Selections from the Dedicant's Reading List

According to Our Druidry completion of the Dedicant's Path requires a book review on at least 1 Indo-European studies title, 1 preferred ethnic study title, and 1 modern paganism title (page xii). I am choosing mine from the recommended reading list located here.

I may end up doing more than the minimal 3 book reports as I am a voracious reader and love to discuss books, then again I'm still trying to finish my degree and get a full time job (CEP is great but it costs me money).

Anyway, as of now I'm hoping to read and report on these titles:

For my Indo-European studies requirement - The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Will Not Give Women a Future by Cynthia Eller

For the ethnic studies (hearth culture) requirement -An Introduction to Roman Religion John Scheid; Janet Lloyd, trans.

And for the modern paganism requirement - Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today by Margot Adler

I chose the first because I was quite interested in a hard look at what the title describes. I've taken a few anthropology courses and to the best of my knowledge there is no evidence that a functioning matriarchy has ever existed either in the ancient or modern worlds, rather the term seems to exist merely to describe the theoretical oppsosite of a patriarchy. There have, however, been matrilineal societies where inheritance etc traveled through the female line rather than the male. Therefore I was very interested in a scholastic perspective on the phenomenon of the mythical matriarchy and its potentially negative impact.

I chose An Introduction to Roman Religion because it was available on the kindle and I realized that I know as much as the next average well read westerner about Roman deities, but I don't know much at all about Roman religion. Also, I'm not very pulled toward the Roman pantheon (the least pull of any of the ADF hearths for me is the Vedic but I plant to investigate it as well).

The third choice, Margot Adler's iconic work on modern paganism was chosen because I already have a gently used copy in my possession and have just not gotten around to reading it. I also have a copy of Being a Pagan: Druids, Wiccans, and Witches Today by Ellen Evert Hopman and Lawrence Bond.

As I said I may end up reading and reporting on many of the titles offered, largely because, while I feel initially motivated to claim a Celtic hearth, I don't necessarily know enough about any of the ADF hearths to truly claim one yet. I also find many of the available titles quite intriguing in their own rights.

I will be sure to post the reports here as well :)