Book Review -- Modern Paganism Studies and Overview

Finally! I finished the book a couple of months ago and have had trouble buckling down and writing up the review. So, here it is!

Adler, Margot.  Drawing Down the Moon.  Beacon Press, revised edition, 1986.  Arkana, edition with updated Appendix III (Resources), published 1997.  Print.

Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon is a journalistic documentation of the NeoPagan movement of the 20th century. As such, it is a valuable inclusion on the Recommended Reading list for ADF's dedicants. First published in 1979, three revised editions have been released in 1986, 1997, and 2006 to include updated material on emerging groups and online resources. I chose the 1997 edition simply because it was readily available to me.

The book is divided into four sections. The first, titled Background, is an overview of the beliefs and practices of NeoPagans along with definitions of the terms pagan and witch in historical and modern context and the preconceptions and misconceptions engendered by those terms. The second section, titled Witches, describes the modern movements of Wicca and witchcraft and the many variations from British "trads" to Goddess worship as well as eclectic practice. The third section, titled Other NeoPagans, includes descriptions and interviews with other NeoPagan groups with sections on pagan reconstructionists including druids and heathens, the Church of All Worlds, Discordians, and Radical Faeries as well as others. The fourth section, titled The Material Plane, is broken into two parts: the first presenting a look at how the media has depicted paganism and the occult in print and films, and the second looking at how NeoPagans "walk the talk" or how they live the philosophy they espouse and what they wish NeoPaganism to become in the future.

I find this revised edition very readable and interesting, chock full of information on the rise of NeoPaganism in (mostly) America. One criticism of the older version is that it was skewed too far toward Wicca; this version is still weighted toward Wicca, but it is better balanced with the inclusion of more material on other paths than previously. The first part of the book is a little slow to me and, well, a bit boring. The second part is far more interesting; I truly enjoyed learning about the different paths and their spin-offs.

Being a proponent of modern social media, I wonder at the thought that when this book was first published the communications net between like-minded folks was so ephemeral. I readily admit it gives me a thrill to see the names of many people I have met online (especially Facebook), even if not in person.