Pagan Every Day: Finding the Extraordinary in Our Ordinary Lives

by Barbara Ardinger

Book Overview

Barbara Ardinger teaches us that a contemporary spiritual experience can show up in some of the most unexpected places such as The Muppet Show and Dirty Dancing . Clearly Pagan Every Day is not your... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 157863332X
• ISBN13: 9781578633326
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Weiser Books
• Length: 379 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Pagan Every Day: Finding the Extraordinary in Our Ordinary Lives

Pagan Every Day is directed at the "pagan" but as the author explains this word really just refers to any belief system that is Non-Christian. It is not that Christianity is trashed in this book on the contrary the author has been very careful to represent and be lovingly tolerant of all traditions. The entries simply examine history, mythology, and beliefs that tend have more than one God or Goddess or that share insight into the living earth. Topics are too numerous to mention and I have bookmarks and written notations marking up most of the book. There is a lot of information on Greek, Roman, Sumerian, and Egyptian Deities complete with references showing the evolutions and connections between these different beings amongst different cultures. There are interesting sections describing the practices of different traditions from Buddhism to Wicca. The author describes some locations that I definitely have to visit. She even shares a few spells and some contemplative activities to undertake. Since I had to do a review of Pagan Every Day, I read this book from start to end. I was overwhelmed with the interesting information, great ideas, and little comments that really made me think. Now that I've completed this review, I can go back and more leisurely reread the entries. This way, I can take in a lot more of the information, do a little more research in some of the areas that really intrigued me when I read them the first time, and take a little more time to contemplate some of the notions presented.

Outstanding

Barbara's book is a refreshing combination of excellent historical research and good, old-fashioned practical advice about how to appreciate the extraordinary in the mundane. Her sense of humor and light-hearted, but not fluffy, approach to Pagan topics is inspirational without being condescending or disrespectful. She has perfected the art of taking her subject seriously without taking herself too seriously, and invites the reader to do the same. She has done much to reinforce the concept that Pagans occupy all levels of social order and culture, not just as some "fringe" society whose beliefs can be easily dismissed under the general heading of "New Age" hype. Her book provides a welcome antidote to the staleness we all (Pagan or not) experience at one time or another, be it spiritually or motivationally. In addition, I find it especially helpful in teaching my small daughter the fundamentals of appreciating the natural world and all of the beauty in it, as well as the myriad of mythologies and cultures that exist on our planet. Well-researched and lovingly prepared, "Pagan Every Day" is an excellent addition to anyone's bookshelf!

A host of pagan topics to encourage daily thought.

Barbara Ardinger's Pagan Every Day: Finding The Extraordinary In Our Ordinary Lives provides a spiritual practice book for those who live in the real world but practice pagan beliefs. Daily meditations include notes on world festivals, concepts of 'green', flowers, the first UFO sighting - a host of pagan topics to encourage daily thought. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Treasures you can use in your daily life....

When I sat down today, October 9, to write this review I thought I'd check again to see what Ardinger says about it. Here's only a portion of what she says: "Rome honored Felicitas, the goddess of good fortune, on October 9. What good fortune have you recently had? What has happened in your life that is 'felicitous'? Make a point to honor Felicitas by celebrating every little good thing you can think of ...." Well, this book is certainly a not-so-little good thing I celebrate, as I knew it had to be. I've read most of Ardinger's books to date and been edified and entertained by them all. I find Ardinger's books refreshing, too, as they are written with economy and clarity. No fuss, no bother, just the juice. The above quote is a good example of the kind of information and suggestions you will find in "Pagan Every Day" -- i.e., a book with ideas for a Pagan observance for every day of the year. Some days have ideas for thought or ritual, others tell the stories of ancient and new Deities, some days have both. Ardinger's rituals and Deity stories are a delightful mix of the traditional, and the newly minted -- such as an occasional rib-tickler like Elvis, that on reflection makes archetypal sense. She occasionally asks deep questions in clear, simple ways that we can then readily ponder. Ardinger also offers many suggestions for both inner personal work and that which can connect us to others, our local communities and the world. The upshot of all this is I was left feeling at the end of the book as if I'd just taken a ride on an extremely intelligent and well-read living spiral, with a cool sense of humor! (BTW, the book has a wonderful list of reading resources and related web sites at the end.) I looked through the book for other quotes to use in this review but my list quickly got out of hand. There is such a variety of gems to choose from. So I'll just end my review with what a friend and fellow writer said about Ardinger's book: "....an exciting pagan panorama. A lot of juicy tidbits, succinctly revealed. I'm having such a good time tonight." [email correspondence, Mary Joneve McCormick] Yes, have a good time, nay, a great time with this book and then see how you can use some of its many treasures in your daily life.

I love books like this

Barbara is on my list of authors to buy as soon as I see the book in a store. All of the books I have by her I have enjoyed immensely. That said, this book is a gem! 366 one-page essays, one for each day of the year including Leap Day. They are dated so they can be read on the actual date, or just one a day start to finish, or you can just open the book at random for a bit of bibliomancy. They're the perfect length for someone like me, whose daily ritual consists of waking up before everyone else in the house, lighting my altar candles, saying "hi" to the elements, Goddess, and God - I'm very informal but it works for me - then taking a few minutes to contemplate *something* before getting on with the daily chores, work, kid stuff, etc; that *something* is usually whatever is bothering me at the moment, and that would stress me out more. Reading one of these essays is perfect for me; it takes my mind off whatever I'm worrying about and gets me thinking, and thinking is good. Sometimes I'll even have an "aha!" moment later in the day after the reading has had time to percolate in my subconscious mind. Good stuff.