A Gift-Guide For the Pagan in Your Life
Today is “Black Friday”, the traditional start to the holiday shopping season. Since I’m not nearly crazy enough to risk going anywhere near a shopping establishment today, I thought instead I would take some time this weekend to share some gift-giving ideas for the Pagan/Heathen in your life to help make your preparations for Yule, Solstice, Saturnalia, or other Winter Festival, a bit easier.
Books: If one commonality is shared across the spectrum of modern Paganism, it is that we are a book-loving group. While you’ll come across the occasional anti-book scold, the vast majority of us love and cherish the printed word and take pride in our collections. A gift-card to a major book retailer is always appreciated, but if you are looking for something more personal, here are some recommendations.
Fiction: Fiction is always a difficult gift, since tastes can vary widely, but books with Pagan themes are a (somewhat) safe bet. Just be sure to include a gift-receipt in case they already own it. That being said, some interesting ideas would be Robin Hardy’s novelized pseudo-sequel to cult film “The Wicker Man” entitled “Cowboys For Christ” (which is being made into a film soon), you can even include the novelization of “The Wicker Man” as a companion. If they are into mythology, Cannongate’s series “The Myths” enlists talented authors like Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, and Jeanette Winterson to retell (or expound) on an ancient mythological story. The resulting books I have read so far have been breathtaking.
Speaking of mythical themes, perennial Pagan favorite Neil Gaiman has just released a collection of short stories, and its sure to please the “American Gods” or “Sandman” fan in the family. Urban fantasy fans of Charles DeLint would love a copy of “Widdershins” (if they don’t own it already), especially since it answers a burning question long asked by fans of his “Newford” stories. Finally, for the Wiccan in your life, why not pick up a cheap used copy of Stewart Farrar’s pulpy, post-apocalyptic “Wiccans save the world” novel “Omega”, with prices starting at one cent, you can’t go wrong.
Non-Fiction: I often opine on non-fiction here, so to be brief, you should check out my recommendations here, and here for some recent suggestions of note. Other good ideas include “Her Hidden Children”, Chas Clifton’s history of Paganism in America, and “The Druids” by Ronald Hutton, which looks at the various Druidic revivals throughout English history.
Comics: Unsurprisingly, comic books are often an ideal format for occult and mythic themes. There are a wide assortment of comics ideal for the Pagan soul. First off, for those who are of the Nordic persuasion, check out Brian Wood’s new ongoing series “Northlanders”. The first issue comes out in December, and promises to be everything you could want in a Viking comic. Any quality comic store should reserve a copy for you. A great companion to “Northlanders” would be the graphic novel retelling of Norse myths entitled (appropriately enough) “Gods of Asgard” by Xeric Grant winner Erik Evensen.
For the magickly-inclined loved one in your life, you can’t do better than Alan Moore’s critically acclaimed “Promethea” series, a mixture of groundbreaking art and mind-twisting metaphysics that rewards multiple readings. If the magician in your life is also into conspiracy theories and anarchy, you might also want to pick up a couple volumes of “The Invisibles” while you are at it (if they are also profound music fans, pick up “Phonogram” too, you’ll be glad you did).
Tomorrow I will tackle music and video gift suggestions! In the meantime, I invite my readers (some of whom are authors), to plug their own (printed) Pagan gift suggestions in the comments.
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