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The Coming Age

Magazine · United Kingdom · 1970s-1980s
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Issue 9 · 1978

About the Coming Age

The Coming Age was a British Goddess-centered religious magazine first published in 1976 by Lux Madriana, an organization based in Oxford, England. Its publishers followed Madrianism, a religion centered on the Divine Mother and Her Daughter, and believed they were helping to restore an ancient matriarchal spiritual tradition. Their vision went well beyond religious worship, imagining a society in which culture, relationships, and everyday life were shaped by the Feminine Divine rather than the patriarchal structures of the modern world.

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Part religious publication, part cultural manifesto, The Coming Age explored what it might actually mean to live in such a world. Alongside essays on theology, mythology, gender, and modern civilization, readers encountered imaginative stories, poetry, religious symbolism, seasonal festivals, and detailed household customs. Its pages reveal an unusual combination of Catholic-influenced devotion, romantic mythology, countercultural idealism, and sometimes uncompromising views on gender and society. More than simply documenting the Madrian movement, the magazine served as a means of developing its beliefs, practices, and shared cultural identity.

Publication Details

  • Title: The Coming Age

  • Subtitle: A Madrian Review of Religion, Life and Culture

  • Creator/Organization: Lux Madriana; Order of the Daughters of Artemis

  • Author(s): Various contributors

  • Editor:  

  • First publication year: 1976

  • Publication run: At least 20 numbered issues documented, 1976–1981; final publication date unconfirmed

  • Publisher: Lux Madriana; early issues also credit the Order of the Daughters of Artemis

  • Place of publication: Oxford, England, United Kingdom; later Todmorden, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

  • Language: English

  • Frequency: Quarterly (approximately; supported by the documented issue sequence)   

  • Subjects/Tags: Goddess spirituality, Madrianism, Matriarchal religion, Divine Feminine, Goddess theology, Divine Mother and Daughter, Religious revival, Religious philosophy, Religious instruction, Devotional practices, Goddess mythology, Sacred scriptures, Matriarchal history, Gender roles, Feminine spirituality, Religious symbolism, Seasonal festivals, Sacred calendars, Household rituals, Prayer and meditation, Religious initiation, Religious communities, Communal living, Religious fiction, Mythic storytelling, Poetry, Cultural criticism, Anti-patriarchal thought, Alternative religious movements, Independent religious publishing, Pagan publishing networks

  • Tradition(s): Madrianism, Goddess spirituality, British matriarchal tradition

  • Document type: Journal ​

  • Rights status: Copyright asserted by Lux Madriana for written material in documented later issues; rights to illustrations and other contributions not fully established.

Noteworthy Topics
& Curiosities

Madrianism had its own sacred calendar, and The Coming Age provided detailed instructions for observing it. These ranged from fasting and prayer to decorating household shrines, preparing festive foods, exchanging gifts, and celebrating the Nativity of the Daughter. One particularly charming detail is the Star-Fairy, a supernatural figure associated with Nativity celebrations who was said to bring presents to households.

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The magazine drew heavily on religious imagery familiar from Christianity, including the Virgin Birth, Easter, resurrection, confession, rosaries, and devotional rites. These were interpreted within a theology centered on the Divine Mother and Her Daughter. The resulting mixture of Catholic-style religious practice and Goddess mythology is one of the publication's most distinctive characteristics.

Names & Networks

People: Contributors: Sister Julia, Sister Angelina, Sister Alethea, Chrysothemis, Mary Scarlett

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Related Publications: Isian News, The New Eulalith, The Pagan Way, The Cauldron, Foresight, Quadriga, Stonehenge Viewpoint, Revelation, Aquarian Arrow, Womanspeak, Shrew, WomanSpirit, Gnostica.

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Organizations & Networks Mentioned: Fellowship of Isis, Chapel of Artemis and Astarte of the Waves, Order of Diana

Browse Available Issues

Access: Digitized issues are available through Internet Archive, where they were uploaded by user FlapperFannySays in October 2023.

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1976

Issue 1 

 

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

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