Alternative belief systems and spiritual worldviews Books

Book SynopsisJourney into the Wilderness Within and Around You Through a series of guided meditations that lead you from one solstice to another and back again, H. Byron Ballard empowers you to journey into the uncharted and feral lands of your imagination, where you will connect to the primal mother?the Goddess. Ballard shows you how to leave your domesticated world and enter a place of wild worship and joy, a feral church unbound by dogma or liturgy. Your spiritual pilgrimage will take you to places familiar and unknown, both internal and external. Framed as one big pathworking, this book guides your journey with a new meditation, plus a section to reflect on what you discovered, in every chapter. As you find your way to the Goddess, you will step into the darkness, reconnect with ancestors and various spirits, and emerge ready to live your fullest life.

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Book SynopsisExamines the Spiritualist movement''s role in disseminating eugenic and hard hereditarian thoughtStudying transatlantic spiritualist literature from the mid-19th to the early 20th century, Christine Ferguson focuses on its incorporation and dissemination of bio-determinist and eugenic thought. She asks why ideas about rational reproduction, hereditary determinism and race improvement became so important to spiritualist novelists, journalists and biographers in this period. She also examines how these concerns drove emerging Spiritualist understandings of disability, intelligence, crime, conception, the afterlife and aesthetic production. The book draws on rare material, including articles and serialized fiction from Spiritualist periodicals such as Light, The Two Worlds and The Medium and Daybreak as well as on Spiritualist healing, parentage and sex manuals.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; List of Figures; Series Editor's Preface; Introduction; Radical Determinism and the Natural History of the Medium; Spirits in Mind: Madness, Idiocy, and the Cultural Capital of Ignorance; Eugenic Summer Lands: Sexual Reproduction and Family Engineering in the Spheres; Blended Souls: Paschal Beverly Randolph and Occult Miscegenation; Criminal Man and Recidivist Spirit: Spiritualism, Criminal Anthropology, and Thanato-Rehabilitationism; Dead Letters: Bio-Aesthetics and the New Realism in Fin-de-Siecle Spiritualism; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis intimate guide introduces readers to the Celtic Goddess Brighde in a fantastical setting.

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Book SynopsisNicholas Campion is Associate Professor in Cosmology and Culture, Principal Lecturer in the Institute of Humanities and Education, and Programme Director of the on-line, distance-learning Master's degree in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK.Trade Review"It shines light on the heaven for scholars and amateurs alike; its narrative is dense but rich, readable and suggestive." Literary Review"Table of ContentsIntroduction; Chap 1 Distant Echoes: Origins of Astrology; Chap 2 Prehistory: Myths and Megaliths; Chap 3 The Mesopotamian Cosmos: The Marriage of Heaven and Earth; Chap 4 Mesopotamian Astrology: The Writing of Heaven; Chap 5 The Assyrians and Persians: Revolution and Reformation; Chap 6 Egypt: The Kingdom of the Sun; Chap 7 Egypt: The Stars and the Soul; Chap 8 The Hebrews: Prophets and Planets; Chap 9 Greece: Homer, Hesiod and the Heavens; Chap 10 Greece: The Platonic Revolution; Chap 11 The Hellenistic World: The Zodiac; Chap 12 The Hellenistic World: Scepticism and Salvation; Chap 13 Hellenistic Astrology: Signs and Influences; Chap 14 Rome: the State, the Stars and Subversion; Chap 15 Christianity: A Star out of Jacob; Chap 16 Rome: The Imperial Heaven; Chap 17 Christianity: the Triumph of the Sun; Afterword; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisFunerals are among the most important life events in Western society, and fashioning a personalized ceremony for yourself or for a loved one is often the most meaningful way to celebrate the life of the deceased. For those wanting non-religious or secular funeral ceremonies, this step-by-step guide begins by identifying what you want from the funeral and showing how you can make it happen. With sections on society's views of mortality, our need for rituals and crafting the actual ceremony, this guide provides the tools and philosophy to understand, plan and tailor a funeral for individuals. Includes all the tools necessary for the creation of a ceremony, such as a Ritual Profiles, checklists, and many other handy resources.Trade ReviewJeltje Gordon-Lennox has captured every conceivable aspect of what makes a meaningful funeral ritual, and condensed it into an easily digestible and enjoyable format to read. It's hard to imagine you would need another resource than this one. It has everything, and it's so well done. -- Kyle Tevlin, I Want a Fun FuneralA modern and comprehensive guide for navigating the complex emotions and multitude of tasks related to the death of a loved one. Jeltje's practical approach includes a "ritual profile" and other thoughtful tools that help mourners bridge the gap between the past and the future by creating meaningful, healing and authentic experiences through the power of ceremony and ritual. -- Linda Stuart, Life-Cycle Celebrant, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaI find this book incredibly helpful as I return to parish ministry after a decade away. I can throw away my antiquated funeral resources and just use the creative process offered by Jeltje Gordon-Lennox. -- Rev. Sara G. Armstrong, Montezuma Valley Presbyterian ChurchInevitably, we all pass away. Whether the funeral we need to prepare is 2 months or 20 years away, or for ourselves or someone who died leaving no instructions, most of us are at a loss to know what to do. Jeltje slips her hand into yours and accompanies you, step by step, through the process of crafting rituals that honour life and relationships. This guide fills a huge void. It is equally useful for the deeply religious, those who claim no religion and those somewhere in-between. -- Suzanne P. de Boer, Educational Consultant for children with special needs, Modesto, California, USAEven young children understand the importance of commemorating a death with others. A friend and I once buried a baby bird that had fallen from its nest. We marked the spot with a lily and precious drops from our ice cream cones. With humility and care, this book brings us back to the authenticity of early funeral rituals. -- Mia Mohr, artivist with a transatlantic group of artists and lives in Talca, ChileTable of ContentsRitual Toolbox: List of Tools with Their Icons; List of Figures; Foreword by Margaret Holloway; Acknowledgements; Preface; Part I - MortaliTy; 1. My Death Waits; a) Notes on last wishes; 2. Gone Too Soon; a) Notes on ritual profile and strategy; Part II - our need for ritual; 3. The Sense of Ritual; a) Notes on repackaging ritual; 4. Preplanning Makes Sense; a) Seven destressing techniques; b) Questionnaire on my ritual profile; c) Coronach will; d) Inventory on ritual profilefor funerals; Part III - Crafting theceremony; 5. Planning the Ceremony; a) Toolbox for the planning phase; b) Notes on the pillars of ritual design; 6. Creating the Ceremony; a) Toolbox for the creating phase; b) Notes on rules for ritual design; 7.Realizing the Ceremony; a) Toolbox for the realizing phase; b) Notes on funerals for sensitive situations; Part IV - the FUTURE OF THE DeaD; 8. New Mourning; Glossary; Resources; a) Notes on mortality, illness and dying; b) Notes on solace for the bereaved; References; Index

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Book SynopsisThis study reveals an unorganized and previously unacknowledged religion at the heart of American culture. Nature, Albanese argues, has provided a compelling religious center throughout American history.

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Book SynopsisIn this volume Levi-Strauss explores the mythologies of the Americas, with occasional incursions into European and Japanese folklore, tales of sloths and squirrels are interwoven with discussions of Freud, Saussure, "signification," and plays by Sophocles and Labiche.

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Book SynopsisThe Nepalese Gurung recitations known as pe form a diverse group of oral narratives performed by a medicine man or shaman to promote health and prosperity. This two-volume set includes an analytical introduction, 13,000 lines of annotated transcriptions for 92 pe, color plate illustrations, and field recordings on an accompanying DVD.

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Book SynopsisHow socio-political turmoil has inspired a new religious movement based on the imagined past.Trade Review"The Return of the Ancestral Gods fills a gap in our knowledge of modern Paganism and will be of great interest to scholars of new religious movements. Lesiv is clearly in control of the relevant background and has a very interesting story to tell." Douglas Cowan, Department of Religious Studies, University of Waterloo "The Return of the Ancestral Gods is an extremely well-researched, highly readable account of its subject. Lesiv takes great pains to let the Pagans speak for themselves and to respectfully present them in their social and historical contexts, while at th

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Book SynopsisAn in-depth look at the Raelian movement, founded in the 1970s by Rael, born in France as Claude Vorilhon. It traces Rael's philosophy and the formation of the Raelian subculture - radical sexual ethics, gnostic anthropocentricism, and ecotheology, showing how our worldviews have been shaped by globalization, postmodernism, and secular humanism.Trade ReviewSkillfully weaving together engaging narrative and careful sociological analysis, Susan Palmer has written a ground-breaking study that will be the benchmark for all future studies of alternative religions. -- James R. Lewis * general editor of The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements and author of L *Susan Palmer has an extraordinary ability to probe beyond stereotypes and understand unconventional religious and social movements. Her latest book admirably combines rigorous scholarship and honest empathy in depicting one of the most poorly understood movements of our time. -- Timothy Miller * University of Kansas *Drawing on interviews, participant-observer accounts of Raelian meetings and analyses of the movement's increasingly sophisticated public relations outreach, Palmer profiles a fascinating new religion still struggling to define itself. Her tone is sometimes admiring, sometimes critical, and always intrigued. * Publishers Weekly *Table of ContentsIntroduction: How I researched the Raelians Contactee prophets in the history of UFOlogy The last and fastest prophet On how to construct a new religion Mutating the millennium A visit to the court of Raël Sexy angels for amorous aliens "Enemies within!" Cloning around-hoax or heresy? "Science is our religion."

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Book SynopsisThe variety of people who lived in America prior to Western migration possessed an equal variety of faith practices and beliefs. This work is about how those beliefs began, how they changed due to the influence of outside forces, and how Native Americans today are working to preserve their faiths.

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Book SynopsisThis collection of original essays is based on fieldwork in Melanesia, Fiji, Australia, and Indonesia by scholars who are influential in the contemporary debate on cargo cults.Trade ReviewAnyone involved in the Pacific region will be interested in this volume, and scholars who follow 'new religious movements' should find it exceptionally provocative. - Nancy McDowell, Beloit College; ""Plays out a very lively debate in contemporary Melanesian anthropology."" - Dan Jorgensen, University of Western Ontario

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Book SynopsisThis ethnography explores the Ngoma healing tradition as practised in eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. ‘Bungoma’ is an active philosophical system and healing practice consisting of multiple strands that is basedon the notion that humans are intrinsically exposed to each other; while this is the cause of illness, it is also the condition for the possibility of healing. This healing seeks to protect the ‘exposed being’ from harm through augmenting the self. Unlike Western medicine, it does not seek to cure physical ailments but aims to prevent suffering by allowing patients to transform their personal narratives of self. Like Western medicine, it is empirical and is presented as ‘local knowledge’ that amounts to a practical anthropology of human conflict and the environment. The book examines this anthropology through political, economic, interpretive and environmental lenses and seeks to bring its therapeutic applications into relation with global academic anthropology.Trade Review"Healing the Exposed Being is a scholarly, rich and engaging account of the complex and individualised knowledge systems and passages of influence that shape sangoma practices in South Africa. Thornton's descriptions of and insight into the philosophies, rituals, and objects of the sangoma, and the ancestors, spirits and others beings with whom they work, change our view of these healers as custodians of the living, advisers, philosophers and guardians. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in health and illness in the region." - Lenore Manderson, Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Medical Anthropology, University of the Witwatersrand.

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Book SynopsisDespite modern Paganism being one of the fastest growing new religious movements in Britain and the USA, there is no up-to-date straightforward and informed introduction to modern Paganism from a Christian perspective. The Shaken Path addresses that gap.

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Book SynopsisWith contributions from best-selling authors such as Morgan Daimler, Elen Sentier and Jhenah Telyndru, as well as a new generation of up-coming writers, Seven Ages of the Goddess uncovers the history of the Goddess, from prehistoric origins through to the present day and beyond. Edited by Trevor Greenfield, publisher of Moon Books and editor of Naming the Goddess and Goddess in America.

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Book SynopsisIn Sumer is Icumen In we discover new and exciting ways of surviving (and enjoying) the truly pagan excesses of the Midsummer Festival. Here we can establish and instigate a new smorgasbord of traditions of our own for the purpose of celebration and observance and, in time, even though we must never lose sight of our authentic history, they may even be integrated into future pagan revels.

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Book SynopsisYou are precious. Your body is precious. Your mind is precious. Your heart is precious. With your actions, with your connection to yourself, you create a foundation that can weather all that comes before you. Perhaps you have been told otherwise. Perhaps you have believed otherwise, that somehow, some way, you are less than worthy of love and care. Perhaps you know you are worthy of love and care and beauty, but need to be reminded or given permission. I want to tell you that your health, your well-being is valuable. And the actions you take to care for your beautiful self are a gift and a sacred prayer of intention. Welcome to Practically Pagan - An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-being in which we will encounter ways to care for our health and explore strategies to support ourselves as magical and powerful beings. An Alternative Guide to Health and Well-being is the second volume in an exciting new lifestyle series from Moon Books, which offers body, mind and planet-friendly alternatives for everyday tasks.

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