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Whatcha Reading
May. 27th, 2009 01:16 pmTo distract myself from my queasy stomach, I'm sharing what I'm reading this week to take my mind off things.
"Walking the Bible" by Bruce Feiler. Only a few chapters in, but very interesting and engrossing so far. This book really focuses on the reality of bible stories - that they are the local stories of indigenous peoples and their invaders. Something I would say as Westerners we tend to lose sight of. Living, working, dying all in the shadow and vicinities of famous biblical locations like Mt. Sinai gives the people there a very intimate relationship to the stories of Moses, Abraham and Noah in a way I'm not sure as Westerners we can appreciate or understand. A glorious book that incorporates the spiritual reality of these biblical stories as folk stories without getting too bogged down in religion.
"Spellcraft" by Robin Skelton. Recommended by an elder Kingstone, it's just arrived and I'm really looking forward to reading it after a quick glance through. The author focuses on what he calls "Verbal Magic", something as a former singer I really enjoy - the power of the voice raised in chant. He juxtapositions a witch's spell with the Lord's Prayer, shares dozens upon dozens of chants and explores the whys and whatfors of "Verbal Magic" as he guides us through the spells within ancient and modern literature. If you appreciate structure in your witchcraft, I would recommend his works. Much more readable than Benjamin Foster's "From Distant Days" with a livelier voice and tone, I'm already trying to find more of his books.
"Walking the Bible" by Bruce Feiler. Only a few chapters in, but very interesting and engrossing so far. This book really focuses on the reality of bible stories - that they are the local stories of indigenous peoples and their invaders. Something I would say as Westerners we tend to lose sight of. Living, working, dying all in the shadow and vicinities of famous biblical locations like Mt. Sinai gives the people there a very intimate relationship to the stories of Moses, Abraham and Noah in a way I'm not sure as Westerners we can appreciate or understand. A glorious book that incorporates the spiritual reality of these biblical stories as folk stories without getting too bogged down in religion.
"Spellcraft" by Robin Skelton. Recommended by an elder Kingstone, it's just arrived and I'm really looking forward to reading it after a quick glance through. The author focuses on what he calls "Verbal Magic", something as a former singer I really enjoy - the power of the voice raised in chant. He juxtapositions a witch's spell with the Lord's Prayer, shares dozens upon dozens of chants and explores the whys and whatfors of "Verbal Magic" as he guides us through the spells within ancient and modern literature. If you appreciate structure in your witchcraft, I would recommend his works. Much more readable than Benjamin Foster's "From Distant Days" with a livelier voice and tone, I'm already trying to find more of his books.
