Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

ADLER, MARGOT

American author and Neo-Pagan whose work, Drawing Down the Moon, is considered by many to be the standard autthoritative discourse on Paganism in the United States. Margot Adler is the grand-daughter of the internationally respected psychiatrist, Alfred Adler.

She grew up in an agnostic family and as a child developed a strong interest in Greek mythology. From this her interest in Wicca/Witchcraft evolved; she was Initiated into a Gardnerian Coven in 1971.

Her aims have included the restoration of the sacred values of the earth and the creation of a society more in harmony with nature.

She is a former Priestess of a New York City Coven and recently lived in New York and worked as a reporter for National Public Radio.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one defintion may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differring practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc