Barbara G. Walker (born July 2, 1930, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and feminist. She is a knitting expert and the author of over ten encyclopedic knitting references, despite "not taking to it at all" when she first learned in college. Other topics she has written about are

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

, the occult, spirituality, and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

Books

Knitting

In the 1960s and 1970s, Walker authored several volumes of knitting references which have become landmarks for their comprehensiveness and clarity. Her Knitting Treasury series documents over a thousand different

knitting stitches This is a list of knitting stitches. Common knitting abbreviations as used in patterns are shown in parentheses. Individual stitches * Knit stitch (k) * Purl stitch (p) Variations * Elongated stitch * Plaited stitch, also known as a t ...

. Other books considered mosaic knitting, for producing multicolored designs while knitting only one color per row, and constructing knitted garments from the top down rather than the usual bottom-up method used in Western knitting tradition. Most of Walker's best-known knitting books have been reprinted, and starting in the mid-1990s, she has published new knitting books.

Feminism and skepticism

Walker writes about the problems with mainstream religion and how these problems have contributed to patriarchal societies and sexism. In ''The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone'', she writes about her belief that there is no god. However, she believes that people, and women in particular, can use the image of the goddess in their day-to-day lives. Walker often uses the imagery of the Mother Goddess to discuss neolithic matriarchies. Her book ''Woman's Rituals: A Sourcebook'' is an attempt to show how she puts her "

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

techniques" into practice, and is meant as a guide for other women who wish to do the same.

Criticism

''The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets'' has been criticized for being based on the idea of the "Great Mother" by writers like Robert Graves and Erich Neumann, and for rewriting myths so they would support the theory of a "Great Goddess".

Personal life

Walker studied journalism at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, then worked for the ''

Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Sta ...

'' in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

While serving on a local hotline helping battered women and pregnant teens in the mid-1970s, she became interested in feminism. Walker continued a personal study of comparative religions and feminist issues after she graduated which led to her writing ''The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets'' (1983). Walker describes herself as an atheist. She is an advocate of the

Christ myth theory The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the view that "the story of Jesus is a piece of mythology", possessing no "substantial claims to historical fact". Alternative ...

Awards and recognition

The American Humanist Association named her "Humanist Heroine" in 1993, and in 1995, she received the "Women Making Herstory" award from the New Jersey

NOW Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

Bibliography

Knitting books

* ''A Treasury of Knitting Patterns'' (1968) (reprint edition 1998) * ''A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns'' (1970) * ''The Craft of Lace Knitting'' (1971) * ''The Craft of Cable-Stitch Knitting'' (1971) * ''Knitting from the Top'' (1972) (reprint edition) * ''The Craft of Multicolor Knitting'' (1973) * ''Sampler Knitting'' (1973) (reprinted in ''A Fourth Treasury of Knitting Patterns'' (2000)) * ''Barbara Walker's Learn-to-Knit Afghan Book'' (1974) (reprint edition 1997) * ''Mosaic Knitting'' (1976) (revised in 1997) * ''A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns'' (1985) (reprint edition 1998) * ''Charted Knitting Designs: A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns'' (1986) (reprint edition 1998) * ''A Fourth Treasury of Knitting Patterns'' (2000) (includes Sampler Knitting (1973)) * ''Mosaic Knitting, Revised'' (2006)

Neo-pagan feminist works

''The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets''
(1983) * ''The Secrets of the Tarot: Origins, History, and Symbolism'' (1984) * ''The I Ching of the Goddess'' (1986) * ''The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone'' (1987) * ''The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects'' (1988), Castle Books, * ''The Crone: Woman of Age, Wisdom, and Power'' (1988) * ''The Book of Sacred Stones: Fact and Fallacy in the Crystal World'' (1989, with Werner P. Brodde) * ''Women's Rituals: A Sourcebook'' (1990) * ''Restoring the Goddess: Equal Rites for Modern Women'' (2000) * ''The Essential Handbook of Women's Spirituality and Ritual'' (2001) * ''Man Made God: A Collection of Essays'' (2010) * ''Belief and Unbelief'' (2014)

Novels and short stories

* ''Amazon: A Novel'' (1992) "Amazon by Barbara G. Walker"
Kirkus Reviews. * ''Feminist Fairy Tales'' (1996)

Other works

* ''Barbara Walker Tarot Deck'' (Misc. Supplies) (1986) * ''I Ching of the Goddess: Divination Kit'' (Boxed Set with Cards) (2001)

- Freethought Today, January/February 1998. *

Notes

References

External links

NOW-NJ
National Organization of Women - New Jersey short biography
Freedom from Religion Foundation
short biography
Walker Treasury Project
online community of Walker fans
The Barbara Walker Knitting Project
A community-sourced artist book project by the Tatter Library to knit each entry of Barbara Walker's treasury {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Barbara G. 1930 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century atheists 21st-century atheists American atheists American feminist writers American religious writers Women religious writers Atheist feminists Christ myth theory proponents Critics of Christianity Living people Mythographers People in knitting Writers from Philadelphia Novelists from Pennsylvania American women non-fiction writers