The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft [Unabridged] (Paperback)

On second thoughts, don’t throw them away, just keep them very very close at hand as you’ll wish to re-read and cross-reference until your eyes are spinning once you but glance at the Notes completing The Triumph of the Moon. Never mind the chapters, this book is worth buying for the references alone. Suffice to comment that it draws extensively from previously unpublished sources and stems from direct personal contact with some, if not all, the alleged greats of modern pagan witchcraft’s last half century. Hutton handles the politics of bitchcraft and the machinations of social history with great skill, and if you are searching for a possible history of modern pagan witchcraft based on fact rather than whimsical conjecture then you could do no better than to rest awhile here.

In fact, overall one could do no better than to take this text as a foundation for all other forays into the field. For in wading through these mists of pagan historiography Hutton manages to hold aloft a fog lamp for the wayward seeker, providing a plethora of roads to study and arming the would-be student with a map and compass of understanding with which to explore these diverse and controversial fields yet still further. What he does not do is provide anyone with any answers, but then with religion one could argue that there aren’t any anyway.

Hutton brings his characteristic wit and penetrating insight to bear upon the 'history' of modern witchcraft, and the result is simultaneously a sobering and an uplifting read. This is no mere hatchet job on the always-shaky historical claims of Gardner _et al_; it is a wide-ranging and extremely intelligent study of social, intellectual and spiritual trends in Britain during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which places the modern Craft in its worldly context. A succession of poets, academics, cunning folk, anthropologists, Masons and occultists are discussed, illuminating social currents of the day, and exploring the contribution of each to the great mosaic that became the modern Craft.

The myths, too, are explored: Margaret Murray, 'the burning times', Gardner's Book of Shadows and the myth of prehistoric 'Great Goddess' are all carefully examined, and gently (or not so gently) punctured. Yet I cannot emphasise enough that this is not an attack on Paganism - that it can only, in fact, make it stronger. The first (Gardnerian) witches' claims to the antiquity of their tradition may have been spurious, but Hutton makes it clear that this removes nothing from the fact that there was 'something in the water', so to speak, of early twentieth century society. Far from appearing a deceitful aberration, Gardner and others are shown to be expressive of a mood of their times, taking the logical next step in giving Paganism a structure and greater definition.

Two caveats (because I feel I ought to...): 1) The focus - both in historial chapters and in the sociological case study at the end - is upon coven witchcraft, with little space for solitary workers (although this is perfectly reasonable in terms of what Hutton is trying to); 2) From an article in 'Pagan Dawn' a little while back, I gather that Hutton's research is ongoing, and there's a possibility of a second edition at some point in the future!

Hutton is an engaging and lucid writer, as adept at discussing long-term social trends as he is at providing lively pen-portraits of the various writers and witches who parade through his pages. An enjoyable and an enlightening read for anyone with an interest in the Craft or in 20th century social history. Wonderful.