Product Description

Paganism is a collection of spiritual paths that have their roots in the ancient religions of the world. Thousands of Pagans today share a love of Nature and a reverence of the Divine, but how they express their beliefs differs according to the path they follow. This ground-breaking guide to Paganism explains - the main issues involved in setting out on the Pagan path - the beliefs and practices of Wicca, Hedgewitch traditions, Druidry, Shamanism, Asatru, Mystery Groups, Ecletic Paganism and some foreign traditions - the Pagan approach to magic - the significance of sacred sites - how to be a practical Pagan - celebrations and organisations - the growing role of Paganism in today's world - Eco-Paganism and Cyber Paganism

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25982 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From the Author
A detailed exploration of the many Pagan paths of spirituality practised in the English speaking world. I have drawn on my 30 years experience as a Pagan, and the insights I gained whilst the President of Europes largest Pagan organisation, The Pagan Federation. I have tried hard to make clear what is fact, and what is opinion, and have interviewed and quoted many different leading Pagans so that a range of visions are represented. I also examine festivals, magical practices and ethics and the role of sacred landcapes. The book should be of use to both experienced and beginner Pagans, as well as serious students of comparitive religions.

About the Author
Pete Jennings is the recently retired President of the Pagan Federation, the umbrella organisation for all Pagan paths in Britain. He is well respected as an authority in this field, and gives lectures throughout the UK. He also produces and presents programmes for the BBC and independent radio.

Customer Reviews

A great read!
This book is a fun and interesting read whether you are an experienced pagan, a total newbie or just someone interested in other religions.
It's always hard to answer the question us pagans often get asked by non-pagan friends "what exactly is a pagan?". In the future, instead of trying to explain paganism and often getting the person even more confused, I am just going to lend them this book.
It includes all the major pagan paths, as well as some of the less main stream ones. It also has some great sections about ethics, using magick and the future of paganism.
I don't often get past the first few chapters of most pagan books, but Pagan Paths is great. It is easy to read with a very friendly and down to earth style of writing, as well as funny, interesting and informative.
I would reckonmend it to anyone, new, old or just curious.

An all-round great book, very useful to have!
This is an interesting, empathetic and lively introduction to Paganism itself and a number of the traditions within it. The "Things To Do" sections at the end of each chapter are brilliant, really enabling you to get a feel for each path spoken about, which I think - like this entire book - can be useful, important and relevant to anyone, whether an experienced Pagan on a particular path, a Pagan unsure of joining a specific tradition, or someone interested in contemporary religions and wanting to learn about paths which are "off the beaten track" as it were.

My only (very small) complaint about this otherwise brilliant book, is that it's slightly unbalanced, with five chapters on various different traditions of Wicca/Witchcraft, while other paths have only one chapter, or less (in the cases of a few, such as Eclectic Paganism, and Male & Female Mystery Groups). However, this is more than made up for by the excellent chapters on magic, first tackling ethics, and _only then_ moving on to the actual _use_ of magic. The different types of magic section is very useful and interesting, even if you've been using magic for some time. The final chapters about the future of Paganism and "Where do we go from here?" wrap up the book brilliantly, setting you free of persue what path you will.

Like a previous reviewer, I will be lending this book out a lot, instead of attempting to explain what Paganism is to people. This is a book every RE teacher should read.

Finally, a tip...

LOOK AT THE BACK.
Like many Pagan books, this one has sections that point you in the directions of other books, websites, organisations, give a useful glossary and basically give a wealth of extra information that can point you on where to go next.

Excellent guide once you wish to find the right path for you
Recently learning that paganism is the worlds fastest growing religion I had to find out more, therefore with only the most elementary knowledge was looking for a book starting from the very basics.

Where Pete Jennings excels is in his wide ranging and detailed descriptions of the various paths open to modern pagans. It is true this book does include a guide to what is paganism but this is only an overview, and in my opinion not the best part of the book. I found this basic knowledge in the excellent WICCA (Scott Cunningham) and The Wicca Bible (Ann-Marie Gallagher).

I feel this is a book for someone that has acquired a sound basic knowledge of the subject, decides they wish to go further, and needs guidance how to go about it.

"Pagan Paths" is therefore essential reading but not a one stop guide.