tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post491622834017110948..comments2024-03-23T12:05:23.537-05:00Comments on The Wild Reed: Halloween ThoughtsMichael J. Baylyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03087458490602152648noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-46029559060680845792009-10-31T18:29:49.319-05:002009-10-31T18:29:49.319-05:00Hmm . . . later generations corrupting an ancient ...Hmm . . . later generations corrupting an ancient peoples' experience and interpretation of the divine so as to fit their own cultic and ideological agenda. Sounds like Roman Catholicism to me!<br /><br />Funny how when groups like the Jesus Seminar offer much needed "deconstruction" of Christianity, all hell breaks loose. Yet when it's a pagan religion under scrutiny it's deconstruction full stream ahead.Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-12906047848745686742009-10-31T17:08:55.734-05:002009-10-31T17:08:55.734-05:00Hi Liam,
Thanks for the reference, though I rema...Hi Liam, <br /><br />Thanks for the reference, though I remain curious as to what "theories of early folklorists and occultists" concerning Samhain are representive of "limited truths."<br /><br />Peace,<br /><br />MichaelMichael J. Baylyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03087458490602152648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-51992749199878945732009-10-31T15:18:16.042-05:002009-10-31T15:18:16.042-05:00Ronald Hutton's "The Stations of The Sun:...Ronald Hutton's "The Stations of The Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain" (Oxford, 1996) devotes an entire chapter to the issue, but builds on monographs and other research that precedes it, and in the course of my reading since I've come across yet more, but I don't have it on hand to cite. The bottom line is that the theories of early folklorists and occultists have come to dominate a lot of reference materials, but those theories were not supported by strong (and sometimes no) scholarship. At best they represented much more limited truths than was formerly supposed.Liamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-12574555418904985722009-10-31T10:10:44.071-05:002009-10-31T10:10:44.071-05:00Great observation, William. Thanks for sharing it...Great observation, William. Thanks for sharing it - and your positive feedback. It's always appreciated.<br /><br />Peace<br /><br />MichaelMichael J. Baylyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03087458490602152648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-2562915166060477502009-10-31T09:35:27.286-05:002009-10-31T09:35:27.286-05:00Michael, thank you for a rich and very informative...Michael, thank you for a rich and very informative (and well-researched) posting. I intend to return to it and read it several times very carefully.<br /><br />I'm drawn to the theme of gay folks as transformative. That fits my experience. I've noticed that many gay folks see a value in what is overlooked and discarded, and seem to have a particular knack for rescuing such items (and people), and showing off their overlooked beauty.<br /><br />It's no accident, I think, that gay people have a history of recognizing and then retrieving the beauty of "lost" neighborhoods that others have fled. I've seen that process at work in a number of cities, and am convinced it has a lot to do with that transformative talent of the gay community.William D. Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07246026074693891965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-18789070490522859032009-10-31T09:21:21.188-05:002009-10-31T09:21:21.188-05:00Hi Liam,
Perhaps you could reference some of thes...Hi Liam,<br /><br />Perhaps you could reference some of these "modern scholars" and their work. From my research, what I say about Samhain in this post seems to reflect a standard understanding.<br /><br />Peace,<br /><br />MichaelMichael J. Baylyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03087458490602152648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-40525445249682540352009-10-31T05:21:42.646-05:002009-10-31T05:21:42.646-05:00Modern scholars have done a fair bit of work decon...Modern scholars have done a fair bit of work deconstructing (and demolishing) the understandings of Samhain that are really modern confections by folklorists and occultists of the 19thn and early 20th century.Liamnoreply@blogger.com