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Mab's REAL MA blog, as opposed to the other one in which she waffles about her life instead.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Day 24
Finished reading Cohn's 'Europe's Inner Demons' and read Keith Thomas's section on Margaret Murray.
Wrote 1000 words and completed the 'Survivals' chapter.
Rejected the 'eye witnesses' chapter as it'll take me over the word count (758)
Completed the 'Inventions' chapter
Word count = 12,641
Wrote 1000 words and completed the 'Survivals' chapter.
Rejected the 'eye witnesses' chapter as it'll take me over the word count (758)
Completed the 'Inventions' chapter
Word count = 12,641
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Day 53
Continued reading Cohn's 'Europe's Inner Demons'
Worked on 'Survivals' chapter.
Current word-count = 11,643 words
Worked on 'Survivals' chapter.
Current word-count = 11,643 words
Day 52
Mainly reading 'Europe's Inner Demons' and I think I found the crux of Cohn's argument on p 57:
'... where a source contains untrustworthy or demonstrably false statements it should be treated with sceptism throughout.'
Game on.
Also posted my dissertation to work, so I can work on it while I'm alone in the office on Christmas Eve, IF I can get all my actual work's work done in time.
'... where a source contains untrustworthy or demonstrably false statements it should be treated with sceptism throughout.'
Game on.
Also posted my dissertation to work, so I can work on it while I'm alone in the office on Christmas Eve, IF I can get all my actual work's work done in time.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Day 48 - 51
Day 48:
Went through the whole dissertation, re-structuring
Worked my way through the first 'third' and made the final touches to complete the whole section.
Checked every book on my shelf for inclusion on the Bibliography.
Read or skim-read each book for their take on the 'Origins of Wicca', then collated each point chronologically, adding each new piece of research and/or evidence in the order it came.
Sent everything to myself at work, Shonna and Pixie for safe-keeping.
Day 49:
Finished the 'Overview of Debates' chapter.
Read the entire of Margaret Murray's 'The Witch-cult in Western Europe'
Wrote up notes made from the above and compared to Gardner's history of the Wica; plus Justine Glass's history of witchcraft.
Discovered that I haven't got Doreen Valiente's 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft', which I urgently need. Searched Amazon and nearly died of shock - the cheapest was £52! E-mailed Witchgrove to see if anyone already has it who could do a look-up for me.
Started reading Norman Cohn's 'Europe's Inner Demons'.
Worked on the 'Survivals' chapter.
Day 50:
E-mailed first 'third' of my dissertation to Dr Viv Wylie for reading.
Geoff Elliott searched for 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft' for me, but couldn't find it any cheaper, except in America, where it wouldn't reach me for four to six weeks. Pixie offered to have the book at her house and Priority Mail it to me; but that worked out more expensive than the copy in Britain I'd just found for £35.
I e-mailed Witchgrove again to see if anyone had it, in case it was missed the first time; then e-mailed Mike Gleason to see if he could help out.
Added a couple of paragraphs to the 'Survivals' chapter.
Read a couple more chapters of Norman Cohn's 'Europe's Inner Demons'.
Day 51:
Read another chapter of Norman Cohn's 'Europe's Inner Demons'. - Note, check when Mary became a Virgin, as Cohn states a heretic was executed for not believing in that in 1022.
Went through the whole dissertation, re-structuring
Worked my way through the first 'third' and made the final touches to complete the whole section.
Checked every book on my shelf for inclusion on the Bibliography.
Read or skim-read each book for their take on the 'Origins of Wicca', then collated each point chronologically, adding each new piece of research and/or evidence in the order it came.
Sent everything to myself at work, Shonna and Pixie for safe-keeping.
Day 49:
Finished the 'Overview of Debates' chapter.
Read the entire of Margaret Murray's 'The Witch-cult in Western Europe'
Wrote up notes made from the above and compared to Gardner's history of the Wica; plus Justine Glass's history of witchcraft.
Discovered that I haven't got Doreen Valiente's 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft', which I urgently need. Searched Amazon and nearly died of shock - the cheapest was £52! E-mailed Witchgrove to see if anyone already has it who could do a look-up for me.
Started reading Norman Cohn's 'Europe's Inner Demons'.
Worked on the 'Survivals' chapter.
Day 50:
E-mailed first 'third' of my dissertation to Dr Viv Wylie for reading.
Geoff Elliott searched for 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft' for me, but couldn't find it any cheaper, except in America, where it wouldn't reach me for four to six weeks. Pixie offered to have the book at her house and Priority Mail it to me; but that worked out more expensive than the copy in Britain I'd just found for £35.
I e-mailed Witchgrove again to see if anyone had it, in case it was missed the first time; then e-mailed Mike Gleason to see if he could help out.
Added a couple of paragraphs to the 'Survivals' chapter.
Read a couple more chapters of Norman Cohn's 'Europe's Inner Demons'.
Day 51:
Read another chapter of Norman Cohn's 'Europe's Inner Demons'. - Note, check when Mary became a Virgin, as Cohn states a heretic was executed for not believing in that in 1022.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Day 47
Made a start on the 'Wiccan Origins - A Hypothesis' chapter
Re-structured the dissertation as a whole
Agreed with Mike Cunningham that if I post him the dissertation circa Jan 10th, he'll read it and then arrange a meeting date with me
Branny has discovered more info on Dutch Wicca for my diaspora chapter; while also forwarding me an e-book on Wiccan history.
Laurie has found a link with loads of useful sources, including a 1997 speech by Doreen Valiente where she discusses its origins
Read more of Justine Glass's book
Discovered that the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry, mentioned by Ronald Hutton in 'Triumph of the Moon', were based in the New Forest; plus the founders were also into radiothesia (sp?), which Gardner goes on about in his books. Link?
Re-structured the dissertation as a whole
Agreed with Mike Cunningham that if I post him the dissertation circa Jan 10th, he'll read it and then arrange a meeting date with me
Branny has discovered more info on Dutch Wicca for my diaspora chapter; while also forwarding me an e-book on Wiccan history.
Laurie has found a link with loads of useful sources, including a 1997 speech by Doreen Valiente where she discusses its origins
Read more of Justine Glass's book
Discovered that the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry, mentioned by Ronald Hutton in 'Triumph of the Moon', were based in the New Forest; plus the founders were also into radiothesia (sp?), which Gardner goes on about in his books. Link?
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Day 46
Read through 'The Meaning of Witchcraft' looking for Gardner's relationship to the witches; their personal length of involvement in the Craft; and clues to his academic methodology.
E-mailed Mike Cunningham about a deadline for the first draft - January 10th.
Ocean has found a lot of info about Danish Wicca; Branny has found a lot about Dutch Wicca.
E-mailed Mike Cunningham about a deadline for the first draft - January 10th.
Ocean has found a lot of info about Danish Wicca; Branny has found a lot about Dutch Wicca.
Day 44-Day 45
Day 44
Thought about the 'witchcraft doesn't pay for broken windows' line, which Gardner accredits an 'old witch' and Farrar and Bone accredit to Doreen Valiente.
Added a couple of lines to the 'Eye Witnesses' chapter and thought about adding a paragraph to the introduction, re should we look at Wiccan history, based on the arguments in Progressive Witchcraft.
Still reading 'Witchcraft: The Sixth Sense' by Justine Glass
Still puzzling issues of definition; which Witchgrove is helping with enormously - with special mention to Branny and many thanks to Witchgrove.
Day 45:
EUREKA! Had a moment of clarity which provided a scenario which works for me about the origins of Wicca. Ran it past Witchgrove and those who read it all seemed in agreement.
Still reading the Justine Glass book, but, in the evening, dived into Philip Heselton's books as well as Gardner's books in order to see if my theory holds weight. It still does.
Gave a lot of thought as to how the dissertation should be structured now I have a direction.
Thought about the 'witchcraft doesn't pay for broken windows' line, which Gardner accredits an 'old witch' and Farrar and Bone accredit to Doreen Valiente.
Added a couple of lines to the 'Eye Witnesses' chapter and thought about adding a paragraph to the introduction, re should we look at Wiccan history, based on the arguments in Progressive Witchcraft.
Still reading 'Witchcraft: The Sixth Sense' by Justine Glass
Still puzzling issues of definition; which Witchgrove is helping with enormously - with special mention to Branny and many thanks to Witchgrove.
Day 45:
EUREKA! Had a moment of clarity which provided a scenario which works for me about the origins of Wicca. Ran it past Witchgrove and those who read it all seemed in agreement.
Still reading the Justine Glass book, but, in the evening, dived into Philip Heselton's books as well as Gardner's books in order to see if my theory holds weight. It still does.
Gave a lot of thought as to how the dissertation should be structured now I have a direction.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Day 43
Worked out how I can restructure the academic parts to make it flow better and also cut down the massive 'Academic Questions' chapter, by adding half of it to the following chapter.
Gave some thought to an 'external evidence' chapter. Is there anything which doesn't lead back to Gardner, which support his view on the history of Wicca? ie diaspora; independent witches?
Read the entire of 'Gerald Gardner: Witch' by JL Bracelin
Gave some thought to an 'external evidence' chapter. Is there anything which doesn't lead back to Gardner, which support his view on the history of Wicca? ie diaspora; independent witches?
Read the entire of 'Gerald Gardner: Witch' by JL Bracelin
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Day 42
Finished the 'Academic Questions' chapter (with BS Kate assisting on the cutting and pasting a list into chronological order. AND she added some texts to the Bibliography, bless her!).
Read through my notes on the Theories, which I'd brainstormed before starting the research.
Lost the will to live.
Added Gavin Bone's comments from his e-mail.
Gained Saoirse's permission to quote her and added that.
Analysed the results from the Witchgrove poll on three different occasions, before deciding it would be better to wait until people had stopped voting! LOL
Asked Branny about the Dutch element and Ocean about the Danish element of the Wiccan diaspora.
Posted dissertation so far to Pixie, Shonna and Ocean for proofing.
Read half of Justine Glass's 'Witchcraft: The Sixth Sense'.
Thought about starting the eye-witness chapter.
Lost the will to live again.
Now up to 10,306 words!
Pixie has proofed several chapters, so I know that they are now devoid of typos! (Thanks Pixie. :-D)
Read through my notes on the Theories, which I'd brainstormed before starting the research.
Lost the will to live.
Added Gavin Bone's comments from his e-mail.
Gained Saoirse's permission to quote her and added that.
Analysed the results from the Witchgrove poll on three different occasions, before deciding it would be better to wait until people had stopped voting! LOL
Asked Branny about the Dutch element and Ocean about the Danish element of the Wiccan diaspora.
Posted dissertation so far to Pixie, Shonna and Ocean for proofing.
Read half of Justine Glass's 'Witchcraft: The Sixth Sense'.
Thought about starting the eye-witness chapter.
Lost the will to live again.
Now up to 10,306 words!
Pixie has proofed several chapters, so I know that they are now devoid of typos! (Thanks Pixie. :-D)
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Day 37-Day 41
Days 37-39
I'm lumping these all together because, while I was reading 'Triumph of the Moon' at work (this time I'm reading methodology and approaches, but I still keeping coming across research that I can use!) in my fag breaks and 'Progressive Witchcraft' at home, the main bits of 'Year of...' were done on Witchgrove. It's practically been a weekly discussion, it's gone on so long and in-depth. (Bit scared that those new to Wicca will be panicking and on the verge of fleeing by now!)
But the interweaving threads have been brilliant on several different levels. They've covered the definition of Wicca - Farrar and Bone's seemed the most... right... ok, there was only me and Branny actually agreed to that, but no-one else disagreed! - Leland, with some valuable information from Bella about Tuscany witchcraft; the origins of Wicca; and methodological issues; and ethical issues!
All of this has not only helped me form my ideas and get back up to speed, but it also helped me confirm things as I'd wanted to run past witches. There have also been one or two suggestions from Grove members, particularly Saoirse, Marai and Branny, which I might be able to run with.
Day 40 - Day 41
I kicked ass.
Created an acknowledgments page and scoured my saved e-mails to ensure I've got everyone who helped with both this and the project. Also e-mailed Roxanne to find out how to spell her surname AND I'D GOT IT RIGHT!
E-mailed Selena Fox to enquire after Ray's health. He's still recovering, but she'll speak to him later this week to see if he is up to canting with me.
Had a long conversation on the 'phone with Laurie, wherein he summarized the Theosophical Society's history for me; and Annie Beasant and Helen Bat (need spelling!).
Sent a few random question e-mails to the Grove, and they managed to answer them ALL!
Wrote 1608 words in one all-night session, which was pure, uninterupted bliss! They were all in the 'Defining the Search' chapter, and they bring my tally up to 8123!
I'm lumping these all together because, while I was reading 'Triumph of the Moon' at work (this time I'm reading methodology and approaches, but I still keeping coming across research that I can use!) in my fag breaks and 'Progressive Witchcraft' at home, the main bits of 'Year of...' were done on Witchgrove. It's practically been a weekly discussion, it's gone on so long and in-depth. (Bit scared that those new to Wicca will be panicking and on the verge of fleeing by now!)
But the interweaving threads have been brilliant on several different levels. They've covered the definition of Wicca - Farrar and Bone's seemed the most... right... ok, there was only me and Branny actually agreed to that, but no-one else disagreed! - Leland, with some valuable information from Bella about Tuscany witchcraft; the origins of Wicca; and methodological issues; and ethical issues!
All of this has not only helped me form my ideas and get back up to speed, but it also helped me confirm things as I'd wanted to run past witches. There have also been one or two suggestions from Grove members, particularly Saoirse, Marai and Branny, which I might be able to run with.
Day 40 - Day 41
I kicked ass.
Created an acknowledgments page and scoured my saved e-mails to ensure I've got everyone who helped with both this and the project. Also e-mailed Roxanne to find out how to spell her surname AND I'D GOT IT RIGHT!
E-mailed Selena Fox to enquire after Ray's health. He's still recovering, but she'll speak to him later this week to see if he is up to canting with me.
Had a long conversation on the 'phone with Laurie, wherein he summarized the Theosophical Society's history for me; and Annie Beasant and Helen Bat (need spelling!).
Sent a few random question e-mails to the Grove, and they managed to answer them ALL!
Wrote 1608 words in one all-night session, which was pure, uninterupted bliss! They were all in the 'Defining the Search' chapter, and they bring my tally up to 8123!
Monday, December 06, 2004
Days 31-36
Day 31
Reading 'Triumph of the Moon' from the perspective of Hutton's methodology and approach.
Discussed dissertation with Dr Viv Wylie, who has offered to read it over the Christmas period
Days 32-33
Reading 'Triumph of the Moon'
Day 34
Reading 'Triumph of the Moon', also gave some thought to what Wicca actually is - something which is quite fundamental if I'm going looking for it in history
Day 35
Looked at the baseline - what other historians are looking for when they go looking for Wicca in history. It changes.
E-mailed WG to ask for their definitions of Wicca
Day 36
Still reading 'Triumph of the Moon'
Gave a lot of thought to how I go about determining and presenting the 'eye witness' accounts. Need to write to all of those still with us.
Still defining Wicca
Reading 'Triumph of the Moon' from the perspective of Hutton's methodology and approach.
Discussed dissertation with Dr Viv Wylie, who has offered to read it over the Christmas period
Days 32-33
Reading 'Triumph of the Moon'
Day 34
Reading 'Triumph of the Moon', also gave some thought to what Wicca actually is - something which is quite fundamental if I'm going looking for it in history
Day 35
Looked at the baseline - what other historians are looking for when they go looking for Wicca in history. It changes.
E-mailed WG to ask for their definitions of Wicca
Day 36
Still reading 'Triumph of the Moon'
Gave a lot of thought to how I go about determining and presenting the 'eye witness' accounts. Need to write to all of those still with us.
Still defining Wicca
