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Title: Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today by Margot Adler ISBN: 0-14-019536-X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: March, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.37 (90 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Field Guide to Paganism in America
Comment: That the Pagan community is a very large and very diverse one should come as no surprise to anyone -- except perhaps to a vocal minority within the Christian faith who persist in lumping all of Paganism into "Devil-worship".
Confused about the differences between Gardnerian Wicca and Alexandrian Wicca? Not to mention all those other Pagan religions? Then this is the book for you.
Margot Adler's ambitious volume is a sort of field guide, if you will. Encyclopedic in scope, it has got to be the definitive overview on the various beliefs and religious practices that fit within the broad term "Paganism".
The book's strengths are in the illuminating history it provides about various pioneers of modern Pagan movements. Wicca, in its various permutations, receives the most thorough treatment. If I have any fault with the book, it is that other Pagan religions are not treated with the same exhaustive and in-depth scope with which Adler treats Wicca.
Accurate and respectful mention is made of statements by Aleister Crowley, but references to him are thinly spread. Consequently, I missed many of them in my reading of the book. Adler primarily presents Crowley's contributions to the occult scene through the filter of someone else's interpretation or adaption of his work.
I would like to have seen a more in-depth look at Crowley's contributions to the modern occult and Pagan scene, given that he is the most well-known occultist in non-occult circles. For better or for worse, that "most evil man in the world" reputation has stuck (his self-proclaimed identity as "The Beast" probably hasn't helped matters), and rather undeservedly, from what I can tell in my limited exposure to his writings. Many people who are otherwise ignorant of Paganism, the occult or hermetic orders nevertheless have heated opinions about Crowley, and I can't help but feel that Adler should have given him a little more attention in her book -- if for no other reason than to point out that maybe he isn't such a horrible person as some members of Christian and Wiccan communities seems to think he is.
The questionnaire Adler includes is an especially valuable reminder that Pagans, like other members of a socioeconomic, racial or otherwise narrowly defined category of human beings, do not share common political views. If some preconceived notions -- i.e. all Pagans should be liberal -- are challenged, all the better.
In conclusion, this is probably the first book I would recommend to someone who has heard of the Pagan community and wants more information about it. If that's you, I strongly urge that you read this book -- with the caveat that this is one woman's opinion, and that what matters is that you discover the truth for yourself.
Rating: 5
Summary: Objective reporting.....
Comment: I read this book when it was first published and recommned it to anyone who wants to become more enlightened about the topic. I have a social science background, and thus a general understanding of the various world views of traditional societies who are in my opinion closer to old Mother Earth than most of us "moderns" who spend far too much time caught up in our technology. Margot Adler (granddaughter of the famous psychologist) went exploring (ethnographic field work) and this book is the result.
She does not promote any of the world views she describes, she plays the good ethnographer and records what she finds. She participates on several occasions, and thus becomes the "participant observer" recorder. I didn't know much about the revival of "paganism" and had never heard of Wicca before I read Adler's book. I learned that in spite of the professed enlightenment of our modern age, many fear the practices described. Why? Basically, the practice of Wicca seems to be a female oriented way of life--focusing on nature, life, a spiritual path. I for one am continuing to read about Wicca and explore what others are doing.
I figure some of the so-called witches etc. are not what they purport to be, just as some of the agressive so-called Christians driving with bumper stickers that advertise their "faith" are not what they purport to be. I recommend Adler's book if you are interested in comparative religion, are looking for a new way of living or just curious about a somewhat maligned and often persecuted group of mostly women.
Rating: 5
Summary: Really good
Comment: Yes, it's a classic, but it's the good kind. The modern neo-pagan "movement" is covered in excellent depth, with mainly objective reporting (I say mainly because the author is pagan herself and therefore carries an automatic bias that paganism is good, though no otherparticular bias shows in her writing.) She focuses quite a lot on Wicca (arguably the most publicized modern pagan religion) but other systems are covered as well. Even though plenty of the info here is "outdated," (originally published in the 70s) I loved it as a vibrant slice of modern pagan history, and a vindication of pagan practice for the lay reader and interested pagan alike. Very enjoyable and very well done.
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Title: Spiral Dance, The - 20th Anniversary : A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess: 20th Anniversary Edition by Starhawk ISBN: 0062516329 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 01 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham ISBN: 0875421180 Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: November, 1990 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches Handbook by Janet Farrar, Stewart Farrar ISBN: 0919345921 Publisher: Phoenix Publishing, Inc. Pub. Date: August, 1996 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton ISBN: 0192854496 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: May, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland, Ray Buckland ISBN: 0875420508 Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: December, 1986 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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