Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton
November 1, 2007 – 5:42 pmThis book is one of my favorites. A Buddhist friend actually loaned it to me the first time I read it, and I now own my own copy. It changed my life, and sent me on a five-year journey of self-discovery.
I have learned to never take anything at face value, and to question absolutely everything. There are no “great leaders” or whatever. Every person you meet has something to teach you, not just one or two. I have learned to find my own answers when I have questions and I don’t trust anyone that claims to have all the answers.
Did I get that from the book? No, that all came from my own studies, but it was the book, “Triumph of the Moon,” that made me start questioning.
You can find more information about the book, including reviews, here.
As a companion to this book, I recommend reading some of the articles on this website pertaining to Gerald Gardner. It’s one of the best and most complete sites I’ve found about the actual history of Gardner and his, um, influences.
2 Responses to “Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton”
It’s awesome, isn’t it? I’m actually going to get the chance to go to Oxford, England in March, and I’m going to ask him to autograph my copy.
As an ex-Mormon, one of the things I realized after reading that book is how much Wicca and Mormonism have in common. For starters, Mormonism is Wicca’s great-uncle by way of Freemasonry; where Wicca was inspired by Freemasonry, Joe Smith ripped off entire rituals word-for-word. Wicca has two or three levels of initiation; Mormonism has four levels in the Aaronic priesthood and two or so in the Melchezidek priesthood.
I’ve also come to realize that Mormon priests, endowed with the “keys of the priesthood” and able to give blessing and receive revelations, are not priests in the Christian sense so much as wizards.
While I’m not a Wiccan myself, my falling out with Mormonism has sensitized me to the way that religions face or refuse to face their own history honestly, and of all the religions I have seen, Wicca does the best in that respect, with Taoism and Buddhism taking second and third place.
By James M. Jensen II on Nov 22, 2007
Wow, I would love to travel to England and meet Ronald Hutton!
I have been fascinated by Freemasons for years. My grandfather was a Mason, but he never shared any of his studies with us. I think I may need to start studying up on Mormonism as well.
By fenixmage on Nov 22, 2007