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

GLOUCESTER, Duchess of

The west country town in Somerset, England, to which has been attached a great deal of romantic and largely unsubstantiated lore as a centre of ancient Pagan worship. This misunderstanding stems, almost exclusively, from the Celtic myth that the Isle of the Dead, Avalon, was to be found on a hill surrounded by water.

Otherwise known as Eleanor Cobham she was the main defendant in a notorious English political witch trial in 1441 when she was accused of plotting the assassination, through the agency of Witchcraft, of Henry VI.

She was implicated with two clerks who were indicted on a charge of using magical arts against the life of the King. She was arraigned before the ecclesiastical court where she was forced to renounce heresy and witchcraft, was subjected to public penance and imprisoned for life.

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 definition 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 differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc