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The Rise and Fall of Neopaganism (and Progress): A Timeline
Using the analogy of seasonal cycles,
Spring (17th century - mid 20th century) -- The first stirrings of anything resembling a Polytheist revival begins with the popularization of esoteric currents, from the Renaissance on through the early modern period. The Rosicrucian movement gives way to the Masonic current, which coincides with the industrialization and secularization of the Western world. We could say that the so-called "Mesopagan" development which coincides with the Masonic movements; this reflects the loosening up that hard-dogmatic Christianity had on the European soul for centuries prior. Though, the rise of a truly "pagan" orientation doesn't really begin until the European Romantic movement and later Neo-Occult groups; featuring authors/poets like Sir James George Frazer, Robert Graves, Margaret Murray, and Gerald Gardner, among others. During the 20th century, the twin influences of (1) the Occult movement (mainly the Theosophical and Golden Dawn Currents), and (2) the archetypal studies of Carl Jung and his followers, helps flesh out the essence of what later "Neopaganism" would become. A lesser known current, one tied to nationalistic romanticism, would come to influence the later non-left/progressive niche within Neopaganism; usually in the form of far-right identity politics.
Summer (1967 - 1995) -- The 1960s counterculture is what gave rise to a "true" pagan/polytheist revival; i.e. that which is completely free of overt Christian influences (though not psychological, which is a whole different topic). Its "Holy Land" began as the San Francisco Bay Area and not long after, it expanded into the Northern California evergreen forests and up through the Pacific Northwest region. Neopaganism's first generation of luminaries was the likes of Starhawk (founder of Eclectic Witchcraft), Issac Bonewits (of ADF fame), and those who followed in their respective footsteps.
As with other things associated with the 60s counterculture, the spiritual impetus behind this movement was largely fueled by a massive rebellion against the Christian past. Because of the great rejection, we could say the Neopaganism was a political movement from the getgo. The very beginnings were infused with the "New Left" political orientation (the youth-wing of the Neoliberal paradigm) that defined the counterculture. Things like feminism and freedom-of-religion were core values from the start. This political ideology would later morph into what we would today recognize as Left-Progressivism. In fact, the Summer period of Neopaganism directly mirrors the Summer period of late 20th-century Progressivism. During this time, it was the progressives who were the champions of tolerance, open-mindedness, artistic inspiration, critical thinking, free speech/thought/expression, and an opposition to rigid dogma, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Post-Gardnerian Wicca would emerge as the largest "denomination" of Neopaganism.
Overall, for the Neopagan movement at large and the general progressive culture, the future looked bright, though this belief came to be largely based on an investment of blind faith in the power of industrial/technological progress. The Neopaganism of the early summer period more or less reflected the ecological/environmentalist attitude of the 1970s, but by the 80s, consumerism and tech-mindedness certainly shifted the overall mentality of this movement. Pagan festivals/gatherings during this period reflect the general attitude of free-spiritedness and acceptance. It would be a long time yet until this cultural movement would perceive itself as being under attack, beyond the usual opposition of their main foes, the Conservative Christian/Evangelical movement.
Autumn (1996 - 2015) -- Asatru/Heathenry (Germanic Neopaganism) emerges as a major force within the Neopagan fold; it came to serve as the masculine counterpart to the rather-feminine Wicca. In general, a period of both cultural ossification and rationalistic tendencies shapes Autumnal Neopaganism, and really this begins with the mass-popularization of the internet. The growing "Reconstructionist" approach to Neopagnaism becomes its Rationalist wing; whereas the "anything goes" sentiment of the earlier era is now recognizable as the Eclectic wing. By this time, Neopaganism as a whole appears to be a constellation of "fandoms"*, which we could say are consumerist "subcultural" expressions of affluent North American culture. The various currents become interest-cliques. The mentality of the Reonstructionists seems to align with that of the growing "New Atheist" movement; that is, an almost-deification of academia and its academics, and the specialist-oriented empiricist methods of inquiry those types usually favor. For the Recons, archeologists, comparative linguists, and historical researchers become their de-fact high priests. The Eclectic side seems to mirror extreme Protestant tendencies of rejecting ecclesiastical order altogether, and as the Autumn years roll on, they become ever-more shrill about their rejection of hierarchy and order as such things might pertain to their own practices and studies of Neopaganism. This mirrors the evolution of the general Progressive culture in the direction of embracing "politically correct" ideological dogma, shrill moralism, and self-righteousness. Neopagan book sales peak around 2007 and after this there is just a few remaining years of normalcy and calm with the overall movement.
By 2012-2013, most of the Neopaganisms suddenly become very politicized; the annoying "PC" rhetoric of prior years devolves into the "woke" phenomenon we know of today; which is an totalitarians cult of extreme "us vs. them" dichotomization of everything under the sun. Sadly, since Neopaganism was always tethered to the progressive culture, it was destined to follow along with its trajectory of growth, flourishing, and decline. If we're to take a glance of the most prominent Neopagan blogs of the Autumn period, we could see that posting activity seems to peak between 2010 and 2015, with that last year being the lash hurrah of normal posting activity. After this, blog activity appears to sharply taper off or else become way more about politics than about spirituality.
Winter (2016 - Present) -- This year marks the emergence and ascendancy of the Big Bad Orange Drumpfler to the US Presidency. The Progressive culture, and the Professional-Managerial Class in general, goes into full panic mode as the ideology of progress seems to no longer be following up on its old promises. All of Progressivism feels itself under attack since its now apparent a sizable portion of the American population wholly rejects this pseudo-religion. Well, no actually it was because Orange Man Bad!! In fact, Orange Man is so bad that previously-denounced practices like Demonolatry become commonplace among Wicca practitioners. So we see Witches becoming Literal Witches, i.e. the Straw-woman of old that the term Witch used to mean to the average person.
So I already pointed out several times above how Neopaganism and Progressivism were joined at the hip since the beginning, it's only natural the downfall of Progress would also be the downfall of Neopaganism. The so-called "inclusiveness" of the Neopaganism becomes quite the opposite; it's "inclusive" only of people and ideas that are in 100% agreement of whatever the prevailing Progressive orthodoxy of the month happens to be. Ironically, the Wild Hint became the age-old Witch Hunt, as Neopagans begin to see "Fascists" and "Nazis" and "Racists" and "Sexists" everywhere and under every couch cushion, reminiscent of the way McCarthyite conservatives would see communists everywhere during the height of the Red Scare; and reminiscent of "Satanists" being hidden during every nook and cranny during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. A movement that once staunchly opposed ideological inquisitions and intolerance of differing opinions now became the a movement of inquisitions and intolerance; this closely mirrors the Progressive Left's takeover of major social, cultural, and governmental institutions on the US. The "oppressed" becomes the opressor. Old Boss, meet New Boss.
From 2016 onward, Neopagan blogs, forums, and other online groups become a lot more about politics than what was once a strictly-religious and cultural focus. Joining many of these groups would require new members to voice repeated loyalty confessions and denunciations of perceived enemies. There was no longer much of a focus on Deities, unless we're to consider Progress and Pathological Inclusion to be the Patron Gods. Finally, I should mention here that these types of ideologies are those who have remained within Neopaganism. In reality, the numbers of people engaged in this fandom-cluster have dropped off precipitously since the 2020-2015 period. Overall interest shifted from the religio-cultural to the political sphere. The charred remnants of this movement seem destined for the dustbin of history; we can even say now that Neopaganism has ceased to be any meaningful cultural force here in the industrialized West. Its final death is probably not far off on the horizon.
Of course, the Gods are not going anywhere. But we should ask, what comes next, as far as any organized movement of recognizing and venerating the Holy Powers?
---
* Here I call Neopaganism a "fandom" instead a religion-proper, since membership tends to have very little to do with nuclear families or local communities consisting of whole families. It's typically only one member of a biological family that would have any interest at all in the polytheist revival; the rest of the family either remaining Christians and secularists/atheists of some variety. In this sense, Neopaganism is no more a religion than the anime subculture, or comic book collectors, or Trekkies, or Furries, or....well, you get the general idea here. Yes, there were in fact a few "pagan families" but these constituted an extreme exception, not the rule.
Spring (17th century - mid 20th century) -- The first stirrings of anything resembling a Polytheist revival begins with the popularization of esoteric currents, from the Renaissance on through the early modern period. The Rosicrucian movement gives way to the Masonic current, which coincides with the industrialization and secularization of the Western world. We could say that the so-called "Mesopagan" development which coincides with the Masonic movements; this reflects the loosening up that hard-dogmatic Christianity had on the European soul for centuries prior. Though, the rise of a truly "pagan" orientation doesn't really begin until the European Romantic movement and later Neo-Occult groups; featuring authors/poets like Sir James George Frazer, Robert Graves, Margaret Murray, and Gerald Gardner, among others. During the 20th century, the twin influences of (1) the Occult movement (mainly the Theosophical and Golden Dawn Currents), and (2) the archetypal studies of Carl Jung and his followers, helps flesh out the essence of what later "Neopaganism" would become. A lesser known current, one tied to nationalistic romanticism, would come to influence the later non-left/progressive niche within Neopaganism; usually in the form of far-right identity politics.
Summer (1967 - 1995) -- The 1960s counterculture is what gave rise to a "true" pagan/polytheist revival; i.e. that which is completely free of overt Christian influences (though not psychological, which is a whole different topic). Its "Holy Land" began as the San Francisco Bay Area and not long after, it expanded into the Northern California evergreen forests and up through the Pacific Northwest region. Neopaganism's first generation of luminaries was the likes of Starhawk (founder of Eclectic Witchcraft), Issac Bonewits (of ADF fame), and those who followed in their respective footsteps.
As with other things associated with the 60s counterculture, the spiritual impetus behind this movement was largely fueled by a massive rebellion against the Christian past. Because of the great rejection, we could say the Neopaganism was a political movement from the getgo. The very beginnings were infused with the "New Left" political orientation (the youth-wing of the Neoliberal paradigm) that defined the counterculture. Things like feminism and freedom-of-religion were core values from the start. This political ideology would later morph into what we would today recognize as Left-Progressivism. In fact, the Summer period of Neopaganism directly mirrors the Summer period of late 20th-century Progressivism. During this time, it was the progressives who were the champions of tolerance, open-mindedness, artistic inspiration, critical thinking, free speech/thought/expression, and an opposition to rigid dogma, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Post-Gardnerian Wicca would emerge as the largest "denomination" of Neopaganism.
Overall, for the Neopagan movement at large and the general progressive culture, the future looked bright, though this belief came to be largely based on an investment of blind faith in the power of industrial/technological progress. The Neopaganism of the early summer period more or less reflected the ecological/environmentalist attitude of the 1970s, but by the 80s, consumerism and tech-mindedness certainly shifted the overall mentality of this movement. Pagan festivals/gatherings during this period reflect the general attitude of free-spiritedness and acceptance. It would be a long time yet until this cultural movement would perceive itself as being under attack, beyond the usual opposition of their main foes, the Conservative Christian/Evangelical movement.
Autumn (1996 - 2015) -- Asatru/Heathenry (Germanic Neopaganism) emerges as a major force within the Neopagan fold; it came to serve as the masculine counterpart to the rather-feminine Wicca. In general, a period of both cultural ossification and rationalistic tendencies shapes Autumnal Neopaganism, and really this begins with the mass-popularization of the internet. The growing "Reconstructionist" approach to Neopagnaism becomes its Rationalist wing; whereas the "anything goes" sentiment of the earlier era is now recognizable as the Eclectic wing. By this time, Neopaganism as a whole appears to be a constellation of "fandoms"*, which we could say are consumerist "subcultural" expressions of affluent North American culture. The various currents become interest-cliques. The mentality of the Reonstructionists seems to align with that of the growing "New Atheist" movement; that is, an almost-deification of academia and its academics, and the specialist-oriented empiricist methods of inquiry those types usually favor. For the Recons, archeologists, comparative linguists, and historical researchers become their de-fact high priests. The Eclectic side seems to mirror extreme Protestant tendencies of rejecting ecclesiastical order altogether, and as the Autumn years roll on, they become ever-more shrill about their rejection of hierarchy and order as such things might pertain to their own practices and studies of Neopaganism. This mirrors the evolution of the general Progressive culture in the direction of embracing "politically correct" ideological dogma, shrill moralism, and self-righteousness. Neopagan book sales peak around 2007 and after this there is just a few remaining years of normalcy and calm with the overall movement.
By 2012-2013, most of the Neopaganisms suddenly become very politicized; the annoying "PC" rhetoric of prior years devolves into the "woke" phenomenon we know of today; which is an totalitarians cult of extreme "us vs. them" dichotomization of everything under the sun. Sadly, since Neopaganism was always tethered to the progressive culture, it was destined to follow along with its trajectory of growth, flourishing, and decline. If we're to take a glance of the most prominent Neopagan blogs of the Autumn period, we could see that posting activity seems to peak between 2010 and 2015, with that last year being the lash hurrah of normal posting activity. After this, blog activity appears to sharply taper off or else become way more about politics than about spirituality.
Winter (2016 - Present) -- This year marks the emergence and ascendancy of the Big Bad Orange Drumpfler to the US Presidency. The Progressive culture, and the Professional-Managerial Class in general, goes into full panic mode as the ideology of progress seems to no longer be following up on its old promises. All of Progressivism feels itself under attack since its now apparent a sizable portion of the American population wholly rejects this pseudo-religion. Well, no actually it was because Orange Man Bad!! In fact, Orange Man is so bad that previously-denounced practices like Demonolatry become commonplace among Wicca practitioners. So we see Witches becoming Literal Witches, i.e. the Straw-woman of old that the term Witch used to mean to the average person.
So I already pointed out several times above how Neopaganism and Progressivism were joined at the hip since the beginning, it's only natural the downfall of Progress would also be the downfall of Neopaganism. The so-called "inclusiveness" of the Neopaganism becomes quite the opposite; it's "inclusive" only of people and ideas that are in 100% agreement of whatever the prevailing Progressive orthodoxy of the month happens to be. Ironically, the Wild Hint became the age-old Witch Hunt, as Neopagans begin to see "Fascists" and "Nazis" and "Racists" and "Sexists" everywhere and under every couch cushion, reminiscent of the way McCarthyite conservatives would see communists everywhere during the height of the Red Scare; and reminiscent of "Satanists" being hidden during every nook and cranny during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. A movement that once staunchly opposed ideological inquisitions and intolerance of differing opinions now became the a movement of inquisitions and intolerance; this closely mirrors the Progressive Left's takeover of major social, cultural, and governmental institutions on the US. The "oppressed" becomes the opressor. Old Boss, meet New Boss.
From 2016 onward, Neopagan blogs, forums, and other online groups become a lot more about politics than what was once a strictly-religious and cultural focus. Joining many of these groups would require new members to voice repeated loyalty confessions and denunciations of perceived enemies. There was no longer much of a focus on Deities, unless we're to consider Progress and Pathological Inclusion to be the Patron Gods. Finally, I should mention here that these types of ideologies are those who have remained within Neopaganism. In reality, the numbers of people engaged in this fandom-cluster have dropped off precipitously since the 2020-2015 period. Overall interest shifted from the religio-cultural to the political sphere. The charred remnants of this movement seem destined for the dustbin of history; we can even say now that Neopaganism has ceased to be any meaningful cultural force here in the industrialized West. Its final death is probably not far off on the horizon.
Of course, the Gods are not going anywhere. But we should ask, what comes next, as far as any organized movement of recognizing and venerating the Holy Powers?
---
* Here I call Neopaganism a "fandom" instead a religion-proper, since membership tends to have very little to do with nuclear families or local communities consisting of whole families. It's typically only one member of a biological family that would have any interest at all in the polytheist revival; the rest of the family either remaining Christians and secularists/atheists of some variety. In this sense, Neopaganism is no more a religion than the anime subculture, or comic book collectors, or Trekkies, or Furries, or....well, you get the general idea here. Yes, there were in fact a few "pagan families" but these constituted an extreme exception, not the rule.
no subject
This is my personal taste: I have nothing against people raising their children as Wicca or Druid or Heathen. If I were to raise children in that way, I personally would feel like I was faking it in a way that I would not in lighting Shabbat candles, singing "Shalom Aleichem," and making Kiddush and having a nice family dinner with some board games and conversations. Point being, the exoteric/esoteric division is a very big one to my mind as it relates to organization. Also, to be entirely honest, I look at Neopagans and see so many really creepy people and I look at my Jewish friends and neighbors --- some occultists! --- and I see such relatively more wholesome people on the whole. The whole exoteric Neopagan egregore seems tainted, and while I value my personal religious/esoteric devotions/practices well beyond words, it's very hard for me to imagine taking any sort of active hand in raising children polytheist. Rather I'd want to share my heritage and set an example of open-mindedness and tolerance.
Of course, that's the sort of attitude thing that Krasskova rails against. That said, I see she isn't raising any children even though she exhorts her followers to breed. Frankly that part of her politic grosses me out. I'm not quite sure how one spells "Sharia Law" in old Norse, but that's what Krasskova's "Piety Posse" and political ranting always reeks of to me. I mention Krasskova in this context because she is so active in working to perpetuate Western Revivalist Polytheism and she does a good job of making me want to distance myself from that scene even more.
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2. Being half-Jewish myself, I can totally relate to this. Growing up, the Jewish holidays were always a joyous occasion and nothing but wholesomeness took place at these family gatherings. Sure, the ritualism felt pretty dead to me, like we were just going through the motions, but the food, inside family humor, and overall atmosphere was always amazing. I was never anything besides a participant in the holidays; my immediate family raised us to be totally secular (my Dad's side is non-Jewish), thus we never did more serious Jewish practices like having weekly Shabbat dinners. Though the way you described the Shabbat ritualism makes it sound pretty neat. Overall I think polytheists have a lot to learn from Jews, as funny as that might sound at first. I also agree that if I had kinds I wouldn't raise them in any particular religion; rather I'd keep the house dogma-free and let them make up their own minds when they reach the age where they can make informed decisions about such matters.
Oh I most certainly agree Krasskova is just as affected by the tainted Neopagan egregore as the wokester pagans she constantly denounces. Some of her political rants have made me feel physically ill, particularly a post where she was brazenly promoting on-demand abortion (how ironic that she wants other Polytheists to breed) and referred to the fetus as a "worthless parasite." I mean, I'm pro-choice when the health of the mother is in danger or the baby happens to be a product of rape or incest, but the far-extreme position on this issue I something I find to be utterly revolting. I might be out of my depth here, but I do wonder if her enthusiastic veneration of entities with cruddy attributes might have something to do with her general behavior.
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1) My family is not Jewish, but I've always found a lot to respect in the culture and faith. I think the sabbath is potentially a really useful bit of practice, but so far I haven't had the guts to give it a try. Zvi Mowshowitz is a member of the Less Wrong-derived "Rationalist" community, and therefore a pretty hardcore materialist, but he's a smart guy and I've found much of his writing useful. He talks about keeping the sabbath and why it's been beneficial to his family (as non-believers) here: https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2017/10/07/bring-back-the-sabbath/ . He makes a pretty good case!
2) I've got a three year old daughter, and as she's been getting older and actually able to understand things, I've been grappling with this a bit. My wife is mostly "spiritual, but not religious", with some vague Christian leanings (raised Episcopalian), and being seriously polytheistic is pretty new to me (I gave "soft polytheism" a try a few years back, thinking that the Gods and Goddesses were just archetypes, but my convincing religious experience was just last year, when my daughter was not quite two and a half). So far, I've shared a few stories with her (we have the D'Aulaires' book of Norse Mythology), and she likes to ask me about my Thunor's Hammer necklace with beads for different Gods/Goddesses, but I'm pretty sure that "Thor" mostly means the character in "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" (a cartoon version of Marvel's Avengers). One thing that's appealing about Heathenry to me is that it is rather family and community focused (at least notionally), but so far, it is a fairly esoteric/personal practice for me. I'm pretty sure that my approach will be something like "well, lots of folks have lots of different beliefs about the Gods, here's what daddy does, but you can find whatever works best for you."
3) On Krasskova, yikes. I hadn't encountered either her encouragement to folks to make babies nor her own personal lack thereof or creepy discussion of fetuses as "parasites". I've found some of her books helpful, but her tone in her blog posts is often off-puttingly strident.
4) On a more general note - kids are pretty great. They're a lot of work and a huge pain in the ass, and they will often be terrible little shits. But it's also amazing watching a totally new, different person slowly come online and wake up to the world around them, and their emotions are so intense, it's pretty affecting to see and be around. Generally speaking, for anyone who finds themself in a good relationship and is wondering "should I have kids?", if they're not a terrible person, I give a pretty enthusiastic yes.
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2) It does seem like Heathenry is very much geared toward family gatherings. I remember reading through one of Edred Throrrson's books on how to conduct blots and other rites, and it seemed like a Viking-esque version of Jewish holiday gatherings.
4) Yeah, if only I hadn't slacked off a good portion of my adult life, maybe I'd have a family right now. But in general, it does make sense for not-terrible people to procreate and offset the number of children who come about due to unintended/unplanned, and unwanted circumstances.
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Unfortunately, for the past two years, most of his output has been extensive coverage of Covid, and not much else. I think his best work is when he's grappling with what he would no doubt be horrified to classify as "spiritual" issues (Slack, Sabbath, educating his kids, ethics and morality, and so forth)
1b) - On the "Confucian" approach to religion: That's a good way to put it, and not a connection I had explicitly made, though I suspect that in Spenglerian terms there's a very tight correspondence where both trends happened/are happening in their respective culture's lifecycle. It will be interesting to see how various attempts at this work out, because my own experience with trying religion without a real belief in the Gods was that it felt hollow and dumb and I didn't get much out of it. Maybe social rituals are more amenable to the Confucian approach than personal practice.
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I also wonder if "Progressivism"/the religion of progress might just be the Faustian mindset taken to extremes, but then, I'm smack in the middle of The Decline of the West, and so Spengler's thinking is exerting quite the influence on mine just now. Certainly the idea of infinite "progress" is very Faustian, but I'd have to think about it a little harder to decide whether the specific package of beliefs that modern progressives claim is especially Faustian (if nothing else, the idea that any one set of beliefs/behaviors ought to apply to everyone, everywhere, and the use of those beliefs/behaviors to secure power over others is pretty darn Faustian).
Anyhow, thanks much for the thought-provoking post.
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I've thought for quite some time that Yarvin/Moldbug is dead-on in his analysis of where we are today and the historical-culture influences that led to the current situation. Also, He is one of the major thinkers who helped me wiggle myself free from most of my old progressive beliefs.
The Neo-Unitarian blob, with its clear Puritan and Social Gospel roots, is as obnoxious today as it ever was.
I do agree Progressivism has become an extreme expression of the Faustian worldview, and one totally unhooked from any supernatural pretense. The extreme ideological intolerance and ego-projection Progs show today is certainly just the latest expression of this centuries-old impulse. And it might be the ideological last-hurrah of Faustian Civilization (may the Gods help us).
Finally, thanks for the Albion's seed link! I've long been looking for a concise-but-detailed summary of that massive tome, and this one is certainly what I've been looking for.
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That being said, since getting serious about spirituality, I've found his and other hardcore materialist writings less compelling than I once did.
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Gilbert Murray has an interesting note on this in The Five Stages of Greek Religion: religions live or die not by their theology, but by their effect upon birth rates. (Even mighty Jupiter is at the mercy of Cupid, is He not?)
As you note, neopaganism tied itself to progressivism; and progressivism tends to consider children evil, since children get in the way of hedonism. Given this, I suspect the future of both neopaganism and progressivism generally will be quite short.
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2. The birth-rate angle on the early spread of Christianity is fascinating and I'm certainly going to look into this more. I've long been of the mind that the way Christianity spread throughout the Mediterranean world was largely-peaceful and a very different process than how it was spread by the sword and by political machinations into the (then) underdeveloped parts of Europe and then later other places.