Book Reviews

Indo-European:  The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won’t Give Women a Future

This book was particularly daunting to me as the myths the author is picking apart were a large part of what started me on my current path, or at least gave me the freedom to explore paths other than the monotheistic one in which I’d been raised.  That said, there were two main points to Eller’s book that I wish to reflect on here.  First, the idea about the importance of a myth and why she feels the need to critique this one and not others that are founded in religion (such as Moses coming down the mountain).  Second, I wish to explore Eller’s emphasis on there not being definitive proof for a matriarchal prehistory.

The idea of a prehistoric matriarchy gained much support from feminist scholars from the 1970s on.  The idea was that in the ancient, prehistoric past, women were revered for their life giving powers, both to have children and to nourish them from their bodies.  That because of this, women were equated with some cosmic life principle that took form in a Great Mother Earth Goddess.  The archeological evidence presented were forms of excessively pregnant female animals and a number of ‘venus’ statues found throughout Europe depicting pregnant female figures or if not pregnant, then motherly figures with huge breasts and buttocks.  These figures, along with common symbols etched into them or onto other archeological finds (such as spirals) were then interpreted to have a relationship to the female figurines, and then, when they showed up in other settings, were still considered linked to goddess worship.  In current scholarship, this is considered shoddy work as it makes an assumption that symbols would have a consistent meaning in many cultural contexts. 

Eller’s main thesis is that the archeology of Marija Gimbutas has a feminist agenda which is to construct a myth of its own about matriarchal prehistory.  By this, she means that Gimbutas is not being critical in her scholarship and is interpreting things in ways that support her myth without proper supporting evidence.  Eller does not see support for Gimbutas’s findings in what the archeological record has shown to date; neither for a matrifocal, matrilineal, nor matriarchal society.  Perhaps her strongest argument is that just because a goddess was worshipped in a culture that does not mean that women were held in any particular regard.  There are plenty of cultures we know more about from more recent times that had goddesses where women were little more than chattel.  For that matter, there were some where women were less than chattel. 

In discussing the reason that this myth, as she calls it, bothers her on so many levels when other myths don’t intrigued me.  Was it because this was a myth that was forming while she was alive, as opposed to a tale so old its foundations were lost in the mists of time?  Was it because of the scholarly nature of those forming the myth as opposed to religious leaders whose sanity might otherwise be questioned anyway?  On a deeper level, it led me to ask what is myth?  When she talks about myths usually being incorrect, it made me realize that I don’t usually have that assumption.  To me, a myth is a metaphorical story that could be true (like she says), even if the details are off.  As a Heathen and a polytheist, I don’t personally feel the need to discount or disprove anyone’s religious mythology.  So why is this different for her, and on some level for me?

Is it because it’s being treated as fact by those I respect as scholars?  I admit I am just as dismissive by people who want to believe the bible is fact, or any scripture is fact.  I’m scientist enough to have a hard time accepting anything as immutable fact.  Even if feminists (or others) are treating this myth as fact, is it harming anything?  Eller says yes, that treating the myth as fact weakens their standing.

For the DP, though, I think there’s a deeper meaning to take from this book than just Eller’s arguments, and that is what the purpose of myths is, and what they do for us as a condition of being human.  While none of the hearth cultures are scriptural, those that have surviving myths have an insight into the worldview of their early-historic counterparts.  They have a link to some of the ways the original culture viewed the world.  But some cultures don’t have that record, or have missing myths.  Understanding the importance of myth gives us a clue as to how to fill in that gap.  Carefully, based on history and historical fact, but still fill it in.

Lastly, I wish to address one of the central tenants of her book.  Throughout she argues that there is insufficient evidence to make the claims for a matriarchal prehistory.  While I do not disagree with her on this, since I have become Heathen it has been abundantly clear to me that the absence of evidence does not equal the evidence of absence.  I have seen and heard this over and over.  Do the believers in matriarchal prehistory overreach themselves and what they can logically prove?  Yes, absolutely.  But that doesn’t discount that it’s possible they’re right.  Unlikely, but possible.  Especially since she acknowledges that there is no accepted definition of exactly what is even meant by matriarchy.  Until that time, I’ll stick to the hearth culture I’ve found and the methods of research I’m comfortable with.

Ethnic Study:  Travels Through Middle Earth by Alaric Albertson

In selecting a book for the preferred ethnic study of section book review, I debated long and hard choosing one of the titles among the Norse Hearth culture, having come to ADF already a practicing Heathen familiar with the titles in that section.  Instead, I decided to broaden my horizons a bit and selected instead one of the books on Anglo-Saxon hearth culture, and am quite pleased that I did. 

When selecting this book, I had not anticipated it would be written for the complete beginner in Germanic paganism.  However, having read a number of Heathenry 101 books, this book occupies a unique niche, in that it is focused solely on the gods and practices of pre-Christian England, as opposed to the more eclectic nature of most introductory books. 

Beginning with an introduction to building an altar and why this is the center of religious practice for the Saxon Pagan, the book then goes on to introduce readers to the primary form of worship for a Saxon pagan: building a relationship with the gods and spirits through the exchange of gifts and offerings.  Albertson also includes some simple rituals and offerings to get the reader started, while stressing that made offerings and words from the heart will always be better than rote formula.

One major difference in this book is that only the gods and goddesses attested to in England (primarily via archeological evidence, place names, and Bede’s Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) are discussed.  While his list leaves out many gods and goddesses of a more eclectic Germanic pantheon in limiting itself this way, the benefit for someone interested in AS paganism is that he gives you the citations where the gods are mentioned.

Along with the gods, Albertson discusses the other spirits familiar to any Heathen: the elves and dwarves, the woodland spirits and ancestors, and talks about various ways to honor them.  I personally found this part of the book fascinating as he talks about the various spirit beings in ways that make it seemingly obvious that to be a good neighbor, one should honor and respect these other beings and how central this practice is and should be for Saxon Pagans. 

Perhaps the best and most helpful section of the book, at least for me, was the section on Holy Tides.  Albertson clearly discusses each of the major holy tides, their relationship with other types of Heathenry, how they have remained to the modern days in some cases, and how parts were co-opted by Christianity.  Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, he also dispels some of the common pagan myths around holy tides, in particular, calling the modern the modern and still accepting them as things that could have been done and still fitting, such as using a Yule tree as a beautiful reminder of our cosmology.

While I might not ever manage to completely give up some of the myths and traditions our group has established based on a Norse practice, this book expanded my understanding of Saxon practice, and parts will certainly be implemented into my own practice.  For anyone looking for an introduction to Anglo-Saxon Paganism, I would highly recommend this easy to read book.

Modern Paganism: Being a Pagan: Druids, Wiccans, and Witches Today by Hopman and Bond.

I chose this book for two reasons: first I wanted to get a better sense of how ADF emerged from other pagan paths and second, because I was looking for something in the middle of the difficulty spectrum.  I think I made a good choice in both regards.  I would argue that this books difficulty level should be reduced to early undergraduate.  I also would have likely moved the Druid interviews to the end so that it showed a more natural progression, however starting off with Isaac wasn’t bad, either.

One of the themes through the book, in all of the sections was that neo-Pagans of all stripes have a focus on nature in their religion and that because of this, Paganism was one way to turn around the destruction of the natural world implicit in the lack of regard given it by monotheistic traditions.  Each set of interviews seemed to hold this message.  While universal statements are usually problematic, it seems as if it would be fair to state that no matter where on the neopagan spectrum the interviewees fell, they all shared some level of natural awareness. 

While some of the interviews speak specifically about nature and being outdoors, such as Theitic’s, some speak in broader terms about mindfulness and awareness, such as Richard and Tamara James.  The idea that the universe is interconnected and what we do has a greater impact than is sometimes initially obvious is part of this. 

Another theme throughout much of the book was sexuality.  Quite a few of the interviews talked about at least some aspect of sex playing a role in their belief structure and many talked about polyamory and the role of marriage and commitment.  As a sociologist, I found two of the interviews particularly interesting.  One was Anodea Judith’s interview where she discussed the idea of adolescent girls who’d been raised within the Church of All Worlds in polygamous families who now felt they were ready to participate as adults and the push back from the community telling them they were two young.  Similarly, Gavin and Yvonne Frost discuss the belief that there should be a sexual rite of passage for young women and a form of circumcision for young men.  Both of these interviews then recognize that there are social stigmas (and Gavin points out the legal barriers) around crossing the boundaries society has in place regarding sex with minors.  While this is an extreme example, it does show how some pagan’s beliefs and practices are different enough from the mainstream to cause problems.  It also brings up the question of morality in regards to the law, which is not fully addressed but I think should be.

I think it would be interesting to see if now, twenty years later, a similar set of interviews unearthed the same conclusion or if, particularly among the Wiccan and Witches sections, the focus had shifted away.  I think the last twenty years have seen some changes in Paganism in general as it has become more mainstream and in at least some locations and ways has come of age.  The book is now twenty years old.  There is a whole new generation of witches and neo-pagans and druids out there who may have a different perspective because of other cultural influences they’ve grown up with (like the internet, which was still in it’s baby stages in 1994!)

One of the other discussions that was evident in several interviews was the difference between mono/duotheism and polytheism.  As both a hard polytheist and a feminist myself, it’s always hard for me to read about all of the god/desses being but faces of one power.  Especially when the argument is made by people who in other places talk about how you cannot use essentialist logic when discussing the plight of women of color, that all women have different experiences and their stories are unique (Z. Budapest talks about this in a number of feminist papers).  How can that be the case for women, but not deities? 

Overall, I think this book did what it was intended to do, which is to show the worldview of the neo-pagan movement at a time when ADF was gaining steam.  However I do think that things have changed enough in the last twenty years that this book should be revisited or updated or perhaps replaced.