hi Francis

i'd say that the Murray comment is a judgment- not that she was s student of mythology, but that MG thinks she was a myth-maker: there is plenty to support this, including a very neat demolition job of her methodology and hugely seelctive quotation of sources that some scholars from the folklore society published a while ago, i think the title was 'Margaret Murray- who beleived her and why?'

No idea about the Gardner comment- although GG was a huge self-publicist i'd expect him to veer more towards proclaiming himself current (at the time) custodian of ancient traditions (a la Murray)

Conflation- the Hutton and Lurhmann titles both include crossover material, which might be why they are in the mix

hope that is at least some help

Dave Evans

---------- Original Message -----------
From: Francis <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 5 Jul 2010 10:48:32 +0100
Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Gaskill 2010 : Witchcraft

> I'd be very grateful for help in dealing with these queries arising from my study of Gaskill's 2010 book on Witchcraft.
>
> [1] On page 24, Margaret Murray is referred to as 'the mythologist Margaret Murray'. This is the only time I've come across this attribution. Does it occur anywhere else?
>
> [2] The caption to the illustration on page 114 describes Gerald Gardner as the 'self-proclaimed father of modern paganism'. I've found nothing like this is anything I've read by him or about him. Have I missed something?
>
> [3] On page 137, in the last section of the Further Reading, Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon is listed among the titles 'For occultism:'. The following three titles (Luhrmann 1989, Berger 1999, Adler 1986) all relate to Wicca. Is it usual to conflate Wicca and occultism?
>
> Help that comes my way will be gratefully received and properly acknowledged.
>
> Francis Cameron, Oxford
------- End of Original Message -------