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

Send to Friend

You must be logged in to use the Send to Friend Automated Feature.

If you do not have an account, feel free to use the eMail Feature to send a product page or product link to your friend or family member by hovering over, or clicking the gray and white plus sign icon above the product name, then choose the eMail feature to send the info.