Which authors aren't full of hot air?

[Kelsey MacAilbert]

If I wanted to get some books on Neo-Paganism (Celtic and Nordic movements in particular), who would you recommend I read? I know a lot of the authors producing books on the subject, such as Ravenwolf, are throwing out mostly false information. Who isn't?  

[Angel Bruja]

I've read Scott Cunningham's books. I don't know if that is helpful.  

[Morgandria]

Angel Bruja

I've read Scott Cunningham's books. I don't know if that is helpful.

They're not terrible, as neo-pagan books go. But there's nothing Celtic or Norse about them. It's just neo-pagan witchcraft.

Kelsey MacAilbert

If I wanted to get some books on Neo-Paganism (Celtic and Nordic movements in particular), who would you recommend I read? I know a lot of the authors producing books on the subject, such as Ravenwolf, are throwing out mostly false information. Who isn't?

It helps if you know the approach you're taking - you have to decide how much historical accuracy you desire in your practices. Reconstructionist paths tend more towards using books of a scholarly nature, and aim more at archaeological and anthropological history to find basis for their practices. Revivalist paths usually try to balance that history with modern culture in their practices. Neo-pagan religions could be anything from reconstructed rituals fleshed out with modern belief and practice, to romanticized versions of historical practice. to 'inspired' by history but entirely modern in structure, to absolute fantasy with little or no basis in fact. You have to weigh for yourself how much of a balance you need between factual accuracy, and a sense of mysticism and wonder. Too much one way or another may not work for you at all.

I believe, by and large, you are going to be looking at adapting the information and practices you find to best fit your own path. That's how I've had to do it. (Hopefully that's with respect to the cultures they come from, and their proper context.) Maybe you'll find an established practice that suits your needs - but a lot of us end up making our own, or practicing several paths in parallel to cover all our needs.

Best bet? Either look for books written to specific practices in mind - as in books written for Heathen practitioners, etc. - or try finding scholarly books that are about the specific culture or pantheon you're exploring. Primary sources are always fantastic to get a hold of, and if you go the scholarly route look for bibliographies that cite primary and secondary sources. Books that just cite other pagan authors are usually the ones that are light on fact. And remember that with primary sources, some translations are better than others. It's worth winnowing out the good ones.

I don't actually have any neo-pagan books I could recommend to you, on either subject. Everything I've ever learned about the Celts have come from historical research. I've found reconstructionist resources the most useful, myself, but if you're taking a neo-pagan (assuming you mean the Wicca-influenced type most common in North America) I don't have anything that speaks to that.

Here's a decent book list from Gaol Naofa. Mostly focused on Scots, Irish, and Manx resources.
http://www.tairis.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83:the-big-book-list&catid=39:resources&Itemid=1

I'll let our resident Norse folks answer for those resources.  

[Kelsey MacAilbert]

Morgandria

Angel Bruja

I've read Scott Cunningham's books. I don't know if that is helpful.

They're not terrible, as neo-pagan books go. But there's nothing Celtic or Norse about them. It's just neo-pagan witchcraft.

Really? I assumed he was not particularly trustworthy based on his having authored a book about how to be an eclectic Wiccan (which, so far as I know, is impossible).

Quote:

Kelsey MacAilbert

If I wanted to get some books on Neo-Paganism (Celtic and Nordic movements in particular), who would you recommend I read? I know a lot of the authors producing books on the subject, such as Ravenwolf, are throwing out mostly false information. Who isn't?

It helps if you know the approach you're taking - you have to decide how much historical accuracy you desire in your practices. Reconstructionist paths tend more towards using books of a scholarly nature, and aim more at archaeological and anthropological history to find basis for their practices. Revivalist paths usually try to balance that history with modern culture in their practices. Neo-pagan religions could be anything from reconstructed rituals fleshed out with modern belief and practice, to romanticized versions of historical practice. to 'inspired' by history but entirely modern in structure, to absolute fantasy with little or no basis in fact. You have to weigh for yourself how much of a balance you need between factual accuracy, and a sense of mysticism and wonder. Too much one way or another may not work for you at all.

I'm looking more for an overview of current and past religious practices from a scholarly point of view. I want to learn more about what the various movements believe and practice today, and what the historical predecesors believed and practiced. I'm not so much looking to form my own path at this time as I am to learn more about the field from an anthropological prospective.  

[Morgandria]

Kelsey MacAilbert

Really? I assumed he was not particularly trustworthy based on his having authored a book about how to be an eclectic Wiccan (which, so far as I know, is impossible).

He did at one point state he regretted calling the practice he outlined in his books Wicca - he himself knew it was not. And he was upfront about that. It is, properly, eclectic neo-pagan witchcraft. And it is valid on its' own, as a practice - he called it the Standing Stone tradition of witchcraft.

So as long as you disregard the use of the term 'Wicca' in his books, they're actually not bad.

Quote:

I'm looking more for an overview of current and past religious practices from a scholarly point of view. I want to learn more about what the various movements believe and practice today, and what the historical predecesors believed and practiced. I'm not so much looking to form my own path at this time as I am to learn more about the field from an anthropological prospective.

You'll definitely like the list I posted, then, from Gaol Naofa. It's more towards what you're looking for, historically. You'll also want to look into folk practices from the cultures you're interested in, to see where older beliefs were maintained through to modern times. Modern practice tends to vary quite widely between groups, and between individuals. There's no one standard of practice - people are literally making things up as they go along, from what makes sense to them from the lore.  

[too2sweet]

The list here is decent for general NeoPagan, and some Heathenry based practices as well.

In terms of Celtic Reconstruction paths - you might find the following resources helpful.  

[TheStarlessSkye]

I've learned a fair bit from Cunningham. In fact, he was one of the first authors I ever read and a lot of his practices have been adapted and transformed to my own. I love his prayers, invocations and use of symbolism a lot. His books "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" and "Living Wicca", I just use as reference points at times, and brush ups. He's a good starting point to build your own path and practice, as his methods are adaptable and he does teach you that each book you read, take with a grain of salt and don't devotedly follow the book.

In my opinion, his books on herbs, natural magic and crystals are more useful. They've really helped me in creating my own spells, and if I'm having a creative block for a spell, I go out and usually the answer for it comes to me in some way. If not, I'll reference "Earth, Air, Fire and Water" and I'll gain a small push of inspiration to create my own spell.

Another author I've grown heavily fond of is Elen Hawke. For adaptable, witchcraft practices,her books, are.. juicy... is the word I think is appropriate. Hawke's great if you want to dive deeper and make your practice a daily experience.