Paganchick Chat June/July 2006
 

Good day everyone! :)

We are having wierd weather again - 3 days of blazing sun and scorching heat followed by 4 days of low temperatures and rain. :p

I've at least got all my plants put in but still have some yardwork and painting to do. I've had a crazy week so I'm planning on putting my feet up and resting this weekend.

Hope everyone is doing well and has a good weekend! :D

Our weather here in the Sierra Nevada has been werid too, really up and down and all over the place..

Hope everyone is having a good June so far !!

Can anyone recommend any books on paganism or wicca or any other spiritual type books. I'm looking for something new (to me anyway :) ) but the choices at the bookstores range from very little to overwhelming. Someplace don't carry much and others carry too much and you can't figure out what to buy. :lol:

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks! :D

Ooooh, ooooh, here's a link to our Recommended Reading list on our website. Either I, my husband or both of us has read them. http://www.wyldwytch.com/weavings/ar...list/index.htm
Just delete the link if it's inappropriate and I'll PM anyone if they want it.

I guess that doesn't really help you with choosing a book, though, does it?:D It's a pretty long list. But I really liked The Circle Within: Creating A Wiccan Spiritual Tradition by Dianna Sylvan. It really focuses on day-to-day Paganism, living the life, walking the walk, instead of just being a "festival Pagan". I also love The Gentle Arts of Natural Magic by Marian Green and anything by Lon Milo DuQuette, although he focuses more on Ceremonial and Enochian magic. And of course, The Spiral Dance by Starhawk is always a must read.

Thanks for the info mummy tummy! :D

the first pagan/wiccian book I ever read/owned was about 16 -17 years ago and it was bucklands..oh you all know what its called..the big blue one..lol
Oh I cant think of it tonight, I just quit smoking, my brain is not working..but its the really famous one..
Then I went buddhist for many years and I could give you tons in that area to read, but when i came back to wicca and choose to combine buddhism with wicca alot of what I learned was by heart/instinct and then just hanging out with alot of other wiccians and being in a coven..

I do think alot of my friends love starhawk though, they always swear by her..

There are alot of books that maybe arnt *wiccian* per say but are great spiritual books, I am gonna list a few just off the top of my head


actually a favorite wiccian book that is not about wicca and is fiction but I loved is the mists of avalon..
ahh I love that book

but ok non fiction..

Awakening to the sacred
Lama Durya Das

Awakening to the buddha within
same guy

Holy Cow
Sarah Macondald
(not really a spiritual book per say but a very cool book that deals with alot of alternative religons of the east and India )

I even read care of the soul by the ex catholic priest..oh real famous guy..I liked his books though..interesting stuff

oh of course the tibetian book of the dead

OH I know there is like 50 more and I am sitting here drawing a big old blank..

For me personaly and some ppl agree and some disagree, just hanging out and talking with ppl who have been wiccian for awhile was my greatest help..
even if you have to find ppl online..
and no two wiccians I know do anything the same thing anyways, I have a friend who is new to wiccia and she is always asking me what to do for this or what to bring for this and I am like..it totally depends on which witch your listening too anyways, I may say one thing and 2 other women we know will say something else..lol
For me as far as learning to cast spells, bring stuff to ritual, how to do ritual, you can get online and get so many of the basics and just use your gut to find your way..that really honestly has always worked best for me..espically because I do tie so much of my eastern religon background into my beliefs now..
how I do ritual might make a flat out saxon wiccian very uncomfy and how they do stuff might make me uncomfy..

so experiment with differnet books, hit your library first and get a feel for the authors..alot of times they have whole series of books, see who you like and then kinda check out maybe their new releases in the book stores you know?

just dont be afraid to experiment..wicca in my opinion is a electic blend of many old pagan religons, its not one certian, ok this is exactly how this is gonna be done and dam you if you do it wrong..thing
its a blend of many ancients wisdoms and talents..from many many areas, all areas at one time were pagan, weither it was the middle east or ireland or americas or cuba or africa, and wicca is the racked up wisdom of so many many tribes..
so there is alot of info out there ! and reading through it is a lifetime adventure! :)

Well I'm into the Celtic thing since I am Scottish but I am dabbling with kitchen witchery as I like to cook and use natural products. I like the idea of blessing your home and for me the kitchen is the heart of a home.

I've read up on a lot of religions/beliefs and feel most comfortable with an earth based path.

Thanks for the book recommendations. I'm looking for some different ideas or perspectives so they will be of some help. :)

I personally love anything by Silver Ravenwolf.....

She is very basic...simple....sort of like me..:dizzy:

And I too loved mists of Avalon

I like anything by Phillip Carr-Gomm or Emma Restall-Orr (druids from different UK orders).

I could give you a longer list of dislikes than likes, though!

Oh, Marian Green and Rae Beth are good too (hedge witches). Poppy Palin's a bit flaky but a fun read.

I go for Tarot decks and their books, more. Anything by Anna Franklin/Paul Mason is a must have, for me! Oh and I love rading about Reiki, too. I really love Diane Stein's Essential Reiki book.

thanks evilyn and Phatphoenix! :)

I think I may have posted this site before, but if you are into the kitchen witchery this is pretty cool. Lots of recipes of all kinds - from food to spells or crafts. I have spent hours looking through it all and not seen everything yet, it is an msn group, but you don't have to sign up to look at it.

http://groups.msn.com/PaganHearthRecipes/homepage.msnw

I've visited that sight before and it's a good one - I have it bookmarked! :D

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend! :)

We celebrated both Canada Day and my birthday this weekend. I got a lovely fairy statue as a gift and put in in my front flower garden - she looks terrific peeping out from the flowers.

I've been looking for a plaque for over the front porch, either the Green Man or a celtic symbol, but I found something pretty cool that I'm going to use instead. Years ago I bought a metal dragon which I thought was a plaque made of cast iron but the person who I bought it from at the flea market told me it was a decorative piece from and antique cast iron stove. I came across it yesterday while digging through a box of stuff I hadn't unpacked from my move and fell in love with it again. I'm going to clean it up and paint it with some rustproof paint, either black or a shade of green, and hang it up over the entrance to the porch.

It's kind of fun to rediscover old treasures.

Well here with are almost mid-way through July! :faint: The last couple of weeks have gone by so quickly!

How is everyone doing these days? Anyone doing anything for their summer holidays.

I'm not getting as much done in the garden as I wanted to. It's either been to humid out or raining and we haven't been able to get the fences painted. :( My herb garden is getting neglected but my tomato plants are doing well.

Did anyone see that full moon last night? OMG, it was so beautiful.