Cornish, Helen. 2009. Spelling out history: transforming witchcraft past and present. Pomegranate: the International Journal of Pagan Studies, 11(1), pp. 14-28. ISSN 1528-0268 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

History and heritage are often asserted as indicators of continuity. However, meaningful pasts are mobilized according to the needs of the present, and continually reinvented and transformed. This paper seeks to explore the dynamic and fluid ways that the past is continually under revision to meet such needs. Contemporary British witches are currently experiencing a radical shift in the ways they conceptualize, evidence and rationalize their history. Until recently, practitioners claimed that contemporary practices could be traced back to pre-Christian times: formal groups of witches (covens) had a continuous and unbroken religious tradition going back to antiquity. This position has recently been subjected to extensive critique which suggests a prevailing scepticism to the idea of continuity, and an alignment with recent interpretations from scholarly historians. However, while the ‘inventions’ of earlier writers are criticized, pagans continue to feel connected to the ancient past by privileging less specific ideas about rural traditions and the primacy of experience rather than explicitly historical arguments; the use of the past is a continually creative and ongoing process. Therefore, it is clear that dynamic ideas of what constitutes both the content and context of history are central concerns for practitioners today.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Contemporary Paganism Neo-Paganism Neo-paganism Paganism Ritual Western esotericism Wicca Wiccan Witchcraft archaeology contemporary Paganism contemporary paganism feminism gender neo-paganism paganism ritual sexuality shamanism witchcraft
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Anthropology
Dates:	Date Event 2009 Published
Item ID:	11753
Date Deposited:	22 Jun 2015 09:04
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2017 11:05
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/11753

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