What do you think?
Rate this book
Origins of Modern Witchcraft: The Evolution of a World Religion
Christianity began at the start of the common era. Judaism began a few thousand years before that. Religion in Egypt and Sumer go maybe a few thousand years before that.
But what came before? Most people don't know that civilization began at Sind, a fertile area in modern Pakistan. Their ancient religion, the worship of Shiva and Shakti, is the oldest religion known. It spread throughout the world and it, reactions to it, or a combination of the two are the basis for all religion in the world today.
Does this sound surprising? Historian and former history teacher Ann Moura has been able to trace civilization and religion into the past by over 100,000 years! She presents this information in Origins of Modern Witchcraft.
The author reveals that virtually every aspect of modern Witchcraft can be traced back to the ancient Sind religion. Much of the same can be found in modern Hinduism, but Hinduism has had many Vedic ideas – including orthodoxy and caste – added to the original faith.
Even so, the notion of the triple goddess (a Maiden, Mother, and Crone) comes straight from the older religion. The idea of the God being horned is derived from an image of Shiva. Many of the mythic images we associate with Greece and Rome originally came from the Sind religion.
But this goes beyond Wicca to other religions. You'll see that Christ was a version of Krishna and "original sin" was a development of those who hated the original religion. It means that something was evil because it originally came from Sind.
Controversial? You bet! This book is destined to be one of the most controversial books published this or any other year! But the author has listed all of her sources. Now is your chance to read the evidence for yourself and discover the real ancient sources for your beliefs. Get your copy today!
But what came before? Most people don't know that civilization began at Sind, a fertile area in modern Pakistan. Their ancient religion, the worship of Shiva and Shakti, is the oldest religion known. It spread throughout the world and it, reactions to it, or a combination of the two are the basis for all religion in the world today.
Does this sound surprising? Historian and former history teacher Ann Moura has been able to trace civilization and religion into the past by over 100,000 years! She presents this information in Origins of Modern Witchcraft.
The author reveals that virtually every aspect of modern Witchcraft can be traced back to the ancient Sind religion. Much of the same can be found in modern Hinduism, but Hinduism has had many Vedic ideas – including orthodoxy and caste – added to the original faith.
Even so, the notion of the triple goddess (a Maiden, Mother, and Crone) comes straight from the older religion. The idea of the God being horned is derived from an image of Shiva. Many of the mythic images we associate with Greece and Rome originally came from the Sind religion.
But this goes beyond Wicca to other religions. You'll see that Christ was a version of Krishna and "original sin" was a development of those who hated the original religion. It means that something was evil because it originally came from Sind.
Controversial? You bet! This book is destined to be one of the most controversial books published this or any other year! But the author has listed all of her sources. Now is your chance to read the evidence for yourself and discover the real ancient sources for your beliefs. Get your copy today!
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
9 people are currently reading
261 people want to read
About the author
Ann Moura
33 books198 followersAnn Moura, A.K.A. Aoumiel, is an author of books about magic, religion, and witchcraft, in particular the Wiccan religion, and has been a solitary practitioner of Green Witchcraft for over thirty years. Her craft name is Aoumiel. Her mother and grandmother were Craftwise Brazilians of Celtic-Iberian descent.
She holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degrees in history. She is a certified Archivist, and has been a Navy Lieutenant.
She is married, has a son and a daughter, and is a certified teacher at the high school level in southeast Florida.
Information procured from wikipedia.org.
She holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degrees in history. She is a certified Archivist, and has been a Navy Lieutenant.
She is married, has a son and a daughter, and is a certified teacher at the high school level in southeast Florida.
Information procured from wikipedia.org.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 2, 2008
Not for serious students of religion.
This book was sorely disappointing. The title and description would lead one to the idea it might be an academic research into the origins of the neopagan/witchcraft movements, but this is not the case. The author, though trying to paint her tale as a viable source of information on these origins fails to backup her theories with solid evidence and relies on the reader to take her word alone (garnered through scrying she claims) that the modern pagan movement comes out of indonesian roots.
Not that her theories aren't interesting, but for a book, found in my academic library on the serious study of a valid religious/spiritual movement, it lacks credibility, and worse, makes the pagan movement seem somewhat of a joke.
This book was sorely disappointing. The title and description would lead one to the idea it might be an academic research into the origins of the neopagan/witchcraft movements, but this is not the case. The author, though trying to paint her tale as a viable source of information on these origins fails to backup her theories with solid evidence and relies on the reader to take her word alone (garnered through scrying she claims) that the modern pagan movement comes out of indonesian roots.
Not that her theories aren't interesting, but for a book, found in my academic library on the serious study of a valid religious/spiritual movement, it lacks credibility, and worse, makes the pagan movement seem somewhat of a joke.
April 5, 2013
I enjoyed this book very much. The book is not peer-reviewed but rather a synthesis of other texts that support the author's thesis that all of western religion and culture has been shaped by the ancient conflict between Dravidian and Aryan spiritual systems, and that in fact, the Dravidian culture is much older and was much more advanced and influential than mainstream history acknowledges. I'm interested in her thesis, as I've come across information in other texts that supports it, but my problem was her lack of in-text notes (However, she does include an extensive bibliography at the end of the book). The book is full of wonderful information, but also some far-out claims, and I was disappointed that neither were traceable to original sources through notes.
Moura is both an historian and a witch, and she is honest about choosing to blend research and intuitive knowing in her work. The title and the sporadic spells and meditations within the text show that her audience is comprised of practicing pagans. I appreciate her approach, but I think the book would be even more powerful, and her audience larger if notes were included, and if the title reflected the broader focus of the book.
Moura is both an historian and a witch, and she is honest about choosing to blend research and intuitive knowing in her work. The title and the sporadic spells and meditations within the text show that her audience is comprised of practicing pagans. I appreciate her approach, but I think the book would be even more powerful, and her audience larger if notes were included, and if the title reflected the broader focus of the book.
July 27, 2018
Rather dry and repetitive. Some chapters tried to cover too much while others rehashed the same information over again. A few good nuggets of history and decent spells to work with.
October 31, 2018
Both the title and the description were kind of misleading. As others have pointed out, she doesn't site her sources. Still, some interesting information and some of the meditations are nice.
Read
May 14, 2010Wonderful discussion of the two main branches from which all major religions derive, the god/goddess worship of the Sind valley and the warrior god worship of the Aryan's. It's time to return to Sind.
December 23, 2016
If it has one star I liked it a lot
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews