Recommended Reading List

[maenad nuri]

A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism by John Michael Greer

Fantastic philosophical and smart look into the logic behind polytheism, and how it works in the world. Read it over the weekend, and am digesting it now. Looking forward to quoting it extensively.

I know reaguns adversity towards ADF, but I'm buying more books by this guy. Smart, well-versed, and didn't make any mistakes in equating Wicca with the whole of Paganism. And a fantastic glossery.

Some criticisms: With the exception of Wicca, it pretty much sticks with Open Western religions and then Shinto. Does tend to overreach the fertility parts of paganism, but not overly so--nor makes it the whole point of paganism. I forgive.  

[TeaDidikai]

walkingundine

Please let me know if this isn't the right place for this post... I'm interested in reading up on kitchen-witchery. Can anyone point me at a decent book or two?

I like Telesco's book on the subject.  

[TeaDidikai]

Darin Rosewood

TeaDidikai

Darin Rosewood

So Buckland's not on the hatelist? Good, I just preordered two of his books

He's on mine- the racist b*****d.

Racist? How? >_< Darin does not like racism.

Have you ever tried to stomach his pieces on G~ Anything? ~shudder~  

[spaceprincess18]

What are people's thoughts on Lady Sheba? I have her Book of Shadows and I wonder at the accuracy.  

[Eshmasesh]

Can anyone give me a recommendation for a book on Animism? I'm not sure where to even start.  

[TheDisreputableDog]

spaceprincess18

What are people's thoughts on Lady Sheba? I have her Book of Shadows and I wonder at the accuracy.

confused Amazon's description at least sounds suspicious, but I can't say that I really know anything.  

[Pelta]

Eshmasesh

Can anyone give me a recommendation for a book on Animism? I'm not sure where to even start.

Not entirely on Animism, but The Shaman by Piers Vitebsky is a very good overall discussion into many animist traditions.

Oh, and folk tales often tell you a lot about indigenous spirits and how they interact with people. Make sure you've got a good source for those too.

I also recently purchased The Oxford Dictionary of Symbols. Requesting a vouch if anyone's got one. So far it looks very well researched, although I think one of their authors is a tad fluffy.

EDIT: My bad, it's actually published by Penguin. It's still an alright reference, though some of the entries are better than others.  

[Deandriea]

Oh, for novels, I'm going to say ANYTHING by Neil Gaiman, specifically American Gods and his amazing Sandmangraphic novels.  

[Pelta]

Deandriea

Oh, for novels, I'm going to say ANYTHING by Neil Gaiman, specifically American Gods and his amazing Sandmangraphic novels.

Oooh yes! Muchly yes! 3nodding  

[Deandriea]

missmagpie

Deandriea

Oh, for novels, I'm going to say ANYTHING by Neil Gaiman, specifically American Gods and his amazing Sandmangraphic novels.

Oooh yes! Muchly yes! 3nodding

Time to give the whyfor.

American Gods lets grab from the web..... Whatever its loftier intentions, "American Gods" is a juicily original melding of archaic myth with the slangy, gritty, melancholy voice of one of America's great cultural inventions -- the hard-boiled detective; call it Wagnerian noir. The melting pot has produced stranger cocktails, but few that are as tasty.

Sandman thank wikipedia for this one
The plot, as summarized by its creator is: “The king of dreams learns one must change or die and then makes his decision.” Thus stated, the plot of the ‘‘The Sandman'’ centers around the protagonist, Dream, the immortal anthropomorphic personification of dreams

Unlike most popular US comic books of its time, The Sandman existed almost completely outside of the superhero genre, while real-life people—such as William Shakespeare, Emperor Norton and Mark Twain — made appearances. The first third of the series somewhat conformed to the horror genre, but it later grew into an elaborate fantasy series, incorporating elements of classical and contemporary mythology.  

[ShadowSharrow]

http://paganpedia.mind-n-magick.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page  

[scorplett]

spaceprincess18

What are people's thoughts on Lady Sheba? I have her Book of Shadows and I wonder at the accuracy.

The only accurate Books of Shadows are real ones that you cannot buy.
There are however a number of online versions of both Gardnerian and Alexandrian. These tend to be composites and give the best overview as they draw from many sources and not just one.  

[PurpleDragonsGems]

TeaDidikai

Darin Rosewood

TeaDidikai

Darin Rosewood

So Buckland's not on the hatelist? Good, I just preordered two of his books

He's on mine- the racist b*****d.

Racist? How? >_< Darin does not like racism.

Have you ever tried to stomach his pieces on G~ Anything? ~shudder~

I was given a book of his for my birthday. The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-Pagansim He seems rather opinionated if you ask me. Reading his sections on any movie he included is like reading a movie reveiw. Examples:

Quote:

Hocus Pocus (movie)

Dull and pedantic 1993 movie starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, directed by Kenny Orrega. In Salem, Masschusetts, a lonely male teenager named Max (Omri Katz) conjures up three long-dead witches, Winifred (Midler), Sarah (Parker) and Mary (Najimy). The threee had prepared for their immortality back in 1693, but they were executed before finalizeing it. When they returned to life, they are only able to remain alive by sucking teh life out of young children. Although supposedly a comedy, there are few laughs in the film, and no sympathetic characters. It does not help the cause of modern Wicca.

 

[MaddLlama]

Buckland is opinionated, yes, but he does know what he's talking about (and, everyone is entitled to thier opinion when it comes to movies). I think the issue is that his books, especially the reference ones are old. The information seems outdated because it was written before the explosion of Wicca and the eclectic trend. The "big blue book", along with a lot of other books published around that time, present more traditional information. Not necessarily Gardenarian in their approach, but it's not your standard modern "make it up as you go" eclectic approach.

And, I would really like to see some examples of his alleged racism. I've had some pleasant conversations with him, and he doesn't strike me as the type.

If you want to talk about racist authors to avoid, I would name Mark Ventimiglia. Granted he only has two tiny little pocket sized books published, but he is a homosexual-hating racist.

I would also recommend Deb Lipp. She's a bit on the self-important side, but her books are fantastic (and, original, I think). She also teaches classes in Upstate NY.  

[Boadicia]

For simple spellcasting rather than religion, I would like to suggest The Goodly Spellbook by Lady Passion and *Diuvei. They lead a Gardnerian coven in my home state. The book is divided into three sections.

The first section deals with the history of witchcraft. This section should be read with a grain of salt because it refers to Wicca as being ancient (they claim their tradition reaches back to the 11th century). It also makes some comments on the Burning Times and persecutions in various cultures. Though there may be truth in it, this section is dubious at best.

The second and third sections are the redeeming value. The second section focuses on skills. It covers everything from divination, dancing, gestures, magical words, sigils, music, and magical astrology. This focuses on custom making spells.

The third section has actual spells in it. Many of the spells have variations, and each one ends with the spells' origins and magical theory. It's a lot simpler than it sounds. Most of the spells are relatively simple to perform.