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Ronald Hutton

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft Paperback – May 31, 2001

by Ronald Hutton (Author)

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The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft
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Here is a book that brings witchcraft out of the shadows. The Triumph of the Moon is the first full-scale study of the only religion England has ever given the world--modern pagan witchcraft, otherwise known as wicca. Meticulously researched, it provides a thorough account of an ancient
religion that has spread from English shores across four continents.
For centuries, pagan witchcraft has been linked with chilling images of blood rituals, ghostlike druids, and even human sacrifices. But while Robert Hutton explores this dark side of witchery, he stresses the positive, reminding us that devotion to art, the natural world, femininity, and the
classical deities are also central to the practice of wicca. Indeed, the author shows how leading figures in English literature--W.B. Yeats, D.H. Lawrence, and Robert Graves, just to name a few--celebrated these positive aspects of the religion in their work, thereby softening the public perception
of witchcraft in Victorian England. From cunning village folk to freemasons and from high magic to the black arts, Hutton chronicles the fascinating process by which actual wiccan practices evolved into what is now a viable modern religion. He also presents compelling biographies of wicca's
principal figures, such as Gerald Gardner, who was inducted into a witch coven at the age of 53, and recorded many clandestine rituals and beliefs.
Ronald Hutton is known for his colorful, provocative, and always thoroughly researched studies on original subjects. This work is no exception. It will appeal to anyone interested in witchcraft, paganism and alternative religions.

Print length

512 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

May 31, 2001
Dimensions

7.5 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
ISBN-10

0192854496
ISBN-13

978-0192854490
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hutton's book is a must-read not only for anyone interested in modern Paganism, or the occult, but it also embodies a deep insight into the development of British society and culture." -- Pavel Horak , Czech Academy of Sciences

"An excellent reference edition...I highly recommend it."--Weekly Alibi

"Hutton uses his historical skills to tease apart some of the themes in this popular rural romanticism, and to locate their purely modern origin."--Times Literary Supplement, UK

"Hutton's book is excellent..."--Times Literary Supplement

"Hutton has synthesized a huge body of sources, and woven together a fascinating narrative with supreme skill. The reader is sure to be gripped by the wonderful cast of characters that he assembles...Hutton shows us that paganism is a matter of interest not only for the classicist and archeologist,
but for the modern historian as well. In doing so his Triumph of the Moon proves to be a triumph of cultural history."--Owen Davies, History Today (UK, Vol. 50 No. 3)

About the Author

Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol. He is the author of seven other books, including The Stations of the Sun, which The Times Literary Supplement called "a tour de force from one of the liveliest and most wide-ranging English historians." He lives in the United
Kingdom.

Product details

Publisher : Oxford University Press; New Ed edition (May 31, 2001)
Language : English
Paperback : 512 pages
ISBN-10 : 0192854496
ISBN-13 : 978-0192854490
Item Weight : 1.18 pounds
Dimensions : 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #987,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #285 in History of New Age & Mythology
- #1,142 in Wicca
- #1,687 in Mysticism (Books)

Customer Reviews:
277 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		76%
4 star		13%
3 star		5%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Joshua Knarr

It's pretty good.

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2019

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It's good - and filled with footnotes and history. Hutton explains what the cult is doing when it's looking for universal god and goddess forms to incorporate and it includes a lot of historical background on those topics. The kindle translation of the book is also well done and flows nicely.

The writing is dry at times - actually most times. Hutton doesn't hold back his opinion in some places but those places are easy to distinguish from the body of the work.

The main problem I have with Hutton is he doesn't always distinguish from folklore and primary historical sources, and he mixed them freely. No-one takes The Golden Bough literally, but Hutton freely cites it when discussing some of the mythology and The Golden Bough is a mix of folklore and interpretation of myth. Essentially this gives us an exposition on the interpretation of that mythos, and Hutton does this several other places in the book. Best to check the footnotes for what he is citing and make it a regular habit if you want to approach the book from a totally scholarly perspective.

Another example of that is Hutton's treatment of Freemasonry. He treats Freemasonry as one product - a "batteries included, no assembly required" sort of cult. The problem is Freemasonry is far from that. It has its own branches, customs, modes of recognition, and lodge structure. To treat the whole of Freemasonry as a consistent experience is a real head scratcher and it makes it hard to figure out what he's referencing except in the most general sense. It would be safe to assume that he means Blue Lodge and Scottish Rite when he's referencing Masonry. However we run into the same problem as above: His sources are not primary sources, but rather what people have written about Freemasonry in a general sense. This means any argument he puts forward is diluted by interpretation on top of interpretation.

Overall? Good. Worth the read. I don't regret putting the time in. However please be sure to check his footnotes for his sources as they're oftentimes not the best primary works.

7 people found this helpful

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John B

This book changed my life.

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2016

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This book was a game changer for me. I had been an initiated Wiccan for many years when I first read it. This book helped me come to a much deeper understanding of the history of Wicca and helped me examine what I truly believe. I am still a follower of the "Old Ways" but with a greater understanding of the origins of the religion. After reading Triumph of the Moon I went on to collect many of Professor Hutton's other books and have copies of Triumph in Hardback (my original copy, read so many times the binding is giving up) paper back and now Kindle. I can not recommend this book enough! If you are a Wiccan and read this book you will come to a new understanding of your religion…hopefully for the better. If you are not, then you will understand Wiccans better for having read it.

11 people found this helpful

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Jonathan

A cornerstone of Pagan scholarship

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2020

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20 years after its publication, Triumph remains the single most important work of Pagan scholarship that has been published. Hutton's research shows the various cultural, literary, and religious influences that converged in the mid-20th century to allow for the emergence of the modern religion that is Wicca. This book is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in the Craft who wants to understand the history of why Wicca is what it is.

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flying squirrel girl

This is a volume that has been well-reviewed for years ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2014

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This is a volume that has been well-reviewed for years, and doesn't really need my five stars for validation, but I am giving them anyway. I have read "Triumph of the Moon" rather more than once, and always find a new thread to investigate--which is what keeps me coming back, even more than the fact that it is clearly the product of a generous, good-humored, curious, even-tempered and evidence-oriented mind. For those of us with an intrinsic interest in magic as it lives in the modern (or is it post-modern?) Western world--not Hollywood magic, or political magic, or theatrical magic, but the current that runs beneath the visible skin of life, it is essential orientational reading.

6 people found this helpful

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Myrhinne

Really informative

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2013

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This is a quality product and one that is grounded in a lot of research. The only reason that I didn't rate it higher is that at times I found it to be a bit dry. This book contains a lot of valuable information about the modern Pagan movements, exactly as promised by the title. There are sections that a well-versed Pagan would be familiar with (such as the work of Oberon Zell, the Green Egg, etc) as well as other more obscure details that I wasn't entirely familiar with.

The author comes across as very knowledgeable and well studied, which lends a lot to credibility. I don't think this is something that a newer Pagan should hand to their non-Pagan friends and family because the academic depth is a little too overwhelming for beginners. However, if you are doing research for a paper or are looking for a credible source of our history, this is a really great product.

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Lydia

Incomplete,selective with constructed omissions

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2013

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This now famous investigation into the history of modern neo-pagan witchcraft is superbly written as one would expect from a scholar of Huttons magnitude.Based around Wiccas early personalities and politics in an attempt to show how this belief evolved,the casual reader may be satisfied with the overall conclusions reached or indeed suggested by Hutton.However, those rather more involved will immediately spot Huttons selected bias.Great care is taken to highlight the more acceptable elements of Wicca and he suggests that though the Wiccans align themselves with the more sinister image of the witch found in historical trials,they are in fact more in line with the harmless Cunning Folk who generally offered aid-for payment,to the general community as opposed to the witch who was malignant to that community.
When this work first appeared it was mostly attacked by non-informed Wiccans who deemed it an attempt to demolish their belief system.Those more enlightened were aware that Hutton had an agenda in that his goal was to install Wicca as a new religion in its own right.In order to do so Hutton needed to lose Wiccas 'Ye Olde' tag attached to it by its New Age cohorts.In this he did a fine job though sadly it was short lasting and today the web is full of sites maintaining an ancient pedigree for something that is not as old as the Beano comic.
It is old news that Hutton has leanings towards modern neo-pagan groups such as the re-invented Druids and inevitably this has coloured his opinions.Yet it is that which Hutton chose to omit that is as important as that which he chose to investigate.Whilst Gerald Gardners involvement is given fair treatment,much of that founders personal life-which has a direct bearing on the motives behind Wiccas construction,is conspicuous by its absence.This theme-of highlighting the nice side and playing down or even concealing the more sinister or alarming aspects of witchcraft in modern times is seen throughout.Thus it is no surprise to find the absence of such personalities as Charles Pace(a notorious member of Rae Bones coven)nor the examination of other groups both claiming pre-Gardnerian roots,and active during the time,such as WhiteSone and Arddhu.Of note here is that those latter groups were vehemently anti-Wiccan holding views entirely antagonistic to its promotion as a form of 'White' witchcraft.But then,any attempt to suggest an older witchcraft is met with a vicious attack by Hutton,who then loses his polite approach and dons a stiffer cap,as in his treatment of Rhiannon Ryalls claims.
Huttons claim that Cornwall remained Christian whilst the rest of the country returned to paganism with the arrival of the Saxons can only be true up until the late 7thC-and then only in Mercia,as by then Christianity had taken hold of the country.This he says is attested by the number of dedicated Saints found in Cornwall.Ironically one would have assumed Huttons eagerness to suggest these 'Saints' to be Christianised forms of ancient Cornish gods which considering there is no historical record relating to such Saints,is a distinct possibility.
Overall Triumph is a great base to explore Wiccas origins,its personalities and politics further as Hutton has done much of the mundane groundwork for you.The casual reader should be reminded that this work explores the origins of modern neo-pagan 'witchcraft' and is not an investigation into any survival of the witchcraft found in earlier times which Gardner had claimed he was revealing.That claim of course was as bogus as his doctorate.

23 people found this helpful

Hutton's Moonshine

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2021

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Hutton's Triumph of the Moon is spellbinding and absorbing until the very last page, but his pseudo academic lunacy is unconvincing. He charts Wiccan's origins, from ancient atavistic agrarian ritual, through to its capture by post-modern radical feminist Marxists. His thesis, that Wicca is a UK made new religion never holds any water and his notion that few pagans were ever really persecuted, and those that were, were victims of peasant bigotry and not elite oppression is just silly; as though the Cathars were never annihilated, Hypatia was never murdered by the Christian mob, Joan of Arc was never burnt at the stake, dark age folk were never bullied into forsaking the old gods in favour of Judeo-Christianity...need I go on? What he could have legitimately argued (if he were not part of the deception) is that a native spiritual tradition, with archaic Proto-Indo-European roots, was hijacked in 1970's America by Jew materialists (ie Starhawk) into leftist psycho-babel until any authentic spiritual element had been eradicated. Interestingly enough this kind of deception and deliberate perversion, is exactly how black magic is executed.

Old Nick

British Wicca owes everything to Gerald Gardner

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2016

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Thirty-odd years ago I remember a debate that I had with a friend who shared my interest in esoteric matter about the nature of British Wicca. He took the view that it was all an invention of Gerald Gardner, whereas my line was that although Gardner may have added things to the mix, he was still working with some pre-existing traditions. Reading this book it looks as if my friend was correct. The evidence is now pretty compelling that Gardner basically cobbled together what became the Wicca himself, and the tradition goes back no further than him.

That it fulfilled a spiritual need, which is why it continues to grow today, is something else that Hutton makes clear in his book, so this is not a Daily Mail demolition job by any means. Instead it is a forensic analysis of the origins of the Wicca, and the role that Gerald Gardner played in that.

Funnily enough, I bought this book in tandem with The Secrets of the Santa Muerte , which argues that the Mexican version of the British Wicca is actually an invention from the 1990s. It appears that on both sides of the Atlantic the old religions are no longer meeting the people's needs.

5 people found this helpful

Jean Shorney

A well written book. Possibly

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2019

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Unfortunately the print was so small, even with spectacles it was difficult to read. What I could manage was interesting enough, and referred to the old occultist such as Crowley and Dion Fortune.

4 people found this helpful

Heathcliff

Great Book (shame about the print)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 20, 2012

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Hutton's excellent book manages to be both scholarly and highly readable. Instructive, too, and thought-provoking. However, the Oxford paperback edition contains extremely small print which does rather tend to spoil the reading experience. One small point of interest: pages 303-5 refer to a Welsh-language television documentary on Paganism, mainly on Ynys Mon (Anglesey). Hutton refers to the programme as being called "Elidir". This is incorrect, as Elidir was the name of the production company, not the programme itself. Yes, I know, only a small error, but one that calls for correction.

3 people found this helpful