Neo-Paganism Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

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- Pagan Studies, Paganism, Neo-Paganism and Western Esotericism, Neo-Paganism

For the past forty years shamanism has drawn increasing attention among the general public and academics. There is an enormous literature on shamanism, but no one has tried to understand why and how Western intellectual and popular culture became so fascinated with the topic. Behind fictional and non-fictional works on shamanism, Andrei A. Znamenski uncovers an exciting story that mirrors changing Western attitudes toward the primitive. The Beauty of the Primitive explores how shamanism, an obscure word introduced by the eighteenth-century German explorers of Siberia, entered Western humanities and social sciences, and has now become a powerful idiom used by nature and pagan communities to situate their spiritual quests and anti-modernity sentiments. The major characters of The Beauty of the Primitive are past and present Western scholars, writers, explorers, and spiritual seekers with a variety of views on shamanism. Moving from Enlightenment and Romantic writers and Russian exile ethnographers to the anthropology of Franz Boas to Mircea Eliade and Carlos Castaneda, Znamenski details how the shamanism idiom was gradually transplanted from Siberia to the Native American scene and beyond. He also looks into the circumstances that prompted scholars and writers at first to marginalize shamanism as a mental disorder and then to recast it as high spiritual wisdom in the 1960s and the 1970s. Linking the growing interest in shamanism to the rise of anti-modernism in Western culture and intellectual life, Znamenski examines the role that anthropology, psychology, environmentalism, and Native Americana have played in the emergence of neo-shamanism. He discusses the sources that inspire Western neo-shamans and seeks to explain why lately many of these spiritual seekers have increasingly moved away from non-Western tradition to European folklore. A work of intellectual discovery, The Beauty of the Primitive shows how scholars, writers, and spiritual seekers shape their writings and experiences to suit contemporary cultural, ideological, and spiritual needs. With its interdisciplinary approach and engaging style, it promises to be the definitive account of this neglected strand of intellectual history.

The early 2000s saw a sharp rise in the popularity of Wicca, most obviously in the number of teenagers practising Witchcraft. This period similarly saw the introduction of a new era, in which identity formation underwent dramatic changes and the world became increasingly connected, with new forms of media playing a large role in both aspects. In this thesis, I show that teenage Witchcraft can and should be seen within the context of these postmodern developments. Witchcraft offers teenagers an attractive alternative to conventional lifestyle by placing an emphasis on nature and the environment and by providing a possibility for identity formation, yet while still leaving teenagers with a lot of options regarding the practise of their religion.

- by Diantha K
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- Religion, Sociology of Religion, Digital Media, Identity (Culture)
- by Deanne Quarrie
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- Pagan Studies, Paganism, Goddess Spirituality, Neo-Paganism

This chapter focuses on the contemporary Estonian maausulised movement whose members claim to be adherents of the Estonian native or ethnic religion maausk. In Estonian maausk literally means ‘the faith/belief of the land/earth’. The derivative maausulised means ‘followers of maausk’. From a scholarly or etic perspective, maausk may be identified as a new religion and a manifestation of modern Paganism. However, it should be acknowledged that from an emic perspective members of the movement do not agree with such labelling and stress the genuineness of their religious tradition. In English translations they call it the Estonian native or indigenous religion and underline their essential differences from Western Paganisms. In public statements maausulised spokespersons constantly highlight the continuity and local specificity of this religion, its essential relationship with vernacular languages and its roots in indigenous ethnic traditions and customs. Invoking linguistic affinity and common origin, maausulised relate their religious principles to the analogous traditions of kindred peoples – ethnic groups whose languages belong to the Finno-Ugric and Uralic language families – and have not sought connections with similar contemporary Baltic, Slavic and Germanic Pagan movements in neighbouring countries.

- by Ergo-Hart Västrik
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- Neo-Paganism, Modern Paganisms, Maausk

This article asks if “indigenous,” associated as it is with “colonized peoples,” is being employed strategically by Druids in Britain to support cultural or political aims. Prominent Druids make various claims to indigeneity, presenting... more

- by Suzanne Owen
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- Indigenous Studies, Neo-Paganism, Druidism, Druidry

Pagans have long been linked to environmentalism in multiple studies and practicing Pagans generally believe that environmentalism is inherent in Pagan paths. Further projects deduced that the motives for environmentalism by Pagan individuals are altruistic in motivation. My research highlights the slightly paradoxical individualistic nature of the various Pagan paths which argues that environmentalism is only inherent by proxy of the people that practice the various paths and that when utilizing ecological practices within rituals, motivations become more self-serving. This research also uniquely gains insight into path specific attitudes towards environmental policies and participation in advocacy by the naming of specific organizations.

- by Kristal Barrywood
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- Pagan Studies, Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Modern Paganisms
- by Seaxdēor Falcão
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- Paganism, Neo-Paganism and Western Esotericism, Neo-Paganism, Paganismo
- by Caroline J . Tully
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- History, Archaeology, Paganism, Goddess Spirituality
- by Jafe Arnold and +1
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- New Religious Movements, Sociology of Religion, Russian Studies, History of Religion

The Wicker Man (1973) demonstrates how religious authority can be dismantled and deconstructed once we enter another space. In this regard, space once again refers to the politics of a concrete geographical space informing and... more

- by Tim Bouwhuis
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- Semiotics, Legitimacy and Authority, Protestantism, Material Religion

La femme des mythes sardes se renouvelle aujourd'hui avec l'apport de la globalisation des spiritualités, mais c'est oublier un peu vite qu'un substrat local perdure sous la nouveauté. Cette toile de fond mythique embrasse les paysages traditionnels de l'île, entre mégalithes et ruralité, mais elle emprunte la plupart du temps la voie des contes pour enfants.
La figure de la femme émerge particulièrement de ce tableau. Tour à tour crainte, honnie et respectée, la femme paradoxale des mythes sardes nous enseigne sur une société traditionnelle avare en mots.

- by Marie-Véronique Amella
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- Mythology And Folklore, Ethnohistory, Anthropology, Mythology
- by Jenny Butler
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- Ritual, Paganism, Irish myth, Megalithic Monuments
- by Octavian Sarbatoare
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- New Religious Movements, Zoroastrianism, New Religions, Paganism

The present article discusses a historical tendency among scholars to focus on male-gendered deities in the Germanic corpus, a boom period of goddess studies in the 1990s under the influence of Marija Gimbutas, and the place of Great Goddess theory in the field of ancient Germanic studies today. Great Goddess theory is argued to remain an influence in ancient Germanic studies, particularly in the field’s tendency to identify goddesses as extensions of a single entity.

- by Joseph S . Hopkins
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- Archaeology, Historical Linguistics, Medieval Studies, Indo-European Studies

Wicca or Pagan Witchcraft is the most popular branch of contemporary Western Paganism. Its self-image is that of an ‘old religion’; a reawakening of the spiritual values, ideas, ideals and practices of Pagan ancestors. Amongst these ideas is a romantic veneration of ‘Nature’. Nature is considered to be ensouled, alive, ‘divine’: Wiccan beliefs encompass elements of pantheism and animism. The divine is described both as an impersonal ‘force’ or ‘energy’ manifest in the world of nature and as deities – Goddess and God – who are venerated in ritual in different forms at different seasons of the year. These forms draw on images of wild and untamed nature – the Huntress God, the Green Man of the forest, the Sun God, and agricultural deities, such as Corn Goddess and Corn God. Themes and symbols drawn from nature are central to Wiccan belief and practice, but hearken back to a world far removed from the experience of most Wiccans. How does Wicca view its relationship to the world of nature and does Wiccan belief and practice provide a basis for an environmental ethic?

- by Vivianne Crowley
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- New Religious Movements, Pagan Studies, New Religions, Paganism
- by Caroline J . Tully
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- Paganism, Goddess Spirituality, Neo-Paganism, Modern Paganisms

"Construction of religion in the Armenian neo-paganism". The article is addressing the process of the invention of a religion by the Armenian neo-pagans. It reveals the main stages of the process and the attempts to find out its social and cultural background. The article is in Russian, published in a volume entitled "Izobretenie religii. desekulyarizatsiya v post-sovetskom kontexte" (Invention of religion. Desecularization in a post-soviet context"), SAint-Petersbourg, European University in SpB, 2015.

- by Yulia Antonyan
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- Armenia, Neo-Paganism, Anthropology of Religion

Within the last decade the ancient Greek goddess Hekate has seen a noticeable surge of popularity: books, websites, symposia, courses, workshops, and societies dedicated to this goddess abound. Aspects of Hekate such as her association with magic and the importance of keys are foregrounded as essential aspects of her worship today. While having ancient precedents, these attributes are often chronologically and culturally decontextualised from Hekate religion in the ancient world. This paper examines the ancient and contemporary aspects of Hekate worship, distinguishes archaeologically and historically verified evidence for her iconography, myth and ritual, and compares it to modern imaginative and creative content that reshapes Hekate religion for today. Termed "Unsubstantiated Personal Gnosis" (UPG) within Pagan Reconstructionism (the attempt to practice historically verified ancient Pagan religions), and meaning the inclusion of personal inspiration that does not have a historical precedent, this paper argues that ancient religions, such as that of Hekate, need to be modified and directly engaged with through personal inspiration in order to be relevant-and indeed palatable-to contemporary practitioners. Examples of utilizing creativity and imagination within contemporary Hekate ritual will be provided, and its effectiveness assessed. It will be demonstrated that although much modern Hekate worship differs from what Pagan Reconstructionists would term "historically correct" procedure, that imagination and creativity can enliven ancient religions, enable their successful implementation, and consequently facilitate living relationships with ancient deities, such as Hekate, in the twenty-first century.

A survey of Neo-Paganisms and old European paganism. In: Vocabulary for the Study of Religions, ed. Kocku von Stuckrad.

Paganism, like every religion, is a complex mixture of concepts that can be used to either rationalize environmental neglect or encourage ecological harmony. Rather than characterizing Paganism, or any other religion, as “green” or “not green,” we might rather speak about the “greening of religions,” an ongoing, never-to-be-complete process. In this way, we can understand the history of contemporary Paganism as a “greening,” one that is still going on, and A Pagan Community Statement on the Environment, as one small but valuable part of that process.

- by John Halstead
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- Environmental Science, Pagan Studies, Ecology, Paganism

open access, the QMAN-volume can be downloaded via the link below. The article deals with uses of the past in art and architecture within networks and associations of the völkisch movement of the German Empire around 1900. It takes the... more

- by Jens Eike Schnall
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- Aesthetics, Art, Architecture, Ideology

This chapter is based on fieldwork carried out in Spain and Portugal among different spiritual groups that were influenced by the international Pagan movement. The women (and few men) I encountered did not feel at ease with the term “Pagan” and preferred to refer to a “Goddess spirituality”. They held that British and American forms of Paganism needed to be transformed and adapted in order to be successfully imported into traditionally Catholic countries. Analyzing the transplantation process of the Glastonbury Goddess Conference to the Iberian Peninsula I will try to explain while it failed and why it was perceived by some of my interlocutors as a sort of religious colonialism. An important number of the Iberian followers of the Goddess I encountered refused the Anglo-imperialism they saw as inherent to established international Pagan traditions and were looking instead for more “authentic” rituals and theories that could take into account local specificities. The controversies I describe offer a privileged window upon the peculiarities of Pagan movements in Southern Europe and on the processes of resistance to religious forms of colonialism

- by Anna Fedele
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- New Religious Movements, Sociology of Religion, Anthropology, Pagan Studies
- by Luna ria
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- Herbals, Neo-Paganism
- by Jenny Butler
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- Neo-Paganism, contemporary Paganism, Calendar Customs, Ritual Year

The Greek Goddess Hecate was a mysterious figure in the ancient world. Hesiod gave her powers in earth, sea and heavens, but by the time of Euripides she was a goddess of black magic and nefarious acts. This paper examines how William Blake's Hecate/The Night of Enitharmon's Joy, can be seen as a break from the traditional portrayal of Hecate as an evil figure, which had survived from ancient Greece through to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Rather than being seen as inspired by Shakespeare, this paper examines the many other references Blake's piece can be seen to be making. The paper then looks at Hecate's place within the modern Neopagan movement, and how Blake's Hecate/Night of Enitharmon's Joy can be seen as influential upon it.

- by Simon Collier
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- Shakespeare, Paganism, Greek Myth, William Blake

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar o culto a Maria na wicca, religião na qual ela assume o papel de deusa e é cultuada como uma das diversas manifestações de "A Deusa", a principal divindade dessa religião. Esse estudo também apresenta as tensões que o culto a Maria gera entre os wiccanos, visto a wicca se constituir sobre um ethos de oposição histórica ao cristianismo. Sendo a Virgem Maria uma figura religiosa central ao cristianismo, esses conflitos intrarreligiosos se fazem inevitáveis entre os próprios wiccanos.

- by Fábio L Stern
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- Neo-Paganism and Western Esotericism, Neo-Paganism, Modern Paganisms, Wicca

Előadásomban a táltos alakját és szerepkörét vázolom fel két, egymáshoz genetikusan kapcsolódó kortárs gyógyítói rendszerben: a szellemsebészetben vagy másként pszichotronikában valamint a táltos masszázsban. Elemzésemmel arra szeretnék rámutatni, hogy, bár a vallástudomány jelenlegi álláspontja szerint az újpogányság és a New Age spiritualitás az ezoterizmus paradigmáján belül két elkülönülő vallási irányultságot jelent, a gyógyítás kortárs értelmezése (ang. healing) mégis kapcsolatot teremt közöttük. Úgy vélem, hogy a táltos fogalom kurrens, ezoterikus értelmezései nem csak jól illusztrálják ezeket az áthallásokat és kölcsönhatásokat, de egyben rávilágítanak a vallásosság kortárs megnyilvánulási formáinak rendkívüli változékonyságára, heterogenitására, ami megnehezíti osztályozásukat, besorolásukat.

- by Judit Kis-Halas
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- Contemporary Spirituality, Race and Ethnicity, Perennial Philosophy, Chiropractic

This thesis examines the New Age spiritual movement in its relationship with Indigenous cultures. Indigenous spiritual traditions have been appropriated to support relevant New Age theories. It critiques New Age perceptions of Indigenous cultures as misinformed and argues this misinformation is proliferated through certain New Age practices. It argues that the New Age can achieve a sustaining, earth-based spiritual practice without resorting to the appropriation of Indigenous traditions. Neo-paganism holds many of the qualities that New Agers seek in Indigenous traditions and is a potential alternative avenue of spiritual solace to the appropriation of Indigenous culture. The embodiment of New Age goals can be understood within the context of environmental ethics philosophies. Alternative festivals that operate with a spiritual ethic are explored as evidence that the New Age can and in some areas, does operate in a positive, life-affirming manner. Importantly, the thesis argues that re-interpretation of Indigenous culture by the New Age is neither welcome nor necessary.