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The Big Book of Pagan Prayer and Ritual
A complete guide to the practice of prayer and ritual for Pagans of all traditions.
Here is an extraordinarily comprehensive collection of payers and rituals for contemporary Pagans from a variety of traditions to turn to again and again. The Big Book of Pagan Prayer and Ritual includes the following:
The role of prayer—yesterday and today
The various hidden structures of prayers
How to pray both with and without words
Rituals for purification, creating sacred space, protection, prosperity, good health, and more
Prayers for specific times of day and special days of the month and year
Prayers for life—from pregnancy to birth, childhood, first days of school, weddings, aging, and death
Lists of offerings, a glossary of deities from many traditions, and an index of prayers by first line
Here is an extraordinarily comprehensive collection of payers and rituals for contemporary Pagans from a variety of traditions to turn to again and again. The Big Book of Pagan Prayer and Ritual includes the following:
The role of prayer—yesterday and today
The various hidden structures of prayers
How to pray both with and without words
Rituals for purification, creating sacred space, protection, prosperity, good health, and more
Prayers for specific times of day and special days of the month and year
Prayers for life—from pregnancy to birth, childhood, first days of school, weddings, aging, and death
Lists of offerings, a glossary of deities from many traditions, and an index of prayers by first line
336 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2020
42 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
About the author
Ceisiwr Serith
14 books51 followersI have been married since 1981 and a father of a daughter since 1982. My wife is simply amazing; quite easily the smartest and nicest person I have ever known. She has a very successful career as a vice-president at an insurance company and as an actuary, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. On top of all this, she is cute. I don't just mean cute in a physical sense (although she is). Cute is as cute does, and she does cute. I sometimes wonder how I ever won her.
My daughter is, of course, equally amazing. As well as being beautiful (not just my and my wife’s opinion, by the way), she is brilliant. She speaks Spanish fluently, and shows an interest in languages in general that makes me very happy. Like her mother, she has a big heart, but like her father she still can accept some of the hard facts of the world without blinking. I hope this will come in handy in her chosen field of social work. She's a truly amazing combination of the best of both of us, with her own mysterious nature added.
I myself was born in 1957, in North Tonawanda, NY, and spent my early years in Tonawanda. These two towns, separated by the Erie Canal (they are, in fact, where the canal really ends, despite what the song says), are delightful reminders of a nicer time. Visiting them is like taking a trip back in time.
I didn’t live there long, though, since my father was in the Air Force. We lived in a number of places, including Germany. It was while we were there that I went to Berlin. This was while the Wall was still up, and I was privileged to see it, and to cross it into East Berlin. The contrast between the two was shocking -- the West, a vibrant, colorful, living city, and the East, a city of grey, with rubble left over the WWII, even then in the late 60s. When I was taking classes at the University of Massachusetts years later, I would see Communist students handing out copies of the Daily Worker, and I would want to shake them and scream, "You've never been to East Berlin. You've never seen the Wall."
For college I went to Holy Cross, a good Catholic school, where I met my wife. I received a degree in psychology, with a secondary concentration in Eastern religions, in 1979. The fact that after twenty-five or so years my training in psychology is obsolete leaves me with mixed feelings. I am grateful, however, that pyschology majors were required to take a course in statistics. That has stood me in good stead, and I think that everyone should be required to take it, on at least a high school level. We are confronted daily with statistics -- polls, gambling odds, and such -- but few of us really understand them. Many people still believe that if a series of coin flips has come up consistently heads, the odds against the next flip coming up heads are greater than 50%, or that the odds against a shuffled deck of cards being in order by suit and number are greater than those against any other order. Just the other day I read how in a poll the majority of people polled believed in one thing, with the breakdown something like 49/47%, with the rest undecided. A plurality rather than a majority, but it was even worse; the error of measurement was 4%. In other words, statistcally speaking, the question was tied. People should know these things. But I digress.
After college I served in the Air Force myself, as a communications officer, stationed in England. (I had gone to college on a ROTC scholarship.) My wife and I developed a love for England and the English, and have been back a number of times. We have even considered living there after my wife retires.
I served my hitch in the Air Force and got out. I won't say that the Air Force and I parted on the best of terms, but I know that both of us seemed relieved. My wife and I didn’t like the idea of someone else raising our daughter in daycare, so we decided one of us would stay home and take care of her and the house. My wife wanted to try the working world. Fortunately, I was quite eag
My daughter is, of course, equally amazing. As well as being beautiful (not just my and my wife’s opinion, by the way), she is brilliant. She speaks Spanish fluently, and shows an interest in languages in general that makes me very happy. Like her mother, she has a big heart, but like her father she still can accept some of the hard facts of the world without blinking. I hope this will come in handy in her chosen field of social work. She's a truly amazing combination of the best of both of us, with her own mysterious nature added.
I myself was born in 1957, in North Tonawanda, NY, and spent my early years in Tonawanda. These two towns, separated by the Erie Canal (they are, in fact, where the canal really ends, despite what the song says), are delightful reminders of a nicer time. Visiting them is like taking a trip back in time.
I didn’t live there long, though, since my father was in the Air Force. We lived in a number of places, including Germany. It was while we were there that I went to Berlin. This was while the Wall was still up, and I was privileged to see it, and to cross it into East Berlin. The contrast between the two was shocking -- the West, a vibrant, colorful, living city, and the East, a city of grey, with rubble left over the WWII, even then in the late 60s. When I was taking classes at the University of Massachusetts years later, I would see Communist students handing out copies of the Daily Worker, and I would want to shake them and scream, "You've never been to East Berlin. You've never seen the Wall."
For college I went to Holy Cross, a good Catholic school, where I met my wife. I received a degree in psychology, with a secondary concentration in Eastern religions, in 1979. The fact that after twenty-five or so years my training in psychology is obsolete leaves me with mixed feelings. I am grateful, however, that pyschology majors were required to take a course in statistics. That has stood me in good stead, and I think that everyone should be required to take it, on at least a high school level. We are confronted daily with statistics -- polls, gambling odds, and such -- but few of us really understand them. Many people still believe that if a series of coin flips has come up consistently heads, the odds against the next flip coming up heads are greater than 50%, or that the odds against a shuffled deck of cards being in order by suit and number are greater than those against any other order. Just the other day I read how in a poll the majority of people polled believed in one thing, with the breakdown something like 49/47%, with the rest undecided. A plurality rather than a majority, but it was even worse; the error of measurement was 4%. In other words, statistcally speaking, the question was tied. People should know these things. But I digress.
After college I served in the Air Force myself, as a communications officer, stationed in England. (I had gone to college on a ROTC scholarship.) My wife and I developed a love for England and the English, and have been back a number of times. We have even considered living there after my wife retires.
I served my hitch in the Air Force and got out. I won't say that the Air Force and I parted on the best of terms, but I know that both of us seemed relieved. My wife and I didn’t like the idea of someone else raising our daughter in daycare, so we decided one of us would stay home and take care of her and the house. My wife wanted to try the working world. Fortunately, I was quite eag
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 24, 2021
Plenty of prayers, plus learn how to make your own meaningful prayers as well? Yes please! The book is written very well, the layout of the chapters is excellent, lots of diversity to choose from as far as spirits go, and the information is easy to understand and put into practice.
I definitely recommend adding this to your shelf for both inspiration and reference.
I definitely recommend adding this to your shelf for both inspiration and reference.
November 14, 2020
This book is an outstanding resource. It covers the general aspects (eg: offerings, cleansing) quite well and provides specific prayers for deities ranging from Babylonian to Wiccan. It is a very good thing to have if you are interested in neopagan practices
December 9, 2023
First, I want to mention that I loved the The Pagan Book of Prayers. I bought this when I began my pagan journey. It was something that I looked at now and again but not regularly. I knew that I wanted to read this larger version when I saw it!
Many pray during ritual but what is the role or the Prayer and how do you construct one? Well, this book starts by explaining all of that and more. Serith even describes the difference of praying with and without words which sounds simple but for some it may not be.
The remaining of the book is split into two major sections with minor ones within. We being with Ritual prayers and these range from callings, times of the year, to dissolving the space, etc. Within each type of ritual there are a variety of ways to say it, even ones that are deity specific!!
The final section of the book contains different petitionary prayers. These range from abundance, overall well-being, and even misc.
This is a great tool for anyone looking for some support when it comes to writing their own prayers. It is a great starting point for those who need a little boost.
Many pray during ritual but what is the role or the Prayer and how do you construct one? Well, this book starts by explaining all of that and more. Serith even describes the difference of praying with and without words which sounds simple but for some it may not be.
The remaining of the book is split into two major sections with minor ones within. We being with Ritual prayers and these range from callings, times of the year, to dissolving the space, etc. Within each type of ritual there are a variety of ways to say it, even ones that are deity specific!!
The final section of the book contains different petitionary prayers. These range from abundance, overall well-being, and even misc.
This is a great tool for anyone looking for some support when it comes to writing their own prayers. It is a great starting point for those who need a little boost.
January 28, 2021
Overall, this was a good book and I got a lot out of it. It began with discussion on the mechanics of a prayer which I really appreciated. From words to dance or offerings. Great resource.
Then it gets into a very long list of prayers, broken into themes, to a huge variety of deities and spirits. Too huge if you ask me. There were a few favorites, the Wiccan God and Goddess, Cernunnos, Lug, Manannan mac Lir, Perkunas, and others. And then there were deities that were mentioned only a time or two and with only minimal context. The wide variety made it difficult for me to find a flow or ever feel comfortable or familiar in the book.
Also. I think the prayers to ancestors and spirits were the best of his prayers, I liked the Offerings Appendix and eventually came to appreciate the sense of humor and modernity in some of the prayers.
I would not recommend this book to a beginner. I was very happy to have some background knowledge on at least some of the deities mentioned because the ones I didn't know already or hadn't come to know by the end... it was a slog.
Then it gets into a very long list of prayers, broken into themes, to a huge variety of deities and spirits. Too huge if you ask me. There were a few favorites, the Wiccan God and Goddess, Cernunnos, Lug, Manannan mac Lir, Perkunas, and others. And then there were deities that were mentioned only a time or two and with only minimal context. The wide variety made it difficult for me to find a flow or ever feel comfortable or familiar in the book.
Also. I think the prayers to ancestors and spirits were the best of his prayers, I liked the Offerings Appendix and eventually came to appreciate the sense of humor and modernity in some of the prayers.
I would not recommend this book to a beginner. I was very happy to have some background knowledge on at least some of the deities mentioned because the ones I didn't know already or hadn't come to know by the end... it was a slog.
July 25, 2024
For those of you who have trouble because you are not sure if you’re praying / working right or you have trouble structuring your prayers or rituals, this is a wonderful book. It gave me a lot of insight into examples of ways people have prayed and done ritual workings, and if I recall correctly it provides a number of both historical and modern examples. There is also a section that walks through the basics to help you do it yourself, which some practitioners may find very useful. If your specific tradition has books of prayers already published (for instance, the Homeric Hymns for hellenic polytheists such as myself) then I would turn to those first because they are likely more extensive and more applicable for your practice, but this is an incredible general resource.
December 19, 2021
Has good explanations on the different types of prayers and rituals and some written here I could use as inspiration, but as someone who likes to write my own in a style very different from this, I found this less useful than I had hoped; it's mostly prayers written by the author as opposed to the art of crafting prayers in different ways.
March 4, 2022
VERY Wiccan based, but does go over many non Wiccan deities and on "dark" deities which I like.
Excellent if you want to start praying of if you want to further your prayer.
A lot of good ideas for writing your own prayers.
Excellent if you want to start praying of if you want to further your prayer.
A lot of good ideas for writing your own prayers.
November 6, 2023
I liked it a lot, lots of inspiration and guidance for working your own verses and such. It's something I'm wanting to get back into, and gave me some cool ideas.
I don't necessarily like using the long-winded style myself, but it's good to see everyone's different styles.
I don't necessarily like using the long-winded style myself, but it's good to see everyone's different styles.
December 2, 2024
Read this for research whilst writing my own manuscript. This is wonderful collection of poetic prayers to use in your personal pagan or witchcraft practice. There are various incantations to a plethora of deities to choose from.
March 23, 2025
a big book of prayers for almost any occassion. A great list of different deities in the back. Although there are some of the prayers that I would use mostly I appreciated this more for the ideas that it gave me to create my own.
January 20, 2021
Regretted buying this a few pages in. Not a fan.
January 27, 2023
A nice little book, talks exactly about what it says it does.
March 7, 2023
This reads like a collection of articles from a teen magazine put together into a book, with a little more transition.
Lackluster, lacks originality, lacks resources.
Seems like it was out together over a few months of aggressive googling.
Lackluster, lacks originality, lacks resources.
Seems like it was out together over a few months of aggressive googling.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews