tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817911217098974229.post8118569468774866025..comments2023-11-05T04:09:26.194-05:00Comments on e g r e g o r e s: Peregrin Wildoak egregiously misrepresents Gerald Gardner (and Ronald Hutton)Apuleius Platonicushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761230673724504084noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817911217098974229.post-37221685166720161772013-01-29T11:12:35.608-05:002013-01-29T11:12:35.608-05:00"What sort of Witch was the Witch of Endor? W..."What sort of Witch was the Witch of Endor? Well, in Jerome's Vulgate she is referred to as "pythonissa", which makes her a Priestess of Apollo. And so at least in the version of the story most closely associated with Western Christianity, this most famous of Palestinian Witches was, indeed, an initiated Priestess of a very old religion."<br /><br />Conclusion does not follow from the data. Jerome used a familiar word for a female oracle to refer to another female oracle. There is no reason to think that the religious status of the Pythia was a compelling reason for choosing that term, or that the use of the term indicates anything at all about the religious status of the Witch of Endor.<br /><br />"I fancy that certain practices, such as the use of the circle to keep the power in, were local inventions, derived from the use of the Druid or pre-Druid circle. At one time I believed the whole cult was directly descended from the Northern European culture of the Stone Age, uninfluenced by anything else; but I now think that it was influenced by the Greek and Roman mysteries which originally may have come from Egypt. But while it is fascinating to consider the cult existing in direct descent from ancient Egypt, we must take into account the other possibilities."<br /><br />Gardner is clarifying that his position changed from "descended uninfluenced from the Stone Age" to "descended from the Stone Age with other influences along the way." That's the plain reading of his phrase "but now I think that it was *influenced* by the Greek and Roman mysteries" (emphasis mine). The idea that Wicca descended from Stone Age cults is not revised by Gardner. Likewise, the paragraph from Chapter 7 is arguing for the influence of "proto-Wicca" *on other systems*, contra Gardner's earlier view (as he states) that the original cult "had no connection with other systems," which likewise does not disturb his assertion that Wicca descended from Stone Age cults.<br /><br />I respect your attempts to provide evidence for your assertions, AP, but I'm beginning to have serious questions about your ability to understand and accurately represent the plain meaning of written English.Scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817911217098974229.post-59417295502166679292013-01-26T13:22:47.120-05:002013-01-26T13:22:47.120-05:00Thank you for refuting the misrepresentation you c...Thank you for refuting the misrepresentation you cite above. There has been far too much of such nonsense in the ongoing discussion regarding the survival of Pagan remnants since antiquity. <br /><br />Regarding your quote of Gardner:<br /><br />"At one time I believed the whole cult was directly descended from the Northern European culture of the Stone Age, uninfluenced by anything else; but I now think that it was influenced by the Greek and Roman mysteries which originally may have come from Egypt."<br /><br />There is important new anthropological date that has recently surfaced indicating precisely the above, which is presently being vetted for presentation to the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness. Salient aspects of this data indicate a continuity of Pagan practices of a sexual nature traced from the shamanic like tradition of ancient Italy through Sumeria and Egypt, then back to Europe with the Greek and Roman conquests of Egypt where they were preserved in the Pythagorean and Hermetic traditions through the period of the Inquisition. <br /><br />Essential new evidence showing how the teachings of this same body of practices was preserved encoded in the frescoes of the Villa dei Misteri, then encoded in the symbols of Hermetic alchemy, then appearing yet again sin symbolical form in Leland's "Aradia, the Gospel of the Witches" is presented in the following game changing new article:<br /><br />Del Bosco Sacro, Dianus “The Great Rite, Hermeticism, and the Shamanic-Pagan Tradition of the Sacred Forest of Nemi” The Fenris Wolf: The Institute of Comparitive Magico-Anthropology, 5 (Edda Publishing: 2012, pp. 53-76.<br /><br />I just published my entire translator's introduction to this article in my reply to the latest articles from both Hutton and Peregrin here:<br /><br />http://hermetic-golden-dawn.blogspot.com/2013/01/exposed-vatican-conspiracy-and-pagan.html<br /><br />David Griffin<br />Imperator, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn<br />Chief Adept, Rosicrucian Order of Alpha Omega<br />Imperator David Griffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05569334890339311989noreply@blogger.com