book list > Some reviews

The Grail Castle-Male Myths and Mysteries In the Celtic Tradition by Kenneth Johnson & Marguerite Elsbeth from Llewellyn ISBN 1567183697 

Another very good book in the same vein is  It also looks at male spirituality using Jungian Archetypes in conjunction with Celto-Arthurian myth. It also offers meditations, quizzes, and ritual work to help identify the strong influences in your life and how to make them all positive influences and role models. Blessed be, Wulf 

Blossom of Bone by Randy Conners (sadly out of print, though you may find it second hand) 

A book that speaks to the historical place of (admittedly gender-variant) men in pagan religions. Men occupied some of the highest ranks in the worship of the old Gods alongside female worshippers, particularly as priests of Artemis and Cybele. Anyone who says otherwise isn't a student of history. 

'Celebrating the Male Mysteries' by RJ Stewart. The description on the back of the book reads as thus:

"This book aims to regenerate the Male Mysteries. It includes a detailed work programme for personal and group transformation and realisation.

The techniques presented are based upon perennial wisdom traditions, but presentation is entirely modern. There is no need to study mystical, magical or esoteric disciplines to work with this system.

Contents include: Men and the Goddess - Men and the God - The Five Branches of the Warrior, Poet, Prophet, Priest, and King - The Harmony of the Male and Female Mysteries.

Specific visualisations and meditations that will change male consciousness and energy are given in details.

No other book of this sort exists, working in-depth with powerful techniques for modern men who are emerging from the stereotypes of sexuality, materialism, and dogmatic religion."

It is currently out of print, but if it sounds useful do a search for it at - www.usedbooksearch.co.uk / - and you should be able to locate a good second hand copy, which is where I got mine from...

Goodluck...
Pete..

Secret Men's Business by John Marsden (PAN Macmillan Publishing, Australia, ISBN 0 330 36074 4) 

This one is written for teenage boys (and their parents!) I've read it before and have found it simply written, but useful. Definitely a good read for a teenage boy. ----a bit from the back page--- 'In one way all you have to do to become a man is to stay alive. Physically you'll grow into a man. But to become a man who is mature, independent, responsible and wise, you'll need to do more than just have birthdays....' Young men who read this book will learn how to be strong, how to be honest, how to confront their fears. They'll understand how to deal with men and women, parents and teachers, male friends and female friends. They'll get a sense of the integrity that every true man needs. They'll find ways to resolve problems without being destructive or self-destructive. They'll have their questions about sex answered....in clear, straightforward language. Wyrmwood.

The Inner Man by Peter A O'Connor (subtitled- Men, Myths and Dreams) -(Sun Publishing, Australia ISBN 0 7251 0714 6) 

This book is written by a Psychologist who is into dream analysis and a bit of Jungian philosophy. Can't tell you much about it as I haven't read all of it yet. ---a bit from the back page--- 'By exploring the dreams of Australian men, set against the background of classical myths and the psychology of Freud and Jung, psychotherapist Dr Peter O'Connor has created a picture of the malaise of today's man - and a way forward to self-discovery. This is an exhilarating and optimistic work which signposts a way through one of life's most challenging journeys. Wyrmwood.

"King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: rediscovering the archetypes of the mature masculine" by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette (Harper Collins Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0-06-250606-4) 

Its a well written perspective on the Jungian view on Male psychology incorporating four main archetypes. They talk about archetypes as being the blueprint of the human psyche, sort of building blocks on which we emotionally and psychologically evolve from boys into men. I certainly enjoyed reading it - Wyrmwood. More on this book [here]

"Fire in The belly - On being a man" - Sam Keen, Piatkus 1992 

Great read for pagan men! Great read for men! Don't agree with everything, but it sure has got me asking myself a lot of questions. Hawk

"The Flowering Rod" by Kenny Klein

While I'm glad that a male pagan was speaking out, I found this book personally offensive in the wishy-washy way it was written.  This was a book on pagan manhood written with women in mind, not truly a book on the male mysteries... he spends so much time whining about how he used to be a misogynist and persecute women and whatnot, when by all descriptions of his past reveal he did not.  This is a trend in a lot of books for pagan men, and one that I find disgusting, this self-persecution and guilt.  Most pagan men I know have ALWAYS, since childhood, been respectful of women, many times awed by women, and I refuse to observe credibility in any work which says all men need to realize what bastards they are... that isn't paganism or witchcraft, it's extreme feminism. It's a doctrine of emasculation eschewed by someone who bought into the propaganda, that one must chide one's self for imaginary crimes before one can be an "enlightened" and sensitive male, and it's a load of horseshit. Baphomet Pan

"Wiccan Warrior: Walking a Spiritual Path in a Sometimes Hostile World"
by Kerr Cuhulain

I would not recommend this book, due to the authors obvious and
blantant hostility towards more traditional and conservative Craft
practitioners. Gee, and small wonder this guy got his training from the
Georgian tradition...a traditional conservative Craft tradition. Smacks of
hypocricy to me. Not to mention the book just sucks in general, IMHO. Another typical tirade from Llewellyn! Blessed Be, Bran ap Llyr

Wicca Spellcraft for Men by A.J. Drew 239 pages+ appendices c2001 New Page Books $12,99 (.U.S.) paperback. 
book review by Mike Gleason (used with permission - thanks Mike!)

The subtitle of this book gave me some trouble as soon as I saw it (A Spellbook for Male Pagans), and I feel it would be better without it. It is NOT a spellbook, it is a book about spells, and those are very different types of books.

Every once in a while I begin reading a book and find myself running into my prejudices. Even more rarely, such a book makes me admit that I have been trying to fit into a PC mode, and have become unaware of my prejudices.

This book, which I received unrequested, did both of these things to me, but on different topics.

First, I have a prejudice against "spell" books. I know that, for me personally (and many others), the best spells are created, as needed, by the individuals doing them. That idea that stimuli which work for someone else will work for me appears highly unlikely. So, I was predisposed to dislike this book before I even opened the cover. Within a matter of a few pages Mr. Drew disposed of that prejudice. He immediately made it clear that this book was to be about creating spells, not repeating someone else's work.

But even before he did that, he demolished the Animal Farm-like attitude that seems so prevalent in most of the Pagan community today. "All animals (people) are created equal, only some are more equal than others." Ask the hypothetical "average" Pagan today who they worship and you will hear, with minor variations such as specific names, "The Goddess," and then, as a kind of an afterthought, "and the God."

Most Wiccan groups insist on the superiority of the Goddess (and Her priestesses) over the God (and His priests). Some groups go so far as to banish all male energy from their rituals, ascribing male-associated virtues to female images (ala "Xena"). It has become defacto (if not dejure) that female equals good; male equals bad. Women don't need men, but men need women to continue the human race.

Women's Mysteries are perceived as a chance to explore feelings and emotions. Men's Mysteries are equally perceived as a chance to drum and brag about conquests, of all sorts.

We pay lip service to equality, but that is about as far as it goes. As a candidate for initiation into Alexandrian Wicca over a quarter of a century ago, I had to copy out my Book of Shadows. I look back and wonder why I didn't question some of the things I wrote out. I wrote, and didn't question, such phrases as "But the high Priestess should ever mind that all power comes from him. It is only lent to be used wisely and justly."

Mr. Drew continually challenges the matrifocal basis of most current Pagan (and neo-Pagan) religions. He also calls into question many of the ways of thinking came about as a result of the "Burning Times."

If we wish to worship as our ancestors did, he says, we need to go back before the Christian persecutions. Although he does not advocate animal sacrifice, he reminds us of the need to honor and respect that which gave its life to sustain our own. He reminds us that, in the old days." one's religion was truly part of one's life. One did not distinguish their belief as different from another's. One simply believed, and did, what he needed to in order to survive.

Many people will be unhappy with Mr. Drew's statements and positions, but he obviously has the courage of his convictions.

Like many of the "great" names in the Pagan movement (Doreen Valiente come to mind), he is not afraid to remind us that "Mother Natures" is not all sweetness and light. Nature demands that death occur in order for life to continue; nor does she apologize for it.

The author reminds us that, contrary to popular images, there are feminine images that are not necessarily maternal in nature. Personally, I have a hard time picturing Kali as a loving, nurturing figure - but she has had, and does have, her devoted followers. Likewise, some male images are not necessarily hard-nosed individuals (Cupid as a guy with an attitude? Nah.)

I had a few problems with some of the editing in this book, but found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable, not to say, educational books. Let it inspire you and set you on your own path of discovery.

"The Quest for Maleness: Avoiding emasculation. Releasing the creative powers of the true male." by Théun Mares. Lionheart Publishing, South Africa. ISBN 1-919792-07-4

from "About the author"

<snip> The author was born in Zimbabwe, of a mother who was a natural seer, and a father who was a miner. Having a seer's ability himself, Théun was trained from an early age in this art and in the disciplines of the Toltec tradition. Toltec means "A man or woman of knowledge," and the Toltec tradition encompasses a vast and ever-expanding system of knowlege about life, the universe and the part that we play in both.

Drawing upon his knowledge of the fundamental unity of all of life, the author has used his seer's skills and training to uncover the essential truths that lie at the heart of all true religions and belief systems. In his book, he reveals the nature of these core truths, which have so often become distorted, corrupted and lost with the passage of time. He also shows how we can use these truths in a practical manner to revolutionize our thinking, our behaviour and our world.

The author's career has spanned the breadth of the performing arts, education and business. He now lives in Cape Town with Marianne, where he divides his time between writing, teaching and creating courses for adults and teenagers.

The overall aim of Théun's work is firstly, to rekindle in all of us the knowledge that the whole purpose of life is the evolution of awareness, and secondly, to imbue in us an understanding of how this is best achieved.

His message is that the only possible way for us to create a hope-filled future, rather than a world filled with destruction, is by developing the openess of heart to embrace all of life fully, rather than by becoming separative, divisive and by indulging in escapisms.

Embracing all of life involves meeting all our challenges head-on, rather than running away from them. It involves developing and maintaining respect for the world in which we live, and for life in general; it involves acknowledging that all our actions have an impact on those around us, and it also involves the constant willingness to respond - to take action - based upon the feedback we are getting from our lives. Introversion only implies cutting ourselves off from life.

The overall import of Théun's message is that, in the final analysis, the proper evolution of awareness can only come about as a result of practical experience. Wasting time in philosophizing, intellectualizing, rationalizing and escapisms only serve to lead one further and further away from practical experience, and from the real business of living. For the only thing of lasting value in life upon the physical plane is to live it all, to experience it all, to embrace it all: the good with the bad, and so to develop the sense of utter inclusiveness, which is the mark of a passionate, alive, and truely human, being with a heart. </snip>

His Story: Masculinity In The Post-Patriarchal World 
List Price: 23.95;
By Nicholas R. Mann, Sofcover, 295 pp.;
ISBN: 1-56718-458-8

Full Description

Today, men so often feel alienated and rootless, lacking tribe and even community. Unlike any book before, His Story, provides men of European descent with a means to connect with their own inherent source of personal power and with a sense of their own native tradition. This has the potential to transform a man's relationship to those around him and to the world. His Story steers the incipient Men's Movement in a new direction. It emphasizes historical continuity, personal power and grass roots, not passing trends, celebrities and centralization. Men who are interested in european prehistoric and pagan mysteries will find them here. Within these mysteries you can 

• Discover the true source of your identity and power
• Attain a new definition of male sexuality
• Examine the issues of homophobia, sex and relationships
• Learn new ways to relate to each other, women and the the world
• Recognize the schism of earth and spirit, mind and body which has fractured Western consciousness
• Journey within yourself to discover and fulfill your potential 
• Create a true sense of maleness and male pride which is in harmony with the world
• Rediscover for yourself the lost traditions of His Story over the huge period of time humans have inhabited the Earth
•Uncover a vast, untapped reservoir of potential in your somatic processes

His Story weaves together an analysis of the institution of patriarchy with the issues of masculine identity, self-definition, sexuality, symbology, mythology, archetypes and spirituality. Now you can gain a wealth of information on traditions which once directly informed men on the nature of their masculinity. Now you can connect again. 

About the Author

Nicholas Robin Mann received a B.A. with Honors in ancient History and Social Anthropology at London Universtiy. He subsequently embarked on a quest to uncover the elements constituting the native European conception of god and masculinity. Mann is the author of The Cauldron and the Grail; Glastonbury Tor; Keltic Power Symbols : Sacred Earth; The Giants of Gaia ; and the forthcoming Isle of Avalon

Table of Contents

Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
A "True Man" xv
Exposing Our Minds: God and the Enemy xxi

PART I: CLEARING THE PATH 1
Chapter 1: What is a Man? 1
Chapter 2: The Cave 17
Chapter 3: Our Prehistoric Inheritance 53

PART II: RE-CREATING THE ARCHETYPAL MASCULINE 75
Chapter 4: Dynamics 77
Chapter 5: The Grail Legends 105
Chapter 6: The Power Animals 119
Chapter 7: The Green Man 143
Chapter 8: The Cave: Return 169

PART III: THE WAY AHEAD 179
Chapter 9: Toward a New Male Sexuality 181
Chapter 10: Geomancy and Geomen 225
Chapter 11: Redefining the Roles 245
Chapter 12: The Way Ahead 267

Selected Bibliography 287
Index 291

this review page last updated 16 April, 2007

{return to menu}