Who are contemporary Pagans and what do they do? Graham Harvey’s quest to find this answer has resulted in an informative book that covers the history and modern practices of Druids, Heathens, Shamans and Wiccans. Back in 1997, Adelaide’s Wakefield Press published Listening People, Speaking Earth, and it is the best reference book on Paganism that I’ve seen in a long time. Graham Harvey is a British lecturer in Religious Studies, and he’s been very thorough in this extensively researched account of our spiritual path, even including Australian magical methods.
It’s obvious that Paganism is more than an academic interest to this author, and although he doesn’t relate his own experiences in this book, he definitely associates on a personal level to the subject matter. He thinks of Pagans as “people who consider the world to be alive, they are listening to a speaking earth.” He shows that Pagans have a sense of reverence even for the mundane world, and his expression of this is almost poetic... “Sacredness collects as if in pools and sometimes splashes over into the ordinary, everyday parts of life.”
In this book, Harvey explains how Pagans honour Earth, the seasons, spiritual folklore and life itself. He also acknowledges the underlying humour that many Pagans have, so there are plenty of Terry Pratchett quotes liberally sprinkled around. He notes that Pratchett’s Discworld series is filled with Pagan references... “with its deities, its ordinary magic, animism, frequent synchronicities and meaningful encounters, its general earthiness, enchantment and diversity...”
After looking at Shamanism too, Harvey ponders... “Is Paganism, therefore, a monotheistic or a polytheistic religion? Or is it possible to be an atheist Pagan? Is animism a better label for Pagans than theists? It will be no surprise by now that Pagans can affirm all these options and more. Indeed, they can affirm several of them at once.” Yes Graham, we are a very diverse mob, and this is one of the most cherished aspects of Paganism for us. As tricky as this concept must be to an academic, to his credit, Graham Harvey accepts this uncommon view of deities as an intrinsic part of contemporary Paganism.
Animism is a subject that Graham Harvey becomes quite fond of. A section of this book is devoted to an exploration of this concept, and in 2005 he wrote a complete book on the subject. “Many Pagans are animists, asserting that everything that exists is alive,” he observes. “Words like ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’ are not always useful, but are attempts to say what it is about something which makes it alive. Rocks do not breathe, trees do not speak English, hedgehogs do not preach sermons, mosquitoes do not seem to theorise, clouds do not seem to aspire to immortality. So what does it mean to say that they are all alive?” He also writes.... “Like other aspects of Paganism, animism should not be considered a belief, but an exercise or way of life. It is a theory which is acted on and tested out, an approach or path which is walked.”
This is a broad introduction to the trends of contemporary Paganism, but it is also much more than an academic listing of Pagan topics. Harvey has spoken to the people involved in these areas and has empathised with their beliefs, and in reading between the lines, he has probably experienced the spiritual connection of many of these paths himself. It’s obvious that this researcher has been listening to the people involved in Paganism, and has truly understood the words of the Speaking Earth.
Author: Graham Harvey
Publisher: Wakefield Press, 1997
ISBN: 1-862544-03-4
Price: AUD $29.95
It’s obvious that Paganism is more than an academic interest to this author, and although he doesn’t relate his own experiences in this book, he definitely associates on a personal level to the subject matter. He thinks of Pagans as “people who consider the world to be alive, they are listening to a speaking earth.” He shows that Pagans have a sense of reverence even for the mundane world, and his expression of this is almost poetic... “Sacredness collects as if in pools and sometimes splashes over into the ordinary, everyday parts of life.”
In this book, Harvey explains how Pagans honour Earth, the seasons, spiritual folklore and life itself. He also acknowledges the underlying humour that many Pagans have, so there are plenty of Terry Pratchett quotes liberally sprinkled around. He notes that Pratchett’s Discworld series is filled with Pagan references... “with its deities, its ordinary magic, animism, frequent synchronicities and meaningful encounters, its general earthiness, enchantment and diversity...”
After looking at Shamanism too, Harvey ponders... “Is Paganism, therefore, a monotheistic or a polytheistic religion? Or is it possible to be an atheist Pagan? Is animism a better label for Pagans than theists? It will be no surprise by now that Pagans can affirm all these options and more. Indeed, they can affirm several of them at once.” Yes Graham, we are a very diverse mob, and this is one of the most cherished aspects of Paganism for us. As tricky as this concept must be to an academic, to his credit, Graham Harvey accepts this uncommon view of deities as an intrinsic part of contemporary Paganism.
Animism is a subject that Graham Harvey becomes quite fond of. A section of this book is devoted to an exploration of this concept, and in 2005 he wrote a complete book on the subject. “Many Pagans are animists, asserting that everything that exists is alive,” he observes. “Words like ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’ are not always useful, but are attempts to say what it is about something which makes it alive. Rocks do not breathe, trees do not speak English, hedgehogs do not preach sermons, mosquitoes do not seem to theorise, clouds do not seem to aspire to immortality. So what does it mean to say that they are all alive?” He also writes.... “Like other aspects of Paganism, animism should not be considered a belief, but an exercise or way of life. It is a theory which is acted on and tested out, an approach or path which is walked.”
This is a broad introduction to the trends of contemporary Paganism, but it is also much more than an academic listing of Pagan topics. Harvey has spoken to the people involved in these areas and has empathised with their beliefs, and in reading between the lines, he has probably experienced the spiritual connection of many of these paths himself. It’s obvious that this researcher has been listening to the people involved in Paganism, and has truly understood the words of the Speaking Earth.
Author: Graham Harvey
Publisher: Wakefield Press, 1997
ISBN: 1-862544-03-4
Price: AUD $29.95
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