Traditional Folklore & Wicca with Professor Sabina Magliocco

In this hour, Caer Hallundbaek interviews Sabina Magliocco, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology at California State University, Northridge. A child of immigrants, her family spent summers living in Italy, specifically Rome and the area of Tuscany, which gave rise to her interest in folklore.

Sabina graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a BA in Anthropology. At Indiana University’s Folklore Institute, Bloomington, Indiana, she received her MA and Ph.D. in Folklore, with a minor in Anthropology.

She has published on religion, folklore, foodways, festival, witchcraft and Neo-Paganism in Europe and the United States. A recipient of Guggenheim, National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright and Hewlett fellowships, and an honorary Fellow of the American Folklore Society, she also served as editor of Western Folklore from 2004-2009.

Her books include Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America; Neo-Pagan Sacred Art and Altars: Making Things Whole; and The Two Madonnas: the Politics of Festival in a Sardinian Community.

In this hour, topics include: Italy and regional folklore; ‘Strega Nona’ or Grandmother Witch; religious festivals in Europe as economic and political opportunities; how they changed when the economy changed; how the role of women also changed; the “old religion” and old ways of healing; a brief history of Wicca in England; the rise of Wicca in Europe and the U.S.; core beliefs of Wicca; alignment with the natural world and cycles; conflict with Roman Catholic clergy; Neo-pagans in America; Harry Potter – reaching out to reconnect with our magical, mystical being; individual and group worship; holidays and festivals; the importance of folklore — why is it a continuing inspiration and guide.

Listen to the show here:

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