The Pagan History Project
The Pagan History Project (PHP) is an oral history project created to collect, store, share, and preserve the history of the American Pagan movement in accordance with techniques of current anthropological and historical methods. The primary purpose of this project is to collect the oral history of the generation of American Pagans who built the movement into what it has become today: one of the fastest growing new religious movements in the world. Many of these elders are now in their 60s,70s, and older. Once gone, their stories, and the history they experienced will be lost forever. For community members and scholars seeking to understand the roots of these religions, such a loss would be incalculable.
Pagan here is used in its widest sense and includes, but is not limited to, groups and magical orders such as: the Golden Dawn, BOTA and American OTO; NROOGD and CAW; cultural-religious and Reconstructionist groups as ADF, Asatru/Heathenry, Hellenic , Hexen , etc.; Wiccan groups (descending from British lines of Gardnerian and Alexandrian); as well as Traditional Witches and Witchcraft groups (non-Gardnerian currents such as British or Celtic Traditional Witchcraft, 1734, etc.); Dianic and Goddess spirituality, LGBT groups; as well as, cunning craft, conjure, Hoodoo, VuDoo, Theosophy, Afro-Diaspora groups, fraternal orders, and others as they are interrelated, pollinated and crossed over with the Pagan Movement.
The Goal of PHP
The time frame and context for this collection commences with the origins of the American Pagan Movement from its inception up to the mid-1990's in Phase One. Post-internet era collection will be Phase Two. Many early 20th century groups and individuals have not been well documented previously and their contributions are deserving further study. These include, the Ancient Order of Druids in America; the Temple of Aphrodite; and Ella Young's Fellowship of Shasta, and many others.
The dawn of the Internet era in the mid-1990s changed the dynamic of the American Pagan Movement. While some practices, practitioners, and communities became easier to document, others went "underground" and documenting these less well-known members of the Movement is crucial.
You can help PHP document the oral history of our community, to share with our community and to preserve it for future generations.
