Customer Reviews

The Urban Primitive: Paganism in the Concrete Jungle

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Having grown up and spent most of my life in New York City, and having wandered the "concrete jungles" as a witch and pagan, I was curious about this book and was eager to look at someone else's views on being pagan in an urban environment.

What I was not expecting was a subculture within a subculture.

Having urban deities is not uncommon. There is Asphalta, the Goddess of the parking spaces. Bringing new Gods and Goddess's into the modern world is perfectly all right, and updating the old Gods to modern correspondences is fine too.

But I was stopped dead by the Triple Urban Goddess' "Squat, Skor and Skram" and the Triple Urban God "Slick, Screw and Sarge". This was just a bit too "off the cuff" for me. However, reading on, I began to realize that this book was not just about pagans in the city, this was about and for pagans who have preferences for cultural identities and ideals that may vary quite a bit from the average pagan.

There are discussions on rituals for body piercing, sacred art reflected in tattoos and addressing the corporate world as a "battlefield" because "there is capitalism, which involves brutal competition". There are also discussions on jobs, family and nature.

I then came to recognize these discussions are the kinds we had back in the 60's, and while the language has changed, the ideas and ideals have not. A new generation of revolutionaries has arrived; the basic complaints are still the same but the packaging is different.

Not all pagans in the urban centers are as Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein picture them in this book. While we do work spells to keep our cars on the road for just a little more, the ritual of keeping a match box replica of my car on my altar with some transmission fluid to the east, gasoline to the south, antifreeze to the west and break fluid to the north is a bit extreme even for me. Nice idea, but just a bit dangerous.

Yes, I admit that some of the lessons that are given in this book are pearls of wisdom for those who live in the cities, but the book limits its audience by the way in which these lessons are communicated. There are some interesting rituals and spells for the urban centered pagan, but I also feel that some of them are geared to a much younger and more experimental crowd.

This was an interesting attempt at something completely different in the way of approaching paganism from a specific viewpoint, but it is focused on a small group of special individuals. If you are one of those individuals, you will want to look into this book. boudica

I found this book to be a refreshing change among the cookie-cutter Pagan books on the market. It is a practical, straightforward description of Pagan spirituality in the city. I like the fact that the authors do not steer clear of subjects that are controversial (like blood letting), choosing instead to offer practical advice.

What I like about the book is that it has what many others are missing - it explains how to express *your* spirituality, not try to recreate the spirituality of people outside of your culture, environment and time-frame.

There are some hokey things I didn't like, like the urban triple goddess and god, as another reviewer already mentioned. I would not suggest that people read about them and adopt them as their own manifestation of divinity, but choose instead to do as the book tells you to do in other places - communicate with the energies around you and accept the ways it manifests on its *own* terms.

The topics covered include practical advice on spellcasting, getting the feel for the energies around you, working with them and cleaning up, clothing and body decoration (with a very good description of the various spiritual purposes behind piercings and tattoos), Pagan children, exploring your under world, small list of resources, and much more.

In general I think the book is extremely practical and relevant. It does not recreate old religions, or create new ones, nor does it tell you things must be done a certain way. Good read for everyone I think.

Medium sized paper back 255 pages (minus index) 19 chapters.

I liked this book, for many of the reasons that those who gave it poor reviews disliked it.

First some disclaimers:

1. I'm not a Wiccan. I follow a very different magickal/spiritual path, but I see value in learning insights from other traditions

2. I'm a dyed in the polyester urbanite. The raw natural world gives me hives.

3. I have academic degrees in folklore, semiotics and mythology and regard things from these perspectives as well as my spiritual experiences.

First, to those who object in general to the introduction of "urbanism" or technology into "earth centered religions": do you use a knife in your rituals? Metal doesn't grow on trees or lay about waiting to be found. It's manufactured using a very technological process from raw ore. Use a wand? Manufactured too, unless you just point a stick you found at things. It is in our "nature" as a species (wordplay VERY MUCH intended) to alter our environment through the use of tools. That does not remove the things we make from nature. (Gasoline? Just a long-dead dinosaur run through some tools, my friends. A lot of hard-to-deal-with waste products, but it's basically recycling!). Unless your version of earth-centered translates to going back to an australopicathine level of technology (and if it does, I pity you), you've modified nature to practice your art. And so it should be, as that is our role as a species -- to interact with our world in this fashion (while maintaining respect for the unity and essential sameness of all). That we've been out of balance in the past, implementing our technology without regard for its impact on nature is wrongandshould be redressed. But let's not throw the baby away with the bathwater. (BTW, use soap? Technologist!)However, I do agree with the reviewer who pointed out that you shouldn't have gasoline on your altar if you're lighting candles. Spiritual should not equal stupid.

Next, as to the three aspects of god and goddess in the modern environment: I freaking loved them. Why? couple of reasons. First, let's point out that the historical forms of these entities (Diana, Isis, the Horned God, etc.) aren't REALLY their essences. They're representations of principles of masculine and feminine traits and energies that make it easier for people to relate with (whether we believe those essences have an existence independent from ourselves or not). I think most of us don't live in an egyptian-flavored environment, so it's probably easier for us to relate to an urban, modern female archetype than, say, Isis or Hathor (unless you're one of those fantasy-fiction inspired, fluff-bunny, historical reconstructionist/re-enacter types. Which would be silly.)

Next, why the hell do you think people worship gods (or in my case bargain with spirits) in the first place??? Certainly we want to express gratitude and admiration for the world they manifest, but we also want their help in our everyday lives! And so did our bucolic ancestors. Praying for a good harvest is less important in my life (and the lives of most urban folks) than praying for the inspiration to get a job/clean my house (Sarge), finding good parking spot when I need one (Squat) or getting laid (Skrew). Different representations of the same essences for different contexts and needs. Simple, really. And doesn't at all prevent one from calling on the historical representations of these entities when their intervention is more appropriate. And, if you think about it, how is calling on the goddess of dumpster-diving different than a hunter-gatherer calling on his/her spirits or gods of hunting to find a straight stick in the forest to make a good spear? Different jungles is the only difference I see...

I'm not saying this book should be taken word for word -- some of it I find goofy, but endearingly so. I AM saying that it makes an important contribution to pagan/earth-centered/whatever spirituality -- as our environment has changed so has our symbolism and our daily concerns. As they change, so must our understandings of how universal principles act on us and how we relate to them. The book is a roadmap (or perhaps travelogue) of how the authors did just that. And it should betaken for being just that, as well as inspiration for each reader to start his own trip through the simultaneous realms of city and spirit.

All too often books on magick are set in some utopian rural environment. The reality of it is, most of us live either in cities or suburbs. We don't deal on a daily basis with the gods of woodland and field, we deal with the gods of concrete and mass transit.

Kaldera and Schwarzstein have put together a great field manual for the urban pagan. Everything from protecting oneself from the dangers of the city to dealing with the urban gods Squat, Scram, Skor and their consorts.

This is a good starting point for the newly-pagan urban dweller as well as an excellent reference for the more advanced practitioner seeking to adapt zir practice to an urban environment.

Definitely a keeper!

look, i dont want to be "that guy", but lets be honest here. i have been practicing magick for, at the time of this writing, about 11 years now. im no master, but i do like to think i have learned enough over the years to recognize books that are not (to put it nicely) necessarily sound in its theory. i do like some of the ideas in principle such as using a cup of a strong herbal tea (one could presume it to be sage tea which i enjoy) as a discrete smudge for ones office. its nice and could work temporarily. however the section on car dragons (yes, i said car dragons) is a little far fetched. to summarize you are encouraged to drive around in circles with incense in your grill waiting for a dragon to fuse itself with your radiator. ok. then, once you have one, you had better take good care of the car or the dragon will get pissed off and leave. WTF? look, if i could afford to take my car to the shop everytime it made a funny noise, i wouldnt be using magick to attract a dragon spirit to the car to take care of it would i? unless i need the dragon to scare off some idiot who wants to leave my car sitting on blocks because i parked in a bad neighborhood its a waste of my time and the dragons- which would probably piss the dragon off more than not changing the oil every 3,000 miles or whatever its supposed to be. moving on to the goddess and god version 2.0 we are offered, i would like to say that these are not new ideas. they are as old as the gods themselves. except for getting a parking space, that is new. yes, the goddess loves you but i dont think getting a parking space is the best use of her time and energy, is it? and screw? WTF is that about? yes "all acts of love and pleasure are my rites". i dig that. yet i still dont think that the god is overly interested in helping you get a series of random bj's from drunk women at the bar and only recieving tidings of condoms and rubber gloves tied to phone poles and fences in return or some kind of diluted heiros gamos. dont get me wrong, im a thaumaturgy fan, but wouldnt it be more prudent to cast a spell or create an egregore for these functions, not harass the high gods?
anyhow, i guess i said my piece. if you want to read it, go ahead there are some decent ideas to work with once you sift through WTF material. if you want a book that is a little more respectable on this subject, check out city magick by chris penczak.

A little about me: I never take anything I read as gospel. I am not a "pagan" and I do not identify myself with any particular path. I'm a wandering mystic. I just kind of read everything and take what rings truth in me and assimilate it into my personal belief structure.

This book fills a very real need in mystical literature for people like me. I am the sort of person who generally prefers cities over the country (although I do enjoy returning to nature occasionally) and so it is hard for me to connect with very nature oriented pagan literature. When you spend most of your days walking around a city, full of concrete, alley ways, faces, and buildings you don't often run into a babbling brook, or a natural clearing of trees, or a patch of clover. It's just a different world and Raven Kaldera expertly shows that spirituality can be found anywhere, even in a dirty alleyway when Skram whispers in your ear and you notice a shadowy figure a ways away and suddenly feel you should be elsewhere. Why can't cockroaches and squirrels and pigeons be totem animals? Some of my friends respect this book merely due to how perfectly his description of the squirel totem person fits me. LOL

This is not for the average tree-hugging dirt worshiping hippie nature child pagan. This is for those of us who just march to the beat of our own drummer and find spirituality EVERYWHERE we go, not just in the places you'd expect to find it.

Give this book a chance. Seriously. This guy has some fantastic ideas even if you don't adopt his beliefs in rote.

I wish that I had had a copy of THE URBAN PRIMITIVE before I moved into my new apartment. I would have used some of the cleansing and blessing rituals included here. This is a useful book for Pagans from a variety of traditions; many of the suggested rituals can be adapted for particular paths. The authors also offer very practical advice for urbanites on a budget, such as seeking out goods at thrift shops and junk yards (after invoking the Goddess Skor, of course). A good gift for someone moving away or moving into a new area.

While this book does feature references to three-form deities divided into God and Goddess, it is not appropriate for most Wiccans or those working from a Wiccan background; nor is it appropriate for those who think religion or spirituality need to be taken seriously to be legitimate. This doesn't make it a bad book (it's actually excellent, in my opinion), and it doesn't make people who dislike it bad people; I would also say that the New Testament is not appropriate for Jews, although it is written as dealing with the same deity.

This is a book for the sacred fool, the polytheists who incorporate humor into their practice, the pagan on a budget who can't afford (and doesn't want) to practice skyclad in an open field on a full moon night surrounded by silver tools. It's a book for people who-- like me --find carbonated energy drinks to be just as appropriate sacrifices to certain spirits as mead and wine are to others.

Someone commented that you can't just make up dieties. Our ancestors made up their deities to explain their world. If they lived in concrete jungles like we do, who's to say they wouldn't have worshiped Skor. We all worship who ever and in what ever way makes sense and feels right to us. This book helped me connect to the spiritual a lot more than the high ceremonial structured rituals of Buckland. Yeah the names of the triple dieties are a little strange and perhaps the offerings are not quite what the Covenant of the Goddess would find "appropriate" but not all of us have access to the right herbs or robes or chalices. Some of us need reminders that it doesn't matter what we use to practice our magic, it's in the intention.

This book is written by real people, living in the real world, working real magic. And as a witch living in the city, I can relate much more to this than just about any other. Scott Cunningham even said it doesn't matter what tools you use, a butter knife can make an excellent athame. Tannin & Raven are just following that philosophy. Anyone who thinks this is silly should get off their moral high horse and "practice what they preach".

An it harm none, do what you will.

I actually had pretty high hopes for this book based on the description, mixed with concerns that it was, when all was said and done, published by Llewellyn, whose output has been pretty spotty in quality for the most part.

Unfortunately, this turns out to be one of those books that was clearly put out in a hurry to appeal to the teenage goth Wiccan-wannabe crowd. The treatment of what could be an interesting subject is, at best, superficial and, at worst, sketchy and incomplete. There is, for an example, a mention of the possibility of using a "warding sigil" hidden behind a picture in a frame to unobtrusively protect one's workspace. There is, however, no corresponding mention of what a "warding sigil", how one is created, how one is used, or anything else having to do with that subject anywhere else in the book.

A lot of it is, to be kind, just plain silly, at best.

For example, the authors propose a rather different set of threefold gods and goddesses for the urban environment. These include "Skor", the goddess of dumpster diving, "Squat", the goddess of parking spaces and "Screw", apparently the god of one-night stands.

The authors advise us that one can, for instance, find a random sexual partner on short notice by asking "Screw" for what you want, tying a knot in anything made out of latex (a substance evidently sacred to this particular deity) and leaving the knotted object in a random location. If I'd only known this in high school!

There are much better books on basic magic available than this one. Try Jan Fries' "VIsual Magick". You might actually learn something useful, something you won't experience reading "Urban Primitive".