#James George Frazer

[renaultphile]

Andrew is into anthropology?

In the 1959 edition, the reference to the Golden Bough is cut.

I feel like this must be a reference to “The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion”, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer, first published in 1890.

Looks like a pretty weighty tome, with a challenging premise.  Interesting that he just says 'it's like the Golden Bough' without elaborating. And notable that he is interested in anthropology, while Laurie loves fiction.

I wonder why she cut the line?  Anyone know this book or know more about it?

Personally I find that little exchange and Laurie’s embarrassed reaction to it rather delicious! And it reminds me that in the book we get the merest tip of the iceberg of their conversations. They spend a lot of time together and we see only tiny glimpses (something which is more or less reversed when we are re-introduced to a certain person later on 👀).

[negreabsolut]

Coberta de The Golden Bough, obra de James George Frazer, en edició d'Oxford University Press.

[kingbryancroidragon]

Arthur Bernard Cook and James George Frazer both explained Pasiphae's union with the Cretan Bull as a sacred ceremony where Knossos' queen was wedded to a bull god in a sacred ceremony.

Okay, so in a mundane retelling that would make the Minotaur Minos' actual son rather than his stepson and Heracles being sent by Eurystheus to steal a small statue from the temple/sanctuary in Knossos?

[nicklloydnow]

Preservation Of Soul by Pratik Risbud

“As the savage commonly explains the processes of inanimate nature by supposing that they are produced by living beings working in or behind the phenomena, so he explains the phenomena of life itself. If an animal lives and moves, it can only be, he thinks, because there is a little animal inside which moves it: if a man lives and moves, it can only be because he has a little man or animal inside who moves him. The animal inside the animal, the man inside the man, is the soul. And as the activity of an animal or man is explained by the presence of the soul, so the repose of sleep or death is explained by its absence; sleep or trance being the temporary, death being the permanent absence of the soul. Hence if death be the permanent absence of the soul, the way to guard against it is either to prevent the soul from leaving the body, or, if it does depart, to ensure that it shall return. The precautions adopted by savages to secure one or other of these ends take the form of certain prohibitions or taboos, which are nothing but rules intended to ensure either the continued presence or the return of the soul. In short, they are life-preservers or life-guards.” - James George Frazer, ‘The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion’ (1890)

[dipnotski]

James George Frazer – İnsan, Tanrı ve Ölümsüzlük (2023)

Sosyal antropoloji ve etnolojinin önemli isimlerinden James George Frazer, bu kitabında yıllar süren derin incelemeler sonucunda inşa ettiği perspektifiyle insanlığın serüveni üzerine görüşlerini kuramsallaştırıyor. İlkel toplulukları gelenekler, ritüeller, folklor ve daha birçok yönden ele alan Frazer, kendine özgü karşılaştırmalı metodolojisiyle akıl yürütüyor. İnsanlığın uzun yolculuğunda…

[litinart]

the golden bough by j. m. w. turner (1834)

[atheneum-of-you]

I'm so happy so many people have found my tiny library useful! l've added a few more books for everyone!

Books Inside:

Ancient Greek Religion Jon D. Mikalson

Ancient Greek Cults Jennifer Larson

Ancient Greek Divination Sarah /les Johnston

The Odyssey Homer

The Homeric Hymns A Translation, with Introduction and Notes by Rayor Diane J

The llyad Homer translated by Stanley Lombardo

Apollodorus The Library, Volumes 1 and Il Sir James George Frazer

The Orphic Hymns Athanassakis

Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens

A History of Ancient Greece Robin Waterfield

The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion Esther Eidinow and Julia Kindt

A Companion to Greek Religion Daniel Ogden

Theogony Hesiod

( donated by @angieisreading )

Magika Hiera Ancient Greek Magic and Religion Christopher A. Faraone, Dirk Obbink

Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra Sophocles, H.D.F. Kitto, Edith Hall

The Bacchantes Euripides

The Oresteia Agamemnon The Libation Bearers The Eumenides Aeschylus W. B. Stanford, Robert Fagles

Euripides II Andromache, Hecuba, the Suppliant Women, Electra The Complete Greek Tragedies - Euripides II

Sophocles Oedipus Rex

Medea Euripides, Michael Collier, Georgia Machemer

Aristophanes Clouds, Women at the Thesmophoria, Frogs A Verse Translation, with Introduction and Notes Stephen Halliwell

Heracles of Euripides Euripides Michael R. Halleran

Euripides Iphigenia at Aulis Christopher Collard James Morwood

Lysistrata Aristophanes, Jeffrey Henderson

(donated by @anyrisse )

Women's Dress in the Ancient Greek World Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Underworld Gods in Ancient Greek Religion Ellie Mackin Roberts

Understanding Greek Religion Jennifer Larson

The Gods of Ancient Greece Jan N. Bremmer and Andrew Erskine

Restless Dead Sarah Isles Johnston

Myths of the Underworld Journey Radcliffe G. Edmonds III

Marriage to Death Rush Rehm

Greek Religion Walter Burkert

Greek Popular Religion in Greek Philosophy Jon D. Mikalson

Greek Magic J.C.B. Petropoulos

Greek and Roman Necromancy Daniel Qgden

Gods and Garments Cecile Brøns

Bride of Hades to Bride of Christ Abbe Lind Walker

Aphrodite's Tortoise Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Ancient Mystery Cults Walter Burkert

Ancient Greek Love Magic Christopher A. Faraone

Cult of Aphrodite Laurelei Black

Aphrodite's Priestess Laurelei Black

Festivals of Attica: An Archaeological Commentary Erika Simon

Games and sanctuaries in Ancient Greece Panos Valavanis translated by David Harty

Divine Mania Alteration of Consciousness in Ancient Greece Yulia Ustinova

Omens and oracles Divination in ancient Greece Matthew Dillon

Cults and Rites in Ancient Greece Essays on Religion and Society Michael H. Jameson, Allaire B. Stallsmith etc.

Pharnabazos, the Diviner of Hermes. Two Ostraka with Curse Letters from Olbia Andrei Lebedev

Some are pdfs and some are epubs but all of them are free for your reading enjoyment and learning!

l'll be adding more as time goes on and at the requests and suggestions of others so if you think something is missing or have a request please don't hesitate to ask me to add it!

As usual a massive thank you to Lord Hermes Dôtor Eaôn/Lord Hermes Arkhos Phêlêteôn for the idea, this library is a dedication and offering to him and adding to it is all in his name ♡

[natalieironside]

(Sir James George Frazer voice) "In the ancient United States, the god-king would renew the land and ensure bountiful fortune by gifting 'content' to the assembled multitude, whom they called 'subscribers'. If the subscribers deemed the 'content' to be 'cringe', they would tear the god-king apart and appoint a successor."

[violetmoondaughter]

In neopaganism the horned god is seen with two different faces representing the duality of nature and the changing of seasonal cycle. The theory of these two aspects of the god was debated by Sir James George Frazer in The Golden Bough and by Robert Graves in The White Goddess.  

According to these theories old religions were fertility cults that revolved around the worship and periodic sacrifice of a sacred king. Frazer based his thesis on the pre-Roman priest-king Rex Nemorensis who was ritually murdered by his successor. The king was the incarnation of a dying and reviving god, a solar deity who underwent a mystic marriage to a goddess of the Earth. He died at the harvest and was reincarnated in the spring. This legend of rebirth is central to almost all of the world's mythologies. Some examples of this archetypical figure are the gods Dionysus, Osiris, Tammuz, Dumuzi, Adonis, Janus, Attis. 

 The two aspects of this figure take the names of Holly and Oak king. 

The Holly King is seen as an old version of the green man, ruler of winter, death and darkness. He starts his kingdom at summer solstice when, after the longest day, ruled by his opposite king the oak king, the days start to get darker and shorter entering in the dark half of the year. The holly king is so called referring to the plant that is fruitful during the winter season.  The holly king is also referred to as a black knight and is also connected with the dark aspects of many pagan gods. 

Counterpart of the Holly King is the Oak King that is usually seen as a young green man, ruler of summer, life and light. He starts his kingdom at the winter solstice, when after the darkest night a new light is reborn, signing the beginning of the light half of the year. The oak king is called over the name of the plant that is fruitful during the hot season. Opposite to the Holly King, the Oak King, relates to the light aspect of many pagan gods and its sometimes referred to as a white knight. 

According to the theory these two kings may be seen as two brothers fighting for the throne or as a father and son passing the kingdom to each other in a perpetual cycle of death and rebirth. This cycle of life and death represents the seasonal cycle of death and rebirth of the sunlight and vegetative world.

[coinandcandle]

Sympathetic Magic - Coin's Notes

Hi-res download of infographic available on my ko-fi for all supporters!

What is Sympathetic Magic?

The idea of sympathetic magic, the term was likely coined by James George Frazer in his book The Golden Bough (1889). Though Richard Andree wrote of sympathy-enchantment in 1882, and the idea existed in some form or another since ancient times.

The definition of sympathetic magic in the merriam-webster dictionary is magic based on the assumption that a person or thing can be supernaturally affected through its name or an object representing it.

Types of Sympathetic Magic

Similarity: That which resembles something can represent or substitute that thing. Such as a citrine to represent the sun or a walnut for the brain.

Contagion/Contact: That which comes in contact with something can represent or substitute that thing. Such as moon water, water that is charged under the moon to hold its power and likeness.

Imitation: Close to similarity except it often involves specifically creating something to look like that thing such as idols, effigies, poppets, etc.

Correspondence: The idea that something can influence another thing due to their resemblance or relationship. Such as oranges and the sun or Aphrodite and roses.

[breelandwalker]

Having a wild time reading some antique reference books, mostly to research occult history. Currently reading "The Golden Bough" by Sir James George Frazer. Early anthropology and occult sciences are a Whole Thing 👀

I'm mostly interested in how occultism and theosophy have influenced modern western society (the Jack Parsons connection, the Hellfire Caves in the UK, etc), and looking at contemporary sources that are still available.

I already have Miss Murry's "The Witch cult in western Europe" on my list, but i am looking for more. Do you have any book recommendations for western occult history?

Love your blog, thank you for all the resources you share!

For perspectives on occultism from a similar time period and angle, I'd recommend Michelet's La Sorcière, Waite's Book of Ceremonial Magic, and Summers' History of Witchcraft and Demonology. But I recommend them ONLY as texts on contemporary occult beliefs for their time.

A very strong word of caution (although you may already be aware) - do not take anything these books say about witchcraft or witches at face value, especially from Margaret Murray. Late 19th and early 20th century occult beliefs leaned heavily into the thoroughly-debunked witch-cult hypothesis and as I'm sure you've seen in Frazer, there's....there's a LOT of really gross racism and xenophobia to wade through. It doesn't really get much better in the books I mentioned and for the sake of all things decent, don't get into Crowley.

These early occult views have certainly had an impact on western thought and media concerning witches and witchcraft, as well as the modern witchcraft movement itself, but they've also contributed to a lot of science denial and bigotry. Theosophy in particular has had some widespread negative impacts.

From a cultural history standpoint, it's interesting. But that's all it is - history. It's definitely important to know where we've been to see where we are (and what beliefs we've left behind).

For a more modern perspective, and a history of the modern witchcraft movement through the end of the 20th century, I recommend Adler's Drawing Down The Moon and Hutton's Triumph of the Moon as a matched set.

If you'd like some resources in podcast form, I suggest checking out my two masterlists of podcast recs - Witches and Witchcraft in History and Debunking and Fact-checking for Witches & Witchcraft Spaces. Both lists have shows and episodes pertaining to spiritualism, occultism, and the history of beliefs surrounding witches and witchcraft.

Good luck!

[barncultus]

Developing Local Cultus: A Companion Library

In preparation for the revamping of my Local Cultus series over on wordpress, I have begun to gather this small reference library for anyone who may be interested. Containing mostly works which inspired me to set out on the path of developing a localized religious practice, as well as some of my research materials. For those interested in the series, and the topic which it covers, I absolutely recommend giving these titles a flip through.

The first of this series, an introduction and mapping out of what is to come, will be up on the Barn Cultus website by the end of July.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Indispensable knowledge of ecological relationships as written by an indigenous woman and professor of environmental biology.

The Green Mysteries by Daniel Schulke An encyclopedia of the spiritual, magical, and folkloric qualities of plants. Written by the Magister of the Sabbatic tradition.

The Golden Bough by James George Frazer Frazer tracks the role of religion and magic up until the modern day, introducing along the way some of the key ideas behind my style of cultus developing (such as re-enchantment). This book is always on my reference shelf, close at hand, and while the anthropology is at times laughably outdated, it is a beautiful read with some interesting groundwork.

Viridarium Umbris by Daniel Schulke I'd be remiss to not include this in my list. Another Schulke work and a comprehensive grimoire of verdant magics. I personally view this book as overhyped, though a should-read, perhaps not a must.

Demons & Spirits of the Land: Ancestral Lore and Practices A foundational text of folkloric land spirits and the operations used by Pre-Modern Europe to interact with them.

Roman Cult Images: The Lives and Worship of Idols from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity In my own eyes, the finding of localized images. Images references the faces, attributes, and fauna of the region in which each divinity of the cultus is depicted. The crafting of cult images, in the forms of eikons and idols, is another aspect of this.

Idolatry Restor'd by Daniel Schulke Schulke speaks to the ensouled fetish, which connects greatly to the idea of the Living Statue and the cultic image. More of a sorcerous read, but worth it nontheless.

We Are In The Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices of Turtle Island on the Changing Earth I hold the strong conviction that those of us in America who find our bloodlines here through the powers of colonialism absolutely must be listening to indigenous wisdom- full stop. Publications like this one are a huge boon to the mending of the rift between the descendants of colonialism and the land which they inhabit. I think this becomes doubly important to those practices land-based religions.

The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade I come with the bias of studying the anthropology of religion full time. This book has in many ways aided in bridging the gap between my academic studies and the building of my theologies, and is a profound read by an author with a storied collection of publications within the field.

Mystai: Dancing out the Mysteries of Dionysus An interesting look into the mystery cult of Dionysus during late antiquity. Mystery cults often operated regionally and with localized aspects to their mysteries.

Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites by Dudley Wright All literature on the Eleusinian mysteries is a boon- this is my recommendation. Following the ritual life of the local agriculture cult which has gone down in history as one of the largest surviving cults into the Christianization of Greece.

Walking the Worlds: Building Regional Cultus Less of an academic read than the others on this list, but one I found equally as inspiring. The articles speak to diaspora and tensions of modern polytheism, and I think without some kind of academic pre-knowledge of these topics the articles themselves would fall a little flat, but a worthy read for the genuine pursuant.

Mystery Cults in the Greek and Roman World by the MET

Kongo in Haiti: A New Approach to Religious Syncretism by Luc de Heusch This article explores religious syncretism through the lens of Vodou, an African traditional religion known for its syncretic relationship with Christianity here in the US and Haiti. De Heusch explores a little bit of the roots in West Africa, and how the religion operates in both syncretic and nonsyncretic ways across the African diaspora.

Why Cecropian Minerva?: Hellenic Syncretism as System by Luther H. Martin This article explores syncretism in a western context, from the other side of the isle. This is not syncretism brought on by oppression and colonialism, instead highlighting syncretism theologically proposed by the oppressors, a favorite of the Romans. Martin explores the theology of this, the politics of this, and offers interesting analysis of the historical evidence.

Epithets in the Orphic Hymns by W. K. C. Guthrie There's powers in names. You know it, I know it, Guthrie certainly knows it. Behind that power is meaning. While Guthrie does not particularly touch on regionalized epithets, I still find this to a be a great read to get one thinking about cult specific poetic titles.

[very-grownup]

Book 12, 2024

God I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia. "Gods of Jade and Shadow" is the third book of hers I've read and it did not let me down, while reinforcing that one of the things I love about Moreno-Garcia's writing is how uninterested she is in marrying herself to genre. She has themes and motifs she is interested in and revisits, but recognizes that the space she has to explore them is infinite.

Set in 1920s Mexico, teenaged Casiopea, resented and treated like a servant by most of her family, accidentally frees a Mayan death god whose bones were being kept in a chest in her grandfather's room. Inadvertently bound to the resurrected but depowered god, Casiopea seizes the unlikely opportunity for freedom and sets out to help Hun-Kamé find the pieces of him that are still missing and restore him to the throne taken from him by his twin brother.

The friend who was recommending it compared it to Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" and that is a good reference point, always being ware of how imprecision and marketing language can make that slide into "POPULAR THING BUT X" (my friend was not doing this, she is very wise and good of taste). A human in a tough spot becomes the guide/ally of a god on a road novel quest in a (comparatively) modern setting. But of course, Gaiman was not doing anything unique in placing figures from mythology into a contemporary setting, nor in his fundamental linking of human belief to mythology its shaping our gods (it's a recurring idea in the work of Terry Pratchett and probably stretches back to James George Frazer's "The Golden Bough", at least in the context of Euro-centric works).

Besides, it's understood that "American Gods" was essentially fanfic of Diana Wynne Jones' "Eight Days of Luke".

In some ways, the "American Gods" comparison undersells what "Gods of Jade and Shadow" is, because one of Moreno-Garcia's strengths is the sense of identity and drive and longing in her protagonists (Gaiman's Shadow is passive, witnessing and experiencing, but rarely doing). There's a ravenous hunger to Casiopea that I recognize from "Untamed Shore" and "Mexican Gothic", and I doubt it's coincidence that Moreno-Garcia, with her interest in colonialism in Mexico, sets all three of those novels in a time and place where the country and people are trying to shape themselves around historical European and contemporary American presences. It's a coming of age story and a story about identity, about how to adapt to change without losing what made you (and how you can share blood with someone while being fundamentally different and opposed). It's a hero's story (not in the Hero's Journey Call Reject the Call and all that), a questing story, a fairy tale.

It's really a perfect road novel buddy adventure with Casiopea and Kun-Kamé relying on each other and learning and growing together as they go from Casiopea's small town, eventually crossing the border into America. They encounter a few other mythological figures, including KAMAZOTZ THE GIANT DEATH BAT. Moreno-Garcia commits to the blood and bone and death of her chosen focus, complete with throat slicing and human sacrifices, without making a moral fuss about it, or indeed dwelling excessively on filling the reader in. There's a little glossary in the back, but Moreno-Garcia isn't interested in holding your hand and teaching you while she's trying to tell you a story. Imagine if you had to sit through an explanation of the Persephone myth every time it showed up in something fantasy adjacent.

Two things in particular caught my attention, distinguishing "Gods of Jade and Shadow" from similar books. The first is that the gods and myths present are entirely Mayan in nature, with one exception - Loray, a French demon, who came to Mexico with French colonialists and couldn't find his way back. There's otherwise no mention of other gods, other stories. Mexico is a country that has been colonized, its indigenous peoples suppressed by Europeans and their culture, but little of what they bring truly takes root in the new world.

The second is the matter of belief. In his Discworld novels, Pratchett presents gods being created and sustained by mortal beliefs. Gaiman similarly ties the vitality of gods and similar forces to their presence and relevance for humanity, in multiple works. Moreno-Garcia's gods are something deeper than their relationship with humanity, sustained by something deep in the earth of the country. Kun-Kamé is not weak because he is no longer worshipped in the Mexico of the 1920s, he's weak because he's had pieces of himself severed and scattered. He does not need Casiopea to believe to find them or to reassemble them; they're physical items and once found are part of him once more. That's not to say the gods are severed from humanity, but there's a sense of choice. Kun-Kamé's conflict with his brother is partially because of disagreement over how they should exist with and alongside the mortal realm, with Kun-Kamé seeing their time as being at an end, while Vucub-Kamé wants to flex their divine powers again and guide humanity back to the glory days of blood sacrifices. It doesn't even seem to be, necessarily, that this will materially change things for the gods. It's just something Vucub-Kamé wants. The divine conflict of the novel is ultimately a question with an answer balanced carefully between acknowledging the the truth of the past while also recognizing the futility in trying to return to it.

A lot of things are lost in the course of "Gods of Jade and Shadow" and Moreno-Garcia acknowledges those losses, but never restores things to the way they were. It makes for a beautiful, engaging novel that is never soft. The grit and pain are important.

[talesofpassingtime]

But at the stroke of twelve all this was changed. Constraint gave way to license; pious hymns were replaced by Bacchanalian ditties, and the shrill quavering notes of the village fiddle hardly rose above the roar of voices that went up from the merry brotherhood of the Green Wolf.

— Sir James George Frazer, The Golden Bough

[maverynthia]

Limbus Company things of note:

If you don't know there's a book called The Golden Bough by James George Frazer. It's about religion and magic and influenced Yeats, T.S. Eliot and Lovecraft as well as the quack Freud and psychiatrist Carl Jung.

There's also the painting by JMW Turner from the Aenid by Virgil

It's also cited as the basis for the Golden Dawn form of ceremonial magic. Which of course appropriates heavily from the Qaballah and Jewish Mysticism.

And if you don't know all the Project Moon games have the Hebrew, Sephirot and Qaballah stuff to them. And then there's Vergil/ius and Dante. The game specifically uses Golden Bough and not Golden Twig, stick, branch.

Lest to say I'm thinking they pulled a LOT from Frazer and the whole Golden Dawn system of magic.

[x-manson-annotated]

X-Manson Annotated Chapter 4 - Part Five - ASIDE ABOUT BELIEFS

We're going to get into more concrete aspects of what the X-Men in this Au believe. but this will serve as a cap to the end section where they were talking about Ororo. I'll add all of the different mentions of their beliefs at the very end so we can have an idea for how this damn cult is structured and functions. Next Time, we'll be discussing the New Mutants and their escape from the cult.

*The Chaos Bringer:

**The Golden Bough by James George Frazer is a text talking the historical, scientific, and social connections of religion and magic and how they're often repeated across different cultures.

*I have not read the book myself, but I kinda want to now.

**The Chaos Bringer might also be Stryfe.

Modifying my theory. What if instead of Cable being Stryfe as I have suggested. Maybe Stryfe plays a metaphysical role within the bounds of the X-Men Cult. Perhaps The Chaos Bringer/Stryfe is the shadow self of Cable and represents an aspect of himself that he feels is alien to what his new cause is within the cult?

Again, just kind of grasping at the air.

*My theory on Worthington has in text validity.

**The church helped the new mutants escape? Or did they hunt them down?