Questions, questions, questions. One of the fun things that I have been doing for a running period of about three years is a series of questions from six folks on Facebook. About three years ago, I invited folks to offer me questions on any topic via Facebook Messenger. Initially, I had about fifteen people asking questions from time to time, but my Q3 Club (Questions, Questions, Questions Club) has shrunk to about six people. A lot of the questions are nonsensical stuff, mostly questions to have fun with – such as the “What is your fave color?” that was tossed to me yesterday. Of course, I answered with Sir Galahad’s answer at the Bridge of Death. However, from time to time, one of the folks will ask a good, serious question about Paganism or Druidry that makes me stop, think, and formulate a serious answer. Sometimes, those questions require far more lengthy answers, which brings me to here. With that bit of background out of the way, Stephen S. (Iowa) wrote what I consider to be a fairly offbeat question. However, answering this will take a bit more typing time than it does on Facebook.

What Pagan or ‘Pagan-y’ books do you consider to be excellent reads that are fairly under the radar?

Stephen S. (name used with permission)

This post took me a little time to work and formulate a response. Stephen originally asked for a twenty-five book response. I am going to cut that to somewhere between seven to ten. At the moment, I am not sure of the final number, except that I will stop at ten if I can go that far. First, I have to deal with the “under the radar” terminology. Looking at my bookshelf, I considered a few factors for this concept of “under the radar”. I have a handful of books that were not easy to obtain. I also have a few books that I rarely see a lot of folks talking about out in the Pagan internet cloud, for lack of a better description of the Pagan-y online communities. Not every single book that I will include on this is a Pagan topical book. Some of these are science fiction books that I consider to have a strong Pagan flavor to them. Now, with all that typed/said, let’s get down to stuff, shall we?

The first book I would like to set out for discussion is by one of the three female Druids in the UK that have greatly influenced my daily practice. Part of the Pagan Portals series of books, The Awen Alone: Walking the Path of the Solitary Druid by Joanna van der Hoeven has been an invaluable source for my daily practice. Back during my podcasting days, I got Joanna to join me for discussion on Upon a Pagan Path. I have long since closed the Upon a Pagan Path podcast; however, I hope to put the episodes up here on the Life With Trickster Gods blog site. Now, Joanna is one of the nicest conversations I have ever had online. Her books are a true joy to read and work through. I cannot recommend her work enough, even outside of this one book. I do believe that this particular work is not talked about enough and is particularly quite useful for the individual Practitioner that chooses to go it alone (which is definitely me).

The second book is also from my triad of influences, and I am more than thrilled to not only have her as a friend, but to consider her a mentor of sorts as I started walking down a Path of Priestly concepts and functions. Cat Treadwell‘s book, A Druid’s Tale, has provided so much inspiration to me along my Path. I have literally read through this book four or five times over the years that I have had it on my shelf and I continue to draw inspiration over my Path with each reading. Like many Druids that I have met online, she is quite friendly, forth-coming with her responses, and just one of those people that I want to rush over to the UK just to get a hug, sit and talk….and laugh. I’m definitely biased about Cat; however, I rarely see her two books – the other being Facing the Darkness – talked about openly. Plus, Facing the Darkness covers issues of crisis and depression from a Pagan angle with some east to work exercises. I truly consider this particular book an essential item to have on your shelf in these absolutely turbulent times we live in.

My next under-the-radar choice is a work of fiction. Morgan Llywelyn is one of the most prolific fiction authors I have ever read, aside from the Zane Grey. I have numerous books written by Morgan, but Druids is the one that I continually come back to for re-read after re-read. I have loaned this book out several times to friends, who probably forgot to return it to me. That’s ok though. Paperbacks don’t cost that much money, plus I was always happy to help this particular work find new, happy homes. The story follows a French tribe living in Gaul, particularly a young Druid named Ainvar. The story is captivating, charming, and written in a way that will make you fall in love with not only the characters, but also the lush environment created in the story. My understanding is that this book is getting harder and harder to find, so I hope the publisher decides to make a new print run.

Kristoffer Hughes is one of the zaniest Druids I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and those bear hugs where I get lifted off the ground (Kristoffer is MUCH taller than I am) are the stuff of legends. Kristoffer’s book Journey Into Spirit is absolutely amazing reading. The book details some of his journey into his everyday job in the morgue. There are also discussions of how to approach impending death of a loved one with dignity, love and grace. There is a lot of talk in Paganism about coming of age rituals, celebrations of the wheel of the year, and initiatory rites, but rarely is there discussions about rituals associated with the end of life. Kristoffer notes how society has essentially taken the concept of death and locked it behind the doors of the mortuary, away from the eyes of loved ones. This is a book that I think everyone should take the time to read, contemplate, and determine aspects of their own passage to the worlds beyond. And if you ever get the chance to catch him talking live….make sure you are there. Kristoffer is profound, humorous, profane, and one of the most loving individual you could ever encounter. Just an absolute joy to be around, and his book will provide you with so much material to contemplate, as well as tearing up at aspects of his own personal journey.

These next two books have been lifesavers for me in the area of ritual. I don’t see either of these talked about often enough. The weakest part of my Druidry is definitely ritual. Being solo, I have a group of one for my rituals, so things are fairly easy on me. Ritual with others can be quite strenuous for me. Group ritual requires a lot of work, a lot of meshing of everyone’s energies, and a lot of preparation. Emma Restall Orr’s Ritual: A Guide to Live, Love & Inspiration and Rachel Patterson’s The Art of Ritual have been quite helpful at dispelling some of my apprehensive nature towards this area of Druidry. and Paganism. Patterson’s book is written from the perspective of a Witch, but I still found a lot that was presented to be quite helpful. granted, I don’t agree with the concept of specific clothing for rituals…I feel the Gods are just as comfortable with me in a Rush concert t-shirt as They would be with me in specialized clothing for rituals. However, both authors bring up good points about all aspects of ritual in their books.

Published in 2005, Pagan Visions for a Sustainable Future is a group of essays written by a number of folks approaching the perspectives of feminism, magickal ecology, political activism, globalization, sacred communities and environmental spiritual displayed against a backdrop of where to go into the future. At fifteen years old, some of the perspectives appear a bit dated and somewhat nonsensical against the backdrop of today. However, I found this book to be full of great starting points for very difficult subjects. If you are looking for something that presents a challenging read, this would be my suggestion of starting place. Beyond that, there are hundreds of tangential directions that can be pursued. Those rabbit trails, in my opinion, can provide you with some topical perspectives that you may never have even considered.

Now I am not that “up” on the availability of some of these titles. As a point of consideration, Restall Orr’s book and the Pagan Visions book, I found in online used bookstores. The links I have provided for each of the books either goes to an Amazon link or directly to the author’s site. Honestly, I prefer the author’s site whenever possible, as it removes Amazon as the “middle man” and puts more money into the authors’ pockets. Just my personal preference. Plus, I love that Pagans seem to be some of the deepest read individuals in the various Spiritual communities. As a former professor, it does my heart good to see so many folks willing to read to expand their connection and experience.

–T /|\