Pagan Culture - Interviews
The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween: Celebrating the Dark Half of the Year
The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween:
Celebrating the Dark Half of the Year
by Jean Markale
Inner Traditions
Halloween is one of America’s most popular holidays, yet many Americans remain woefully ignorant about its true origin and meaning. The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween provides a nice starting point for Halloween novices seeking a well-researched and scholarly introduction to “The Celtic Festival of Samhain” and an unraveling of the mystery and meaning of that most Christian of all holidays — All Saint’s Day, which quite literally means “eve of all the saints.”
Read more: The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween: Celebrating the Dark Half of the Year
Living At Loki’s Feet
newWitchVoices
Living At Loki’s Feet
by Trickster’s Daughter
I never expected to be devout, and certainly I never expected to be devoted to not one, but two Gods, living in communion with both of them.
I had a relatively religious-free childhood and what limited knowledge of religion I did have was Christian. I remember having a couple of Bible stories which I listened to on my Winnie– the– Pooh record player. Occasionally, I attended Vacation Bible School with a friend, but that was about it. Religion was not something discussed in my house.
When I was thirteen my mother decided that it was time for the entire family to attend church. I much preferred to sleep in or watch Sunday morning cartoons but was reluctantly dragged off wearing my Sunday best.
Dark Moon Mysteries: Wisdom, Power and Magic of the Shadow World
Dark Moon Mysteries:
Wisdom, Power and Magic of the Shadow World
by Timothy Roderick
Llewellyn
I have always worked closely with the Crone. In fact, my spirit name is a direct reflection of this. So it’s not surprising that one day, when I was browsing at a local bookstore, the title of this book leapt out. I pulled the book from the shelf and sat down, thumbing through the pages. Within minutes I knew I had to add it to my library.
Read more: Dark Moon Mysteries: Wisdom, Power and Magic of the Shadow World
Goddess Initiation: A Practical Celtic Program for Soul-Healing, Self-Fulfillment & Wild Wisdom
Goddess Initiation:
A Practical Celtic Program for Soul-Healing, Self-Fulfillment & Wild Wisdom
by Francesca De Grandis
Harper Collins Publishers
The Goddess must be smiling over Francesca De Grandis’ new book, Goddess Initiation. Here is a course of inner wisdom work that is disciplined, profound, and absorbing. The straight-forward prose, the amusing and touching anecdotes, the moments of lyrical beauty, have the same power as those which made her first book, Be a Goddess, so successful.
Exploring Wicca: The Beliefs, Rites, and Rituals of the Wiccan Religion
Exploring Wicca:
The Beliefs, Rites, and Rituals of the Wiccan Religion
by Lady Sabrina
New Page Books
When I was thirteen, living through an eternal hormone-induced place of damnation, I found my mother’s copy of The Spiral Dance. She had it because she was a feminist; I read it because the idea of being a “witch” sounded cool. I became a witch because Starhawk showed me a place I remembered, a way of being that felt right.
Read more: Exploring Wicca: The Beliefs, Rites, and Rituals of the Wiccan Religion
A Witch Like Me
A Witch Like Me
by Sirona Knight
New Page Books
This latest offering by Sirona Knight (creator of The Shapeshifter Tarot) is a compilation of responses to a questionnaire given to 14 of today’s “leading Wiccan authors.” The subjects include the likes of Knight herself (she’s humble, at least), Raymond Buckland, Z. Budapest and Silver Ravenwolf. The questionnaires ask the subjects to describe their paths, how they came to be where they are, childhood experiences, and so forth.
