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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > General
The Hedge Druid's Craft blends the traditions of Wicca, Witchcraft
and Druidry into a spiritual path that uses the techniques of
"hedge riding" to travel between the worlds, bringing back wisdom
and enchantment into our everyday lives. It is about working with
boundaries, with a foot in either world, living around the edges
and working with liminal times and places. For those whose paths
meander and often overlap, and those who would not be constrained
nor confined by labels, yet who seek some definition, this book is
for you. If you are interested in Witchcraft, Wicca or Druidry,
this book will sing to your soul.
It was a commonly expressed view during the First World War that
the conflict had seen a major revival of 'superstitious' beliefs
and practices. Churches expressed concerns about the wearing of
talismans and amulets, the international press paid considerable
interest to the pronouncements of astrologers and prophets, and the
authorities in several countries periodically clamped down on
fortune tellers and mediums due to concerns over their effect on
public morale. Out on the battlefields, soldiers of all nations
sought to protect themselves through magical and religious rituals,
and, on the home front, people sought out psychics and occult
practitioners for news of the fate of their distant loved ones or
communication with their spirits. Even away from concerns about the
war, suspected witches continued to be abused and people continued
to resort to magic and magical practitioners for personal
protection, love, and success. Uncovering and examining beliefs,
practices, and contemporary opinions regarding the role of the
supernatural in the war years, Owen Davies explores the broader
issues regarding early twentieth-century society in the West, the
psychology of the supernatural during wartime, and the extent to
which the war cast a spotlight on the widespread continuation of
popular belief in magic. A Supernatural War reveals the surprising
stories of extraordinary people in a world caught up with the
promise of occult powers.
Pantheism is the idea that God and the world are identical—that
the creator, sustainer, destroyer, and transformer of all things is
the universe itself. From a monotheistic perspective, this notion
is irremediably heretical since it suggests divinity might be
material, mutable, and multiple. Since the excommunication of
Baruch Spinoza, Western thought has therefore demonized what it
calls pantheism, accusing it of incoherence, absurdity, and—with
striking regularity—monstrosity. In this book, Mary-Jane
Rubenstein investigates this perennial repugnance through a
conceptual genealogy of pantheisms. What makes pantheism
“monstrous”—at once repellent and seductive—is that it
scrambles the raced and gendered distinctions that Western
philosophy and theology insist on drawing between activity and
passivity, spirit and matter, animacy and inanimacy, and creator
and created. By rejecting the fundamental difference between God
and world, pantheism threatens all the other oppositions that stem
from it: light versus darkness, male versus female, and humans
versus every other organism. If the panic over pantheism has to do
with a fear of crossed boundaries and demolished hierarchies, then
the question becomes what a present-day pantheism might disrupt and
what it might reconfigure. Cobbling together heterogeneous
sources—medieval heresies, their pre- and anti-Socratic
forebears, general relativity, quantum mechanics, nonlinear
biologies, multiverse and indigenous cosmologies, ecofeminism,
animal and vegetal studies, and new and old
materialisms—Rubenstein assembles possible pluralist pantheisms.
By mobilizing this monstrous mixture of unintentional God-worlds,
Pantheologies gives an old heresy the chance to renew our thinking.
In this innovative and deeply felt work, Bron Taylor examines the
evolution of "green religions" in North America and beyond:
spiritual practices that hold nature as sacred and have in many
cases replaced traditional religions. Tracing a wide range of
groups--radical environmental activists, lifestyle-focused
bioregionalists, surfers, new-agers involved in "ecopsychology,"
and groups that hold scientific narratives as sacred--Taylor
addresses a central theoretical question: How can environmentally
oriented, spiritually motivated individuals and movements be
understood as religious when many of them reject religious and
supernatural worldviews? The "dark" of the title further expands
this idea by emphasizing the depth of believers' passion and also
suggesting a potential shadow side: besides uplifting and
inspiring, such religion might mislead, deceive, or in some cases
precipitate violence. This book provides a fascinating global tour
of the green religious phenomenon, enabling readers to evaluate its
worldwide emergence and to assess its role in a critically
important religious revolution.
Deathwalking, or psychopomping, is the shamanic practice of helping
the deceased's soul pass on to the next realm. Despite being an
essential aspect of the Shaman's historic and contemporary role, it
has been largely overlooked in modern Shamanic literature. Shaman
Pathways - Deathwalking is an anthology offering ten perspectives
on this vital and timeless practice. Shaman Pathways -
Deathwalking, features essays from Imelda Almqvist, Kenn Day,
Yvonne Ryves, Elen Sentier, Dorothy Abrams, Vani Neelakantan, Janet
Gale, Lucya Starza, Danu Forest, and Laura Perry. '...a rare
opportunity to learn more about guiding souls and also about the
compassionate people who perform this essential service.' Evelyn C.
Rysdyk, author of The Norse Shaman
This ground-breaking study reveals an unorganized and previously
unacknowledged religion at the heart of American culture. Nature,
Albanese argues, has provided a compelling religious center
throughout American history.
An introduction to the Aos Sidhe, the People of the fairy mounds,
and to Irish fairy beliefs, this book takes readers on a journey to
understand the place that fairies have had in Ireland across the
millennia and into today. These beings can be found playing roles
both significant and subtle in folk belief and their stories are
part of the land itself, making them an intrinsic aspect of
Ireland. And yet for those who haven't grown up with these beliefs
there can be many misunderstandings and confusion surrounding who
they are, and what they can do. /Pagan Portals - Aos Sidhe/ will
help people new to the subject, as well as those with a wider
knowledge, to understand the range and depth of the folk beliefs.
Covering everything from myth and folklore to modern anecdotes and
specific types of Irish fairies, this book provides a solid
understanding of what can be a difficult subject.
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