History of Paganism and Wicca

Ronald Hutton. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles.

Most useful for: Serious students

Content: Chronological discussion of archaeological and literary resources pertaining to Paganism in Britain; goes from mounds to stone circles, from the Celts to the Romans to the Vikings, from prehistory to the present.

Commentary: A wonderful book that I simply can't recommend highly enough. From prehistoric times to the present, the author shows that much of what we as Pagans are often told about history just isn't so--or, at least, can't be proven to have been so. The Druids built Stonehenge? Neolithic peoples worshipped a single earth mother goddess in idyllic matriarchal socities? Present-day witches can trace their practices hundreds of years into the past? Well, um...no! If you have many sacred cows in your pasture, you may not care for this book. But if you believe that sound spiritual practice is better built on fact than on fiction, you almost certainly will. The author draws on archaeological, anthropological, and literary sources in drawing his conclusions, and does a fine job of showing where some of the more popular Pagan myths originated and why they hold on despite the subsequent discovery of contradictory evidence. At the same time, he's quite Pagan-friendly and points out that the fact that something cannot be proven to have existed doesn't necessarily prove that it didn't. (Sometimes. Some Pagan myths are simply unprovable--others are just plain wrong!) And it certainly doesn't take away from the power of the myth. My feeling is that the evidence based on the archaeological record is most compelling--although certainly it's open to interpretation--but all of it is worthwhile reading for any modern Pagan.

Very strongly recommended

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Most useful for:	Serious students
Content:	Chronological discussion of archaeological and literary resources pertaining to Paganism in Britain; goes from mounds to stone circles, from the Celts to the Romans to the Vikings, from prehistory to the present.
Commentary:	A wonderful book that I simply can't recommend highly enough. From prehistoric times to the present, the author shows that much of what we as Pagans are often told about history just isn't so--or, at least, can't be proven to have been so. The Druids built Stonehenge? Neolithic peoples worshipped a single earth mother goddess in idyllic matriarchal socities? Present-day witches can trace their practices hundreds of years into the past? Well, um...no! If you have many sacred cows in your pasture, you may not care for this book. But if you believe that sound spiritual practice is better built on fact than on fiction, you almost certainly will. The author draws on archaeological, anthropological, and literary sources in drawing his conclusions, and does a fine job of showing where some of the more popular Pagan myths originated and why they hold on despite the subsequent discovery of contradictory evidence. At the same time, he's quite Pagan-friendly and points out that the fact that something cannot be proven to have existed doesn't necessarily prove that it didn't. (Sometimes. Some Pagan myths are simply unprovable--others are just plain wrong!) And it certainly doesn't take away from the power of the myth. My feeling is that the evidence based on the archaeological record is most compelling--although certainly it's open to interpretation--but all of it is worthwhile reading for any modern Pagan.
	Very strongly recommended