Debra DeAngelo - Pagan Curious: A Beginners Guide to Nature, Magic & Spirituality

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Pagan Curious: A Beginners Guide to Nature, Magic, & Spirituality 2022 by Debra DeAngelo.

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First e-book edition 2022

E-book ISBN: 9780738766607

Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

Interior art by the Llewellyn Art Department

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (Pending)

ISBN: 978-0-7387-6653-9

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Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Dedication

This book is dedicated to every curious person who ever looked up into the starry night sky, or out across the rolling blue ocean, or into the deep green forest, and felt a shiver of wow.

Contents

Your Inner Realm

: Getting to Know You

: Elemental You

: Life in a Body

Your Outer Realm

: Going Feral

: Biocongruence, Cosmocongruence

: Plant Spirit

: Animal Spirit

: The Wheel of the Year

: Sun, Moon, and Stars

The Magical Realm

: Exploring the Magical and Mystical

: Divination

: Altars, Tools, and Ritual

: Deity

: Pagan Traditions

Acknowledgments

So many people have shaped my outlook over the years through their example and with their words, both written and spoken. Amongst an expanse of stars, a few shine particularly brightly.

In order of appearance, each of these stellar women has left a dear and indelible imprint on my spirit, and contributed to bringing this book into being:

Beatrice Pizer: You gently, lovingly coaxed me out from a thick, ragged shell of fear, anxiety, and trauma. You are where my metamorphosis began. Thank you.

Sunny Schlenger: You taught me that my life could be so much more than I was allowing it to be. You encouraged me to feel the fear and leap anyway. Thank you.

Lokita Carter: You gave me a new paradigm for living in my own body and mind. The wisdom and love youve shared have been transformative. Thank you.

Gail Dettmer: You spun a crystal in my hand and changed the trajectory of my life. You showed me the path Id been searching for. Thank you.

Silver RavenWolf: You have inspired me from the very beginning and continue to do so. I so cherish your unfailingly warm, welcoming, validating, positive spirit. Thank you.

Victoria David Danann: You were my first teacher, and even though we never met on the physical plane, you opened the magical world to me, and validated me. Thank you.

Heather Greene: You opened a doorway to opportunity that had been so elusive. You challenge me to write sharper, clearer, and brighter, and to settle for nothing less than excellence. I appreciate your support, your participation, and your willingness to take a chance on me more than I can articulate. Thank you.

Foreword

by Silver RavenWolf

Welcome to the amazing Pagan experience! Within these pages, you will find freedom, joy, peace, delight, and harmony with the universean intoxicating brew of self-empowerment, wisdom, and magick. Walking a new path can be heady and exciting! Enjoy!

As you read through these pages, meditate on what you learn. Take your time. Live the work. Breathe in the ideas. Celebrate the magick of each day. This beautifully written book will give you a plethora of ideas, exercises, and information to help you in your magickal journey. Dont be surprised if you experience emotional exhilaration. It is like coming home, so many practitioners exclaim, their faces radiant and their hearts light with love. I feel like Ive been gone a very long time, and it is so good to be back!

Becoming is your goal; but, you will never reach the end, as it is the journey itself that brings fulfillment. Magick and spirituality are a progression of power. Surrender the need for results and you will find the greatest gifts come from living the enchantment. Unfoldment of your divine self is the reward. I embraced Paganism over forty years ago and never, ever looked back. I have received amazing rewards and enjoyed complete and utter contentment. My advice? Trust the process. In Braucherei (a form of folk-magick energy healing that I practice), we have a saying: You didnt get sick in a day, you wont get well in a day, meaning everything has its pace, its unique development, its ebb and flow. Dont rush yourselfsavor every moment. See your mistakes as opportunities. Let the beauty of you happen naturally.
Everything you need is already within you. Dont be afraid of messing up. Let Debra hand you the key that will unlock the secrets of the golden web of Paganism. You can do this!

And most important of all? Have fun and enjoy the flow!

Introduction

Youve always been curious, havent you?

Curious about a friend who seems so unusual? She wears pendants with strange symbols and stones, and her house is full of odd little arrangementsshells, stones, feathers, bells, and small bundles of dried leaves. You want to ask a million questions, but youre too shy. Your curiosity is simmering.

Curious about that yearning you feel when wandering through the woods, or along the beach, or standing and looking up at the starry night sky? You feel a connection. A deep knowing. Something very old and very familiar, but undefinable. It pulls at you and pulls at you. What is it?