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

GOLDEN BOUGH, The

The Golden Bough is a reference to a mystical tree in a Greco-Roman myth. In the ancient tale the hero Aeneas consults the prophetess who is one of the Sybil at Cumae. The Sybil tell Aeneas to break a branch from a certain tree that is sacred to Juno Inferno (Proserpina). Then Aeneas is led to the entrance of the that he descends. Aeneas approaches the Stygian lake that Charon will not ferry him across because he is not dead. The Sybil who accompanies Aeneas then produces a Golden Bough that allows Aeneas entrance into the .

This tale is similar to the one of the Celtic hero Bran who is guided by a fairy woman, bearing the Silver Branch, through which he gains admittance to the Fairy Realm. The Golden Bough, like the Silver Branch, is a passport to another realm.

In James Frazer's book The Golden Bough he deals with the cult of Diana and the Dianus at Lake Nemi, the sanctuary of the goddess Diana. In this version, Frazer includes in the tale of Aeneas many similarities to the lore of Lake Nemi and the mysterious figure of Rex Nemorensis, the King of the Woods. Frazer was especially struck by the fact that the branch had to be broken from the sacred tree at Nemi in order to gain entrance to the sacred grove to challenge the guardian. This, to Frazer, was not unlike Aeneas confronting Charon.

Within the mystical tree symbolism, the folk in the branch represents the division of good and evil, light and dark. In the initiatory rites of Prosepina the branch was held up to her as an offering. Such an offering symbolized that the bearer understood her polarity, and that to enter the darkness was to return to the light. Only by possessing such knowledge would Prosepina embrace anyone entering her realm.

Also this symbolizes the spiral dance that embraces the identical theme.

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