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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Book Review: Egyptian Paganism for Beginners

This book was an Amazon recommendation after I purchased a few books on Ancient Egypt. It was on sale at the time, so I ordered it. I was very excited when I got it in the mail, and skimmed through it.
When I settled down to really read it, I was slightly disappointed. Jocelyn Almond and Keith Seddon are both very well-versed, but they write in an arrogant way.
They both believe in a very traditional Egyptian path, and have a holier-than-thou attitude about following a strict Kemetic path.
The book has some redeeming features. It offers prayers too many different deities from the pantheon, and some interesting tips on creating an altar you can hide away in case you have family or friends that are deeply opposed to paganism, or if you are tight on space. The book also offers an interesting ritual on casting a Wiccan circle using Egyptian elements.

Published in 2004 by Llewellyn

Other Books by Jocelyn Almond: An Egyptian Book of Shadows: Eight Seasonal Rites of Egyptian Paganism; Tarot for Relationships: A Practical Guide to Understanding Love and Sex from Tarot Reading; Understanding Tarot: A Practical Guide to Tarot Reading

Other Books by Keith Seddon: Epictetus’ Handbook and the Tablet of Cebes: Guides to Stoic Living; An Egyptian Book of Shadows: Eight Seasonal Rites of Egyptian Paganism; Time: A Philosophical Treatment

Readability:
Is it easy to read? To A degree; some parts are easier to read than others
Is it easy to follow along with? Again, some parts are and some parts aren’t
Is it interesting? Yes
How long does it take to read? You can probably get through the book in a week.
Overall: 3/5

Content:
Is the author knowledgeable? Yes, they are very well-versed
Is the knowledge valuable? Yes
Is the knowledge new knowledge or is it common knowledge? It is ancient knowledge worded in a new way.
Is it cohesive and relevant? To a degree
Other notes: If you can ignore the preaching attitude, the content is really good.
Overall: 4/5

Design/Layout:
Is the book set up for easy reference: Yes
Is the layout or design obnoxious or annoying? No
Overall: 5/5

Overall:
Do you recommend this book? Somewhat.
Was it worth the money? It was $12 on Chapters, so if you can afford to spend that money, it can be nice to have in your library. However, if you can, borrow it from the library or a friend and just copy out the information you need.
Will You Purchase Other Books from this Author?: I’m looking to the Egyptian Book of Shadows, but other than that, no.
Overall: 12/15

DISCLAIMER

A lot of my information is directly copy-pasted frm my own Book of Shadows, collected over the past couple of years from a variety of sourses. I try to credit where I can, and I try to paraphrase and change words around without changing meanings as much as I can.
IF YOU SEE YOUR INFORMATION HERE: Please let me know, I'll be more than happy to credit you. The best way to contact me is to leave a comment on the post, and I'll be sure to edit the post as soon as I get the message.