Home :: Books :: Computers & Internet  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet

Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
The Virtual Pagan:  Exploring Wicca and Paganism through the Internet

The Virtual Pagan: Exploring Wicca and Paganism through the Internet

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $10.47
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 >>

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Good Idea, Wrong Book
Review: Here is a good idea that went astray. Sometimes good material can get lost amongst material that is highly controversial.

The idea of this book, to explore Wicca and Paganism on the Internet, was a good idea. There is material here which would have been good on its own; resources that the Pagan community on the Internet can use to further studies and make surfing interesting and educational.

Ms. McSherry provides information about pagan oriented email groups, chat channels and websites that would have made a good book if presented as a resource tool for Internet Pagans. Her discussion on how the internet works, email and chat room etiquette, flaming and witch wars shows she has much familiarity with the workings of Cyberspace and she did a good job on these topics.

What went astray was her inclusion of her own personal path of CyberCovens and her commentaries on Paganism. I defer to the passage on page 9, which almost set me to pass on reviewing this book:

"If you are new to Paganism, then you need to know a few things about this religion:

1. We all truly only agree on one thing:" An' it harm none, do what ye will." As a result, we do not take any action - magickal or otherwise - that would harm any person, including ourselves."

Paganism categorized as a religion, that Pagans agree on anything spiritual, that the Wiccan Rede is followed by all Pagans and that everyone has a "harm none" ethic makes me feel that Ms. McSherry should have stuck to the technical aspects of the Internet.

There is more in this book on Ms. McSherry's CyberCovens, and the value of connection without contact is something that has been touched on in many circles on the Internet. I believe Ms. McSherry has provided fuel here for some very heated discussions amongst both students and teachers of many paths who use the Internet as a tool for the Pagan Community.

While it is interesting to read, Ms. McSherry's personal path should have been presented as a separate book. The usefulness of this book as an Internet resource becomes muddled in her attempt to define Paganism and present CyberCovens as an alternative to real life experiences.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Good Idea, Wrong Book
Review: Here is a good idea that went astray. Sometimes good material can get lost amongst material that is highly controversial.

The idea of this book, to explore Wicca and Paganism on the Internet, was a good idea. There is material here which would have been good on its own; resources that the Pagan community on the Internet can use to further studies and make surfing interesting and educational.

Ms. McSherry provides information about pagan oriented email groups, chat channels and websites that would have made a good book if presented as a resource tool for Internet Pagans. Her discussion on how the internet works, email and chat room etiquette, flaming and witch wars shows she has much familiarity with the workings of Cyberspace and she did a good job on these topics.

What went astray was her inclusion of her own personal path of CyberCovens and her commentaries on Paganism. I defer to the passage on page 9, which almost set me to pass on reviewing this book:

"If you are new to Paganism, then you need to know a few things about this religion:

1. We all truly only agree on one thing:" An' it harm none, do what ye will." As a result, we do not take any action - magickal or otherwise - that would harm any person, including ourselves."

Paganism categorized as a religion, that Pagans agree on anything spiritual, that the Wiccan Rede is followed by all Pagans and that everyone has a "harm none" ethic makes me feel that Ms. McSherry should have stuck to the technical aspects of the Internet.

There is more in this book on Ms. McSherry's CyberCovens, and the value of connection without contact is something that has been touched on in many circles on the Internet. I believe Ms. McSherry has provided fuel here for some very heated discussions amongst both students and teachers of many paths who use the Internet as a tool for the Pagan Community.

While it is interesting to read, Ms. McSherry's personal path should have been presented as a separate book. The usefulness of this book as an Internet resource becomes muddled in her attempt to define Paganism and present CyberCovens as an alternative to real life experiences.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Great Reference and Guide
Review: I was a computer illiterate! After exploreing the PC with the help of friends and family I felt better about my skill. I read this book and now, I am a 'thoroughly modern witch'. Not too bad for an old Crone. Thanks for writing this book so that even I can understand.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Great Reference and Guide
Review: I was a computer illiterate! After exploreing the PC with the help of friends and family I felt better about my skill. I read this book and now, I am a 'thoroughly modern witch'. Not too bad for an old Crone. Thanks for writing this book so that even I can understand.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Creating an online Pagan group, and keeping it vital
Review: Lisa McSherry's Virtual Pagan provides a virtual map for getting online, creating a Pagan group, and keeping it vital. The basics of computer user, from email etiquette to building a cyber altar, are here to appeal to a mixed audience of beginners and those with some experience who want to translate the computer world to a meaningful spiritual environment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Only Guide to Paganism on the Net You Will Need
Review: This unassuming looking little book is a gem. As a twenty-one year veteran Witch, I have read and reviewed many books on the subject of Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism. Out of the three books out there on this particular subject, this one is the most concise, useful and practical book I have found.

McSherry gives perfectly sensible guidelines for how to get on the Net, how to find Pagans once you are there and what to do with them after you find them. Her chapters that discuss what a coven is and is not is useful for anyone who is thinking of joining one, whether in cyberspace or in the "real world," and her dos and don'ts for online communication should be emblazoned upon the hearts of everyone on the net. She accurately portrays various positive and negative Pagan archetypal personalities one may find on the Internet, and in doing so, gives the practitioner a taste for what the virtual Pagan community is like in an accurate, consise format.

If you only want one book about Paganism and the net, this is the one; the others, which I have also read are vastly inferior.


<< 1 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates