Feraferia is a

Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

religion with a community that began in Southern California and now spans the United States and parts of Europe. Members of this community practice Hellenic-inspired Goddess worship. The founder of the group, Fredrick McLaren Charles Adams II, experienced an ecstatic religious conversion in 1956 when he became viscerally certain of the primacy of the Goddess. Among many other intellectuals with whom he corresponded and exchanged ideas, Adams met and was deeply influenced by

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

and his book ''

The White Goddess ''The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth'' is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by author and poet Robert Graves. First published in 1948, the book is based on earlier articles published in ''Wales'' magazi ...

''. In 1957, Adams founded the classically inspired Fellowship of Hesperides and in 1959, he started a multi-family

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious ...

in Sierra Madre, California. Following on the Fellowship of Hesperides, Feraferia was established in 1967 as a nonprofit corporation in the State of California, and as such, is one of the oldest organizations of

Neopaganism in the United States Modern paganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest Neopagan religious movement is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions or spiritual paths were introduced during th ...

. The name Feraferia is a combination of the Latin root words ''fera,'' denoting “wild” or “feral,” and ''feria,'' or “festival.” The religion is based on the celebration of wild nature with a focus on the maiden Goddess Kore. For six years, Adams published the newsletter ''Korythalia'' once a month with inspiration and updates for Feraferians. During the 1970s, Adams, with Carroll "Poke" Runyon of the Ordo Templi Astartes, and Oberon Zell of the

Church of All Worlds The Church of All Worlds (CAW) is an American Neopagan religious group whose stated mission is to evolve a network of information, mythology, and experience that provides a context and stimulus for reawakening Gaia and reuniting her children thr ...

formed The Council of Themis, the first attempt to unite various

hermetic Hermetic or related forms may refer to: * of or related to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes * of or related to Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary Hellenistic figure based on the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth ** , the ancient and m ...

, Neopagan, and

ceremonial magic Ceremonial magic (ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an ex ...

groups in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Adams, and Feraferia, were represented in Runyon's early Neopagan magazine, ''The 7th Ray'', with Adams illustrating as well as writing expositions on the Feraferia approach to what later became known as the

Goddess movement The Goddess movement includes spiritual beliefs or practices (chiefly Neopagan) which emerged predominantly in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in the 1970s. The movement grew as a reaction to perceptions of predominant ...

. In 1989, Feraferia member and award-winning filmmaker Jo Carson began shooting and directing the documentary film ''Dancing With Gaia'' to explore the meaning of Feraferia through words and images. The film features interviews with Adams and other prominent Neopagans and visits to sacred sites around the world. Adams died in August 2008, followed by his wife and co-founder of Feraferia, Lady Svetlana of Feraferia (Svetlana Butyrin) in 2010. Adams named Jo Carson as literary executor of his estate and charged her with the mission of disseminating the messages of Feraferia to other Neopagan communities and the world. Carson has since published ''Celebrate Wildness: Magic, Mirth and Love on the Feraferia Path'', a handbook of Feraferia and a showcase for Adams’ prolific artwork. Carson has presented on aspects of Feraferia numerous times at the Neopagan conference PantheaCon, and maintains a physical library for and about Feraferia as well as an extensive website with more than 150 articles. Currently, Carson is working on a new publication, ''The Green Pulse Oracle: A Tool for Eco-Psychic Insight,'' based on a system of oracular glyphs first developed by Adams.

References

External links

feraferia home
---- {{paganism Modern pagan organizations based in the United States Religious organizations established in 1967 1967 establishments in California Religion in California Religious belief systems founded in the United States Modern pagan organizations established in the 1960s