Celebrating the Pagan Soul

Pagans are a diverse lot. Our magical and spiritual experiences have been the result of training, experimentation, luck, and perhaps the will of the gods. The way that we have found our path has also come about through varied means, and yet we have all sensed the ‘rightness’ of it in our hearts when we finally acknowledged who and what we are. The essence of this voyage of personal discovery is the basis of the book ‘Celebrating the Pagan Soul’. Actually, it’s not a book in the normal sense, it’s a collection of 66 essays from many writers, with themes that include community, magic, divinity and the cycles of life.

As the title suggests, it’s a book that celebrates Paganism, giving us a voyeuristic glimpse into the private thoughts and lives of Pagans across the world. The editor also saw this volume as an opportunity to record memories of those teachers who helped shape the beginning of the Neo-Pagan movement, and to record the prejudice and intolerance that Pagans have sometimes faced as we strived for acceptance.

‘Celebrating the Pagan Soul’ is a book that everyone can learn from, no matter how new or advanced they are along the Pagan path. It’s an anthology of thoughts from the elders of our communities. Gardnerian High Priestess Laura Wildman has brought together a wonderful assortment of writers from the USA, the UK, and Australia too. Some of the big names involved in this project include: Starhawk, Margot Adler, Macha NightMare, Francesca De Grandis, Fredric Lamond, Patricia Monaghan, Barbara Ardinger, and Oberon Zell-RavenHeart. Prominent Australian writers Caroline Tully and Douglas Ezzy contributed quite moving stories, and although I might be biased, I’d say that their essays were amongst the best in the book.

Caroline’s name will be familiar to readers of Witchcraft Magazine and Pagan Times. Her story is a very personal account of the Goddess visions that she received during a dangerous and difficult birthing process, and the omens that she saw during her next ill-fated pregnancy. It’s a sad, but thought provoking article to remind us that ‘deities can take as well as give.’

Douglas Ezzy, a senior lecturer in Sociology, has written about his local patch of Tasmanian landscape... ‘the rhythm of the waves echoing to the cliff tops; the depth of the ocean along her borders; the temperamentality of the weather’s moods; the harsh cruelty of death by fire and drought; the dark quietness of her valley; the warm embrace of her folds; and the sweet fecund scent of rotting plant matter. She is an intimate friend to me...’ It’s a beautifully crafted essay about reverence for nature and the land - a contemplative meandering along the body of the goddess.

This book also shows that we Pagans don’t mind seeing the humorous side of our spirituality – this is evident from chapter titles such as: What to Do with a Dead Husband; How I Ignored Common Sense and Backed into the Morrigan; and the story of a ‘City Pagan’, who never managed to develop ‘a healthy appreciation for being outdoors.’

‘Celebrating the Pagan Soul’ is often inspirational, sometimes funny, but it also contains many touching personal stories as well. As the editor mentions in her introduction, ‘The wheel of life contains moments of tragedy and loss as well as joy.’

I was surprised at the level of honesty and openness of the writers who contributed to this book. Their musings were often filled with the sense of wonder and discovery that echoed my own journey. At times the authors delved into the same fears that have dragged me into the depths of the Underworld, but at other times they joyfully described the bliss that I too have found along the way. This book helps us to realise that we are not alone in our initial doubts of whether we will fit in; that we all mistakes; and that we’re not the only ones to have been dazzled by the effectiveness of magic that has come thundering back to us when we’ve stood between the worlds, invoking changes into our lives.

This is not the sort of book that will be lost at the back of your bookshelves. You will want to keep it nearby, so that you can read it again and again. Its short chapters are perfect for those moments when you only have a few moments of reading time available, but I bet you’ll find that you won’t be able to put it down!

Celebrating the Pagan Soul: Our Own Stories of Inspiration and Community
Edited and compiled by Laura Wildman
Published by Citadel Press, New York, 2005.
Paperback. 254 pages.
Australian RRP: $25
ISBN: 0-8065-2624-6
Available in Australia from Caroline Tully, PO Box 1206, Windsor, Victoria, 3181
Email Caroline: heliade@bigpond.com