The Witch Cult in Western Europe (Forthcoming)
A Study in Anthropology
In The Witch Cult in Western Europe, Anthropologist Margaret Alice Murray (1863 – 1963) presents her pioneering and seminal witch-cult theory – an enigmatic history of European witchcraft and the rituals, beliefs and practices of an ancient, secretive pre-Christian religion that persisted covertly amidst fierce Christian persecution. The witch cult hypothesised herein unveils an underground and organised old religion, devoted to the worship of a horned god and mother goddess which survived from its pre pre-Christian origins and through the hysteria of the witch trials.
While Murray’s theories of witchcraft as an organised and surviving pagan religion have been discredited by subsequent research, her work vividly depicts the old and widely held beliefs, ideas and traditions surrounding witches which, naturally, may have long informed the operations of individuals and sporadic groups attempting to undertake a practice of witchcraft historically, and into the present. Many of her own more innovative ideas too have been hugely influential and have provided the blueprints to various modern day witchcraft traditions, leading to Margaret Murray being referred to, justifiably, as the ‘Grandmother of Wicca.’
The Witch Cult in Western Europe thus remains a valuable sourcebook for practitioners and students of the witch’s craft today.
