Signposts

The first Pagan books I read were Scott Cunningham’s “Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner” and Margot Adler’s “Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America”.

They were recommended by people I met at a local metaphyiscal shop as a good place to start – one as a good introduction to Wicca and one as something of an encyclopedia of many different Pagan paths.  I bought the books, along with a couple of others, and went on my way.

I started with Scott Cunningham’s book.  It was exciting.  I could feel my own journey beginning, learning about something new (to me, anyway); something that I felt a connection to.  I had my first lessons on the Goddess and the God, the Sabbats, and how to prepare for and create rituals – a way to practice the Pagan path.

There were, however, sections that didn’t speak to me.  At least not right away.  For example, I had difficulty going through some of the exercises presented later in the book.  At first, they felt, well, silly.  I couldn’t get my head around them.  I wasn’t quite ready to accept everything he wrote.  Over time, however, as I learned more and moved further along my path, I read the sections again.  The exercises started to make more sense to me.  I started to understand them and what they were trying to teach me.

Although “Drawing Down the Moon” was recommended, I was warned about it’s textbook-like qualities.  It’s a thorough book.  Undeterred, I plunged into a fascinating yet different look at the community I was embracing written from a Pagan journalist’s perspective.  The inclusion of interviews and first-hand accounts with Margot Adler’s research provided a rich reading experience.

It opened my eyes to the wider Pagan community, showing so many different ways people practice their faith while still under a Pagan umbrella.  It also helped me understand and realize that I didn’t have to believe, practice or follow the same things as one group or another to have a connection to the larger community.

Along with a few other books that were initially recommended to me, these books shaped how I saw the Pagan community and my understanding of what I was getting into.  This was a major signpost for me – just how potent first impressions can be when initially investigating Paganism and recognizing how important it is to keep an open mind as you go along.

I re-read parts of Scott Cunningham’s book from time to time, re-living that original awakening I felt as I first stepped onto this path.  His ‘Song of the Goddess’ struck a cord with me then and still does today.  I treat Margot Adler’s book like the textbook it is – I use it to read more about the various groups I encounter on this path.

What were your first Pagan books?  How did they affect you?  Did they shape how you viewed subsequent books or new belief systems?