I would like to learn about Paganism. What are some good resources (books, on-line, etc.)?

Question

i was raised Protestant (Methodist), and while i was younger, it was good for me. now, i am a spiritually struggling adult, wife of a USNavy Sailor, mum of an 18 month old boy...and i realized a while ago that organised religion is not for me.

i am eco-friendly, very lunar, and believe there is more to life that what you see. i want to learn about paganism because it might be a good fit for me, and if nothing else, it might help me understand who i strive to be...

Answer 1

A group of intelligent, well educated pagans can be found at http://www.ecauldron.net/mb They would be good people to ask for advice. The also run a web site at http://www.ecauldron.com

Answer 2

As a self-taught drummer myself, i can tell you that there really is no 'fast" way to learn an instrument. It takes a lot of patience, practice, discipline, and hard work. Now that being said, some people do learn quicker than others so it all depends on the person. I have two cousins that both play guitar and both are self-taught. My one cousin Terry practiced just about every day and picked it up quicker than my cousin Dave, who didn't practice nearly as much. Terry became pretty darn good in about 8 months. It all boils down to how determined you are, how much you practice, and how quickly you pick things up. My advice would be to get an instructional book or DVD and learn a few chords. If you do it on your own you will save a lot of money and you can go at your own pace. Guitar lessons are not cheap these days, unless you know someone. Just give it a shot on your own for a month or 2 and see how you progress. Then if you feel you need lessons to get better, then find a good teacher that won't be too expensive. But the key is to practice....practice.....practice! Good Luck!

Answer 3

You've already gotten some wonderful advice for Wiccan/Pagan links.

May I add a book to the reading list? It's called The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, by Sue Monk Kidd. I loved the book when I read it, and I honestly think you will too.

The author was once a Christian author and had been raised Baptist. She became slowly frustrated with her organized church and its general dismissal of the feminine and earthy aspects of spirituality. She slowly turned to paganism and this book sort of details her journey and how she helped her Christian family and friends to understand her choice.

The most beautiful part of the book, in my opinion, is when she is blessed to see a mother sea turtle laying her eggs by moonlight and she realizes the depth of her connection to the earth and the mother goddess.

I don't usually recommend specific books, but something about your post made me think you would really resonate with this book.

Answer 4

Saw your question about paganism, and the feelings you are having about organized religion.

Welcome to the club.

Thought I would suggest something that has helped me a great deal. There is a book called the course in miracles that manages to help a great many people develop a close personal relationship with God minus all the conflicting and controlling aspects of organized religion.

No judgment, no threats, no crazy old testament God looking for any excuse to burn someone in hell for eternity. Mostly just the pure unadulterated message That Jesus and so many others came here to tell us about.

It has helped many thousands of us make sense of our spirituality and in general just makes things a whole lot easier to understand.

No catch, nothing to loose except the confusion religion created in your mind. Just a tip from one seeker to another.

PS. You need to fix your preferences cause I was going to send this by email but it would not let me.

love and blessings Don

Answer 5

First off, you can keep being a Christian, and love the earth, and stay away from organised religion. It's called liberal Christianity... Episcopalians (the fundamentalists actually call them "Episco-pagans"), UCC, Unitarians, etc. There are even Unitarian congregations where Christians and Pagans worship together in the same community... the Unitarian pagan group is called CUUPS and you can Google them. Maybe the best of both worlds?

Good pagan books: "Spiral Dance" by Starhawk, "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margot Adler. I also really like the books by John and Caitlin Matthews on Celtic shamanism. They also draw the "western mysteries" into a single whole -- Christian and pagan together.

Answer 6

Actually, very few Pagans "trash" other peoples beliefs or Deities. Pagans tend to be the most religiously tolerant group of people around. There are many excellent sources available on line. These are a few that I consider to be the best:

http://witchvox.com/
http://www.religioustolerance.org/
http://www.wicca.com
http://pagannews.com/
http://twpt.com/

Good luck on your path.
Blessed be. )O(

Answer 7

Hi there :)

Well, a great place to start is the Traditions section of http://www.witchvox.com (scroll down to the bottom of the main page to find a menu of different areas of the site, including Traditions). That will give you a decent idea of what's out there.

Some other good sites are:

http://www.twpt.com
http://www.pathwalkers.net/
http://www.webweaver.sapphiremoon.info/WW.php
http://www.paganpaths.com/
http://www.universalpagan.com/
http://www.wildspeak.com/ (excellent shamanic info)
http://pagandiversity.com/

I have more good links at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/links.html ; additionally, the Pagan and Occult Author Resource Page has a bunch of listings of pagan ezines and hardcopy magazines at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/reviewers.html

As for books, a good place to start is Graham Harvey's "Contemporary Paganism", which is a good intro to a bunch of neopagan religions. I'd also recommend Nicholas Graham's "The Four Powers" (which will be released later this month) which is a good introduction to magical practice in general; it explains the different models of magic (psychological, energetic, etc.) and paradigms (neopagan, ceremonial, etc.). The exrecises in it are designed to help readers figure out where they want to focus their studies.

For your environmental side, you'll like James Endredy's "Ecoshamanism"; he rescues shamanism from the clutches of weekend seminars and instead returns it to the Earth. Starhawk's "The Earth Path: is another good book in that vein, though I prefer "Ecoshamanism", personally.

I also have more book reviews at my review blog, http://lupabitch.wordpress.com/ - feel free to peruse it. Also, scroll down the left margin to find links to other reviewers.

Finally, start talking to other people. http://groups.yahoo.com is a good place to start; search for pagans in your area (usually if you search up the name of the closest metro area, plus words like "pagan", in teh same searhc you'll get results.) http://www.tribe.net is also good, and there are some good pagan communtiies on http://www.livejournal.com If you want to meet folks in person, the Yahoo groups should help keep you in touch with local events, and check out http://pagans.meetup.com

Hope that helps, and good luck :)

Answer 8

sacred-texts.org is good for all directions.
go to a book store and browze...
or you could just worship nature simply and governed by your self, which is all that matters anyhow. if you are lookign for morals, look in your heart... if you forget how to do that, take a long look at your child.

Answer 9

read anything by Scott Cunningham, Silver Ravenwolf. they are great places to start.
bright blessings

Answer 10

You are in the right Forum to learn all you want to know. I hate to say it, and do not mean to be rude, but you will find that when someone trashes the Lord they say they are a Pagan. Please reconsider what you ask. All I ask is pray about it to GOD, and ask for understanding of His Word. Someone, somewhere along the line has led you astray and given you false teachings. Read the bible, get a Strong's Concordance to help you, and think about this, PLEASE, I ask you with all my heart. Do not do it for me because I have asked, do it for yourself, and Christ. He WILL help you if you truly want it.