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 Harvest cover dated August 1992, artwork by Persephone | |
| Editor | Morven |
|---|---|
| Categories | Neopagan zine |
| Frequency | Eight issues a year |
| Publisher | Morven |
| First issue | November 1980 |
| Final issue Number | September 1992 Vol 12 No 8 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Based in | Southborough, Massachusetts |
| Language | English |
Harvest was an American Neopagan magazine, published eight times a year between 1980 and 1992.
Harvest began in 1980 as grassroots, homemade zine. Over its twelve-year publication run it grew to be a 42-page, professionally printed magazine with international distribution and news-stand sales. Published out of Southboro, Massachusetts, Harvest served both the New England and international Neopagan communities. In an era before mainstream access to the Internet, and before the creation of the World Wide Web, Pagan magazines such as Harvest provided crucial opportunities for networking, sharing of information, and the development of the international Neopagan community. [1]
In an Utne Reader feature on Pagan publications, James Tedford wrote,
The pagan resurgence has blossomed into a social as well as a spiritual movement. By its very nature paganism tends to be decentralized and non-hierarchical, and as a result pagans often feel isolated. It was largely this isolation that promoted the birth of many pagan publications. [1]
In comparison to other Pagan publications of the time, Tedford continued,
Harvest offers fewer writings on astral travel and past-life regression, choosing instead to focus more on simple ways to celebrate the changing of the seasons and translate the imagery of pagan myth into your daily life. Harvest also has a political consciousness. Articles in past issues have discussed the links between the pagan and Green movements, pagan involvement in local environmental and anti-nuclear movements, and ways to use ritual, meditation, and other spiritual skills in political work. [1]
In addition to covering the more common traditions of Neopaganism, such as Wicca, Harvest also gave a forum to some of the emerging Polytheistic Reconstructionist movements. [2] [3] A number of Neopagan writers had their first publication in Harvest, and the letters column provided an active forum for the development of community consensus on terminology and other issues of importance to Neopagans in the 1980s and 1990s. [4] [5] [6]
In Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today , Margot Adler described Harvest as:
A Neo-Pagan journal devoted to bringing together the fruits of many traditions and belief systems as well as covering news of interest to the Pagan and Wiccan communities. ... One of the better Pagan journals, the "one" to get in the Northeast. Published eight times a year since 1980. [7]
Harvest was founded by publishers, writers and editors Morven and Brenwyn. After Brenwyn left, Morven became the editor in chief. At the end of 1992, Morven retired from the staff to pursue her own writing. Respecting Morven's ownership of the name, the staff continued publishing quarterly for the next six issues, renaming the magazine Tides. Morven continued to serve in an informal capacity as an advisor to the new incarnation of the magazine. [8] [9]
Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was an American Neo-Druid who published a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and magic. He was a public speaker, liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founder of the Neopagan organizations Ár nDraíocht Féin and the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League. Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, Bonewits had been heavily involved in occultism since the 1960s.
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or a family of religions which is influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Africa and the Near East. Although they share similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse and as a result, they do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or texts. Scholars of religion often characterise these traditions as new religious movements. Some academics who study the phenomenon treat it as a movement that is divided into different religions while others characterize it as a single religion of which different pagan faiths are denominations.
Margot Susanna Adler was an American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, and New York correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR).
Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today is a sociological study of contemporary Paganism in the United States written by the American Wiccan and journalist Margot Adler. First published in 1979 by Viking Press, it was later republished in a revised and expanded edition by Beacon Press in 1986, with third and fourth revised editions being brought out by Penguin Books in 1996 and then 2006 respectively.
The Fellowship of Isis (FOI) is a multi-faith, multi-racial, and multi-cultural spiritual organization focused on increasing awareness for the Goddess Isis. The Fellowship of Isis believes Isis best represents the energies of the dawning Aquarian Age. Despite worshipping pagan deities, the fellowship does not consider itself to be a Neopagan faith.
The Rowan Tree Church is a Wiccan organization, legally incorporated in 1979. It is an Earth-focused network of Members dedicated to the study and practice of the Wiccan Tradition known as Lothloriën. Originally centered in Minneapolis beginning in the late 1970s, its main office is in Kirkland, Washington. The Rowan Tree Church maintains its network through newsletters, the internet and with an annual retreat. The Rowan Tree Church has an in-depth training program which leads to ordination. It has been publishing The Unicorn newsletter since 1977. Littlest Unicorn is published eight times a year for children and their parents. The church began around the work and teaching of Rev. Paul Beyerl in the mid-1970s.
Celtic reconstructionism (CR) or Celtic reconstructionist paganism is a polytheistic reconstructionist approach to ancient Celtic religion, emphasizing historical accuracy over eclecticism such as is found in most forms of Celtic neopaganism. It is an effort to reconstruct and revive, in a modern Celtic cultural context, pre-Christian Celtic religions. Various groups and approaches based on different Celtic religious traditions emerged in the late 20th century in the United States and in Britain; there are also Celtic reconstructionists in Eastern Europe.
The Starwood Festival is a seven-day New Age neopagan and world music festival. It takes place every July in the United States. The Starwood Festival is a camping event which holds workshops on a variety of subjects. There are also live musical performances, rituals, bonfires, multimedia presentations and social activities. It is a clothing optional event, and skyclad attendance is common.
Polytheistic reconstructionism is an approach to modern paganism first emerging in the late 1960s to early 1970s, which gathered momentum starting in the 1990s. Reconstructionism attempts to re-establish genuine polytheistic religions in the modern world through a rediscovery of the rituals, practices and contextual worldviews of pre-Christian pagan religions. This method stands in contrast with other neopagan syncretic movements like Wicca, and ecstatic/esoteric movements like Germanic mysticism or Theosophy.
Celtic modern paganism refers to any type of modern paganism or contemporary pagan movements based on the ancient Celtic religion.
The Church and School of Wicca was founded by Gavin Frost and Yvonne Frost in 1968. It was the first federally recognized Church of the religion known as Wicca in the United States. It is known for its correspondence courses on the Frosts' unique interpretation of Wicca. The Church and School are located in Beckley, West Virginia.
Reclaiming is a tradition in neopagan witchcraft, aiming to combine the Goddess movement with feminism and political activism. Reclaiming was founded in 1979, in the context of the Reclaiming Collective (1978–1997), by two Neopagan women of Jewish descent, Starhawk and Diane Baker, in order to explore and develop feminist Neopagan emancipatory rituals.
Green Egg is a Neopagan magazine published by the Church of All Worlds intermittently since 1968. The Encyclopedia of American Religions described it as a significant periodical.
The Council of Magickal Arts, Inc.(CMA) is a Neo-pagan organization in Texas, and runs one of the USA's largest bi-annual Neo-pagan festivals in the Southern United States.
Modern paganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest modern pagan religious movement is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions or spiritual paths were introduced during the 1950s and 1960s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in the early 1970s. Hellenic Neopaganism appeared in the 1990s.
A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States is a sociological study of the Wiccan and wider Pagan community in the Northeastern United States. It was written by American sociologist Helen A. Berger of the West Chester University of Pennsylvania and first published in 1999 by the University of South Carolina Press. It was released as a part of a series of academic books entitled Studies in Comparative Religion, edited by Frederick M. Denny, a religious studies scholar at the University of Chicago.
Enchanted Feminism: The Reclaiming Witches of San Francisco is an anthropological study of the Reclaiming Wiccan community of San Francisco. It was written by the Scandinavian theologian Jone Salomonsen of the California State University, Northridge and first published in 2002 by the Routledge.
Never Again the Burning Times: Paganism Revisited is an anthropological study of the Wiccan and wider Pagan community in the United States. It was written by the American anthropologist Loretta Orion and published by Waveland Press in 1995.
Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia is an anthropological study of the Wiccan and wider Pagan community in Australia. It was written by the Australian anthropologist Lynne Hume and first published in 1997 by Melbourne University Press.
Pierre Claveloux Davis, also known as Pete Pathfinder, was a religious figure in modern Paganism. He founded the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) in 1985, in Index, Washington, and served as its archpriest. He was also involved with several publications and related organizations. Davis advocated for Wicca and Paganism as an expert witness, and was part of a group of people who successfully petitioned for the pentacle to be available as a symbol used on U.S. veteran's headstones.