MURRAY, MARGARET

(1863–1963)

British Egyptologist who made an important contribution to that subject but is probably best known for her workThe Witch-Cult in Western Europe(1921), which proposed a pan-European, pre-Christianreligion extending from theNeolithicto the Medievalwitchcrazes, wherein groups of 13 witches worshipped a fertility god. Murray expanded her thesis inThe God of the Witches(1931) with the “old religion” involving the worship of a horned god, and going back to shamans of theEuropeanPaleolithic(represented in thecave artof the period such as the antlered shaman or “sorcerer” of Les Trois Frères in France). Despite criticism from historians for misrepresenting evidence and drawing problematically on Sir James Frazer’s outmoded concept of “sacred kinship,” Murray’s work was taken seriously by many and extended into the public arena with an entry on witchcraft in theEncyclopaediaBritannica. While it was crucial in the development of modernPaganismand especially modern Pagan witchcraft orWicca, Murray’s thesis has been deconstructed by such historians of witchcraft as Keith Thomas and especiallyRonaldHutton’s recent workThe Triumph of the Moon:A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft(1999), which has been influential among Pagans themselves.