Short public review of Raven Kaldera's Dark Moon Rising: Pagan BDSM and the Ordeal Path:

Wow, that was so much more useful than Carnal Alchemy.


This is a substantial book, a bit more than four hundred pages of trade paperback, printed with Lulu's reasonably good quality print on demand process. It is primarily written by Raven, of course, but with a number of essays from various other people, including names I recognise such as Bridgett Harrington, Morning Glory Zell, and of course Raven's boy, Joshua (cauldronfarm). It is divided into six sections, the first of which is introductory, the last of which is a poetic afterword, and the four in the middle are the meat of the book: a section on S/M, bondage, and related subjects; a section on ritual theater and the descent to the underworld; a section on service and mastery; a section on the gods Themselves.

Each of these sections is, from my perspective, a thorough and practical overview. The essays include brief 'scene' interludes of description illustrating the surrounding material; the material ranges from the personal experience of the authors through to practical laying out of tools, techniques, concerns, ideas, purposes; there are poems and photographs. (There are also rituals, which I mostly skimmed, as I tend to skim published ritual material unless I have a direct research reason.) Among other things, the S/M section was sufficiently informative about the use of ritual and sacred pain and similar matters to make me -- someone who does not consider herself to have a masochistic kink at all -- recognising the usefulness of that range of tools and contemplating places I might use them.

Verdict: well worth the investment. Will probably need to chew on it a little more.

[ detailed review will be appearing in the relevant filter when I get it written. ]


In other news, arawen knocked me sub and braided my hair.