Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism

by Carl McColman

Book Overview

A comprehensive look at pagan spirituality, a faith with a long history that is currently undergoing a major revival. Includes Druidism, gods and goddesses, alchemy, shamanism and more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 002864266X
• ISBN13: 9780028642666
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Alpha Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.4" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent Resource for Beginners!!!

As a 10 year Pagan Veteran, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning or interested in Paganism. Carl does an excellent job is describing the different paths, practices and beliefs of Paganism. His writing style is easy to understand, plus he is extremely knowledgeable about the subject. I was so impressed with his work, that this book has been added to the recommended reading list for my beginning pagansim course. Excellent Job Carl!!!

Not Just for Beginners

This book comes highly recommended for everyone--from beginners to those that have already found a particular path. Written with humor and style, the author shows that there are different types of Pagans, none of them right or wrong. Coverage includes Native American and other shamanistic systems, European pantheons, Wicca, and even Asian, East Indian, and Yoruba wisdom. You'll find yourself saying, "I never thought about it that way!" as the author expounds on why some Pagan groups believe the way they do, why some words are better descriptives than others for Pagan groups or ceremonial objects, and how Paganism compares/contrasts to the dominant monotheistic religions of the present. Holidays, symbols, the Wheel of the Year, simple rituals, and meditation techniques are some of the great reference material included in this book. What a wonderful read at a wonderful price!

A Highly recommended book for the beginner

I wish I knew of this book sooner. I've studied wide angles of the occult such as wicca, celtic shamanism, crystal energies, astral projection, tarot, astrology, scrying, dowsing, basically manny diffrent subjects all within the occult. I used to consider myself a student of the occult sciences until after awhile I realized and even came to the conclusion that I am pagan. This book has successfully brought a large number of my studies together and even some more in depth with info on relating to the divine among other things. I would highly suggest that anyone remotely interested in any earth based religion/group [i.e. wicca, shamanism, druids, etc.] should COMPELETLY read this book straight through without skipping anything as I did. This should really be a mandatory reading for anyone who is new to the occult sciences and paganism thinks about embarking on this wonderful path. Don't let the title [Complete Idiots Guide] get you down. From my perspective, 'most' of the idiots guides I've bought and have looked at, cover more than just your average book on a single subject. Just look at the table of contents, the short version and the long version that lasts for a number of pages. This book not only goes over what the author feels are the 3 main types of paganism , wicca, druidism, and shamanism, it also goes over the god and goddess, the other worlds, elemental spirits, and divination. This list is not all the the book covers. Read it through completely and you won't regret it.

Excellent Introductory Book

A lot of the Idiot's Guides that I have read are really misnamed, because they contain a lot of valuable information about the subject and presented in terms that anyone can understand. I loved this book because it explains virtually every aspect of Paganism. The explanations and descriptions of various Pagan practices, ideals, Sabbats, rituals are kept brief as befits an introductory book. And yet, even after having a handful of other intoductory Pagan books, I found myself learning facts here that I hadn't known about before. The author sticks to the "Pagan philosophy" of "Harm no one" in describing Paganism.Among topics discussed? Besides the various Pagan Sabbats and pagan ideals, there are chapters devoted to Shamans, Druids, Wicca, the "Spirit World" and the Pagan elements of fire, air, water, and earth. There are four chapters that discuss Pagan rituals and I found the author's claim that we already do rituals in our lives (high school and college graduation, marriage and funerals, for example) very true. I never would have thought about that. There's also several chapters devoted to "Pagan magic," which help to demystify it. The book's last few chapters offer advice on "living the Pagan lifestyle," and there's an extensive list of recommended reading at the book's end. One could spend months reading through the list of books alone if one wanted to.The more I read about Paganism, the more I realize other religions over the centuries have liberally borrowed its customs and holidays. For anyone wishing to join this path or those already on it seeking to learn more, this book is a wonderful introduction.

No Fluff Bunnies Here

At last...a book on Paganism that is accurate, well-researched, and honest.This book should be the first stop for anyone seeking information on Paganism and Witchcraft. It provides a comprehensive overview on the myriad of Paths out there. The bibiography and suggested reading section alone is worth the price of the book. His recommendations are scholarly, well-respected works.What I liked most is the lack of treacle, sweetness and light, fluffy bunny-Playgan wannabe misinformation that is so prevelant in most New Agey books. The author lays out so much comprehensive information that it would have saved me 6 years of intensive study had I read this first.And Carl is the first I've seen to include a section on Christo-Paganism. Yay!...