Product Description

This is THE handbook for Clergy ofthe Wiccan faith. Additionally, this work would also prove to be a great aid toall other Pagan paths. There is currently no other book of this sort on themarket. With Handfasting, and funeral services, guided meditations andspiritual messages this book will be used again and again. "A Handbook ForWiccan Clergy" is a valuable tool for all High Priests and HighPriestesses of whatever tradition to have and utilize. Far from being a Wiccan101, or "spell" book, this work is only intended for advancedpractitioners."A Handbook For WiccanClergy," continues to pull in rave reviews, HealingWolf of FaDraSha hassaid; "This is a "must have" book for more advanced witches. Ifyou ever counsel others or act as high priest(ess), you'll want this greatreference book." Edain McCoy has also read this work and has proclaimed itas "Wonderful" and "It is well past time that a book of this typeshould be available." Serpent Stone said; "This book is a wonderful guidefor both new and experienced Priests and Priestesses, and covers areas asvaried as Rites of Passage, mythology (including techniques and rituals forconnecting with the ideas, teaching and energies of the myth), meditations,personal growth and awareness, and pastoral counseling. All of these are areasthat have been sadly lacking in any comprehensive volume before this, but whichare essential to working effectively as clergy." And most recently fromMarlevane's Book Reviews "This book gets right down to business. Kevin (Templeof Ishtar) writes this book geared towards rituals for performing all rites ofpassages. No Wiccan Priest or Priestess should be without this book in theircollections! This book is a real gem to the Pagan world and to all magickalpractitioners."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #249667 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 344 pages

About the Author
For much of my life, I have livedand worked in rural areas in tune with the seasons and tides of nature. Even asa child, I recognized the divine hand in everything that surrounded me. As acountry boy, I knew and understood that life can only exist through death. Igraduated high school in 1974, and set out on my own, trying to make my way inthe world. Along the way I discovered the Craft, and like most who are drawn tothe Wiccan faith, I knew that I had always been Wiccan. I just didn't know whatit was called.In 1978 I joined the Army MilitaryPolice and was stationed in Panama. In November that year I helped clean up amess created by Reverend Jim Jones. The experience molded me, and showed me howa charismatic religious leader can lead others down the wrong path. I wasforced to take life, and I came to understand that all of us have that darkernature. Finally coming to terms with my own darkness, I found it was the sourceof our strength. But it must be balanced with our light. We all possess thepower and capacity to kill, crush and destroy, but when balanced with love andcompassion, that power can be channeled into positive directions.I have had articles published inFate, Pan Gaia, Circle & Blessed Bee magazines, and was legally ordained in2002, so that I could provide legal Handfasting and Funeral services for thePagan community. But my real Credentials come from a deep commitment to theCraft, and a lifetime of study and striving for the connection to the Divinewithin each of us and in all things.

Customer Reviews

A Handbook For Wiccan Clergy
A wonderful new book that is not only for clergy but is also of great use to solitaries as well. It imparts a deeper appreciation and understanding of Deity and approach to everyday faith and practice that would enrich anyone's life and craft regardless of Tradition.
It does a terrific job of introducing , and deepening ones understanding ,of the cycles and celebrations of Life's passages and stages as well as providing excellent meditations to improve ones relation to the elements and nature , highly recommended to all.

Disappointing and weak
I was sorely disappointed in this book, from the moment I picked it up.
First of all, any book that needs such huge font and widely spaced lines is obviously trying to fill in gaps, where they have little to offer. Then you look in the "Bibliography" and you find only a handful of references on one page and nowhere in any part of the book are there Notes of any kind to source the material presented obviously from other authors. This puts me off immediately.
Then there is the fact this book clearly has no editor. It is filled with typos that make it look even more unprofessional. Was it ever proofread by anyone???
So all of these things count against it before you even read the contents.
Finally, we get to the material itself - there is nothing deep, original or useful to anyone who would call themselves "clergy" - the myths are commonly known, the author's own deity from a dream is put right alongside Ishtar, and information offered is purely 101, or at least it should be. The meditations are shallow and facile. The language in which all of this is written is extremely poor.

There is also nothing whatsoever about leadership, integrity, ethics or advanced study - please, if you want to know how to be true clergy, a true leader in the community, you will not find it here. Read Wicca Covens, by Judy Harrow, I beg you.

A must have
I recently purchased this book and I found it to be very good. It has
rituals for the rites of passage, several pagan myths and a how to for
teaching meditation and pastoral counseling. The pastoral counseling
section is just a basic lesson that focuses on listening which is the
hallmark of a good counselor. Chapters 17 and 18 are about the God-
dess and the source of All. I found these two chapters the most
interesting. An excerpt from chapter 17: "To those of the Wiccan
faith, woman is not corrupt, sex is not corrupt and life is not
corrupt. Rather Divinity is manifested in all of them. Therefore to us,
women is to be honored as a representation of the Goddess, not
regulated to the role of temptress and evil. From the union of God and
Goddess, Male Female, Life emerged. This Mystery of generation is a
Holy Mystery, a cosmic act, and it is in our nature to enjoy this
sacred act without guilt or shame. All acts of love and pleasure are
Her Rituals." This paragraph really speaks to the core of my beliefs
and it is the main reason I walk this path now. I feel that this book
is a must have for all that want to be clergy.