Neopagan Rites : a guide to creating public rituals that work

by Philip Emmons Isaac Bonewits

Paperback, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

299/.94

Collections

Publication

Woodbury, Minn. : Llewellyn Publications, 2007.

Description

Practical and engaging, this guide represents the best practices from Isaac Bonewits' over thirty-five years of experience creating, attending, and leading public ceremonies as a Neopagan priest and magician. Ideal for Earth-centered spiritual movements and other liberal religious traditions, Neopagan Rites explains how to design powerful and effective rites of worship for small groups or large crowds. With his trademark humor and candor, Bonewits covers every important aspect of creating and performing a public ritual that inspires and unifies the participants, and fulfills its intended purpose. You'll learn how to: Determine the purpose of your ritual Create a basic ritual format that can be customized for different events Choose the optimal time and location for your event Enhance your ceremony with music, singing, poetry, and dance Add visual drama with costumes and altar decorations Include people with special needs in your ceremony Raise, channel, and send energy to your ritual's deity or cause… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member skiegazer3
Lots of practical advice available in this book. So much so, in fact, that at times it seems to drain some of the real aesthetic and spiritual pleasure out of ritual.

I had a problem, in particular, with Bonewits explanation of the theology behind his basic ritual theory. Overly-focused on magical
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work (and redefining worship and prayer as a way of "doing magic on ourselves" to commune with the gods), his theology sounds a great deal like some kind of RPG explanation of worship: it "feeds" the gods "mana." Why this is necessary, or why we should even bother to do it instead of refraining from ritual and allowing the gods to lapse into nonexistence--he never takes the time to discuss. Certainly, conceiving of the gods as spiritual parasites (even in a symbiotic relationship that can give "blessings" in return, like a battery you charge until you're ready to use it) does not inspire me to perform meaningful or beautiful ritual.

On the other hand, this book is full of very practical advice. Perhaps nothing you couldn't figure out on your own eventually, but certainly a good resource for a beginner to have on hand. Bonewits covers a wide variety of topics (incorporating music and chanting, addressing group dynamics, writing effective prayer, etc.) that can help provoke the reader to consider what they might do in similar circumstances, which is infinitely helpful. If the reader can find a way to a meaningful theology of their own that helps them connect meaningfully with their gods, Bonewits practical advice will most assuredly help them in crafting a ritual to speak to those sacred relationships.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2007

Physical description

xviii, 222 p.; 23 cm

ISBN

9780738711997

Local notes

KR Gift of Kevin Roddy

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