Read Book Witchcraft Today

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Read Book Witchcraft Today WITCHCRAFT TODAY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Gerald B Gardner | 197 pages | 01 Apr 2004 | Citadel Press | 9780806525938 | English | New York, NY, United States Witchcraft Today PDF Book Note: References to "limited space" reflect the fact that this article was originally published in a printed magazine. Then meet the universal symbols and always keep them in an area near the altar. In fact religion and witchcraft were alike in many ways. Here is a very simple love spell that I hope you'll adapt for your own purposes. This religion is not a joke. Bookseller Waterstone's has launched a Save Harry campaign. Wicca is a religion of fertility. A dedication ritual implies exactly what it sounds to you like. We don't want to convert you. Heathens, Pagans Dec 30, Laura rated it liked it Shelves: religion , witchcraft , book-club. Nor does it require the use of a special wand and sparkly, flashing lights. Yet this is a religion in which drugs and free sexuality are not condemned, but might be encouraged. Then there are those whose work is more directly related to their witchcraft practice, like tarot card readers, and several women who own and operate apothecaries. Free will is a powerful thing and should never be played with. An owl sent by a witch could not be killed. It's a small gesture that really goes a long way. To help set the stage for our discussion of contemporary witchcraft, it will be beneficial to take a brief tour of the modern history of this fascinating phenomenon. We don't harm or seduce people. Find a sacred place. Wicca Quotes:"We are not evil. Remove the idea of beautiful things that can help you to create different life changing matters. Salem witch craft trialThe salem witch craft troubles all began in New England in the winter of , a year of political uncertainty throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Do you have any apprehensions about following this path? A witch may even cry before the alter of her goddess whenever she feels a spiritual vacuum and wants to replenish it with godliness. Paganism is attempting a resurrection from the dead, a revival of the old gods and goddesses of pre-Christian polytheistic nature religions and mystery cults e. From cauldron brews the witch might make lethal poisons and enchanted potions and ointments. If you would like a psychic reading with a genuine gifted psychics phone us now. Witches view themselves as fun-loving, life-celebrating and affirming folk who worship the Mother Goddess in all her many facets of revelation via creation and her consort, the Horned God. As a result, Wiccans are continually denying any connection with Satan or devil worship. Nov 15, AndrewP rated it liked it Shelves: historical , non-fiction. Kitchen witches often follow more than one path of witchcraft. However there is also evidence that indicates that covens have consisted of any number of witches, from as little as three witches gathering together to the thousands. Welcome back. It is also due to the great diversity that exists within the contemporary movement itself. Witchcraft Today Writer Other signs included hair on the palms of the hands and eyebrows that joined in the middle. Levi Eliphas. Submit it here. Wiccans have also attempted to establish ties with other polytheistic Hindu and nature-oriented Native American religious communities. The practitioners of witchcraft wore costumes specific to the region. Our bible IS the wind and the rain. I have been told by witches in England: "Write and tell people we are not perverts. They are more than "just" symbols, but do not exist externally to, or independently of, humanity. Egyptian witch craft, therefore, has an image of the "Wheel of the Year" with its eight spokes which symbolize the four agricultural and pastoral festivals and the four solar festivals commemorating seasonal solstices and equinoxes. Norse Neopagans. State "and not harm, so it can be" or a similar form of this expression not to "accidentally" harm. Jetpack describes which information is used, tracked and synced. They contained human hair entangled with metal nails, fingernail parings and pieces of hearth-shaped cloth pierced with pins. Pagan religions worship multiple deities rather than a single god. The quiet of night provides the much needed peace and seclusion to concentrate on the rituals and meditation, which brings her closer to her mother goddess. Prayers and rituals when performed with utmost sincerity and faith do quite often fructify into the desired results. With authorization from their bishops some priests, mostly Catholic, still perform exorcisms. Old name. The forthcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will cap a series that sold million copies worldwide and have been translated into 64 languages as well as being converted into successful films. What do you feel about the divine? It cannot work for any good for meditation. If you choose a representation of the four elements that do not have a candle, place a white candle universal energy at his side. They even have unpainted wooden items now and then, it never hurts to keep checking back. The goddess movement, also called the women-spirit movement, apparently considers its first major gathering to have been a conference attended by about 1, women at the University of Massachusetts in late How you can be Sure you are going to Heaven? It was an age where everyone believed in the supernatural and superstition abounded. The repeated patterns of changing seasons have great importance in the Egyptian witch craft. I do not think that your Spirit Guides are not seeing you! She too has her share of emotions, but they function more at a macro level than at personal. So when you've done something great that you do not remember doing, it is usually the result of your Spirit Guides' influence. To start with this meditation, please remove the idea of using candles, or whatever styles you know are being used before. The fundamental tenet of Wicca is the Wiccan Rede, -As it harm none, do as thou wilt. It will be easier to develop witchcraft skills when you have experts teaching you. Those students, who cannot afford to buy, may be offered some financial help. An important functions of witchcraft is meditation usually using candle flames, spells, magic, herbal medication and crystal gazing and so on. As defined by many witches, however, polytheism is not merely the belief in multiple deities — a pantheon of gods and goddesses — but also the belief that there are multiple levels of reality i. My imagination ignited from there, and I began my inquiry into the archetype of the witch. The spell Avada Kedavra requires strong magic to work, but when the spell is cast effectively it can kill instantaneously producing a blinding flash of green light while leaving no mark on the victim's body. Her twin brother was Apollo and like her brother, Artemis had several divine traits. Witchcraft Today Reviews Grounded refers to your balance internally. Then say something like: I share in the fruits of the First Harvest, so that I might share in the wisdom it offers. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Design it the way you want to and in a way that will be most meaningful to you by following your own impulses. Gardner, who is often called "The Grandfather of Wicca" explains the historical meaning of superstitions and myths surrounding witchcraft. Commemorating its 50th anniversary is an expanded edition of the first Wicca book, by the father of the Pagan renaissance. At one point he describes the pra In all honesty, there is a huge amount of speculation from Gardner as to the origins of English witchcraft, but he provides no sources and in some cases, provides no specifics. Her statues are found all over the world. The primary tool that they use to work magic is a ritual knife called a Sacred Blade or Athame. Just make sure you really believe their beliefs. What is a young Worthington woman to do when the man of her dreams is not who she thinks he is? While in Ceylon he was initiated into Freemasonry and became a nudist. I have serious doubts about many of his claims pertaining to how he was taught and by whom Due to its historical value I can't bring myself to give it a single star though in all honesty it just barely makes it to two. May 05, Abraxas Abrasaxtes rated it it was ok. A historical read for those interested in modern witchcraft and occult of the modern age. As a follower of the fairy faith, I finally had to quit this book after the chapter about the little folk - he equates the fairies with the picts and tries to I couldn't finish this book. Your own Book of ShadowsWhile you are studying witchcraft, you will begin to form associations and hopefully find some synergies within yourself. These are some of the steps that one can use to be organized when it comes to ritual work. It was even believed that witches engaged in practices such as flying, invisibility, killing, taming black wolves and cats to spy on people, and others. Her daughter Persephone attracted the eye of Hades, the god of the underworld who abducted her. Our bible IS the wind and the rain. I received support from a fellowship that helped fund the travel required to photograph over 70 individuals around the country, from California to Louisiana to New Jersey to Maine. Bush R , as Governor of Texas. Now you can eat the rest of the fruit.
Recommended publications
  • Wicca 1739 Have Allowed for His Continued Popularity
    Wicca 1739 have allowed for his continued popularity. Whitman’s According to Gardner, witchcraft had survived the per- willingness to break out of hegemonic culture and its secutions of early modern Europe and persisted in secret, mores in order to celebrate the mundane and following the thesis of British folklorist and Egyptologist unconventional has ensured his relevance today. His belief Margaret Murray (1862–1963). Murray argued in her in the organic connection of all things, coupled with his book, The Witch Cult in Western Europe (1921), that an old organic development of a poetic style that breaks with religion involving a horned god who represented the fertil- many formal conventions have caused many scholars and ity of nature had survived the persecutions and existed critics to celebrate him for his innovation. His idea of uni- throughout Western Europe. Murray wrote that the versal connection and belief in the spirituality present in a religion was divided into covens that held regular meet- blade of grass succeeded in transmitting a popularized ings based on the phases of the moon and the changes of version of Eastern theology and Whitman’s own brand of the seasons. Their rituals included feasting, dancing, sac- environmentalism for generations of readers. rifices, ritualized sexual intercourse, and worship of the horned god. In The God of the Witches (1933) Murray Kathryn Miles traced the development of this god and connected the witch cult to fairy tales and Robin Hood legends. She used Further Reading images from art and architecture to support her view that Greenspan, Ezra, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Whit- an ancient vegetation god and a fertility goddess formed man.
    [Show full text]
  • Deus Ex Machina? Witchcraft and the Techno-World Venetia Robertson
    Deus Ex Machina? Witchcraft and the Techno-World Venetia Robertson Introduction Sociologist Bryan R. Wilson once alleged that post-modern technology and secularisation are the allied forces of rationality and disenchantment that pose an immense threat to traditional religion.1 However, the flexibility of pastiche Neopagan belief systems like ‘Witchcraft’ have creativity, fantasy, and innovation at their core, allowing practitioners of Witchcraft to respond in a unique way to the post-modern age by integrating technology into their perception of the sacred. The phrase Deus ex Machina, the God out of the Machine, has gained a multiplicity of meanings in this context. For progressive Witches, the machine can both possess its own numen and act as a conduit for the spirit of the deities. It can also assist the practitioner in becoming one with the divine by enabling a transcendent and enlightening spiritual experience. Finally, in the theatrical sense, it could be argued that the concept of a magical machine is in fact the contrived dénouement that saves the seemingly despondent situation of a so-called ‘nature religion’ like Witchcraft in the techno-centric age. This paper explores the ways two movements within Witchcraft, ‘Technopaganism’ and ‘Technomysticism’, have incorporated man-made inventions into their spiritual practice. A study of how this is related to the worldview, operation of magic, social aspect and development of self within Witchcraft, uncovers some of the issues of longevity and profundity that this religion will face in the future. Witchcraft as a Religion The categorical heading ‘Neopagan’ functions as an umbrella that covers numerous reconstructed, revived, or invented religious movements, that have taken inspiration from indigenous, archaic, and esoteric traditions.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion and the Return of Magic: Wicca As Esoteric Spirituality
    RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC: WICCA AS ESOTERIC SPIRITUALITY A thesis submitted for the degree of PhD March 2000 Joanne Elizabeth Pearson, B.A. (Hons.) ProQuest Number: 11003543 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003543 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION The thesis presented is entirely my own work, and has not been previously presented for the award of a higher degree elsewhere. The views expressed here are those of the author and not of Lancaster University. Joanne Elizabeth Pearson. RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC: WICCA AS ESOTERIC SPIRITUALITY CONTENTS DIAGRAMS AND ILLUSTRATIONS viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix ABSTRACT xi INTRODUCTION: RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC 1 CATEGORISING WICCA 1 The Sociology of the Occult 3 The New Age Movement 5 New Religious Movements and ‘Revived’ Religion 6 Nature Religion 8 MAGIC AND RELIGION 9 A Brief Outline of the Debate 9 Religion and the Decline o f Magic? 12 ESOTERICISM 16 Academic Understandings of
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft Michael D
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital Repository @ Iowa State University History Books History 2003 Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft Michael D. Bailey Iowa State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/history_books Part of the Cultural History Commons, Other Religion Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Bailey, Michael D., "Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft" (2003). History Books. 3. http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/history_books/3 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the History at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Books by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Introduction Witchcraft is an important and difficult historical subject. Throughout human history, most cultures and societies have conceived of certain categories of malevolent people who are supposedly able to access or exhibit powers of great supernatural evil. In Europe during the Middle Ages and the early-modern period, such people were believed to be in league with the devil and bent on the destruction of Christian society on earth. For over 300 years, from the 15th to the 18th centuries, social fear and legal paranoia led to the prosecution, and ultimately the execution, of tens of thousands of people for the supposed crime of witchcraft. The period is often described as being the era of "the great witch-hunts," or, by more sensationalistic authors, simply as the "burning times." Accu­ rate figures are difficult to establish, but it seems that the number of tri­ als for witchcraft exceeded 100,000 during this period, and the number of people executed as witches exceeded 50,000.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 20 Wicca, Witchcraft and the Goddess Revival
    Wicca, witchcraft and the Goddess revival: An examination of the growth of Wicca in post-war America. Item Type Book chapter Authors Ball, Caroline Citation Ball, C. (2018) 'Wicca, Witchcraft and the Goddess Revival: An examination of the growth of Wicca in post-war America', in Beavis, M.A. & Hwang, H.H-S., M. (eds.) 'Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture', Lytle Creek, CA: Mago Books. Publisher Mago Books Download date 25/09/2021 14:21:48 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10545/622746 Chapter 20 Wicca, Witchcraft and the Goddess Revival: An examination of the growth of Wicca in post-war America Caroline Ball Preface When dealing with a topic as unfamiliar as Wicca is to many, it seems important before progressing further to establish just what is meant by the terms ‘pagan’, ‘neopagan’, ‘witch’ and ‘Wiccan’, both to scholars and those to whom the terms apply. There is a great deal of debate concerning this matter, which does not look to be reconciled any time soon, and many, scholars included, are wont to use these terms interchangeably. It does not help that in many cases there is no single specific definition accepted by both groups, as in the case of Wicca; or that the official dictionary definition is outdated and reflects a quite clearly Christian bias. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines a ‘pagan’ as “heathen; unenlightened or irreligious”. One can see immediately how offensive, not to mention inaccurate, such a description would seem to pagans, who are neither unenlightened nor irreligious. In general, one must look at the context in which the word is used to determine its meaning.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of the Conversion Profiles of 35 British Wiccan Men
    Revista de Estudos da Religião Nº 2 / 2002 / pp. 18-50 ISSN 1677-1222 The long journey home; a study of the conversion profiles of 35 British Wiccan men Melissa Harrington* [[email protected]] Study of conversion is as complex and many faceted as the study of religion itself. Heelas asks "How is clear cut conversion, when it occurs, to be explained? It must immediately be noted that the academic community is far from agreed about what could be taking place. Theories abound, ranging from the psychoanalytical to the cognitive. Advocates of different theories are committed to different accounts of human nature, ranging from the behaviouristic to the voluntaristic. Indeed there is so much diversity, with so little advance on the front of finding evidence which conclusively counts either for or against particular claims, that some academics have suggested that the best strategy is to be agnostic for the time being - on the matter of what exactly generates change" (Heelas 1996: 186). Certainly "conversion" has meant different things historically in different social and religious settings. It also has legal, political and cultural implications that vary in significance depending on the convert’s chosen religion and the country in which they practice their faith. All religions have different requirements and criteria for accepting a convert as one of their own, these vary considerably; while the Christian faith has historically been quite happy with the concept of enforced conversion, the Zoroastrians do not traditionally have any mechanism accepting converts, not even a spouse Lamb and Bryant (1999). This paper discusses conversion and Wicca.
    [Show full text]
  • Modern Wicca and the Witchcraft Movement
    [Type here] Modern Wicca and the Witchcraft Movement 1 Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States and has followers across the globe.1 Despite this, there is a distinct lack of public awareness that Wicca exists at all. Accurate numbers of practitioners are particularly difficult to gauge because most surveys lump Neo-Pagans all together, sometimes they combine all alternative religious traditions, and sometimes it is categorized only as “other.” Furthermore, many individuals are not comfortable self-identifying as Wiccan and thus either do not respond to such surveys or claim some other religious affiliation. According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, a frequently quoted survey of religious adherents, there were about 600,000 Neo-Pagans in the United States, with somewhere near half of them identifying as Wiccan.2 Their estimate is conservative compared to the website Religious Tolerance which estimated in 2018 there might be three million Wiccans in the United States3 The most reliable estimates we have come from the Pew Research Center who in 2008 found .4% or roughly 1 to 1.5 million Americans identify as either Wiccan or Pagan, although that number is likely to be significantly higher due to under- reporting.4 Despite the multitude of Wiccans worldwide, it is still a religion many find mysterious and sinister, while others are unaware it even exists. In this paper I endeavor to give a brief overview of what Wicca is in order to challenge pre-conceived notions based on ignorance or fear. Next, I situate the history of Wicca by assessing the link between the Burning Times and the development of Wicca.
    [Show full text]
  • Embracing the Lash
    JO PEARSON Embracing the lash Pain and ritual as spiritual tools Introduction ‘When the whip is raised, when leather, scourge, and cane strike against covered or naked flesh, we stand before a stage—a stage on which ritual unfolds’ (Largier 2007: 13). This chapter explores the use of scourging in Wicca, where the unfolding of ritual takes place within a larger ritual context, potentially magnifying the efficacy of pain as a nexus of trans- formation and transcendence, in which flagellation ‘is not merely a type of beating or a manner of generating pain. Instead, it evokes a complex, multi-layered, imaginary horizon that encompasses religious, erotic, and legal frames of reference’. (Largier 2007: 14.) Whilst the use of flagellation for the purposes of purification, punishment or redemptive salvific activity has long been accepted in Christianity, its use in newly emergent religions such as Wicca, where the religious use of pain cannot be sidelined as an historical aberration but must instead be under- stood within the context of (post)modern spirituality, has elicited little de- bate. Whilst purification and, to a far lesser extent, punishment still have their place, in Wicca submission to pain must also be explored in terms of initi- atory ordeal, as well as an opportunity for transcendence and as arousal, sen- sation, and energy generation. However, voluntary submission to the inflic- tion of pain, especially in order to enable religious/spiritual experience, tends to be regarded as anathema and as such, remains largely hidden, concealed behind a veil of categorisations of sexuality and psychopathology developed since Krafft-Ebing in 1886.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Appropriation in Contemporary Neopaganism and Witchcraft
    The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Honors College Spring 5-2017 Cultural Appropriation in Contemporary Neopaganism and Witchcraft Kathryn Gottlieb University of Maine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors Part of the Anthropology Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Gottlieb, Kathryn, "Cultural Appropriation in Contemporary Neopaganism and Witchcraft" (2017). Honors College. 304. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/304 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CULTURAL APPROPRIATION IN CONTEMPORARY WITCHCRAFT AND NEOPAGANISM by Kathryn A. Gottlieb A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Degree with Honors (Anthropology and Sociology) The Honors College University of Maine May 2017 Advisory Committee: Lisa K. Neuman, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Native American Studies, Advisor Sarah Harlan-Haughey, Assistant Professor of English and CLAS Honors Preceptor Nancy Lewis, Instructor, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Darren Ranco, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair of Native American Programs Katrina Wynn, Archivist and Humanities Professional Abstract This thesis examines the discourse surrounding cultural appropriation in contemporary witchcraft and neopaganism, particularly online. The aim of this thesis is to look at how cultural appropriation became such a central topic in the witch and neopagan community and to see what can be learned about the community as a whole from this discourse. Definitions, neutralization techniques, and the development of alternative practices and terminologies are all discussed, as well as how cultural appropriation relates to the history of witchcraft as a whole.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gendered Wiccan Altar
    THE GENDERED ALTAR: WICCAN CONCEPTS OF GENDER AND RITUAL OBJECTS by JESSE DANIEL SLOAN B.A. University of Central Florida, 2005 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2008 ABSTRACT Many ethnographic accounts within the annals of anthropological literature describe the religious beliefs and magical rituals of peoples throughout the world. Fewer scholars have focused on the relatively young Neo-Pagan religious movement. “Neo-Pagan,” explains Helen Berger in Voices from the Pagan Census (2003), “is an umbrella term covering sects of a new religious movement, the largest and most important form of which is…Wicca” (Berger et al. 2003: 1). This thesis examines the relationship between practice and ideology by analyzing the material culture of Wiccan altars as used by Wiccans in Central Florida, USA. Particular attention is paid to beliefs concerning concepts of gender associated with ritual objects, and concepts of gender and sexuality as understood by practitioners. Many Wiccans see divinity as manifested in two complementary beings: the Goddess and the God. The fertility that these divine beings achieve through sexual union is the subject of an elaborate ritual called the Great Rite. A pair of Wiccans, often a masculine High Priest and a feminine High Priestess, conduct this ritual by manipulating specific objects, which are believed to be strongly gendered. I argue that Wiccan rituals reflect, construct, and reinforce the Wiccan precept of a gender-balanced cosmos through the interaction of these primary ritual actors and the gendered objects they manipulate.
    [Show full text]
  • ALTERNATIVE RELIGIONS of the WORLD TOPIC Wicca Beliefs And
    Unit 1: ALTERNATIVE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD TOPIC Wicca Beliefs and Practices Gerald Gardner claimed to have been initiated in 1939 into a coven of Witches who met in the New Forest in Hampshire and his two most well-known books Witchcraft Today (1954) and The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959) produced a huge surge of interest, inspiring a movement that has spread around the world. However, most Wiccans would reject the modern view of witchcraft and the associations with devil worship. Like many Pagan religions, Wicca practices magic. Wiccans or witches believe that the human mind has the power to effect change in ways that are not yet understood by science. In their rituals, as well as honouring their deities, Witches also perform spells for healing and to help people with general life problems. Magic is practised according to an ethical code that teaches that magic may only be performed to help people when it does not harm others. Rites take place in a consecrated space, the circle, and even if there is a temple, the circle space is created anew for each rite. The space is first swept with a broomstick to purify it and then blessed with the four elements – air, fire, water and earth. The circle is then symbolically sealed by drawing a circle around it in the air with a wooden wand or a black-handled knife known as an athame. The four directions – east, south, west and north – are then honoured. Within the sacred space, the Goddess and God are invoked and magic performed. Rituals usually end with blessing a chalice of wine and cakes that are shared among the participants.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gendered Altar: Wiccan Concepts of Gender and Ritual Objects
    University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2008 The Gendered Altar: Wiccan Concepts Of Gender And Ritual Objects Jesse Sloan University of Central Florida Part of the Anthropology Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Sloan, Jesse, "The Gendered Altar: Wiccan Concepts Of Gender And Ritual Objects" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 3436. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/3436 THE GENDERED ALTAR: WICCAN CONCEPTS OF GENDER AND RITUAL OBJECTS by JESSE DANIEL SLOAN B.A. University of Central Florida, 2005 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2008 ABSTRACT Many ethnographic accounts within the annals of anthropological literature describe the religious beliefs and magical rituals of peoples throughout the world. Fewer scholars have focused on the relatively young Neo-Pagan religious movement. “Neo-Pagan,” explains Helen Berger in Voices from the Pagan Census (2003), “is an umbrella term covering sects of a new religious movement, the largest and most important form of which is…Wicca” (Berger et al. 2003: 1). This thesis examines the relationship between practice and ideology by analyzing the material culture of Wiccan altars as used by Wiccans in Central Florida, USA.
    [Show full text]