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As I knew
Charles
Clark, this website is slightly more focused on him and the
Scottish Wica. However there were of course
several other Craft Elders that became leading lights and helped to ensure
the Crafts survival. On this page you will find some information about a few of them.
Doreen is well-known in the world of Witchcraft. Not only did she know Gardner and
many of the other early Wica, but she also explored other traditions of
Witchcraft. Her inquisitive and questing personality meant that she amassed
much knowledge, which helped her to write several books on the subject.
◉
Doreen's Books: Where
Witchcraft Lives
The
Rebirth of Witchcraft,
Witchcraft for Tomorrow,
An ABC of Witchcraft,
Natural Magic,
Witchcraft A Tradition Renewed (with Evan John Jones),
Charge of the Goddess (Doreen's poetry - released posthumously).
◉
Read an article by Doreen that
appeared in Psychic News on the 13th January 1962
here.
◉
Read a San Francisco News Article
(December 7th 1962) about Doreen Valiente
here.
◉ An article Doreen wrote about
Witchcraft, which appeared in Predicition (May 1964) can be found
here.
◉ An article about Doreen's
involvement with the Witchcraft Research Association, formed in 1964, can be
found here.
◉ Pentagram, probably the
first magazine about witchcraft ever published, features several articles by
Doreen. You can read Pentagram
here.
◉ You can find an article featuring
Doreen which appeared in the Brighton Evening Argus (April 25th 1984)
here.
◉
A' Which'
on the Witches - another article about Doreen from the Brighton
Evening Argus (March 1st 1972)
◉
You can find a short
YouTube video of
Doreen's magical beneficiary, John Belham-Payne, saying something about
Doreen's passing, in 1999.
◉
You can watch another
YouTube video by John Belham-Payne speakign abotu Doreen Valientes
legacy
◉
www.doreenvaliente.com is the
website dedicated to this amazing lady.
◉
There are several articles about
Doreen Valiente online and in French
here.
 Patricia
is another well-known High Priestess who has done much for the Goddess
movement and has written several books. For many years she was married to
Arnold Crowther, the stage magician and acquaintance of Aleister Crowley's.
Patricia lives in Sheffield with her husband, Ian.
◉
Patricia's
books:
Lid off the Cauldron,
The Zodiac Experience,
High Priestess-The Life of Patricia Crowther,
Witches Speak,
Witches Were For Hanging,
Secrets of Ancient Witchcraft with the Witches Tarot,
Witchcraft in Yorkshire. Witch Blood,
From Stagecraft to Witchcraft
◉
It's a Night For the Witches - an
article that featured in Sheffield Star (30th October 1965)
◉
The Eye of the Witch Goddess - an
article by Justine Glass about Arnold Crowther's painting. Prediction
(June 1966)
◉
An article about
Midsummer from the Weekend Telegraph (June 17th 1966), featuring
Patricia can be found here.
◉ You can find an older article about
Patricia taken from Weekend (June 17th-23rd 1981) here:
Part 1 Part 2
◉
Far Out wrote an article
about Patricia in the 1990's. Read it
here.
◉
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/c/crowther_patricia_c.html - article about Patricia.
◉
Listen to this YouTube
clip featuring a young Patricia Crowther singing 'Lord Of The
Dance'
◉
There is a page about Patricia
Crowther in French here.
 Eleanor
Bone was originally initiated by hereditary Witches in Cumbria and then
later joined the Wica, in 1960. Two of her
initiates, Madge and Arthur Worthington (founders of the Whitecroft 'line'), were ultimately
responsible for a large number of initiations in the UK which went a long
way to ensuring the Craft's survival.
◉
http://www.witchvox.com/passages/eleanorbone.html has a small piece
about Ray Bone.
◉
Read an article about Eleanor that
appeared in the Sunday Telegraph (May 3rd 1964)
here.
◉
Ray Bone gave an interview in
Tit Bits (June 6th 1964), you can read it here.
◉
'Real
Witches At Work' - featuring Eleanor Bone. Life
(November 1964)
◉
There is an interview with Eleanor
Bone
online here.
◉
'Witches in
Britain' - featuring Eleanor Bone. Weekend Telegraph (May 21st
1965)
◉
There is a page about Eleanor Bone
in French here.
Fred Lamond was a
member of the Bricket Wood Coven near London for many years. He still talks
regularly on the subject of Witchcraft and is also quite well-known in the
IT world.
◉
Fred's books:
Fifty Years of Wicca,
Religion without Beliefs,
◉
There is an article about Fred,
taken from the 'Far-Out' Magazine here: Part 1
Part 2
 Lois
Bourne (Hemmings/Pearson) was another member of the Bricket Wood Coven. She
has written several books about her experiences and her first book on
practical magic was recently published.
◉
Lois' books:
Conversations with a Witch,
A Witch Amongst Us,
Dancing with Witches, and
Spells to Change Your Life. Lois also produced a small pamphlet
about
witchcraft in the English
town which produced both Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General; and
Cunning Murrell called
Witchcraft and
Manningtree (C1946)
◉
There is a small interview with
Lois in Saga Magazine, 1966
here (PDF)
◉
You can find a small article about
Lois which appeared in Psychic News on the 12th August 1961
here.
◉
There is a page about Lois Bourne
in French here.
Although Alex
Sanders did not really know Gardner, his contribution to the survival of
Witchcraft can not be denied. Initiated into the Wica in 1962, his
enthusiasm, magical knowledge and approach, attracted many people seeking
initiation. Alex, along with his onetime partner Maxine Sanders, were highly
flamboyant and their Craft activities created some of the more
sensationalist headlines of the 1960s and 70s. Today, initiates tracing their lineage back to Alex are usually
referred to as 'Alexandrians'.
◉
June Johns wrote a book about Alex
entitled
King of the Witches a small review from Time (1970) magazine
about this book, can be found
here.
◉
'Black magic rites on Cheshire Hillside'
article from the Manchester Evening Chronicle and News, (Sept. 15th
1962)
◉
Why I
Am A Witch by Alex Sanders - another newspaper article from
Manchester Comet (June 30th 1965)
◉
Read the article
'England's Nude Witch Cult' which appeared in
the American publication Swank in March 1966
◉
You can read a newspaper article
about Alex, written by Eric Maple and taken from The Sun (October
29th 1970) here
◉
Stewart Farrar,
a writer who was later to become associated with the Craft, first met
Alex when he had been sent by his newspaper to interview him. You can read
the articles that Stewart subsequently wrote here:-
Reveille (Jan 10th 1970) and
Reveille (Jan 17th 1970)
◉
Legend of the Witches is
a film from 1970 which features Alex Sanders and other Coven members. Watch
a clip from this film on
here.
◉
A recording entitled 'A Witch Is
Born' was made of the initiation of Janet Farrar (nee Owen) by Alex and
several others in 1970. It was reissued in 1994 and it is possible to find
copies on Ebay or you could keep an eye on its Amazon page
here.
◉
Secret Rites was a 1971
documentary which Sanders appeared in.
◉
The Occult Experience was
a 1985 program featuring various occultists including Sanders. You can watch
it on google video
here. It is also available through torrent sharing - Here for example.
◉
Alex has the last laugh in this
Brighton Evening Argus (May 2nd 1988)
article about his passing.
◉
A Men Only interview with
Alex, from the 1973 can be read here.
◉
Alex Sanders was also an advisor
on the 1966 film Eye of the Devil
Video clips on You Tube
featuring Alex Sanders.
◉
Watch some video clips from a 1970
documentary about Alex Sanders
here and
here
◉
Watch a video clip of Alex Sanders
doing a Fire Spirit ritual
here.
 Edith
Woodford-Grimes was a close companion of Gardner's for many years. It is
thought that she may have been the person who introduced Gardner to the New
Forest Coven, and whom Gardner often referred to as 'the witch'.
◉
For more information about Edith,
please see
Philip Heselton's book,
Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration.
 Jack Bracelin
ended up running the Five Acres Sun Club for Gardner. This was also where 'The Witches Cottage' was placed; a small hut that became the location for
meetings of the Bricket Wood Coven. Jack is also attributed with being the writer of
Gardner's biographer Gerald Gardner: Witch, though it was actually written
by Idries Shah and was first published under Shah's own publishing label,
Octagon Press.
◉
Jack gave a small interview
which appeared in the Sunday Times (October 27th 1963). Find it
here.
◉
For more
information on the Wilson's, please visit my Scottish Wica page
Dayonis
was involved with the Bricket Wood Coven in the 1950's and replaced Doreen
Valiente as the High Priestess after Doreen left. In the late 1950s, she
emigrated to Canada and a few years ago gave a talk about her
experiences in the Craft.
◉
You can find an interview with
Dayonis taken from the Daily Mail (November 3rd 1958)
here.
I feel that this
page would not be complete without Donna Gardner, wife of Gerald. Whilst
the traditional viewpoint is that Donna was not involved in Gardner's
Craft activities. I believe that she would at times, participate in
rituals. I hope to write more about this in the future.
◉ View
an image of Donna's final resting place
here.
◉
See a
photo of some
beads, reputed to be a set that Donna wore in the circle.
◉
You can see a photo of Gerald and
Donna together in
Gerald Gardner: Witch by Jack Bracelin
Barbara Vickers
appears to have been amongst the first, if not the first, woman Gardner
initiated. Recent research by Philip Heselton has shown that she had
certainly received her initiation by November 1950. Doreen Valiente also met
Barbara and mentions her in her writings.
◉
Read Philip Heselton's article about Barbara Vickers
here. This was first
published in
The Cauldron in
May 2008.
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