"This book should appear on the suggested reading list given to any student on a Pagan path."
Being a Pagan
Druids, Wiccans, and Witches Today
Description
More than 60 pagan leaders and teachers describe in their own words what they believe and what they practice.
• Addresses how Pagans view parenting, organized religion, and politics.
• Introduces the wide range of possibilities within the neo-Pagan movement.
• By Ellen Evert Hopman, author of A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year; Walking the World in Wonder: A Children's Herbal; and Tree Medicine, Tree Magic.
Who are the pagans and what do they stand for? Why would some of the members of the best educated, most materially comfortable generation of Americans look back to mystical traditions many millennia old? During the last few decades, millions of people have embraced ancient philosophies that honor Earth and the spiritual power of each individual. Ways of worship from sources as diverse as the pre-Christian Celts, ancient Egypt, and Native American traditions are currently helping their followers find meaning in life while living in the Information Age.
In this book Pagan leaders and teachers describe in their own words what they believe and what they practice. From Margot Adler, an NPR reporter and author of Drawing Down the Moon, to Isaac Bonewits, ArchDruid and founder of a modern neo-Druidic organization, those interviewed in this book express the rich diversity of modern Paganism. Hopman's insightful questions draw on her own experiences as a Pagan and Druid as well as on her extensive research. With coauthor Lawrence Bond, she examines how Pagans address such issues as parenting, organized religion, and politics. The resulting dialogues illuminate the modern Pagan revival.
Reviews
"Being a Pagan is well researched and offers a panoramic outlook on a growing spiritual movement offering hope for our Earth."
"The collection is refreshingly unlike other spiritual self-discovery books because it is not a how-to, but instead an oral documentation of actual practice, thus providing an extremely valuable historiography of paganism."
"Hopman and Bond are evenhanded in their treatment of each individual expression of paganism, never setting one against the other. Their biases never show, which in itself is quite a feat. The questions asked are pertinent and probing. If you are not a pagan, this book is definitely for you. It does not seek to convert, only to inform and challenge your own faith, or lack of it. For both pagan and non-pagan, if nothing else, it will change your understanding of what it means to call oneself 'pagan.'"
