First steps and direction needed!

[JohnBrac]

Hi all.

I was brought up a Roman Catholic in the UK. This was not a pleasant experience, and I've left it behind. I have an interest in belief systems, but have been put off many paths by hypocrisy, greed and selfishness. The unquestioning nature of conventional religion leaves me cold. How can any one person decide that they know all the answers and everyone else is wrong?

I have felt drawn deeply to the power of nature - Simply the power of the elements, the Earth and the wider universe is simply beyond comprehension. I feel drawn to ancient times, to Pagan interpretations of life, however I have no idea where to start! I want to feel at peace with the world, to become a better more creative and caring person, but I need help!

Any direction gratefully received, particularly towards relevant books.

[thalassa]

Re: First steps and direction needed!

So, we have a booklist that might be helpful here.

But, for newbies, my recommended reading list in 5 books is this:

Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-centered Religions by River and Joyce Higgenbotham
Pagan Paths: A Guide to Wicca, Druidry, Asatru, Shamanism, and Other Pagan Practices by Peter Jennings
To Walk A Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day by Alaric Albertsson
The Earth, The Gods and The Soul: A History of Pagan Philosophy from the Iron Age to the 21st Century by Brendan Myers
A World Full of Gods: an Inquiry into Polytheism by John Michael Greer

These 5 books should 1) give you an overview of contemporary Pagansim and its variety of traditions, 2) give you a jumping off start of the most predominant Pagan philosophies and theologies, 3) give you a practical foundation towards finding and creating your own traditions and/or finding the tradition where you might start your own path.

As a sort of expanded list, I'd also add in these guys:

Comparative Mythology by Jaan Puhvell
A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong
Walking with the Gods: Modern People Talk About Deities, Faith, and Recreating Ancient Traditions by W. D. Wilkerson
The Deities are Many: A Polytheistic Theology by Jordan D Paper
The Circle Within by Diane Sylvan
God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism by Jonathan Kirsch
by Emma Restall Orr
Deep Ancestors: Practicing the Religion of the Proto-Indo-Europeans by Ceisiwr Serith
The Hollow Bone: A Field Guide to Shamanism by Colleen Deatsman and Sandra Ingerman
The Wakeful World: Animism, Mind, and the Self in Nature by Emma Restall Orr (or Animism: Respecting the Natural World by Graham Harvey)
The Sacred Depths of Nature by Ursula Goodenough
The Wayfinders: Why Anciend Wisdom Matters in the Modern World by Wade Davis

I'd pick these because they sort of expand on the themes of the previous list, and start branching out a bit into ideas that are found throught the variety of Pagan traditions, from a specific practitioner's or tradition's POV (for example, Emma Restall Orr is a Druid with the OBOD, and *at the time of the writing* Diane Sylvan was a solitary ecclectic Wiccan, etc). None of them are introductory books on specific traditions (but we have lists for those too, lol), but they add depth and breadth to the "short list".

[JohnBrac]

Re: First steps and direction needed!

Wow! Thank you so much I'm ordering already

[shebani]

Re: First steps and direction needed!

I'll post a few of the things I consider important that I have learned so far


Let nature be your teacher (as above, so below)

Learn everything you can about water.

Everything is a circle

The law of polarity

Everything moves, nothing is at rest

The heart must be light as a feather..


I also came out of the Abrahamics, and I agree with the idea and advice to read. I would suggest to read about any subject that you find you have questions for, a leaning to, keeping thinking about, ect. I have found that one segment leads to another, and another, and so on..lol until I am behind in my book list now by hundreds of books. (smile)

[JohnBrac]

Re: First steps and direction needed!

Thoughtful advice with thanks! I'm on my first book of the list above and I take your point about segments leading to others! My journey has begun