Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America 9780812202700

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WitchingCulture

CONTEMPORARY

ETHNOGRAPHY

Kirin Narayan and Paul Stoller, Series Editors

A complete list of books in the series is available from the publisher.

WitchingCulture Folklore and N eo- Paganism in America

SABINA

MAGLIOCCO

PENN University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia

Copyright © 2004 University of Pennsylvania Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 10

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Published by University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4011 Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data Magliocco, Sabina, 1959Witching culture : folklore and neo-paganism in America / Sabina Magliocco. p. em. - (Contemporary ethnography) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8122-3803-6 (cloth: alk. paper) - ISBN 0-8122-1879-5 (paper: alk. paper) 1. Neopaganism-United States. 2. Folklore-United States. 1. Title. II. Series. BF1573.M342004 299'.94'0973-dc22

2004040712

In memoryofAndrew Vazso19Ji 1906-1986

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Contents

Introduction: The Ethnography of Magic and the Magic of Ethnography 1 Part I. Roots and Branches

1. The Study of Folklore and the Reclamation of Paganism 2. Boundaries and Borders: Imagining Community Part II. Religions

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of Experience

3. Making Magic: Training the Imagination 4. Ritual: Between the Worlds

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5. "The Juice of Ritual": Pathways to Ecstasy Part III. Beyond Experience:

Religion

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and Identity

6. The Romance of Subdominance: Creating Oppositional Culture 7. "The Heart Is the Only Nation": Neo-Paganism, Ethnic Identity, and the Construction of Authenticity 205

Notes

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Bibliography Index

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Acknowledgments

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Introduction

The Ethnography of Magic and the Magic of Ethnography

In February of 1995, at the first Pantheacon, a conference of Pagans and academics in San Jose, California, I attended my first Reclaiming ritual and had my first powerfully affecting ritual experience in a N eo- Pagan context. Pantheacon 1995 became a turning point in my field research; the ritual was for me the beginning of a new understanding of the movement I was studying. In my field notes, I attempted to capture the intensity of the experience I had.

Field notes, February 17, 1995 The ritual starts late, like most Pagan events. About a hundred people are gathered in a large conference ballroom in a San Jose hotel; chairs are arranged all around the walls and people sit, some uneasily, some talking in groups, some laughing or gossiping. Starhawk, a plump, middle-aged woman in a loose print dress, leggings, and incongruous red ankle socks, stands near the room's center, where a pile of scarves has been placed. She tests the sound system, confers with others, finally begins to call the rag-tag assembly to order and explain the purpose of the ritual: to find what is most sacred to us, what we most deeply value. She begins by asking us to imagine that we are trees rooted in the soil, our roots reaching deep into the earth's molten core, our branches drawing down the moon's shining light, cool silvery energy meeting hot, fiery energy in our beings. When we are all grounded and centered, the quarters are called,' and then she calls the goddess as Briqid ' and the God as the greening god, the Green Man, "the force that through the green fuse drives the flower" (Thomas, 1957:10), calling him through redwood, oak, artichoke, zucchini, and garlic into our midst-"Greening god, redwood god; / Greening god, artichoke god ... "-while she drums and we sway and dance. Some take up scarves from the center and dance around us, waving them. One smiling young man comes toward me waving a scarf and we dance awhile, twirling and twisting to the drumming and chants. Finally our voices reach a crescendo and then fall silent.

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Introduction

Now Starhawk is taking us on a guided meditation to find the sacred. She asks us to form small, intimate groups where we can talk about our experiences. A small group of us sitting on the floor join hands to form a ring. I follow Starhawk's words and find myself walking along a path to a dark wood, and I think of the words from Dante's Inferno that my father used to recite to me-"Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita / Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura / Che la diritta via era smarrlta'