The God of the Witches (Aziloth Books) - Softcover

Murray, Margaret Alice

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1909735477 ISBN 13: 9781909735477

Publisher: Aziloth Books, 2014

Synopsis

Margaret Murray was an anthropologist who upset the comfortable consensus of her day with the idea that Western Europe did not convert 'en masse' to Christianity. Using contemporary accounts she was able to show that, while European rulers and nobles were successfully targeted by Christian missionaries, the majority of the population held tenaciously to the Old Religion. These far older beliefs centred upon the worship of Cernunnos, the figure of a male, horned god. The result was centuries of conflict between Christianity and 'Paganism' in which the adherents of the Cross gradually gained the ascendant. And following the general principle that 'the God of the old religion becomes the Devil of the new', the Christian 'Evil One' was given the characteristics of the pagan deity - horns and all. Those who stubbornly held to the Old Ways were seen as devil-worshippers, witches, followers of the left-hand path who fully deserved the stake and death by purging fire. Margaret Murray gives a convincing account of this God of the witches, and shows how many famous characters in European history - among them William Rufus, Joan of Arc and Thomas à Beckett - must be counted as members of The Old Religion. A book for all those interested in the roots of Wicca and neo-paganism.

About this title

About the Author

Margaret Alice Murray (13 July 1863 - 13 November 1963) was a prominent British Egyptologist and anthropologist. Primarily known for her work in Egyptology, which was "the core of her academic career," she is also known for her propagation of the Witch-cult hypothesis, the theory that the witch trials in the Early Modern period of Christianized Europe and North America were an attempt to extinguish a surviving pre-Christian, pagan religion devoted to a Horned God. Whilst this theory is today widely disputed and discredited by historians like Norman Cohn, Keith Thomas and Ronald Hutton, it has had a significant effect in the origins of Neopagan religions, primarily Wicca, a faith she supported. Her work in Egyptology took place largely alongside her mentor and friend, the archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie, whom she worked alongside at University College London. One of the earliest women to "make a serious impact upon the world of professional scholarship," she was also an ardent feminist, being actively involved in the Suffragette movement. From 1953 to 1955, she was the president of the Folklore Society, although since her death various members of the society have attempted to dissociate the organisation from her and the Murrayite theory of the Witch-Cult.

Edition details

• Publisher: Aziloth Books
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1909735477
• ISBN 13: 9781909735477
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 136