Coming to the Edge of the Circle: A Wiccan Initiation RitualThis book offers an ethnographic study of the initiation ritual practiced by one coven of Witches located in Ohio. The participants are members of the religious community that describes itself as Wicca, the Old Religion, or the Craft. Within this community, initiation is seen both as the ceremony through which an individual becomes a member of the community and as a central transformative religious experience, expressed through performance and bodily praxis. In addition to contributing to our knowledge of this secretive religious movement, Nikki Bado-Fralick's analysis of the Wiccan initiation ceremony offers an important challenge to the commonly accepted anthropological model of "rites of passage." As a High Priestess within the coven as well as a scholar of religion, Bado-Fralick is in a unique position to contribute to our understanding of this ceremony and the tradition to which it belongs. Arguing the value of her dual role as scholar/participant, she also offers a thoughtful and perceptive self-analysis of the dilemmas this role involves. |
Contents
Life as a ScholarPractitioner | 3 |
Stumbling toward Wisdom | 23 |
The Merry Circle | 43 |
Copyright | |
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Coming to the Edge of the Circle: A Wiccan Initiation Ritual Nikki Bado-Fralick Limited preview - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
activities altar athame become begin blessing body body-in-practice bodymind breath Brian cast the Circle challenge chant Circle's edge context Craft name creative culture of disbelief Death dimension discourse drive a car dynamic elements embodied engaged experiences feel female feminist Folklore folklorist gender Gerald Gardner High Priestess Hufford insider/outsider Intimacy or Integrity introductory class invocation invoke Kasulis Lauren learning process liminality magic male Merry Circle metanarrative metaphor moon mundane nature Nature-as-person ordeals Pagan parent coven participate particular path pentagram person perspectives philosophy play praxis questions rebel movie reflexive reflexive voice religion religious practice religious practitioners Rite of Dedication ritual nudity robe sacred Sam's scholarly scholars scholarship sense Serbian share skills skyclad somatic space spiritual stage Starhawk Stewart Farrar student symbolic teacher teaching Witch things tradition transformation Triple Goddess understanding Wiccan initiation ritual Wiccan ritual Witchcraft women worship