Edited by Christopher Hubbard
Price: $10.99 (paperback) / $2.99 (ebook)
Publication Date: 18 October 2021
Place of Publication: Asheville, North Carolina
ISBN: 979-8481908199
Pages: 150 pp
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 5 x 8
Polytheism: from the Greek poly for “many” and theos for “god.”
While the term itself may be simple enough to define, the traditions, beliefs, and practices that fall under it are complex and diverse. Contemporary Reclaiming Witchcraft, early Medieval Heathenry, the native practices of the Aztecs, Shintoism and Taoism, and present-day Hellenismos — to name just a few — all fall under the wide umbrella of polytheism. Yet they are often radically different in their cosmologies, mythologies, ethics, eschatology, sacred rites, and other practices.
These four essays exemplify that diversity of beliefs and practices. In “The Dawning of the Equinox,” Katie Collins delves into the history and theology behind one of the most important rites in Thelema; Reverend Amber Doty examines “The Nature of Evil” in a number of ancient mythologies, and how that influences modern practitioners of those traditions; in “Soul, Felt Experience, and Divinity,” Tom Cabot discusses the visible and invisible realms of Nature and the striving of the human soul towards the divine; and Nicholas Mennona Marino delves into the orations of Isocrates in “‘Venerate What Relates to the Gods.’”
These essays are only a beginning, though. The complexity of polytheism cannot be contained in a single text. We hope that you will find these essays illuminating and thought-provoking — and that they will inspire you to make inquiries of your own into the nature of the Gods, humanity, and our collective relationships with one another.
Polytheistic Religion and Practice Volume One is available in paperback format through Amazon. The Kindle edition is available, as are digital editions through Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Tolino, and Vivlio, with more coming soon. All of the proceeds from Polytheistic Religion and Practice Volume One – as well as many of the other volumes in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina series – will be used to help promote the revival of the worship of the Greek and Egyptian Gods, with a portion of the proceeds given to a worthy charitable organization in their name. So, not only will you be getting a wonderful book about sacred journeys – but your money will be going to do good work and help the revival of ancient polytheistic religions.
ATTENTION Librarians, Teachers and Retailers: Polytheistic Religion and Practice Volume One is also available at reduced cost for academic institutions, lending libraries (public and private) and retailers. Check our online store, or email baeditor@gmail.com with any questions.
We are rebuilding the Library of Alexandria one book at a time!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
From the Desk of the Editor-in-Chief by Rebecca Buchanan … 4
The Dawning of the Equinox: An Analysis of the Supreme Ritual by Katie Collins … 7
The Nature of Evil by Rev. Amber Doty … 29
Soul, Felt Experience, and Divinity by Tom Cabot … 59
“Venerate What Relates to the Gods”: Piety in the Orations of Socrates by Nicholas Mennona Marino … 111
Appendix A: Our Contributors … 142
Appendix B: About Bibliotheca Alexandrina — Current Titles — Forthcoming Titles … 144
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