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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Preface | |
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| Liturgies: The Good, the Bad, and the Annoying | |
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| Why This Book? | |
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| A Note on Usages | |
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| Abbreviations Used in This Work | |
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| Defining Our Terms | |
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| The Importance of Clear Definitions | |
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| A Garden of -Isms and -Ologies | |
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| Paleo-, Meso-, and Neopaganism | |
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| Some Mystical Terms | |
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| Religion and Ritual | |
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| Liturgy | |
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| The Polytheology of Worship | |
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| A Warning | |
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| The Nature of Deities and Vice Versa | |
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| But What About the Supreme Being? | |
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| The Worship Bargain | |
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| Invocation and Evocation | |
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| A Common Worship Pattern | |
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| Five Phases of Liturgy | |
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| Preliminary Steps | |
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| Starting the Rite | |
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| Re-creating the Cosmos | |
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| The Major Gifting of Mana | |
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| Receiving and Using the Returned Power | |
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| Ending the Ceremony | |
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| After the Rite | |
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| People Factors in Liturgical Design | |
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| Liturgical Variables | |
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| Organizational Structure, Leadership, and Agendas | |
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| The Number of People Involved | |
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| Intra-Group Familiarity | |
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| Familiarity with the Liturgy | |
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| Shared Worldview, Mythology, and Poly/theology | |
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| Other Aspects of Group Homogeneity | |
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| Psychic Skills Available | |
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| Non-Psychic Skills Available | |
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| The Needs and Expectations of All Participants | |
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| People with Special Needs | |
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| Varieties of Participatory Handicaps | |
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| Physical Challenges | |
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| Sensory Challenges | |
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| Mental Challenges | |
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| Emotional Challenges | |
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| Dealing with Spiritual Emergencies | |
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| What, Where, When | |
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| The Nature of the Occasion | |
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| Location, Location, Location | |
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| Costumes and Props | |
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| Altars | |
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| Fire | |
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| Timing | |
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| How, Mundane | |
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| Formality vs. Informality | |
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| Verbal Mode | |
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| Movement Mode | |
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| Dramatic Tension, Humor, Play, and Pacing | |
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| Aesthetic, Psychological, and Cultural Themes | |
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| Liturgical Languages | |
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| How, Musical | |
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| Poetry | |
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| Improving Your Chants | |
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| Call and Response | |
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| Musical Instruments and Styles | |
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| Repetition and Refrain | |
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| Teaching Songs | |
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| How, Magical | |
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| Religious Magic and Magical Religions | |
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| Targets and Goals | |
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| Raising and Focusing Mana | |
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| Sacrifices | |
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| "Lend Your Aid Unto the Spell": Channeling Energy | |
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| Cones of Power and Working Through the Center | |
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| Masculine vs. Feminine Spell/Prayer Casting | |
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| When Not to Raise Power or Do Magic | |
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| A Modular Approach to Liturgical Design | |
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| A Cybernetic Metaphor | |
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| Examples of Modular Liturgical Design | |
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| The Advantages of Repeating Patterns/Motifs | |
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| The Importance of Contingency Planning | |
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| Orthodoxy vs. Creativity | |
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| Preparing for a Ritual | |
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| Planning Sessions | |
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| Casting | |
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| Diet and Drugs | |
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| Site Preparation | |
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| Ritual Tools | |
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| Food and Drink Utensils | |
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| Rehearsals | |
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| Ceremonial Baths | |
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| Individual Emotional States | |
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| Social Factors | |
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| Pre-Ritual Meditations | |
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| Pre-Ritual Briefings and Warmups | |
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| Some Tips for Effective Ritual Performance | |
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| Giving the Gods a Good Show | |
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| Making Yourself Visible | |
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| Voice Control | |
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| Safe and Effective Use of Props | |
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| The Importance of Passion | |
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| When Things Go Wrong | |
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| Let Go and Let Goddess | |
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| Post-Ritual Cleanup and Critiques | |
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| Afterword | |
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| Linguistic and Historical Background | |
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| Bibliography | |
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| Endnotes | |