Pagans and other Reprobates!! What books and stories helped shape your Beliefs?

Question

I look back over all the stuff Ive read, films Ive seen and things I have done which got me to where I am now, and looking back, think over how they have shaped me.

Christians, don't feel excluded from this question, it is partly in response to how you draw on the Bible, and there are many books for me which have had just as much influence as that one has for you.

We shouldn't be ashamed that our beliefs may have been shaped by stories which inspire us, we should be proud of it. In ancient times storytellers and bards were held in similar status (under different law) to kings. Merlin and Taliesin were both weavers of story and Magick alike.

So..what books or stories inspired you to the beliefs you have now?

I'm not defining reprobates at all, just put it down to my wry British sense of humour ;-)

Thanks for that Nightwind, the curse of text is you sometimes have to end up explaining every piece of irony you post.

Pagans and other reprobates don't tend as a whole to believe in the Biblical interpretations of hell, and so will quite happily appropriate it, not because they think they are going to hell, but to poke a little bit of gentle fun at the Christians who tell them they are.

I'm lost on some of you, I really am :p

Answer 1

As an English Literature major, I loved just about every pre-Christian piece of writing I could lay my hands on, and then I hit Starhawk's "Spiral Dance" which was huge for me. But what completely and utterly linked me and my Path was "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Knocked me down and threw me at Her feet. Bawled my head off. Still do just thinking about it. Intense archetypes and deep repressed memories I guess. Can't even adequately explain it.

Answer 2

Ooooh... I'm a reprobate. Excellent, I haven't been called that in a long time. Nice to know I haven't lost the touch. ;)

Ye gods, you want my reading list? I think there's a character limit to this thing, so I'm going to have to be a bit vague - as Hestia and Daughter said, it's that Recon Reading Syndrome. I've read quite a bit of Celtic mythology (Cuchullain's my fav, what can I say, he's a fascinating fellow), also know a bit about Nordic and Greek as well, along with a smattering of a handful of other pantheons (just enough to be dangerous.)

Add in a whole lot of retellings and interpretations (everything from 'Mists of Avalon' and 'Champions of the Sidhe' to 'American Gods'), some speculative stuff talking about the nature of humanity, assorted bits on mystical training (filidecht, seidhr, etc).... and I've still got a knee-high stack of books next to my bed on the 'to read' pile.

Answer 3

I love this question. In addition to experiences with people and places, I agree that certain books we have read and films we have seen have had an impact on our lives, and helped shape them. I literally have a library of hundreds and hundreds of books, so narrowing it down was challenging, but fun.

When I was younger (in my teens and early 20's) these are some of the books that greatly shaped by beliefs:
1. The Education of Oversoul Seven (1973)
2. The Further Education of Over soul Seven (1979)
3. Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984)
All three by Jane Roberts (actually Seth wrote them, but Jane Roberts channelled them).
4. Teachings from the American Earth: Indian Religion and Philosophy, edited by Dennis and Barbara Tedlock (1975), especially chapter 10, "Ojibwa Ontology, Behavior, and World View" by A. Irving Hallowell.
5. Positive Magic: Occult Self-Help: Books by Marion Weinstein (1978)
6. I Send a Voice by Evelyn Eaton (1978)
7. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1979)
8. The Spiral Dance: a Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess by Starhawk (1979)
9. The Old God: The Facts About Irish Fairies by Patrick Logan (1981)
10. Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln (1982)

The movies that impacted me the most when I was young include
1. Silent Running (1971) see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Running for plot summary, and
2. Billy Jack (1971), see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Jack for plot summary.

As I got older, books like:
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav, Anam Cara by John O'Donohue, anything by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and My Elders Taught Me by John Boatman continue to shape my life.

Thanks again for the question, and the trip down memory lane. Blessed Be.

Answer 4

I'm not sure how you are defining "reprobates," but I'll give it a shot.

The two most influential movies were "Obsession" and "Jesus Camp." The influential books (in the order in which I have read them) are: (1) "Holy Terror: The Fundamentalist War on America's Freedoms in Religion, Politics, and Our Private Lives," by Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman; (2) "Beam Me Up, Jesus: A Heathen's Guide to the Rapture" by Jim Gerard; (3) "The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason," by Sam Harris; (4) "The Dark Side: How Evangelical Teachings Corrupt Love and Truth," by Valerie Tarico; and (5) "Brainwash: The Secret History of Mind Control," by Dominic Streatfeild.

I should explain, however, that they did not move me from Christianity to atheism. They were instrumental in moving me from witchcraft and paganism to atheism. I realized I had no more evidence for the actual physical existence of any of the gods and goddesses I invoked than Christians or Muslims have for their God. What I had been doing was using the gods and goddesses as symbols, myths, archetypes (including Tarot cards) for something far more abstract and esoteric. In fact, something which more qualifies as philosophy than as religion.

Answer 5

the bible turned me into an atheist,i was brought up strict Irish catholic,church every sunday,religion in school every day,prayer to start school,prayer at midday,prayer when school ended,prayer at 6 in the evening(angleus).it never entered my head to question anything. when i was twelve i actually read it for myself,as in not reading individual verse and chapter out loud in monotone,while a "christian brother" stands over you with a cane telling you what you should think. it was then i realized it was nonsense,it didnt have any answers to life or afterlife or the universe or human nature. so thats the book that inspired me to find real,quantifiable satisfying answers to life. my parents looked after the bits about being honest and selfless(two things that basically cover the whole ten commandments. ps sorry bout the rant.

Answer 6

The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Greek Myths (in various versions), Aesop's Fables (in both English and Greek), the Bible (both positively and negatively) The Dialogues of Plato.... and lots more including PAGES of essays.....

I also "suffer" from Recon reading syndrome...

(Of course, I suffered it even before I was a Hellenic Recon.... That may be PART of why I became Pagan to begin with)

Answer 7

The Bible greatly helped me to see that Christianity is a false religion. I read it from cover to cover in my early teens, while I was yet a Christian, but after I read it all the way through, I realized that it could not have been written or inspired by an omnipotent, omniscient deity.

Answer 8

That's a long list....
Hmmm Book of the Dead, Gilgamesh, Numerous essays that I can't even begin to name. Both Edda's, road to Hel and yet again more essays....
Damn recons. We're always reading something lol


edit: LOL Hestia it totally is a syndrome isn't it??

Answer 9

Margot Adler "Drawing Down the Moon"

Erica Jong "Witches"

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Answer 10

Book of the Dead, I also study Egyptian myth as well as Greek and Celtic. I also read Laurie Cabot's books.