Pagan Tama
Ceisiwr Serith, A Book of Pagan Prayer
(Red Wheel/Weiser, 2002)
The first thing you notice about Ceisiwr Serith’s A Book of Pagan Prayer is what a beautiful object it is. Small, round-edged and with a minimalist, classy green and gold cover, it looks just like a traditional Christian prayer book. It begs to be picked up and opened.
Inside, you’ll find hundreds of prayers written especially for Pagan use. There’s prayers for all purposes great and small, from litanies honouring the majesty of the deities to prayers for success in business and safety for children. I had a wry smile when I read the “Commuter’s Prayer,” which opens with the line “Remind me on my drive that my anger harms me more than that which angers me.” I happened to be commuting to work while I was reading this and I had every reason to be angry – my train was 30 minutes late and there were no available seats so I was sitting in the floor! This little prayer certainly helped to raise my spirits. The prayers have been written with all manner of Pagan paths in mind – Wiccan, Hellenic, Druid, and there’s even prayers to the Shinto kami Amaterasu – and include specific prayers for deities, spirits and ancestors. There’s also a lot of information about prayer itself – what it is, different types of prayer, how to write a prayer, and how to pray effectively and respectfully.
The only thing I thought was perhaps a bit of a shame was that although lots of the prayers have some really nice explanations and commentary, these can only be found as footnotes at the back of the book. This could be a matter of personal taste, but I much prefer books that include their footnotes at the base of the page where they are referenced rather than collected at the back, especially if the book is non-academic. It quickly gets tiresome flicking back and forth between the chapter and the footnotes at the back, especially as the footnotes are not given page numbers.
But aside from this minor issue, I really liked A Book of Pagan Prayer. As I sometimes lead group rituals at my own moot, I anticipate some of the prayers here being very useful for when I’m writing rituals of my own. Not only that, but A Book of Pagan Prayer makes a wonderful visual addition to any Pagan sacred space – I can imagine this book gracing an altar, or perhaps something that Pagans can take with them wherever they travel to provide solace and inspiration.
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