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Index
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents at a Glance
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Part 1: Pagan Basics
1 Welcome to the Pagan Path
Telltale Signs of a Pagan Personality
What’s in a Name?
What Pagans Are Not
The Devil Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
No Blood Sacrifice, Please
The Naked Truth About Pagans and Sex
Diversity, Diversity, Diversity
Glinda and Merlin, Meet the Medicine Man
You Can’t Fool Mother Nature
Pagans Believe In What They Experience
Welcome to the Pagan Adventure
The Ultimate Authority: You!
Two Ways to Learn the Pagan Path
Why You Can’t Stereotype a Pagan
2 All-Natural Ingredients
Pagans Love Nature
Four Out of Four Spiritual Leaders Agree!
The Whisper of the Wind
Mother Nature Is a Real Goddess!
The Gaia Hypothesis: There Really Is a Mother Nature!
Communing with Nature
How to Commune with Mother Earth
Take Time to Get to Know Your Mother (Nature)
Listen and Learn
Learning from Nature
Learning About Nature
Environmental Awareness Quiz
Establish a Ritual Way of Nurturing Your Relationship with Mother Earth
Taking Care of Mother Earth
Forget About the Joneses
The Three R’s
Warriors for the Wilderness
The Wilderness Within
3 Please Don’t Squeeze the Shaman!
Welcome to the World’s Oldest Spiritual Path
The First Shamans
When Is a Shaman Not a Shaman?
The Elements of Shamanism
The World Through a Shaman’s Eyes
The Shaman’s Initiation
Talk to the Spirits
Shamanic Trance and Shamanic Journeying
Healing Through Spirit, Plant, and Animal Allies
The Shaman’s Drum
The Teachings of Black Elk
The Sacred Pipe
The Sweat Lodge
Crying for a Vision
Core Shamanism
Shamanic Basics for the Urban Seeker
Technoshamanism: Spirituality at 180 Beats per Minute
Shamanism and Paganism
European Shamanism: The Roots of Wicca and Druidism
Go Honor Your Own Ancestors
4 Wicked Good!
A Brief History of Wicca
Gerry’s Kids
The Growth of Wicca
The Elements of Wicca
The Lord and the Lady
The Charge of the Goddess and the Wiccan Rede
Of Solitaries and Covens: How Wicca Is Organized
Climbing the Wiccan Ladder
What Do Wiccans Do?
Ritual
Healing
Divination
The Romance of Wicca
A Balanced Faith: Wicca as a Woman-Friendly Religion
The Mystery of Midnight: Wicca’s Allure
Wicca as a Form of Paganism
5 The Philosophical Pagans: Druids and Other Revivalist Groups
Popular Conceptions (and Misconceptions) of the Druids
Stonehenge—Not!
More Than Just Tree-Huggers
Shaman in a Kilt
The Three Ages of Druidry
The Druid Revival (Part One)
The Druid Revival (Part Two)
How to Revive an Ancient Religion
The Raw Material for the Druid Revival
Myth and Folklore
Celtic Culture, Archaeology, and Other Religious Traditions: Fragments of a Puzzle
The Elements of Druidism
The Three Kinds of Druids
Big Bad Bards
Keepers of the Second Sight
Celtic Shamanism: The Lore of the Sacred Trees
The Power of Three
The Druid Contribution
Why Not Excellence?
Paganism for the Rest of Us
Other Pagan Paths with an Ethnic Orientation
Asatru: The Way of Valhalla
Baltic and Lithuanian Paganism: A Tradition That Never Fully Died
Greek, Roman, Egyptian: Varieties of Pagan Reconstruction
6 Other Pieces of the Pagan Puzzle
Welcome to “The Way”
The Tao
Yin and Yang
Baby, You Can Drive My Karma
Reincarnation: From India to Ireland
The Eternal Wheel
How Pagan Karma Differs from Eastern Karma
Spinning Wheels of Light
The Way of the Western Mysteries
Science Fiction Paganism
Do You Grok the Pagan Path?
Putting It All Together
Know Yourself!
Perfect Love and Perfect Trust
A Ritual for Embarking on the Pagan Path
Part 2: How to Think Like a Pagan
7 This World, That World, and the Otherworld
A Tale of Two (or More) Worlds: Pagan Cosmology
The Psychic Linkup
Understanding the Otherworld
The Two-Tiered Paradigm
The Three-Tiered Paradigm
Yggdrasil and the Cosmos of Shamanism
The Unbelievably Complicated Paradigm
Doorways to the Otherworld
Dreams
The Imagination
Intuition and Psychic Experience
Ritual, Divination, and Magic
Knock, Knock: Who’s There?
Homes of the Gods, the Ancestors, and the Faeries
Other Spirits (Including the Ones to Avoid)
What Difference Does It Make?
Turning to the Otherworld for Guidance
Creativity: Envisioning a Better World and Working to Make This One Better
All Acts of Love and Pleasure
8 Getting to Know the Goddess
There’s Always Been a Yin
Form
Receptivity
Darkness
The History of Mom
The Goddess in Ancient Times
The Goddess Reborn
The “Phases” of the Goddess
The Maiden
The Mother
The Crone
The Hidden Face of the Goddess
Light and Dark: Two Aspects of the Goddess
A Few Goddesses from Around the World
The Secret Goddess
The Virgin Mary
Mother Earth and Mother Nature
Liberty
Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana
The Goddess in Nature
The Moon
The Soil
The Night
The Ocean
And Everything Else!
9 All About the God
Yang (Yin’s Dance Partner)
Force
Activity
Light
Putting It All Together
How the Pagan Idea of God Differs from the Monotheist God
My, What Strong Horns You Have!
God of Many Faces
The Attack on the Pagan God
The Green Man: The God Today
Some Gods from Around the World
The God in Relation to the Goddess
The Son
The Lover God
Other Important Roles for the God
The Warrior
The Artist and Craftsman
The Regal God
The Sacrifice
The God in Nature
The Sun and the Sky
Storms and Fire
The Forest and the Stag
10 A Field Guide to the Spirit World
The Many Varieties of Spirits
Are Spirits Real?
A Closer Look at Spirit Guides
Contacting Your Guide(s)
Black and White … or a Variety of Colors?
Practicing Safe Spirituality
Some of the Spirits You Could Meet
Spirits of Land, Sea, and Sky
The Relationship Between the Land and the Otherworld
Faeries: More Than Just Tinkerbell …
Ancestors: Those Who Came Before Us
Blood Ancestors: They’re in Your Genes
Ancestors of the Soul: The Ultimate Inspiration
Unicorns, Dragons, and Other Mythical Creatures
Putting It All Together
The Fuzzy Logic of the Otherworld
How to Navigate Through the Spirit Realms
11 Elementary, My Dear Pagan!
Basic Principles of the Elements
Elemental Symbols
Come On, Baby, Light My Fire
Power and Energy
Meet Commander Salamander
A Fire Meditation
Airheads, Unite!
Playfulness and Communication
Improve Your Sylph-Esteem
An Air Meditation
Water, Water, Everywhere
Fluidity and Buoyancy
Don’t Be Mean to the Undine
A Water Meditation
Earth (and the Land)
Practicality and Stability
Have You Ever Known a Gnome?
An Earth Meditation
Spirit, the Fifth Element
The Pentagram: Uniting the Five Elements
The Magic of the Elements: Weaving the Energies Together
12 Going in Circles
Nature: The Ultimate Teacher
Small Cycles, Big Cycles, Eternal Cycles
Nature: The Ultimate Recycler
So What About the Soul?
The Summerland: The Ultimate Pagan Vacation Spot
A Brief Tour of the Afterlife
Tir na n’Og
The Elysian Fields
Valhalla
The Happy Hunting Grounds
You Reap What You Sow
The Ultimate Justice Program
Instant Karma: The Ultimate Incentive
The Psychology of Reincarnation
The Cosmic Amusement Park
The Cosmic Classroom
The Big Questions
Lessons and Love
Life for the Sheer Joy of It
Part 3: Ritual
13 The Wheel of the Year
Sabbats and Esbats: Understanding the Two Kinds of Pagan Ritual
The Yin and Yang of Ritual
The Cycle of the Sun: The Dark Half
Samhain, or Harvest’s End—October 31
Yule, or Winter Solstice—Approximately December 21
Imbolc, or Candlemas—February 2
Ostara, or Spring Equinox—Approximately March 21
The Cycle of the Sun: The Light Half
Beltane, or May Day—May 1
Midsummer, or Summer Solstice—Approximately June 21
Lughnasadh, or the Beginning of Harvest—August 1
Mabon, or Fall Equinox—Approximately September 21
The Cycles of the Moon
New Moon
First Quarter/Waxing Moon
Full Moon
Last Quarter/Waning Moon
Significance of the 13 Moons
14 Tools for Ritual
What Are Tools, and How Are They Used?
Elemental Tools
The Sword and the Athame
The Wand
The Chalice
The Pentacle
Other Common Wiccan and Pagan Tools
Incense and Candles
Salt and Water
Oil
Tools from Other Traditions
The Drum
A Druid’s Tools
Miscellaneous—and Optional—Ritual Tools
Your Personal Altar
Why Have an Altar?
A Place to Pray and Meditate
A Place for Magic, Ritual, and Sacrifice
A Sacred Center for Your Home
Elements of a Typical Pagan Altar
Adorning the Altar
Consecrating Your Altar and Tools
Practical Issues
Where to Have an Altar
More Than One?
Altar Etiquette
The Only Truly Necessary Tool: Your Self!
15 A Basic Ritual
A Step-by-Step Guide to Your First Ritual
First of All: Why Bother?
A Preritual Checklist
Getting Ready: The Ritual Bath
Round and Round We Go
Anointing the Participants
Lighting the Altar
Creating Sacred Space (Casting the Circle)
A World Between the Worlds
Invoking the Spirits (Calling the Quarters and the Deities)
The Ancient and Mighty Ones
The Lord and the Lady
The Work of the Ritual
Meditation, Mystery, and Magic
Sacrifice and Omen
The Ritual Meal
Putting Things Back Where They Belong
Grounding and Centering
Thanking the Deities and Opening the Circle
Reentering Ordinary Space and Time
The Many Faces of Ritual
16 Rites of Passage
A One-Way Trip to a New You!
The Philosophy of Rites of Passage
Our Cultural Rites of Passage
The Mark of an Effective Rite of Passage
You Change
Your Community Changes
The Two Kinds of Transitions
Life Transitions: Pretty Much for Everybody
Spiritual Transitions: Only for Those Who Answer the Call
Life Transitions
Wiccanings
Coming of Age
Handfastings
Croning/Saging
Funerals
Spiritual Transitions
Dedication
Taking a Magical Name
Initiations
Eldership
Part 4: Magic
17 Meditation: Welcome to Magical Boot Camp!
Meditation: A Workout for the Mind
Hang Out with Silence Now and Zen
I Spy with the Mind’s Eye
A Visualization Exercise
May I Have the Next Trance?
Why Bother with Meditation?
All Levels
The Bottom Line
Brainwaves: The Physics of Meditation
Beta Waves
Alpha Waves
Theta Waves
Delta Waves (Zzzzzzzzzzz)
The Meditation-Magic Connection
Know Yourself
As Above, So Below
Opening Up to Spiritual Contact
Enlightenment and Ecstasy, or Welcome to Godhood!
No-Nonsense Advice for Starting Your Own Meditation Practice
Same Time, Same Place, Same Routine
Keeping a Journal
Your Secret Weapon: A Meditation Buddy
18 Magic, or Flexing Your Spiritual Muscles
Magic: Not Required (But Not Prohibited Either)
Devotional or Mystical Paganism …
… and the More Magical Variety
The Spiritual Tool for Making Dreams Come True
The Many Faces of Magic
High (Ceremonial) Magic
Low (Folk) Magic
Modern Magic: The Best of Both Worlds
Psychic Power: Magic’s “Engine”
A Quantum Approach to the Powers of the Mind
The Science of Manifestation
Meet Me Halfway
Seven Principles of Magic
Magic: Any Way You Spell It
It’s the Window-Dressing That Makes Magic Fun
As I Do Will, So Mote It Be: The Ethics of Magic
Harm None …
Banishing Evil: Magical Self-Defense
The Healing Pagan
Bringing Magic and Spirituality Together: The Alchemy of Transformation
The Spirituality of Trust
19 Divination and Omens: Listening for the Divine Whisper
Getting Into Intuition
Learning to Recognize Your Own Intuition
Psychic Skill, or Intuition on Steroids
Divination Tools: Ways to Reconnect with Our Intuitive Power
Past, Present, and Future
Whadduzit Mean?
Cycles and Chance
Astrology and Tarot: The Big Two in Divination
Astrology
Tarot
Sacred Alphabets: Spelling Out Intuition
The Runes
The Ogham
Other Common Divination Tools
The I Ching
Tea Leaves
Numerology
Scrying and the Second Sight
Omens: Listening for the Voice of the Spirits in the Natural World
20 The Pagan as Healer: From Medicine Men to Reiki Masters
Witches, Shamans, Magicians: All Are Healers
How Pagans Heal
Herbs: Plants of Healing
Reiki and Other Forms of Psychic Healing
What Is Reiki?
Get Those Chakras Spinning!
Healing Touch
Ritual as a Healing Process
Magic
Visualization and Affirmation
A Simple Healing Ceremony
Paganism and Mainstream Medicine
The Importance of Being Informed
Keep It in Balance
Part 5: Living the Pagan Life
21 Pagan Ethics: How to Behave Like an Earthkeeper
Flower Power Lives Again!
Power from Within Instead of Power Over
Freedom Rules
Perfect Love and Perfect Trust
Perfect Love: The Power of Relationship
Perfect Trust: The Fruits of Personal Power
Harm None and Do What You Will
Nonviolence
Act Now!
Freedom
Tribal Values
Honor
Hospitality
Loyalty
Respect
Pagan Virtues and the Urban Tribe
Pagans and Sex
Ward and June Let Their Hair Down
From Heinlein to Harrad: The Polyamory Option
Sex and the Wiccan Rede
Weaving It All Together
Harmony and Balance
Environmental Charity Begins at Home
Toward the Future: A Pagan Vision
22 Groups, Groves, and Gatherings
The Four Ways to Be a Pagan
Solitary Practice: Just You and the Gods
Small Groups (Covens or Circles): The Crucible of Intimacy
Large Groups, Gatherings, Alliances: Power in Numbers
Festivals and Gatherings: Short-Term Pagan Community
The Pleasures of Solitude
Being a Lone Ranger
Spiritual Lessons of Solo Practice
Solitary Pros and Cons
Small Group Spirituality: A Backyard Full of Pagans
The Structure of the Small Group
Spiritual Lessons of Small Group Practice
Larger Groups and National Organizations
The Best of Both Worlds: Alliances and National Organizations
The Pagan Gathering (and Festivals)
Anatomy of a Gathering/Festival
The Pros and Cons of Pagan Gatherings
Finding Groups and Gatherings
Is a Group or Gathering Right For You?
What to Expect from a Pagan Group
23 Harry Potter and Beyond: Paganism in Popular Culture
Books for Pagans
TV Shows for Pagans
Movies for Pagans
Popular Music for Pagans
Classical Music for Pagans
The Pagan Music Scene
24 Everyday Paganism
How to Be a Pagan Each and Every Day
Perform Mini Rituals
Meditate
Keep a Journal
Study, Read, Spend Time in the Woods
Patrons and Matrons: The Gods Who Are Just Right for You
Picking Your Special Deities
Personal Gods, Family Gods, Community Gods
Relating to Nonpagans
Remember: Pagans Don’t Convert Others!
Sharing with Your Parents
Sharing with Your Friends
Sharing with Others
Sharing with Your Children
To Know, to Will, to Dare, and to Keep Silent
Can Mother Nature and God the Father Be Lovers?
Online Paganism
How the Internet Has Helped the Pagan Movement …
…and How It Hasn’t Really Helped
The Varieties of Pagan Websites
E-Mail Lists and Discussion Groups
Pick a Topic, Any Topic
Where to Find Pagan E-Mail Lists
There Are No Trees in Cyberspace
Summary: Getting to Know the Spirit of the Land
Appendixes
A Recommended Reading
B Resources
About the Author
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