An important piece of American Pagan History


The origins of this book date back into the 1960s, when a group of American and English Pagans decided to form an association to “spread the word” that Paganism was alive and well in the modern era. They were inspired to do so by the publication of Susan Roberts’ book, Witches USA.

The collective, comprised of Ed Fitch, Joe Wilson and Tom deLong/Gwydion Pendderwen, along with Tony Kelly in the UK, wrote a series of rituals and informational handouts for their burgeoning “Pagan Way” (which later split into the US Pagan Way and the UK Pagan Movement, later known as the Pagan Federation).

This material was mimeographed and passed out freely for several years, until in the early 1970s, Herman slater collected it into a small volume, which he entitled “A Book of Pagan Rituals”, and sold it through his business, The Warlock Shop (and later its successor, The Magickal Childe). A second volume was published a year or so later, with materials from Donna Cole Schultz and Herman Enderle’s Temple of the Pagan Way out of Chicago, this formed The Book of Pagan rituals vol 2. In the 1980s, Herman sold his publishing rights to Weiser, in order to pay off bills and salaries for his then-struggling business. Weiser published the two volumes in a Collected edition, which is the present work. That the books were perceived to have been published under Slater’s byline (even as an editor) was a source of much distress and anger at the time.

The rites are simple, yet elaborate in their staging, drawing largely upon Mediterranean influences, although easily adapted to other systems of practice.

(A third volume of Pagan rituals, “Pagan Rituals III: Outer Court Training Coven” was later added to the series in 1989, containing the Outer Court (non initiate) training material for Edmund Buczynski’s “Welsh Tradition”. Buczynski was Slater’s recently-deceased former partner. That material is not contained in the present volume.)

While more diverse and perhaps better researched works are now available, these books present an excellent piece of American Paganism in it’s early days, and as such are highly recommended for their historical value, as much as for their practical working value.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NYFDZI/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_gUoVEbB16962J