Having dabbled my toes in the waters of pagan thought and practice during recent months, and on the advice of a thoughtful commenter to my first post who made a strong suggestion that I learn as much as possible about the pagan beliefs of the past as well as the history of modern paganism before I drop out of Christianity (sorry, but I’ve already dropped out!), I have spent the last week or two locating and delving into several scholarly and popular books on these subjects.  (Side note:  As a pagan on a budget, I appreciate the fact that I live in an area with wonderful, well-stocked public libraries!)  I was determined not to post again until I had worked my way completely through the two books I considered to be the highest priority reading, but honestly, I feel the need to surface and catch my breath for a moment or two. 

I’ve finished When God Was A Woman by Merlin Stone, and I’m about halfway through Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton.  I chose Stone’s book because I am definitely focused on exploring the feminine aspect of divinity, and I’m working on Hutton’s tome right now in order to gain a perspective on the historical origins of modern paganism, as my commenter suggested.  I’ve had trouble getting my hands on a library copy of Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler, but that’s another high priority read for me, since Hutton’s book focuses mainly on paganism in Great Britain, while I’ve heard Adler’s book deals more with the development of modern paganism in the U.S., so I figure it’s important for me, as a U.S. citizen, to understand the origins of modern paganism in my own country, too (although I do understand that many pagans in the U.S. draw anywhere from a little to a lot on the beliefs and practices of the big names in British paganism and wicca–Gardner, Crowley, Valiente, etc.).

Okay, now that I’ve taken the time to go on record as not having dropped off the face of the planet, I’m going to take a deep breath and dive back into some fascinating reading!  Glug, glug, glug . . .