 The first edition ofEnchanted Feminism. | |
| Author | Jone Salomonsen |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Religious studies Pagan studies |
| Publisher | Routledge |
Publication date | 2002 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover &Paperback) |
Enchanted Feminism: The Reclaiming Witches of San Francisco is an anthropological study of theReclaiming Wiccan community ofSan Francisco. It was written by the Scandinavian theologianJone Salomonsen of theCalifornia State University, Northridge and first published in 2002 by theRoutledge.
Contemporary Paganism, which is also referred to as Neo-Paganism, is anumbrella term used to identify a wide variety ofmodern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the variouspagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe.[1][2] The religion of Pagan Witchcraft, orWicca, was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and is one of several Pagan religions. The figure at the forefront of Wicca's early development was the English occultistGerald Gardner (1884–1964), the author ofWitchcraft Today (1954) andThe Meaning of Witchcraft (1959) and the founder of a tradition known asGardnerian Wicca. Gardnerian Wicca revolved around the veneration of both aHorned God and aMother Goddess, the celebration of eight seasonally-based festivals in aWheel of the Year and the practice of magical rituals in groups known ascovens. Gardnerianism was subsequently brought to the U.S. in the early 1960s by an English initiate,Raymond Buckland (1934–), and his then-wife Rosemary, who together founded a coven inLong Island.[3][4]
In the U.S., new variants of Wicca developed, includingDianic Wicca, a tradition founded in the 1970s which was influenced bysecond wave feminism, emphasized female-only covens, and rejected the veneration of the Horned God. One initiate of both the Dianic and Gardnerian traditions was a woman known asStarhawk (1951–) who went on to found her own tradition,Reclaiming Wicca, as well as publishingThe Spiral Dance: a Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess (1979), a book which helped spread Wicca throughout the U.S.[5][6]
Prior to Magiocco's work, three American researchers working in the field ofPagan studies had separately published investigations of the Pagan community in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The first of these had been the practicing Wiccan, journalist and political activistMargot Adler in herDrawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today, which was first published byViking Press in 1979.[7] A second study was produced by the anthropologistTanya M. Luhrmann in herPersuasions of the Witches' Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England (1989), in which she focused on both a Wiccan coven and several ceremonial magic orders that were then operating in London.[8] This was followed by the sociologist Loretta Orion'sNever Again the Burning Times: Paganism Revisited (1995), which focused on Pagan communities on the American East Coast and Midwest.[9]
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