Adler, Margot (1946-)

Margot Adler, author and Wiccan priestess, is the granddaughter of renowned psychotherapist Alfred Adler. She was raised in a nonreligious setting and attended the University of California at Berkeley (B.S., 1968) during its era of political radicalism. Following her graduation she began a career in broadcast journalism at radio station WBAI-FM. In 1978 she accepted her latest position, with National Public Radio.

Living in New York in the early 1970s, she encountered witchcraft through a study group founded by the New York Coven of Welsh Traditional Witches. In 1973 she became associated with Gardnerian witchcraft. In 1976 she became the priestess of Iargalon, a Gardnerian coven. During her years as an active priestess, she researched and wrote Drawing Down the Moon, a sympathetic history and survey of the modern Wiccan and pagan community. Over the years since, the book, now in its second edition, has introduced many people to witchcraft.

Since 1982 Adler has practiced as a solitary, but remains one of the most visible leaders of the pagan community in North America. In 1988 her handfasting to John Gliedman was the first pagan marriage covered in the New York Times society pages.

Sources:

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. New York: Viking Press, 1979. Rev. ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.

——. Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997.