Origin from 1976
A multi-faith, non-dogmatic international network devoted to the worship of the Goddess in her many forms, especially Isis, founded at Clonegal Castle in Ireland. Members may belong to other religions simultaneously, and the Fellowship recognizes goddesses from many world traditions rather than one closed pantheon.
Facts
Origins
Origin Period FounderOlivia Robertson, Lawrence Durdin-Robertson and Pamela Durdin-Robertson 1 FoundedFounded at the Spring Equinox of 1976 at Clonegal Castle (Huntington Castle), County Carlow, Ireland, growing out of a meditation and study group the family had run there since 1963. 1 Trajectory
Membership Over TimeFounder Olivia Robertson stated, in a 2002 Fellowship of Isis Homepage notice, approximately 21,000 members across many countries; the Fellowship keeps no formal membership roll, consistent with its non-dogmatic, fee-free structure. 2 Membership Figure As Of Basis of the Membership Figure Organisation
Distinguishing FeatureExplicitly non-exclusive: it asks members to honour the Goddess under whatever name and tradition already draws them, rather than requiring initiation into one closed system. 1 Governing BodyLoosely organized with no central dogma and no membership fee; local centres, called Iseums and Lyceums, operate with wide autonomy under the umbrella Fellowship. 1 Status
Current Statusliving-tradition, with centres reported across many countries and membership in the low thousands, though the Fellowship keeps no formal roll consistent with its non-dogmatic structure. 1 Learn More
A Castle, a Study Group, and No Single Goddess
The Fellowship of Isis began as a family project. Olivia Robertson and her brother Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, with his wife Pamela, had run a meditation and study circle at their home, Clonegal Castle in County Carlow, Ireland, since 1963. At the Spring Equinox of 1976 they opened it as a formal religious fellowship, dedicated to the worship of the Goddess under whatever name a member already knew her.
That last point is the Fellowship's defining structural choice. It asks nothing exclusive of its members: no renunciation of another faith, no single closed pantheon, no central dogma to sign onto. A local group, called an Iseum or a Lyceum depending on its founding charter, sets its own practice, and the Fellowship's role is closer to a network than a church. There is no membership fee.
That looseness let it spread further than a more demanding organization might have. Reported membership runs into the low thousands across centres on several continents, though the Fellowship keeps no formal central roll, consistent with the same non-dogmatic instinct that shaped its founding. Clonegal Castle itself remains its symbolic and administrative heart.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Isis, Deities This source names Isis directly: "Goddess in her many forms, especially Isis, founded at Clonegal Castle in Ireland."
Isis, Figures This source names Isis directly: "Goddess in her many forms, especially Isis, founded at Clonegal Castle in Ireland."
This source names Fellowship of Isis directly: "The Fellowship of Isis's own official website, carrying a 2002 statement from co-founder Olivia Robertson: "I would like to correct an inaccuracy in the definition of the Fellowship of Isis as a..."
Sources
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