Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today
Popular demand for this clear-sighted compendium of information about the rebirth of Pagan religion hasn’t waned since its initial publication in 1979. Distinguished by the journalism of US National Public Radio columnist Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon explains this diverse and burgeoning religion’s philosophies and activities while dispelling stereotypes that have long been associated with it. Most people don’t realise that “pagan” simply refers to pre-Christian polytheistic nature religions such as the various Native American creeds, Japanese Shinto, Celtic Druidry and Western European Wicca. Originally, the word pagan meant “country dweller” and was a derogatory term in third-century Rome, not unlike calling someone a “hick” today.
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(out of 92 reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 28.95
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Review by Robin M Goffinet for Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today
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The only reason I bought this book is because it was required reading. It was so dry and boring that I could only read about 2 pages at a time before wanting to go to sleep. And it is extremely outdated.
Review by esc for Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today
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actually my rating would be 4.5 stars, if that were an option. i have the 1986 beacon press edition of this book but still am enjoying and learning from it. i’ve given it 4.5 because of the dated-ness and the few dry sections. however, the vast expanse of pagan groups covered plus the appendices (especially the one listing resources) make it well worth the read. there are still groups and publications gowing strong today mentioned in the book. i also agree with the reviewer who stated the sentiment about needing to know the past in order to learn about the present (and future) of paganism in the US. while no author can be completely subjective, adler does a good job and her few biases are fairly easy to see.
Review by Aga for Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today
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Even though this book is dated I loved it from start to finish. I got a sneak peak at what the world of the Craft looked like before I was born in great detail and I was able to extract much information that still pertains to me in my personal life. The names might be different or non-existant anymore but this book gave me an entirely different point of view of the world. I have read many Wicca 101 books but the most though provoking and intelligently written book that I have read so far is this one. It is so different from any Wicca 101 book because it focuses on facts, historical as well as social, but at the same time was spiritually guiding. I would recommend this book to anyone starting out in the Craft, even though it is outdated one must learn from the past before one can find their path into the future.
Review by Amazonbombshell for Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today
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Yes, it’s a classic, but it’s the good kind. The modern neo-pagan “movement” is covered in excellent depth, with mainly objective reporting (I say mainly because the author is pagan herself and therefore carries an automatic bias that paganism is good, though no otherparticular bias shows in her writing.) She focuses quite a lot on Wicca (arguably the most publicized modern pagan religion) but other systems are covered as well. Even though plenty of the info here is “outdated,” (originally published in the 70s) I loved it as a vibrant slice of modern pagan history, and a vindication of pagan practice for the lay reader and interested pagan alike. Very enjoyable and very well done.
Review by T. A. Clark for Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today
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For anyone interested in learning about neo-paganism, or just for someone who is still trying to find out exactly what they do believe in, this is an excellent book. It offers a wide variety of views on various aspects of religion, acceptance and ideology, and does a great deal to dissolve the stigma associated with modern pagan religions by giving an honest and introspective look at how the practice is conducted. It makes no attempt to declare some sort of dogma or doctrine related to the religion, but rather lays out different paths of paganism by giving the basic tenets behind each ideology as seen by one of its practitioners.The book is largely conversational in its writing style, which I found to make it a far better read than other books on the subject. It doesn’t feel overly heavy-handed in its approach, and does what any good pagan-oriented book should; it lets (and expects) you make up your own mind on the subject material. Margot Adler obviously encourages you to find your own conclusions from reading the book, and as a result it sets it up to be the best recommendation I could give for anyone interested in finding out if “wicca” or paganism is right for them. The best source in print for any kind of definitive explanation of the pagan movement.