Performing the Divine: Neo-Pagan Pilgrimages and Embodiment at Sacred Sites

Abstract

This article discusses Neo-Pagan journeys to archaeological or heritage sites (such as ancient temples and stone circles) associated with pre-Christian religions and deities. It argues that within the rationale of a Neo-Pagan worldview, several common binaries dissolve and reveal themselves as continuities at sacred sites: human body and earth body, the past and the present, inner and outer worlds, self and other, human and deity. In the course of Pagans’ bodily performances at sites, inner and outer landscapes co-create and flow into one another: the lived body becomes a fundamental text and starting point for knowledge. Through somatic modes of attention - by attending to and with their bodies in surroundings that frequently include the embodied presence of others - Neo-pagan pilgrims experience themselves not as isolated subjectivities but as sharing an intersubjective milieu with other pilgrims and with the Earth itself. For women in particular, journeys to sacred sites potentially contribute to a radical re-inscription of the female body by exposing women to alternative representations of the feminine and by providing contexts in which the feminine can be re-imagined, re-experienced and performed differently through symbolic activity and ritual. In Butlerian terms, women potentially perform gender differently at sacred sites.

Celtic pilgrimage, past and present: from historical geography to contemporary embodied practices

“…Research on pilgrimage is increasingly exploring its nature as a physical corporeal activity that facilitates inner, spiritual or emotional journeys (Maddrell, 2011;Maddrell, della Dora, Scafi, & Walton, 2015;Rountree, 2006;Slavin, 2003;Zimdars-Swartz, 2012). This aligns well with calls for 'research into the construction of, and interplay among, religion, society, and space, foregrounding the embodied subject' (Bailey, Harvey, & Brace, 2007, p. 143) that appreciate how bodily centred experiences are central to research into religious and spiritual arena.…”

Energy and transformation in alternative pilgrimages to Catholic shrines: deconstructing the tourist/pilgrim divide

“…In the 1980s, as organized trips to 'sacred places' and centers also developed, travelers to such places often defined themselves as 'pilgrims' and their trips as 'sacred journeys' or 'pilgrimages.' In recent years social and cultural scientists have described such travelers using terms such as 'ecospiritual pilgrims' (Ivakhiv, 2001, p.49) or 'Goddess pilgrims' (Rountree, 2002(Rountree, , 2006a(Rountree, , 2006b, thereby assimilating them with certain cultural / religious movements such as the 'New Age' and the Goddess movement. Bearing in mind all these terms, I refer here to such spiritual journey-makers as 'energy pilgrims'-an umbrella term I use to refer to those on the Mary Magdalene tours and the pilgrimages to the Marian shrines that I studied, but also to those whose sacred journeys have been analyzed by social scientists, including the aforementioned (e.g.…”

“…In fact, the pilgrims considered these heretic orders to be forerunners of the contemporary Goddess movement. 'Goddess pilgrims,' as studied by Kathryn Rountree (2002, 2006a, 2006b, have several things in common with Gaian pilgrims but are more focused on 'feminist' issues and so visit places related to what they identify as 'ancient matriarchal cultures' to worship 'the Goddess' through dancing, chanting and through particular rituals in places where 'She' was venerated a long time ago (Eller 2000, pp.22-23). In Leila Castle's Earthwalking Sky Dancers.…”

Sites and Politics of Religious Diversity in Southern Europe

“…Using "energy techniques" and rituals driven 20 Reference texts about the 'Andean tradition' for Celso's group were Jenkins (1998);Nuñez del Prado (1998) andHuarache Mamani (2000). 21 For more details about pilgrimages related to the 'New Age' and the Neopagan movement see Bowman (1993Bowman ( , 1993, Ivakhiv (2001), Weibel (2005), Rountree (2006aRountree ( , 2006b, Badone (2008) and Fedele (2009Fedele ( , 2013a. from contemporary "indigenous traditions", men and women from Celso's and Dana's groups wanted to recuperate the connection with the pre-Christian roots of Europe and come to terms with their Christian and particularly Catholic past.…”