly half of the book is devoted to Wicca and it's many traditions, but since that is one of the most common (if not the most common) Pagan religion, it seems appropriate to give it the space, and the author certainly did not ignore Druidism, Asatru/Heathenism (Nordic), the Church of the Eternal Source (Egyptian), the Church of All Worlds (inspired by Heinlein's and Rand's books), as well as several smaller traditions that I had not ever heard of before.

I appreciated the authors objectivity. While she occasionally mentioned things that indicated her own spiritual practices, she never suggested that any path was better than another, or even that paganism was necessarily better than better known mainstream religions. She just wrote about her experiences and observations of people and groups, and shared things she had learned via interviews and questionnaires. I read the third edition (2005), and the author has added and edited information in each edition to reflect the changing landscape of paganism over the 35 years since the first edition.
In places I found the book to be very dense and could only read slowly, but other portions had more of a "can't put it down" feeling. I am not sure if that was because of different content in various parts (historical exposition vs recounting a wedding ceremony for example), or if it was because some topics interested me more than others. Regardless, I was glad to be able to renew it twice, because it did take me a while to finish the book.

One of the most valuable things this book has is an extensive appendix with references, websites, and contact information of dozens (maybe hundreds) of pagan organizations around the country. The second appendix has several sample rituals (in addition to the few described within the text), one of which I adapted and shared here on Mother Wheel. While the text of the book discusses the basics of paganism, the appendices make a helpful resource for someone who is interested in actually practicing paganism.