Editing Drawing Down the Moon (book) (section)

==Background==

===Paganism and Wicca in the United States===
Contemporary Paganism, which is also referred to as Neo-Paganism, is an [[umbrella term]] used to identify a wide variety of [[new religious movement|modern religious movements]], particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various [[Paganism|pagan]] beliefs of pre-modern Europe.<ref name="Carpenter 1996 40">[[#Car96|Carpenter 1996]]. p. 40.</ref><ref>[[#Lew04|Lewis 2004]]. p. 13.</ref> The religion of Pagan Witchcraft, or [[Wicca]], is one of a number of different Pagan religions, and developed in England during the first half of the 20th century. The figure at the forefront of Wicca's early development was the English occultist [[Gerald Gardner]] (1884-1964), the author of ''[[Witchcraft Today]]'' (1954) and ''[[The Meaning of Witchcraft]]'' (1959) and the founder of a tradition known as [[Gardnerian Wicca]]. Gardnerian Wicca revolved around the veneration of both a [[Horned God]] and a [[Mother Goddess]], the celebration of eight seasonally-based festivals in a [[Wheel of the Year]] and the practice of magical rituals in groups known as [[coven]]s. Gardnerianism was subsequently brought to the U.S. in the early 1960s by an English initiate, [[Raymond Buckland]] (1934-2017), and his then-wife Rosemary, who together founded a coven in [[Long Island]].<ref>[[#Hut99|Hutton 1999]] pp. 205&ndash;252.</ref><ref>[[#Cli06|Clifton 2006]].</ref>

In the U.S., new variants of Wicca developed, including [[Dianic Wicca]], a tradition founded in the 1970s which was heavily influenced by [[second wave feminism]], rejecting the veneration of the Horned God and emphasizing female-only covens. One initiate of both the Dianic and Gardnerian traditions, who used the pseudonym of [[Starhawk]] (1951-), later founded her own tradition, [[Reclaiming (Neopaganism)|Reclaiming Wicca]], as well as publishing ''[[The Spiral Dance|The Spiral Dance: a Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess]]'' (1979), through which she helped to spread Wicca throughout the U.S.<ref>[[#Hut99|Hutton 1999]].</ref>

===Adler and her research===
In 1976, Adler publicly announced that Viking Press had offered her a book contract to undertake the first wide-ranging study of American Paganism.<ref name="Lloyd 2012. pp. 235">[[#Llo12|Lloyd 2012]]. pp. 235</ref>