The term Paganism is used today (for the most part) to refer to contemporary religious and spiritual traditions which take their influences from historically pre-Christian beliefs. While many of these are fairly different from each other, there are some distinctions which these sorts of Paganism all seem to share for the most part. Many are Polytheist, see spirit and the sacred as being imminent, and hold the natural world in high regard. Taking us through some of the broader strokes of contemporary Paganism is the scholar of Magic, Witchcraft, and Paganism- Dr. Angela Puca!
Dr Angela Puca is a scholar who studies the history of Magic, Witchcraft, Paganism, Esotericism, Shamanism, and other related currents. She is the creator of the amazing YouTube channel Angela’s Symposium which is a must watch for all who find these topics interesting. Angela can also be found on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. If you enjoy what Dr. Puca does and would like to be a part of Angela’s community, you absolutely must join her Patreon, where she does live Q&As as well as has chats with other scholars. For all that Dr. Puca gets up to head to her Linktr.ee or click the picture below!
Show Notes
- All of the videos regarding Paganism on Angela’ Symposium – An absolute treasure trove here. Much of what we discussed in this episode is fleshed out with these wonderful videos!
- Pagan Religions in Five Minutes edited by Suzanne Owen & Angela Puca – Soon to be released!
- Handbook of Contemporary Paganism edited by Murphy Pizza and James Lewis
- Reddit actually has a pretty good FAQ regarding Contemporary Paganism and if you check out the specific pagan traditions’ Subreddits listed here you will find great resources like recommended reading on the right side of the page for pretty much every popular form of modern Paganism.
- The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton – So if Wicca and Paganism is interesting to you, you must read this book. It is required. I don’t make the rules
- Got Paganism? You need to know the name of Dr. Ronald Hutton. His books are some of the absolute best and I adore many of them, including his newest work Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe: An Investigation
- Graham Harvey writes quite a bit about Paganism and most of his work is exceptional. Check them out!
- Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America by Sabina Magliocco
- Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America by Margot Adler
- Paganism and Wicca portal – Learn Religions
- 8 Common Belief Systems in the Modern Pagan Community
- The Pagan Federation
- Ritona – One of the better publishers of Pagan and Witchcraft books
- Being Pagan: A Guide to Re-Enchant Your World by Rhyd Wildermuth
- A Popular Dictionary of Paganism by Joanne Pearson
- Paganism for Beginners: The Complete Guide to Nature-Based Spirituality for Every New Seeker by Althaea Sebastiani
- Paganism: A Very Short Introduction by Owen Davies – mainly deals with historic paganism but still well worth a read
- Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion by Michael Otto York
- Witchcraft Out of the Shadows: A Complete History by Leo Ruickbie
- Dr. Jenny Butler – As mentioned in the episode
- Samuel David, Mesopotamian Polytheist – As mentioned in the episode
What Magic is This? 