Paganism - An Introduction to Earth Centered Religions

Paganism An Introduction to Earth Centered Religions by River and Joyce Higginbotham. A comprehensive guide to a growing religious movement.

If you want to study Paganism in more detail, this book is the place to start. Based on a course in Paganism that the authors have taught for more than a decade, it is full of exercises, meditations, and discussion questions for group or individual study.

This book presents the basic fundamentals of Paganism. It explores what Pagans are like; how the Pagan sacred year is arranged; what Pagans do in ritual; what magick is; and what Pagans believe about God, worship, human nature, and ethics.

For those who are exploring their own spirituality, or who want a good book to give to non-Pagan family and friends.

A hands on learning tool with magickal workings, meditations, discussion questions, and journal exercises.

Offers in depth discussion of ethics and magick.

CONTENTS:
Acknowledgments / xi
Introduction / xiii

1 What is Paganism? 1
General Characteristics of Paganism / 3
What Does 'Pagan' Mean? / 6
Who Is a Pagan? / 7
How Many Pagans Are There? / 12
Where Pagans Come From and What TheyÃ‚Â¿re Like / 13
What Pagans Do and When They Do It / 15
An Earth-Centered Religion / 16
The Wheel of the Year / 16
Rites of Passage / 25
What Is a Ritual? / 30
What Happens in a Ritual? / 30
Ritual Tools and Symbols / 33
Is Ritual All Pagans Do? / 38
What Do Pagans Believe? / 38
Principles of Paganism / 39

2 You Are What You Believe 45
How Do Beliefs Work? / 46
What Is a Belief System? / 54
Claiming the Power to Choose Your Beliefs / 58
Search: PaganismÃ‚Â¿s Spiritual Foundation / 66

3 A Pagan View of deity 75
Concepts of Deity / 78
What Do Pagans Believe About Deity? / 79
The God Map / 80
A God Map Story / 92

4 What About Satan? 101
How Do Pagans View Satan? / 102
Pagans, Witches, and Bad Reputations / 103
Why Witch-hunts? / 106
What Happened to the Accused? / 108
A Look at the Biblical Witch Bias / 108
A Fabricated Image / 109
The Social Roles of Satan / 111
The Mythological Roles of Satan / 113
Who Is a Satanist? / 120
Can a Satanist Be a Pagan? / 121

5 The Living Universe 131
The Current Western Mindset / 132
Unbroken Wholeness: Science and a Magickal Universe / 135
The Ground of Being: Mysticism and a Magickal Universe / 145
The Universe as a Cosmic TV / 155
Personal Experience and a Magickal Universe / 161

6 Magick 163
The Mechanics of Magick / 165
The Iceberg / 172
The Applications of Magick / 179
The Limitations of Magick / 184
Your Magickal Pager / 187

7 Ethics and Personal Responsibility 197
Who Are You? / 197
The Multidimensional Self / 199
The Afterlife / 201
Ethics: What Are They? / 206
The Western Religious Ethic / 207
Ethics: The Pagan Approach / 210
Pagan Ethical Systems / 214

Notes / 225
Glossary / 231
Bibliography / 235
Recommended Reading / 239
Index / 245

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