Re-riting Woman: Dianic Wicca and the Feminine Divine

by Kristy S. Coleman

Overview

Re-riting Woman presents the first in-depth ethnographic study of Dianic Wicca. Its subject, Circle of Aradia, is a branch of the religion based in the Los Angeles area. This religion-of, by, and for women-conceives the Divine as exclusively female, and has infused feminism into Wicca worldwide. Kristy S. Coleman combines ethnography with theory to present a full account of what Dianic Witches' lived practice looks like and what it means. The theorist of focus, Luce Irigaray, asserts that women must reclaim their own space and imagine the Divine as female to achieve full emancipation. Moreover, Irigaray's critical analysis of Western culture creates a subtext that clarifies what is at stake in this practice.

Thick description of seasonal rituals dispels fears and stereotypes about Wicca, and offers readers a comforting familiarity and shared healing. Coleman employs ritual theory to suggest why and how these rites wield such meaning-altering possibilities. Practitioners' statements that describe a shift in worldview and self-conception elicit Coleman's proposal that Dianic rituals re(w)rite the valuation and meaning of woman. Dianic women's stories reveal both the transformative power of the tradition's practice and the organization's challenges related to power politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759113305
Publisher:	AltaMira Press
Publication date:	03/16/2009
Series:	Pagan Studies Series , #5
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	268
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Kristy S. Coleman is an adjunct professor at San Jose State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Circle of Aradia Dianic Witches: Organization and Herstory
Chapter 2: The Dianic Religion: Philosophy, Thealogy, Ethics, and Practice
Chapter 3: In Their Own Words: Circle of Aradia and the Goddess
Chapter 4: The Dianic Seasonal Rituals
Chapter 5: Luce Irigaray's Le Féminin
Chapter 6: Ritual Efficacy and Symbolic Alternatives
Chapter 7: Problems and Potentials: Circle of Aradia Dianic Rites
Chapter 8: Power: Dianic Theory and Practice
Conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

Charlene Spretnak

With Re-riting Woman, Kristy Coleman applies an Irigarayan lens to her study of a long-standing Dianic Wicca group, and the results are insightful.

Dorothy D. Wills

Scholars in gender studies, anthropology, religious studies, and other fields will gain valuable insight from Kristy Coleman’s detailed analysis of the Circle of Aradia Dianic Wiccans, its complex dynamics, and its beliefs. Her careful ethnography clearly explains Luce Irigaray’s challenging concept of the feminine divine. She reveals not only the woman-empowering, anti-patriarchal process of rituals such as Beltane, but the tension and transformation in the organization itself.

Margaret R. Miles

This is a fascinating book. Kristy Coleman's work brings a scholarly and critical eye to the contemporary goddess movement in America. Her research is thorough, well organized, and well written. Grounded in critical theory, she provides exactly what is most needed in the field of goddess studies while demonstrating the relevance of goddess studies to the study of religion.

Graham Harvey

Re-riting Woman persuasively argues that changing language and ideas is not enough. Kristy Coleman evocatively describes the rituals of a women's religious movement and provides an accessible discussion of the philosophy of Luce Irigaray. She shows the reader that the active celebration of women's lives as sacred, valuable, and good in regular and transformative rites is both revolutionary and liberating.

Carol P. Christ

An intriguing study of the convergence of American feminist Goddess spirituality and French feminist theory.

Sarah Pike

In this detailed and nuanced ethnographic study, Kristy S. Coleman guides her readers through French feminist theory to the lived experience of seasonal rituals in Dianic Witchcraft, exploring along the way both the potential and the constraints of a religion that has cast the divine as female.

Editorial Reviews

This is a fascinating book. Kristy Coleman's work brings a scholarly and critical eye to the contemporary goddess movement in America. Her research is thorough, well organized, and well written. Grounded in critical theory, she provides exactly what is most needed in the field of goddess studies while demonstrating the relevance of goddess studies to the study of religion.

Margaret R. Miles

Scholars in gender studies, anthropology, religious studies, and other fields will gain valuable insight from Kristy Coleman’s detailed analysis of the Circle of Aradia Dianic Wiccans, its complex dynamics, and its beliefs. Her careful ethnography clearly explains Luce Irigaray’s challenging concept of the feminine divine. She reveals not only the woman-empowering, anti-patriarchal process of rituals such as Beltane, but the tension and transformation in the organization itself.

Dorothy D. Wills

Re-riting Woman persuasively argues that changing language and ideas is not enough. Kristy Coleman evocatively describes the rituals of a women's religious movement and provides an accessible discussion of the philosophy of Luce Irigaray. She shows the reader that the active celebration of women's lives as sacred, valuable, and good in regular and transformative rites is both revolutionary and liberating.

Graham Harvey

An intriguing study of the convergence of American feminist Goddess spirituality and French feminist theory.

Carol P. Christ

In this detailed and nuanced ethnographic study, Kristy S. Coleman guides her readers through French feminist theory to the lived experience of seasonal rituals in Dianic Witchcraft, exploring along the way both the potential and the constraints of a religion that has cast the divine as female.

Sarah Pike

With Re-riting Woman, Kristy Coleman applies an Irigarayan lens to her study of a long-standing Dianic Wicca group, and the results are insightful.

Charlene Spretnak

This is a fascinating book. Kristy Coleman's work brings a scholarly and critical eye to the contemporary goddess movement in America. Her research is thorough, well organized, and well written. Grounded in critical theory, she provides exactly what is most needed in the field of goddess studies while demonstrating the relevance of goddess studies to the study of religion.--Margaret R. Miles, The Graduate Theological Union

Re-riting Woman persuasively argues that changing language and ideas is not enough. Kristy Coleman evocatively describes the rituals of a women's religious movement and provides an accessible discussion of the philosophy of Luce Irigaray. She shows the reader that the active celebration of women's lives as sacred, valuable, and good in regular and transformative rites is both revolutionary and liberating.--Graham Harvey, The Open University

In this detailed and nuanced ethnographic study, Kristy S. Coleman guides her readers through French feminist theory to the lived experience of seasonal rituals in Dianic Witchcraft, exploring along the way both the potential and the constraints of a religion that has cast the divine as female.--Sarah Pike, California State University, Chico

From the Publisher