The Modern Pagan: How to Live a Natural Lifestyle in the 21st Century [Paperback]

Brian Day (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

A guide to harmonious, natural living through modern pagan principles, explains how to live in a way that honors the land and its inhabitants, offering advice on cultivating a true pagan garden, creating nutritious food and drink, celebrating seasonal festivals, practicing herbal medicine, and working for the benefit of all. Paganism is a sustainable way of life that has existed for thousands of years. Sometimes mistaken as a religious path (true pagans do not worship deities), paganism will appeal to anyone who cares about the environment or is interested in maintaining an organic lifestyle. Although it is an ancient practice, paganism is particularly suited to meeting 21st-century concerns.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brian Day was brought up near Nottingham and acquired, from his family, an early interest in folk traditions, herbalism, music and linguistics, which led to a lifetime of study of the folk culture of the British Isles. With degrees in chemistry, biochemistry and computing, Brian has enjoyed a career as an international educational consultant, university lecturer and computer analyst. He has written and lectured extensively on folk culture and is a keen singer of folk, operatic and choral music, having discovered and transcribed several 'lost' English traditional carols. He is the author of The Celtic Calendar.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Random House UK (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844132943
• ISBN-13: 978-1844132942
• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 5.2 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,057,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ideas with an exceptionally off-putting attitude., April 28, 2008

By 

Ruby Sara "RS" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Modern Pagan: How to Live a Natural Lifestyle in the 21st Century (Paperback)

I purchased this book solely because it proposed what to me seemed a pretty interesting and somewhat radical notion - that modern "paganism," as Day refers to it, is not a religion or even a group of religions, but rather a non-spiritual, philosophical approach to daily living rooted in simplicity, indigenous/local folk custom, and earth-centered values. As a spiritual Pagan who has studied a number of contemporary Pagan religions, I find there to be enormous potential in the preservation of folk custom and folk living, and I was really interested to read about the ideas of someone who approaches folk tradition in a way that is grounded in daily living rather than automatically caught up in spiritual or religious language - I agree that folk custom is not necessarily automatically tied to any given religion, and earth-centered living and earth-centered culture is something that should be fundamental to every person regardless of their faith. It is unfortunate therefore that in spite of this very interesting idea, the rest of Day's book is irritatingly lacking in citations, full of basic, tired information that is nothing new to anyone interested in sustainable living, and is presented in an overwhelmingly condescending and dogmatic tone that leaves the reader feeling as though they've just attended a very long and rather tedious lecture entitled "Paganism: My Way or the Highway." While I agree fundamentally with many of Day's points, the book suffers hugely from his inflexible tone, and makes Day out to seem, as another reviewer on the Amazon.co.uk site put it accurately, if not gently, rather something of a "joyless stodge."

Another major stumbling block is of course Day's use of the word "pagan." Other critical reviews have made the point that given the contemporary use of the word in spiritual and religious communities, it seems almost deceptive to use it to describe a non-spiritual lifestyle. At the very least it's confusing, and creates something of a problem with consistency in the text, as Day simultaneously insists that paganism is not a religion, and then goes on to extol the history of the Druids in pre-Christian Celtic countries, or insists that his "New Folk Year" calendar, which is identical to the contemporary Wiccan and spiritual Pagan wheel of the year, is the calendar of choice for all persons regardless of religion. I think you'd be hard pressed to convince anyone that the Celtic/Anglo Saxon 8 point seasonal calendar is a purely non-spiritual system seeing as how it's been heartily adopted as a religious calendar by contemporary religious Pagans.

I maintain that the book's primary premise, that it is critically (and possibly universally) beneficial to adopt a lifestyle that emphasizes localized, sustainable, folk-based living, is still an intriguing one. Day's ideas surrounding the founding of folk schools to educate those interesting in learning about folk cways and helping their children preserve these local, earth-based and sustainable cultural customs and skills is a great one - folk schools exist in several places here in the United States, and in the coming years, as a looming energy crisis and other environmental problems take their toll, I suspect that these customs and skills will increase enormously in value.

Ultimately, however, the book fails in its goals. The sustainable lifestyle that Day advocates is one that many folk have already adopted or are trying to adopt, without the need to muddy the situation by awkwardly attempting to reclaim a word that has already been adopted and reclaimed by a religious community. Day seems primarily to be encouraging people to revive and preserve folk customs, something I absolutely and heartily believe in, but he does it in such a way that it is bound to turn off both Pagans and non-Pagans alike. There is something to be said for tradition and conservation of folk culture, but not at the expense of creativity, flexibility, spirituality and joy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource!, December 30, 2009

By 

Vegan Manga PSP PS3 Gamer "Vegans Rule" (Washington) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Modern Pagan: How to Live a Natural Lifestyle in the 21st Century (Paperback)

I loved this book! It is refreshing and easy to understand. I've been looking for a book like this for a long time. A good read for anyone whose a naturalist pagan, environmentally conscience, organic living oriented, secular humanist, or anyone who wants a better understanding of simply living in peace and harmony with the world around you. I like that this books also explains that modern pagans want freedom of choice and lifestyle for all humanity. Peace! That is what we need more literature to reflect living in harmony with others and our environment. This read is a breath of fresh air for those of us who are tired of reading about the justifications behind wars and sanctions, set your individual beliefs aside and looking at humanity on a whole what we all need to thrive and live peacefully. I think this book is a great companion to read with The Great Cosmic Mother for additional understanding of earth and our ancestors understanding of how the life and the world works, then chew it up and live peacefully in your own individual way, while being Kind to people and the earth.

The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times

Building an Ark: 101 Solutions to Animal Suffering (The Solutions Series)

The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter

Toxic Planet

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pagan Buyers Beware...This Is A Fool's Book, Since when is Paganism not Spiritual?, October 2, 2007

By 

J. Bowser "J.K. Bowser" (Youngstown, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Modern Pagan: How to Live a Natural Lifestyle in the 21st Century (Paperback)

Brian Day is dead wrong about paganism! He says that Pagans don't worship any sort of Deity...since when? I've been pagan for a long time and I've met hundreds of Pagans and they all worship some form of a god/goddess. His short chapter on the Celtic peoples is laughable. He tries to say that paganism is a "lifestyle" that has been handed down through many generations living in the U.K. WTF? He claims that is has no connection to religion or spirituality. WTF?

I returned my book in less than 24 hours after I bought it. Don't buy this book if you want to learn about Paganism. This book is eco-friendly, but it should not be allowed to call itself "Modern Pagan".