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Zusatztext An excellent study of the only religion England gave the world: pagan witchcraft. Scholarly and incisive, writing with verve and passion, Hutton exposes the Victorian fascination with the pagan ... Hutton writes a brilliant history of a faith that draws on ancient texts yet speaks to present concerns. Klappentext Here is a book that brings witchcraft out of the shadows. The Triumph of the Moon is the first full-scale study of the only religion England has ever given the world--modern pagan witchcraft! otherwise known as wicca. Meticulously researched! it provides a thorough account of an ancientreligion that has spread from English shores across four continents. For centuries! pagan witchcraft has been linked with chilling images of blood rituals! ghostlike druids! and even human sacrifices. But while Robert Hutton explores this dark side of witchery! he stresses the positive! reminding us that devotion to art! the natural world! femininity! and theclassical deities are also central to the practice of wicca. Indeed! the author shows how leading figures in English literature--W.B. Yeats! D.H. Lawrence! and Robert Graves! just to name a few--celebrated these positive aspects of the religion in their work! thereby softening the public perceptionof witchcraft in Victorian England. From cunning village folk to freemasons and from high magic to the black arts! Hutton chronicles the fascinating process by which actual wiccan practices evolved into what is now a viable modern religion. He also presents compelling biographies of wicca'sprincipal figures! such as Gerald Gardner! who was inducted into a witch coven at the age of 53! and recorded many clandestine rituals and beliefs. Ronald Hutton is known for his colorful! provocative! and always thoroughly researched studies on original subjects. This work is no exception. It will appeal to anyone interested in witchcraft! paganism and alternative religions. Zusammenfassung The first scholarly study of the only religion which England has ever given the world; modern pagan witchcraft. It tells the story of its development and nature, and uses that story as a microhistory for a general consideration of attitudes to paganism, witchcraft, and magic in British society since 1800....
