Pagan Curious: A Beginner's Guide to Nature, Magic & Spirituality

by Debra Deangelo, Silver RavenWolf (Foreword)

Indulge Your Curiosity About Paganism Explore the many facets of the Pagan community with this delightful guide for the complete beginner. Debra DeAngelo teaches you the ABCs and 123s of Paganism with introductions to spiritual practices and magic as well as skills like grounding, centering, and meditation. Become reacquainted with your true, natural self, learn to work with plants, animals, and the stars, and discover the tantalizing mysteries of magic and mysticism. Join DeAngelo for a tour of the colorful, diverse garden that is Paganism. With thoughtful self-reflection exercises, this book gives you a deeper understanding of your personal beliefs so you can orient yourself in that garden. You will learn how to celebrate Pagan sabbats, develop your intuition, create an altar, and meet Pagan deities. With dozens of activities, spells, meditations, affirmations, and more, Pagan Curious will enchant your spirit and help you create the magical life you've been seeking.

Genres: Paganism, Nonfiction, Spirituality

292 pages, Paperback

Published January 8, 2022

Reviews

[Wisteria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book I will not be finishing. As someone who knows a thing or two about paganism but not all things I wanted to see if I could learn something new. While a thing or two here was new to me and I somewhat enjoyed some parts of this book there is just so much over explanation of topics, peppered with all her personal experiences and opinions. I expected this to be more informational than it was. It read like one long blog post and I just absolutely could not bring myself to pick it up.

[Angharad · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I was out on this one when she talks about worshipping Horse capital H.

[Gabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book would be an introduction to paganism, but it’s actually a self-help book. I’ve gotten a quarter of the way through and there hasn’t been any discussion on what the beliefs or practices of people practicing the religion are.

Are you curious about Paganism? For you have questions such as:
Do they worship a god or gods?
What’s the day to day life of practicing this religion look like?
What’s the organizational structure of this religion?
What is the underlying mythos of this religion?

You won’t find answers here.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great ideas here about how we are much closer than we realize to the ancient secrets of nature, and the original world we inhabited instinctually once upon a time. The divine spark that created all organic and inorganic matter subsequently led to most divine inspiration…Trees communicate amongst themselves via mycelium and animals communicate too if you listen. Nature has a lot to teach us if we heighten our awareness and pay attention. Nature is poetic and beyond our understanding, like some religion and science- and this book teaches you to be more aware of what nature is telling you every day. Spiritual energy is quite profound! In the grand scheme of the universe, our human constructs can wind up meaning so little compared to the mystical law and order of things. And that mystical law and order to things just is. No matter how much we study said nature through human constructs like science and theology, nature just is. We don’t fully understand the laws of nature and the universe, and it’s important to recognize that. It wasn’t that long ago that people thought the earth was flat (and some people still do think that). We don’t understand everything about quantum entanglement, vibration, energy, dark matter, the observer effect with quantum mechanics, and intention/manifestation. Therefore there may be some magic in nature that is real which we don’t understand! DeAngelo’s book is great and it has different recommendations for personal growth as well as chapters about gods and goddesses, animal symbolism, magic and mysticism, herbs, crystals, colors and more.

[Andrew Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years, I was someone who wanted nothing to do with any sense of spirituality, so when I finally started opening up to my connection to nature and the greater universe, it was a confusing time for me. I didn't know what I was doing, didn't know where to look for any answers, I felt lost. It was like jumping into stormy ocean waters having never been taught to swim. I needed a life jacket, and that was Pagan Curious.

Whether you're looking for a specific path or just some general knowledge, Pagan Curious has got you covered. When I finally breathlessly put down the book, my heart and soul were filled with joy and purpose. Don't get me wrong, I still had a lot of searching to do, a lot of branching paths to walk before I found the right one, but Pagan Curious gave me a direction to start looking. It made how I was feeling less frightening and frustrating by laying paganism out in a very basic but very broad way. There's a lot touched upon here, but not so much you get overwhelmed.

I can't recommend a better book for the Pagan curious, I really can't. Good luck on your journey fellow traveler, and may you find the answers you're seeking too.

[Mags (mbooksbycandlelight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I feel like it had a really good mix of religious information and self-help type of narrative. The writing was very accessible, and it often felt like the author was explaining this to you as if you were one of her friends and I found that really enjoyable. A few parts of the book dragged on a little for me, maybe because I’ve read similar ideas before, but that didn’t really bother me overtly much. I really enjoyed how at the end of each chapter there was a section with recommended reading. As a bookworm that is a very appreciated feature. Overall, this is a good read for the pagan beginner and intermediate alike, because even though it may not give you anything new it definitely helps you reconnect with your practice in simple/doable ways, and for the beginners this book contains a lot of good information for you to highlight and reference later. Also, I’m a sucker for a good wheel of the year chapter.

I received an eArc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[chasingholden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Join Debra DeAngelo as she reveals the basics of what it means to follow a Pagan path. Pagan Curious is a wonderfully written book full of information as well as many activities including spells, meditations, affirmations, quizzes etc. Journey in to your own self and reconnect with the world around you in this beautiful expression of a spiritual path that has been extremely overlooked in recent years. Unlike other books that may come off as "gimmicky" or for the advanced believer this book is perfect for absolutely anyone with an interest in spirituality, faith, and tradition

If you're reading this review this book is for you. I highly recommend making Pagan Curious your choice to explore immediately, rather than letting it fall into the endless pit of our to be read piles.

4 out of 5 Stars.

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for providing an e-copy for me to explore, learn and share honest feedback with all of you.

[Violet Laflamme · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, while not being comprehensive, does provide a pretty good overview of a lot of basic concepts. The author also provides enough information and keywords to track down more about any of the ideas. Additionally, one of the best things about it is the attention paid to the fact that a lot of what is considered standard pagan practice is based on a climate that just simply is not standard all over the world.

So, why only three stars? It's also true that the book promotes some topics that the author themselves says are controversial, for example, the idea of "spirit animals". Although there is an attempt to handle it in a culturally respectful way, it just didn't land for me. For that reason, I did not enjoy every part of this book. With this in mind, it would still be possible for me to recommend this book to someone, but I would have to warn them they may be confronted with this type of thing.

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick impressions: Overall, I liked the book, and it may be one I would consult again as needed. Once you get past the first section, it starts getting interesting. I'd recommend for public libraries, especially if they would like to add more books on paganism. For readers who are curious, who just want to see what are some of the options in paganism, this can be a start. For readers not ready or willing to commit to a path, this may be good too. For academic libraries, this is optional. I may acquire it for my library since we do have some pagans on campus.

(Detailed review on my blog coming later)

[CraftyKE · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tries to tackle the large umbrella of Paganism quite admirably. While not comprehensive the book is a good starting place and treats itself as such. I love the feature of having reading lists at the end of each chapter. I wish more books on big topics did that and encouraged us to dive deeper.

While this is a good book for Pantheists or those just beginning their Pagan paths, if you are interested in a specific path (Norse, Druid, etc), this may not be the book for you.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had beautiful visuals and was honestly really fun to read. It was packed with knowledge and felt super honest, which I appreciated a lot. As I was going through it, I realized that paganism isn’t really for me, and that’s okay. The book helped me figure that out in a respectful and eye-opening way. If you’re curious about paganism or thinking about exploring it, this is a great place to start. It gives you a solid understanding without feeling preachy or overwhelming.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even if it's book for beginners I found it interesting and appreciated the bibliography and the activities proposed.
I don't always agree with the author but I like this book and think it would be very useful for beginners.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Bridgette · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not finishing this. It is meant to be a basic primer but seems to just drag on and I found a lot of the information presented questionable. Using scientific terms doesn’t make what you say correct. The author discussed DNA quite a bit in the beginning of the book and it just read as “woo” and was less approachable for me.

[Tricia Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, at times, read more like a self help book than anything, which just isn’t necessarily what I was expecting or looking for. I was looking more for information/knowledge to satiate genuine curiosity (of which this book did have some, but not enough in my opinion). Still not a bad book. 3 stars.

[Emma book blogger Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is lots of information in this book and a few quizzes to do . I found there was a lot of information in here and I would have to keep coming back to it . It would be nice if there was some pictures to break the writing up.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was the only book my library had on paganism… so I checked it out. I was really wanting something more informational/ historical…. It read a lot like any other new age book on witchcraft/ spirituality. The last couple chapters had a glimpse of what I was looking for in the book.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best introduction to the Big Pagan Garden!

Such a friendly and informative book! A perfect way to get an overview of the enormous variety of beliefs and practices available in Paganism, and what a wonderful guide DeAngelo is!

Highly recommended.

[Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than the elemental quiz, I could've done without the entire first section of this book. I'm glad I pushed through though because the rest provided a good general overview for someone with little to no knowledge re: paganism.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my first read into this topic, I really liked this book. I thought many different perspectives and ideas were shared. Clear and understandable. I enjoyed the journal/activities.

[Ashley Berkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

So helpful for a curious person

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found in the 200s. Excited to learn about winter solstice traditions.

Fun! I am curious about all the things - stars and crystals and the moon and tarot and oracles. I didn’t read cover to cover, skipped around a little, just gathering. This book reminds me of The Artist’s Way in its invitation to be open and creative and joyful. I enjoyed learning a little bit about paths in the Pagan Garden. Still need to figure out a winter solstice tradition.

[Hannah McNally · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5