Origins of Modern Witchcraft: The Evolution of a World Religion

by Ann Moura

Christianity began at the start of the common era. Judaism began a few thousand years before that. Religion in Egypt and Sumer go maybe a few thousand years before that. But what came before? Most... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567186483
• ISBN13: 9781567186482
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Visionary

This book received many bad reviews, so I had to put in my 10 cents. Ann Moura is a visionary! She is not the first person to purport that we Romanies (Gypsies) came from India, but her linking us to the Indus Valley is dead-on accurate. I admit to being a little taken aback by her theory that the Celts were refugees from the Indus Valley (a.k.a. Gypsies) but it is an intriguing theory, and definitely holds credence with my own research of comparisons of their symbology (see Indus Valley tablets), Celtic religious beliefs, and even tools and jewelry. I am not sure how Ann Moura came about this knowledge (as much of it continues to be "discovered" in recent news), but she is definitely a woman before her time. My advice: Read this book, and then read it again, and keep an eye on the news. You might be surprised at her accuracy. ;)

more than 5 would be appropriate...

I am amazed at the hostility in some of the preceding reviews... if its just a poorly written book, why are you so vehement in your criticisms?This book is excellent, finally someone is ready to challenge the falsehoods parading as truth in judeo-christian "history." The book is very coherent and well-organized. I have a masters in art theory and criticism, so I have read quite a few books of simliar styles, though with different content, and Ann Moura's book is every bit as solid in expounding her theory (THEORY, folks) as any of those other respected college-curriculum books. Additionally, as someone who has studied the migration and development of language, word roots, etc. - I found her conclusions based on language similarities to be very valid - she has done solid research into the way that words mutate over time, and in different cultures, and experts in that field would undoubtably have to agree with her conclusions, at least as possibilities. From word roots, we already know that there was an originating root language that spread through europe, as people spread, and throughout history additional foreign words have entered various languages as different ethnicities migrated. Similiar sounding words with similiar meanings just don't happen coincidentally. They just don't, certainly not more than once...I could find no faults, esp. as she is presenting her "conclusions" as theory, not as 100% proven fact.The only criticism I could offer would be to question the inclusion of spell ceremonies in an academic, serious work. It doesn't really bother me, but I can see where some would find it distracting, and their prejudices may cause them to react violently to these rituals. (as we can see in these reviews...)Great work, Ann Moura!! I was absolutely enthralled, I couldn't put this book down. Its fascinating!!

Five Stars Are Not Enough

What a lot controversy one book has stirred! It has apparently hit a few nerves. The statements of history can be corroborated in the 5 pages of books cited in the bibliography, most of which are written by noted historians,university professors, and archeologists. Margaret Murray NEVER comes up in this book, and for reviewers here to claim there is any connection is really lame--oh, and none of the cited authors is a "supporter" of Murray: they are all highly respected for their own work and have no need to resurrect any of Murray's theories. The complaints in the whining reviews reveal personal grievances against the publisher and resentments that this book relates to Witches and contains meditations--as if the readers had some point to make about a book from the metaphysical section of the bookstore. If this book is sooo bad, why the screaming denouncements and outright misrepresentations--unless it really isn't bad, just very threatening to people's smug little universes. The scornful diatribes are meant to keep people from even picking up this treasure and discovering something already known in university circles. Yeah, there are some obvious typos and editing errors, but nothing insurmountable--like the Christ is the Aramaic thing, which is a non-issue since the sentence before this one in the book states that the Greek word Christ evolved from the Aramaic word for Krishna. This book is NOT about the development of Wicca (1940's onward) but about the travels of Indus religion throughout the world to be re-discovered at the heart of the Old Religion--what is now called Witchcraft. If people can't handle the fact that Cernunnos, and even Dionysos, are the Western versions of Shiva as the Horned God, Lord of Beasts(Pasupati), who was worshipped 30,000 years ago [and still is], they need to look inward and ask themselves what is it about this known detail that so upsets them. No where in this book are temples mentioned in the Indus, by the way, instead, the books states that houses had their own shrines, and what was absent was any community temple--also the wise reviewer who airily stated that the [not mentioned] temple was a public bath is very confused--those houses had private baths, running water, etc., and it was the grainery that some people once called a temple, but that was back in the 1930's when everyone looked for temples in ancient sites. Too bad if another reviewer can't figure out why awareness of the ancient deity origins of Ceremonialism's demons makes the magic unworkable--duh, what are you summoning: Astaroth or the Goddess Astarte! And if it bothers another that Jesus,Buddha, and Laotze are "modern" and Shiva is the most ancient, continuously worshipped deity known, then that is someone's personal crisis. If it bothers another that the book is written from the perspective of a Witch, who actually believes in the validity of her religion, what was this person expecting after reading the Introduction? The book woul

Captivating from Cover to Cover

Origins of Modern Witchcraft The Evolution of a World Religion By: Ann Moura Llewellyn Publications, (2000). Paperback, 282 pages. ISBN: 1-56718-648-3Prepare to take a journey. Travel back in time and experience a journey that will uncover and explore the very roots of paganism and religion. This book is brimming with archeological findings and valuable historical research. Discover the interwoven roots of ceremonialism and Wicca. Reclaim connections to your past with meditations, rituals and spells. Discover the intentions, history and relationships between the major world religions today. This book is captivating from cover to cover and includes a timeline and extensive bibliography for those inclined to do deeper research.

A Real History.

The first chapter I thought was REALY boring but I could not put it down. There is so much information in the first chapter that I thought my head was going to explode. Later in the book it only gets better. This is a must for any Witch wanting to learn about their roots. Anyway, a wonderfull work of art that will take you back. And by the way, This is not just a history book; There are spells and rituals also. BB Lord Jester/|\