Many Paths but No Direction (Pagan Paths - Peter Jennings)

Member Name: zebra

Product:	Pagan Paths - Peter Jennings
Date:	21/11/03 (168 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It is one of the very few introductions available.

Disadvantages: Limited in scope and possibly misleading in places.

This opinion is very long and some might say, indeed have said, tedious. Therefore I
have summarised my conclusions first and then you have the choice to continue
through the chapter by chapter review or not. The reason I have been rather harsh in
my critique is because this 'field' is rife with misconception and as this is one of the
few introductory books available I think it is important to clarify some of the claims
made in the book.

The back of this book promises "Whether you are setting out on a Pagan path for the
first time, or have been committed to one for many years, this insightful and
informative book will offer you inroads into expressing your own beliefs and
understanding those of others. Pagan Paths also provides a definitive resource for
students of comparative religions."

But does it deliver?

I think that there is a need for a book which introduces the various paths but that this
book does not properly fulfil it. His choice of pagan paths is somewhat exclusive and
his knowledge of several of them seems very limited or distorted. Overall I think that
Jennings has not defined, or addressed, a specific target audience. Sometimes he
seems to be addressing people new to paganism but often forgets his audience and
either assumes knowledge or preaches to the converted. In treating some traditions he
goes into almost ridiculous detail and with others he skimps.

One of his prime motives seems to be to portray paganism as a united collective
containing many paths. In fact he actually wants to portray paganism as a religion
with various denominations and actually draws an analogy between Christianity and
its denominations. (8) Now the definition of 'religion' is much debated but typically
it is understood to refer to an organized or unified set of spiritual beliefs, doctrines
and practices which a c
ommunity or society adhere to. Can 'paganism' therefore ever
be classed as a religion?

A secondary motive is surely to promote the importance of his own Northern
tradition. He implies the 'wheel of the year is Anglo Saxon rather than Celtic(31), he
casts doubts on the historical accuracy of Celts(18f), draws attention to Seax
witchcraft and to Saxon shamanism , perhaps he should invent Saxon druidry to
complete the series..

There is much in the book which might in fact scare a newcomer off completely. He
assures people in the introduction that only a couple of paths within Paganism
sometimes use ritual nudity(18). But in the chapter on Gardnerian, which he says is
nearer to being an orthodoxy than any other European Pagan path, he mentions nudity
and in the things to do section asks you to consider nudity. Similarly in another
chapter you are asked to consider initiation involving sexual intercourse. By various
statements he manages to imply that all ceremonial magic involves summoning
demons and that Male and Female mystery groups are dominated by homosexuals..
He rather gives the impression that Shamanism is potentially dangerous, someone
died in a sweat lodge, and implies the use of drugs and physical pain is a norm. So, at
the end of the day, there are not that many paths that an innocent newcomer might
want to consider.

By far my biggest criticism is that Jennings has not put any emphasis on the spiritual
underpinnings of the traditions he describes.

So does it deliver? In short no! I don't think the book lives up to the description on the
cover. I don't think it is the best of introductions to paganism for a beginner. But I do
think the book could be used as a starting point for debate, not to mention some
serious arguments, within the pagan community. Jennings does however say at the
end of the book
"I shall be disappointed if you have agreed with everything I have
said!" (169) to which I could reply 'I'm glad that he, at least, won't be disappointed!'.


Long chapter by chapter review

From the title and back cover one might expect that the book will include a guide to
all the different Pagan Paths currently pursued in the UK. In the introduction Pete
Jennings explains that because modern paganism is so diverse enquirers find it
confusing and that this book addresses this question. He explains that Paganism is a
collection of spiritual paths which can include Traditional, Hereditary, Gardnerian,
Alexandrian, Seax, Progressive, Eclectic Wicca, Hedgewitches, Druidry, Asutra, and
Shamanism, as well as Male and Female Mystery groups.

This particular list immediately confused me. I have not heard of some of these paths
but I have heard of several others which have not been mentioned. So my first
impression is that the book dwells on some traditions and paths to the exclusion of
others and in that respect it cannot be described as comprehensive.

Jennings next introduces the PF (Pagan Federation), speaks of it as if it is the only and
the definitive pagan organisation and implies that PF principles are held by all pagans.
This is not the case.

Pete Jennings was the president of the Pagan Federation and it seems to me that this
book is very much his manifesto for that organisation. If you look at the PF web site
you will find exactly the same breakdown of the six major types of paganism as
appears in this book; namely, Wicca (witchcraft), Druidry, Asutra, Shamanism and
Male and Female mysteries.

Throughout the introduction I think Jennings makes too many generalisations:
'Pagans do not believe in Christianity'; 'Pagans tend to be sexually liberated since
they have no concept of sin.
9; 'Every Witch is a Pagan, but not every Pagan is a
Witch.'

After the Introduction Chapter one covers Festivals and Rites of Passage and chapter
two is about Sacred Sites. The next ten chapters deal with individual traditions but
rather unequally. Various forms of witchcraft get 5 chapters, Druidry, Asutra,
Shamanism, Male and Female mysteries and eclectic get a chapter each. These are
followed by 2 chapters on magic and 2 more on Paganism in general. Each chapter is
followed by some questions to consider. The final chapter is a bibliography and list of
web sites.

The first chapter ? Festivals and rites of Passage

This chapter is divided into two sections , rites of passage and seasonal celebrations.
The fist part mixes family based rites of passage, baby naming, puberty, handfasting,
and funerals with initiation into pagan groups or self initiation. Jennings opens the
chapter by explaining that paganism , like other religions has its own rites of passage
and launches into a description of 'Wiccaning'. It gives the impression that not only is
paganism a 'religion' but also that these rites are common to paganism.

The second part covers the eight major festivals celebrated by many pagans. Jennings
introduces this by casting doubts about the Celtic origin of the festivals and
suggesting that it may have Anglo-Saxon or Germanic origin. He apparently does this
to demonstate "that it would seem quite appropriate for non-Celtic paths to use what
has always been thought to be a Celtic practice."(31) I'm not quite sure that this is
valid reasoning nor even relevant.

Chapter 2 is about Sacred sites such as Stonehenge etc. which is self explanatory.

Chapter 3 Hereditary and Traditional Witchcraft

In this chapter Jennings seems to be raising an issue that is a common debating point
among
st established pagans. I could not see the relevance of introducing ' hereditary'
because by its very nature one could not choose it as a path. In the conclusion to this
chapter he informs us that "traditional and hereditary groups are difficult, if not
impossible to find'. This made me wonder why he had included this chapter at all let
alone made it the longest in the book.

Most of the chapter is historical information on the origins of witchcraft including a
discussion of the Pickingill Papers and a few other sources. Although it seems well
researched I am aware the information on the Wiccan Rede at least is by no means
complete.

Chapter 4 on Gardnerian witchcraft covers the history and practises, organization of
Gardnerian witchcraft but does not mention spiritual beliefs, or the gods and
goddesses.

The chapter on Alexandrian witchcraft tells briefly of its origins and seems to imply
that the main difference is that Alexandrians allowed homosexuals into the coven.

In Chapter 6 he introduces Seax witchcraft created in 1973-4 which is a form of
Saxon witchcraft drawing on Saxon mythology and here again he concentrates on
practice. He mentions progressive witchcraft and American Georgian witchcraft but
does not elaborate on these.

The Hedgewitch Tradition is covered in chapter 7. Hedgewitches, deriving from the
book by Rae Beth (1992) and the writings of Marion Green are solitary. Jennings
says"Hedgewitches may align themselves with any one of a number of
mythologies,from Celtic and Saxon through to Egyptian and Finnish-Sami, or be
completely eclectic."(81)

What is glaringly absent from all these descriptions of witchcraft (and in fact the
traditions that follow) is any sense or feel for the spirituality of the tradition. Even the
PF website manages to do better in this respect. It explains
: "It is an initiatory path, a
mystery tradition that guides its initiates to a deep communion with the powers of
Nature and of the human psyche, leading to a spiritual transformation of the self."

Chapter 8 is on Druidry and describes the various forms of Druidry in very general
and vague terms saying that 'most Druids draw upon Celtic mythology which is very
confusing especially if you are not a native speaker of the Celtic languages'.(86)

Chapter 9 Asutra and the Northern Tradition

Asutra, also known as heathen, Odinism and other names, is a reconstructed religious
tradition which draws on the mythology and sagas of the Scandinavian, Teutonic and
Saxon races. This is the author's tradition and he tactfully explains that this tradition
sometimes has been seen as aloof from mainstream Paganism not through any sense
of elitism but because they have their own system. He briefly touches on the 'Nazi'
problem associated with this tradition.

I attended a very beautiful Heathen ritual last year and it seemed to me that it is quite
different from what I will term 'general paganism' and is very obviously deeply
spiritual for its practitioners. In explaining the ritual they contrasted it with paganism
in general especially emphasizing that they do not use a circle but a sacred space
known as a ve. I know also that there are many in this tradition who find PF principles
incompatible with their beliefs. Jennings did not touch on these issues.

Chapter 10 Shamanism

I found Jennings description of Shamanism very confusing because he does not make
it clear whether he is talking about present practice or ancient cultures. Under what is
shamanism Jennings explains, "At its most basic level a shaman (male or female) is
someone who goes into a trance state to travel psychically within the spirit world. <
br>While there, magical action may be attempted with the aid of 'power animals' or
spiritual guides." Under the methods Jennings seems to speak about the methods used
in other cultures but this is not made clear therefore some people mind find it
disturbing to read that "Sometimes the training experience may make the trainee very
sick, or even close to death, when they are subjected to hallucinogenic plants and
fungi. This is often thought necessary, as a sort of death and rebirth experience."(102)

Under trance Jennings says that trance states can be arrived at by various means,
dance, drugs, repetitive chanting and drumming, or physical pain. He briefly mentions
sweat lodges commenting that at least one British person has died as a result of using
one.

Chapter 11 Male and Female Mystery Groups and Psychic Questers

The male and female mystery groups described in this short chapter are very small
hard to find groups. The female mysteries groups often known as Dianics were often
started by lesbians or bisexuals (111) they are often radical feminists and political. In
the US the male groups were often started by gay men. Jennings devotes one
paragraph to Psychic questers who are a sub group on the fringe of paganism who like
to solve esoteric mysteries. None of these is really what I would describe as a major
path in paganism.

Chapter 12 Eclectic Paganism and Foreign Traditions

From the space and position given to this topic I got the impression that Jennings does
not really approve of eclectic paganism. But to be honest this rather seems to be what
most pagans are whether by design or circumstances. He points out that Gardnerian
Wicca was itself eclectic in its inception.

When I read his piece on foreign traditions I realised why several modern pagan
traditions had not been included in this book. Jenning
s obviously considers Roman,
Greek, Mithraic, Egyptian and Native American etc to be foreign. This rather suggests
that Jennings (and the PF?) think pagans should stick to their local (pre Christian?)
religions. If this is the case then surely it is debatable whether Asutru should be
included (didn't the Saxons and Vikings arrive after the Romans and Christianity?).
Shamanism, while obviously practised in many traditions is hardly best known as a
British pre Christian tradition and even Wicca is suspect by this rule, especially as it
tends to use 'foreign' gods and goddesses. That seems to leave Druidry doesn't it?

Chapter 13 Magical Theory and its ethics
This chapter opens with a few definitions of magic followed by a very brief mention
of high magic and low magic. I felt Jennings should have gone into this just a bit more
depth as high magic to a large extent is the spiritual aspect of magic and this plays an
important role or should play an important role in the teaching of any path.

Under ethics he parried, rather unsuccessfully I think, with the PF principle 'an it
harm none', saying "This is an excellent principle, but magic and its usage are so
complex that inevitably situations bring about dilemmas. Even walking across a field
tramples plants and insects, so the principle taken to its ultimate conclusion would
leave us immobile."(122) He also says "even the most benign sounding spells are
likely to harm someone." This is precisely why some pagans object and refuse to
agree to the principle.

After giving some examples he seems to suggest that one should not dabble with
magic until you have a good knowledge of your spiritual path and inner self whatever
that means. But having said that the next chapter is entitled 'using magic' and at the
end of it he suggests "why not try to make
your own simple magical spell?"(143)

Chapter 14 Using Magic

Jennings explains that many paths use several types of magic and he tackles these
briefly under several headings including: Imitative or Sympathetic magic,
Transference magic, Intuitive or Shamanic magic, Talismanic magic, But under the
next heading, Ceremonial Magic the author goes off on a tangent and introduces
various occult organisations.

Jennings opens the section stating "Not all ceremonial magicians are Pagan, although
many are. Some may be Christian or Jewish." I couldn't see the relevance of this as
not all Druids are Pagan either and they were given a chapter rather than a mere
mention.

From its position in the book and the comments made elsewhere one very much gets
the impression that the author does not like ceremonial magic much. (For example he
earlier mentions ceremonial magicians as using a circle as a protective barrier to keep
them from the demonic forces they summoned (50) and alchemist and cabbalist
'commanding' spirits and demons to do their bidding (117). The first thing he
suggests that "it is not a cheap method to adopt" mentioning all the expensive
paraphernalia necessary. This a strange statement to make as ceremonial magicians
use much the same equipment as witches and some traditions have far more
'expensive' requirements because to become a member you have to attend courses
and pay for expensive training.

I get the feeling that ceremonial magic or the Western Mystery Tradition is distanced
from Paganism in his treatment but this is also the case with the PF. The PF does not
include ceremonial magic in its examples of major Pagan traditions nor have any links
to organisations. Similarly Jennings does not offer any links to UK organisations and
the one link on offer is to a very dubious site
indeed. Perhaps the 'occult'
connotations might be seen to conflict with the view the PF wants to portray. The only
other possible explanation I can think of is that modern paganism essentially seems to
be an attempt to reconstruct and reinstate historical forms of religion which existed
prior to Christianity. Ceremonial magic, on the other hand, was formulated largely
within, or on the fringes of the Judeo-Christian tradition and therefore cannot be
classed as pagan. The biggest problem with this division is that modern witchcraft is
rather too heavily indebted to ceremonial magic to be so easily divorced from it.

Most of the description of ceremonial magic comprises a mention of organisations,
the OTO and the Golden Dawn and a list of the members. In my understanding this
chapter contains some rather misleading information.

There follows sections on Thelemic and Chaos Magic and Voodoo, on Dance and
Musical magic and a small piece on Cabbala Magic. Again I found his mention of
Cabbala rather misleading and dismissive. For example he states: Although
condemned by more orthodox Jews' I am currently attending seminars at Oxford
University on kabbalah led by an Orthodox Rabbi who very much approves of it
(although it is true that some might not)
This is followed by 'Divination' which again is misleading because he implies it
solely concerns prediction.

The second part of this chapter covers the application of magic rather than theory. In
this section he covers timing of a ritual, the place, importance of having a clear
intention, the form of the ritual, opening and closing a sacred circle, altered states of
consciousness, writing a ritual and earthing.

Chapter 15 where Do We Go From Here is about life as a pagan. Jennings
says,"Paganism should determine your whole lifestyle" and dicusses how this could
>possibly bring conflict. Chapter 16 is about the future of paganism which again is his
own viewpoint and hardly of interest to anyone who is just researching or enquiring.

Chapter 17 - Bibliography, References, Websites & Organisations.
This is actually quite useful and is helpfully reproduced on his web site and I suggest
that you if you follow links to the web sites you will find far more details of the
relevant traditions than contained in the book with the exception of magical traditions.

http://www.gippeswic.demon.co.uk/
http://www.gippeswic.demon.co.uk/PP%20Chapter% 2017%20References.htm

Summary: