New Alter+Margot Adler Review

Okay so not a NEW alter, basically I found a decent cabinet at Goodwill so I could finally move my alter stuff from the bedside table to an actual space just for my pagan stuff. It's not much bigger than my original alter but just enough to make a few minor design alterations. It also has enough room for me to put my wicca books and all underneath.

BTW, finally finished Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Alder. Took me a little over a week to get through and I'll say that was at about 4 hours of reading a day. (Goddess bless 3 hr toddler nap times!) But what I really liked about the book was it's dedication to it's subject matter. Where as most pagan, wicca and witchcraft books these days are composed of spells, rituals and what you need to buy to consider yourself authentically pagan, this book was written almost like a doctoral thesis. It went in depth and admitted the inherent 'flaws' and accidental fallacies of the invention of our faith. It also pointed out the obvious to which all religions are man made to at least some extent, so is it really taking that big a liberty to largely manufacture one based on the premise of ancient gods, feminism and ecological reform? I don't think so.

I also like how she pointed out that most pagans don't agree on exactly what being pagan constitutes. Some feel it's an act of spiritual enlightenment, others enjoy the aspects of self awareness it promotes, some people see it as reclaiming themselves from a gender standpoint, and still more see it is a vehicle for social, ecological and religious reform. But it does this in a way that still gives all opinions a light of validity and reason. The same can not be said of many other books attempting to explain the vast and complex world of witchcraft.

Another thing that really impressed me was that the book was realistic without being judgmental. There are a fair amount of things about paganism I disagree with, but it's sort of on the same level as my disagreements with Christianity. Basically more to do with it's mainstream perceptions of the religions as oppose to the perception of the individuals involved which can range from fanatical to practical to attempting to achieve the self image of the perfect witch/Christian.