Drawing Down the Moon
Subtitle: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today: Revised and Expanded Edition
Edition: Revised and expanded edition
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: April 1, 1987
Place of publication: Boston, MA
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 608
ISBN-13: 9780807032534
Subjects: Occultism & quasi-religious beliefs; Witchcraft & Wicca; Witchcraft; New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit; New Age; Women and religion; Self-Help / General; Cults; Goddess religion; United States
First sentence: In the last twenty years, alongside the often noted resurgence of "occult" and "magical" groups, a diverse and decentralized religious movement has sprung up that remains comparatively unnoticed, and when recognized, is generally misunderstood.
Description: Margot Adler - granddaughter of the renowned psychiatrist Alfred Adler and a reporter for National Public Radio - takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of the people who call themselves neopagans.  Adler interviewed a colorful gallery of diverse people across the United States who believe that each person has a different path to divinity and that monotheism is a form of religious imperialism.  She attended many of their ritual gatherings and discovered, contrary to stereotypical images, that most neopagans have no gurus or masters, that their beliefs are nonauthoritarian in spirit, and that they find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction.  Still the only detailed history and comprehensive report on this little-known and largely misunderstood movement, Drawing Down the Moon has been revised and expanded to include new information on men's spirituality, Druids, Norse Paganism, and a complete guide of newsletters, journals, books, groups, and festivals.
Notes: Illustrations follow page 152.
Table of contents: pagenum: vii
class: section
title: Preface to the Revised Edition; pagenum: xi
title: Preface; pagenum: xv
title: A Note on Names and Language; title: Background
label: I.; title: Paganism and Prejudice
pagenum: 3
label: 1.; title: A Religion Without Converts
pagenum: 14
label: 2.; label: 3.
pagenum: 24
title: The Pagan World View; title: Witches
label: II.; title: The Wiccan Revival
pagenum: 41
label: 4.; title: The Craft Today
pagenum: 94
label: 5.; label: 6.
pagenum: 136
title: Interview with a Modern Witch; label: 7.
pagenum: 153
title: Magic and Ritual; label: 8.
pagenum: 176
title: Women, Feminism, and the Craft; title: Other Neo-Pagans
label: III.; label: 9.
pagenum: 233
title: Religions from the Past - The Pagan Reconstructionists; title: A Religion from the Future - The Church of All Worlds
pagenum: 283
label: 10.; label: 11.
pagenum: 319
title: Religions of Paradox and Play; label: 12.
pagenum: 338
title: Radical Faeries and the Growth of Men's Spirituality; label: IV.
title: The Material Plane; label: 13.
pagenum: 351
title: Scholars, Writers, Journalists, and the Occult; title: Living on the Earth
pagenum: 372
label: 14.; pagenum: 439
title: Epilogue; label: Appendix I
pagenum: 443
title: The 1985 Questionnaire; title: Rituals
pagenum: 466
label: Appendix II; label: Appendix III
pagenum: 475
title: Resources; pagenum: 553
title: Notes; pagenum: 581
title: Index; pagenum: 595
title: Acknowledgments