Historical Paganism

Goddess Herstory

THE CIVILIZATION OF THE GODDESS: THE WORLD OF OLD EUROPE,1991, Marija Alseikaite Gimbutas. Bold and imaginative scholarly reconstruction of earliest religious symbols.

GLASTONBURY - AVALON OF THE HEART, 1986, Dion Fortune. Dion Fortune’s description of Glastonbury remains one of the most evocative and poignant accounts of this wild yet holy place – a power center polarizing with distant Jerusalem – linking and harmonizing the Christian way with the primeval and Pagan past of England. She describes three ways of approaching Glastonbury: by way of the legends associated with it; through the known history of the area and its great, but never domination influence on the history of England; and finally through the mystical path. It is this true vision of the mystical way, encompassing all aspects of the area, both seen and unseen, which reveals Glastonbury as the Avalon of the Heart.

THE GODDESS OBSCURED: Transformation of the Grain Protectress from Goddess to Saint, 1985, Pamela Berger.

GODDESSES AND GODS OF OLD EUROPE, 6500-3500 BC: Myths and Cult Images, 1982, Marija Alseikaite Gimbutas.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE GODDESS, 1990, Marija Alseikaite Gimbutas & Joseph Campbell.

THE ONCE AND FUTURE GODDESS: A Sweeping Visual Chronicle of the Sacred Female and Her Reemergence in the Cult, 1989, Elinor Gadon. Art historian and scholar Gadon uses well researched art history, archeological speculations, and current artistic trends to reconstruct goddess-based culture and world view in past, present, and future.

WHENCE THE GODDESSES: A SOURCEBOOK, 1990, Miriam Robbins Dexter.

WHEN GOD WAS A WOMAN, 1976, Merlin Stone. Stone's story points us to a time when all worshipped the Goddess, reminding us that patriarchal religion is not natural or inevitable.

THE FOREST HOUSE, 1995, Marion Zimmer Bradley. Part two of the MISTS OF AVALON series.

LADY OF AVALON, 1998, Marion Zimmer Bradley. Part three of the MISTS OF AVALON series.

PRIESTESS OF AVALON, 2002, Marion Zimmer Bradley. Part four of the MISTS OF AVALON series.

THE MISTS OF AVALON, 1983, Marion Zimmer Bradley. How did the old religion lose its power? The Arthurian legend, excitingly told from the point of view of a priestess of the Goddess, gives us a picture of how it might have happened in Britain. (fiction)

THE MISTS OF AVALON, 2000, Julianna Margulies, Anjelica Huston. Pretty faithful, TV adaptation of Marion Zimmer Bradley's novel, whose retelling of the Arthurian legends focuses on the role of powerful females, compresses a wealth of mysticism, family intrigue, and bloody swordplay into three hours. As Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, Anjelica Huston endeavors to perpetuate the old religion as pagan Britain comes into contact with Christianity. The scheming Morgause, played to evil perfection by Joan Allen, conspires to her own ends. And Avalon priestess Morgaine, played by Julianna Margulies, travels the heroine's journey, overcoming tragedies, injustice, and all manner of obstacles in her duty to both "the goddess" and her younger brother, King Arthur. Although the action lags at times, the production is quite lavish for a made-for-television feature and the film is ultimately entertaining. (DVD)

Medieval Witchcraft