This unique volume focuses on the psychosexual and social effects of female genital mutilation, an ancient, deeply entrenched custom saturating the larger part of Africa. Over a period of six years, Author Hanny Lightfoot-Klein trekked through outlying areas of Sudan, Kenya, and Egypt, where she lived with a number of African families. What she learned by way of in-depth personal interviews and firsthand observation has enabled her to add a previously unknown and often astonishing dimension to our knowledge of ritual practices and human sexuality. This valuable book will be extremely helpful to professionals and scholars in women's studies, social psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, gynecology, sexology, as well as cross-cultural and African studies. It should also interest anyone who is concerned with male circumcision in the United States.

Hope and faith are candles that burn in the soul, in even the darkest cave - including the prison cell. This book explores the prayers and practices of Northern Tradition Paganism, in a version written specifically for prisoners. Each prayer and ritual can be done alone in a cell if necessary, with only pencil and paper, or not even that. Many practitioners both on the inside and outside contributed their words to this book, sharing their joys, their faith, and their anchor in the storm. May the Gods be hailed, even in behind chains and bars, and may their worshipers be blessed!

Researchers have demonstrated how engaging in rituals or 'patterned' behaviours can help people cope with stressful situations and significant life changes. However, limited knowledge exists on the role of ritual practices in prison and how federally incarcerated Canadian men use these rituals to deal with their imprisonment. To respond to this lacuna in the literature, transcripts from 56 semi-structured interviews with former male federal prisoners released on parole into Ontario, Canada, were analyzed for emergent themes identifying the purpose of ritual and routine practices across prisons with different security classifications. Findings reveal the effectiveness of rituals for managing and mitigating the stresses of incarceration, specifically that prisoners' routine behaviours constitute a positive strategy of adaption to incarceration (e.g., alleviating stress and passing time) in preparation for life postincarceration (e.g., anticipatory socialization). Structural Ritualization Theory frames the analyses and implications presented in this study.

Find Peace, Clarity, and the Divine on the Inside While being incarcerated for her struggles with drug addiction, Awyn Dawn began to actively look for her spiritual side—and she found it in Paganism. By developing a profound relationship with the gods, Awyn gained greater clarity and a deep sense of peace. You can too with help from this empowering guide to starting and strengthening your spiritual practice. Providing dozens of easy-to-use exercises, Paganism for Prisoners shows you how to embrace Pagan teachings and learn from deities, ancestors, and spirits. Explore the power of meditation, self-reflection, rituals, and devotions. Meet the gods and goddesses of Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, and other pantheons. You'll also discover the power of the elements, the moon, the Wheel of the Year, and your own intuition. With this book, you'll manifest extraordinary change within yourself. Includes a foreword by Christopher Penczak, author of the bestselling Temple of Witchcraft series

A brilliant work from the most influential philosopher since Sartre. In this indispensable work, a brilliant thinker suggests that such vaunted reforms as the abolition of torture and the emergence of the modern penitentiary have merely shifted the focus of punishment from the prisoner's body to his soul.

The thoughts, struggles, dreams, and triumphs of inmates who took part in a voluntary meditation program at Alabama's Donaldson Prison in 2002.

Pagan Prisoner Advocate's Guide exposes a national travesty - a longstanding pogrom of prison staff persecuting inmates that follow the Olde Religion. The Guide reveals how many laws penalize people for practicing natural magic, details the perverse means that prison staff employ to violate religious rights, and gives ingenious ways to ensure that Pagan prisoners thrive behind bars. PPAG proves that incarcerated folk have more legal rights than they know, and shows how to use them to get religious rights they deserve. These rights include access to more Craft books, magical tools and ritual ingredients, communal Sabbat feast celebrations, the right to circle outdoors and imbibe sacramental wine after spellwork, Tarot decks and rune sets, and the ability to lead weekly Wiccan services themselves versus needing an outside volunteer present. One inmate winning their rights can enable all their fellow incarcerated Pagans in their state.Although a slim and inexpensive volume, the Guide is a power-packed, indispensable guide for prisoners, their supportive family or friends, and anyone interested in volunteering to lead Wiccan services in a facility. Every chapter begins with a hauntingly beautiful historical illustration. Readers will take heart in learning the wise ways that the author, a Witch clergywoman, has developed over decades to conquer this entrenched bigotry and help prisoners secure their religious rights, grow spiritually in spite of a Christian-dominated system, and embrace life-altering ancient ethics that prevent recidivism. Vital inmate resources conclude the book's lucid argument for enabling this needy and neglected segment of the Craft community.The author is a Wiccan High Priestess who has enabled inmates in all U.S. states and territories since 1995, and her experience besting bigots is an empowering model worth emulating. Lady Passion maintains a daily-updated map that documents how many inmates contact her from which facilities nationwide going back many years on her popular Coven Oldenwilde's Wiccan Website.