Foreword to True To The Earth
True to the Earth: Pagan Political Theology releases into the world 1 September, 2023. This updated edition is available also in hardcover, and includes a new introduction from the author and the following foreword from writer, witch, filmmaker, and activist Sarah Lyons (author of How To Study Magic and Revolutionary Witchcraft).
Information on ordering can be found at the end of this post.
Multiplicity of meaning, perspective, and being — as Kadmus points out — are inherent gifts of a truly pagan perspective, and can be seen in great works of myth and poetry throughout history. I could quote from one of those works of myth right now to further that point, but being an American, movies are my mythology. So, instead, I’ll take a quote from The Addams Family: “what is order to the spider is chaos to the fly.”
I was going to write something about how this is best exemplified nowadays by the ordered rows of houses and manicured lawns of suburbia wreaking chaos on the natural environment, but I actually think the better example of this modern myth cycle unfolding is, of course, our fucking phones. We spend a great deal of our lives looking at a highly engineered square, gazing at a hyper-curated feed of images and text that a computer helpfully put together for us. In this square there can be no disorder, no happenstance, no chaos, yet it is hard to argue that anything other than chaos has been conjured out of this device. Within just over a decade, we have witnessed a near total collapse of consensus reality, a heightening of political divisions, and a deterioration of discourse. It would seem, at first, that being exposed to a multiplicity of meaning, perspective, and being is actually a bad thing.
But is it so simple? Upon closer look, it would seem we are actually being dragged further into the chaos of oneness. Technological capitalism loathes difference, hates the natural, and can’t stand art or the very idea that a soul could express itself through such a medium. There is only efficiency, rationality, and logic — and a singular logic, at that. Of course, it should come as no surprise that the supposed goal of many a fear-mongering tech bro is “singularity.” The spiders spinning the worldwide web might have order in mind, but that web has created chaos for the rest of us.
One is not only the loneliest number, it is also the most dangerous. The fastest way to drive someone insane is to isolate them. The worst number of a species to have left is one. The worst odds are one in however many chances. The shortest horror story ever written goes like this: “The last person in the world stands alone in a room; suddenly, there’s a knock at the door.”
We’ve been standing alone in our own rooms for a long time now. Whether literally (pandemic lockdowns), figuratively (again, phones), or even spiritually (monotheism), that knocking sound at the door can be especially terrifying; impossible even. We don’t hear the knock at the door as a potential friend or rescuer. We’ve been alone so long we can’t imagine community or friendship, but it’s probably time we at least try to.
Philosophers, even brilliant ones, often take for granted the oneness that monotheism gave us, the loneliness of a universe with one god, or no god, and look with skepticism or horror at the idea of a truly inhabited cosmos. I feel grateful that books and philosophers like this exist. I’m glad that someone is knocking on the door.
Release date: 1 September, 2023
RITONA is pleased to announce an updated edition of one of our most popular titles: True To The Earth: Pagan Political Theology.
Originally released in 2018, True to the Earth is the first English work to offer a robust explanation of the power of pagan cosmologies and their relevance for modern environmental, political, and social crises.
This updated edition includes a foreword from Sarah Lyons and a new introduction from the author.
Organic pluralism, an embrace of multiple, conflicting truths, and a deep understanding of the interconnection between humans and the natural world: all were core values of oral and animist cultures. As global climate change and the collapse of Empire throw the earth and our modern societies into crisis, these core values are what humanity and the nature it destroys desperately need again.
In True To The Earth: Pagan Political Theology, author and professor of philosophy Kadmus weaves a narrative from the lore of Celtic, Greek, Norse, and indigenous traditions to show us how we once saw the world and how we can see it again. He unveils the modern assumptions which blind us from seeing the past and what we've lost, challenges the core foundations of literal, universalist thinking, and shakes us free from the unseen bonds monotheism has placed upon our understanding of ourselves and the world.
Specifications and Ordering Information
This new edition of True to the Earth: Pagan Political Theology is released in all formats, including hardcover.
Hardcover edition: 190 pages, hardcover with digital cloth finish and matte cover, B&W text — $25.00
Paperback edition: 190 pages, perfect bound, matte cover, B&W text. —17.50
In addition, we are offering two packages:
HARDCOVER RELEASE PACKAGE: includes hardcover editions of both True To The Earth and The White Deer, by Melinda Reidinger, for $55.00 US (these normally retail together for $65.00 US — save ten dollars!)
PAGAN THEORY COLLECTION: includes the paperback editions of True to the Earth, The White Deer by Melinda Reidinger, and Being Pagan, by Rhyd Wildermuth, for $48.00 US (these normally retail together for 58.00 US — save ten dollars!)
To Order Print Editions:
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