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Book of the Goddess

9781465579393
pages
Library of Alexandria
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Overview
My spiritual beliefs emerged at an early age, circa 1970, influenced by Robert Graves' The White Goddess, as well as many other religions which I was exposed to in the California of the sixties. However, unlike many Neopagans, I didn't gravitate to Wicca, Gardnerian or otherwise. It always seemed to be a desperate attempt to recreate a past that never was, one that I wasn't eager to participate in. If I wanted to play Renaissance dress-up I would have joined the Society for Creative Anachronism; however, I have no intention of being burned at the stake, pretend or otherwise. Also, since we live an pluralistic, secular society, in theory, there should be nothing to fear. So why perpetuate an underground mentality? After I researched the history of Wicca, I came to realize that it was completely synthetic, and at its heart a forgery. Based on English ceremonial magic—Golden Dawn, Crowleys' Thelema, Rosicrucianism, John Dee’s Enochian Magic, and Kabbalah; Wicca was stitched together from whole cloth by Gerald Gardiner circa 1948, and from deeply patriarchal sources at that. There are living Pagan traditions that go back further than the nineteenth century, such as Afro-Caribbean religions like Vodun and Santeria. But trust me, Wicca is not one of them. So why not make a more palatable synthesis?

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