Wicca and the Christian Heritage: Ritual, Sex and Magic [Hardcover]

What is Wicca?  Is it witchcraft, Paganism, occultism, esotericism, magic, spirituality, mysticism, nature religion, secrecy, gnosis, the exotic or 'other'? Wicca has been defined by and explored within all these contexts over the past thirty years by anthropologists, sociologists and historians, but there has been a tendency to sublimate and negate the role of Christianity in Wicca's historical and contemporary contexts.

Joanne Pearson 'prowls the borderlands of Christianity' to uncover the untold history of Wicca. Exploring the problematic nature of the Wiccan claim of marginality, it contains a groundbreaking analysis of themes in Christian traditions that are inherent in the development of contemporary Wicca. These focus on the accusations which have been levelled against Catholisicm, heterodoxy and witchcraft throughout history: ritual, deviant sexuality and magic.

Pearson uncovers the untold history of Wicca and analyzes the role of Christianity in its development.

'This is an exciting, interesting and original book, with a unique perspective on both modern witchcraft and modern Christianity.' - Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol, UKPreface 1.Introduction 2. Episcopi Vagantes and Heterodox Christianity 3. Churches Gnostic and Agnostic 4. Rediscovering Ritual 5. Inappropriate Sexuality? Sex Magic, S/M, and Ritual Nudity 6. The Magic of the Margins Conclusion BibliographyUS? 2007 Joanne Pearson This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.