Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism

★1923 ★

Alexandrian Wicca

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Most closely related to the older Gardnerian Wicca are the Alexandrians, followers of Alexander Sanders, termed by his biographer "The King of the Witches." According to Sanders, in 1933, as a seven-year old, he surprised his grandmother, who was nude and standing in a circle in the kitchen. She ordered Sanders into the circle and had him strip and bend over with his head between his thighs. She took a knife, nicked his scrotum and declared, "You are one of us now." Sanders realized that he was a witch. He was later initiated by her as third degree witch. In actual fact, all indications are that Sanders was an early member of one of the Gardnerian Wicca covens, and that he took the Gardnerian rituals, modified them slightly and began his own work independently. In any case, in 1967, after the failure of several marriages, Sanders settled in London with his third wife, Maxine Sanders.

In 1969, a sensationalized article on Sanders in a Sunday London newspaper led to a meteoric rise. Other papers and media turned him into a celebrity, and his biography was released during the year. He also made a film, "Legend of the Witches," which further boosted his popularity; he was a frequent guest on television talk shows. His text of the Witchcraft rituals were among the first to be published and become publically available. Sanders died in 1988.

The Alexandrians ritually resemble the Gardnerians, upon whom they base their practices. Like the Gardnerians, their rituals are skyclad (i.e., in the nude), and the coven in London became one of the most photographed in all the craft. Alexandrians have become noted for the culmination of the third-degree initiation in the Great Rite, i.e., sexual intercourse, also used at handfasting (marriage) ceremonies. Ideally, the rite is held for two people about to leave and form a new coven. The rite may be symbolic or actual.

The situation of Alexandrian witchcraft as a distinct tradition has been greatly altered by attacks within the Witchcraft community questioning Sanders's credentials and by the defection of a leading member, Stewart Farrar, who, with his wife Janet Farrar, began an independent coven. He has emerged as an important author and ritual innovator. Much of the attention that once came to Sanders now currently flows to the neo-Alexandrian system of Farrar. However, rather than creating a new lineage of covens, Farrar's work has tended to be absorbed into the larger Pagan-Witchcraft community as another source for eclectic covens to draw upon.

Membership: In America a few Alexandrian covens still exist, but their number has steadily decreased.

Sources:

Johns, June. King of the Witches. New York: Coward-McCann, 1970.

The Alex Sanders Lectures. New York: Magickal Childe, 1980.

Farrar, Stewart. What Witches Do. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1971.

Farrar, Janet, and Stewart Farrar. Eight Sabbaths for Witches. London: Robert Hale, 1981.

——. The Witches' Way. London: Robert Hale, 1984.

★1924 ★

Algard Wicca

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Algard (from "Alexandrian" and "Gardnerian") Wicca was formed in 1972 by Mary Nesnick, an Alexandrian Wicca high priestess, in New York City. Ms. Nesnick was initiated into the craft in 1964 by a college professor. She was a freshman at the time. The intent of Algard was to lead to a more independent sect of Wicca that would allow more latitude in ritual and action. As the name implies, both Alexandrian and Gardnerian rituals were sources for Algard practices (Alexandrian Wicca and Gardnerian Wicca are discussed in separate entries.) Combining the two was relatively easy, since they were similar and at many points even identical. Algard covens worship both skyclad and robed, at the coven's discretion. All initiation ceremonies are skyclad.

The Algard covens are governed by the grand high priestess (Ms. Nesnick) and a grand high priest, who oversee the covens and settle intercoven problems and who speak for the craft. Each coven is headed by a high priestess and high priest. Twenty elders assist the ten neophyte priestesses and priests in learning craft ways. A one-year waiting period is required before initiation. Homosexuality is grounds for rejection. Members must be eighteen years of age. Screening before initiation was a point at issue with Alexander Sanders, who felt that the first degree was the place for strict screening. Worship is centered on the eight festivals and thirteen full moon esbats. Only initiates attend.

The Algard Wiccans are one of the most highly organized bodies of covens. An Algard Newsletter, issued only to members, tied the leaders together. However, in the flux of the Wiccan community during the late 1970s, the tradition seems to have been largely dissipated.

Membership: Not reported. In 1973 there were a reported 48 covens with affiliated groups in England, Canada, and Greece. There was no verification of those claims, and there is good reason to doubt them. In the early 1980s, the tradition has been reduced to one or two covens in the New York area.

★1925 ★

American Order of the Brotherhood of Wicca

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The American Order of the Brotherhood of Wicca is an eclectic traditional Wiccan group headed by Lady Sheba (Jessie Wicker Bell). American Celtic is the name given the covens which combine Lady Sheba's Celtic heritage and American Indian magical tradition. Lady Sheba was initiated into the craft in the 1930s. She became the focus of controversy in the early 1970s for publishing her Grimoire and Book of Shadows, thus making public secret rituals and practices. These rituals turned out to be slightly revised versions of the Gardnerian rituals. She also referred to herself as a Witch Queen, a title used in Gardnerian Wicca for a priestess whose has raised coven members to the third degree and sent them out to form a new coven. The title was rejected by many of the more individualistic craft members.

Lady Sheba defines witch as "the wise one" and witchcraft as "magick," denying that it is nature worship or a fertility cult. To her, witchcraft is learning to manipulate and use the natural laws. Nature is the physical manifestation of the creator, who appears as Mother-Father. Astrology is also an important aspect of witchcraft. Lady Sheba's rituals adhere to the traditional Gardnerian Wiccan forms—the circle, the rituals, the three degrees, the eight festivals and covens of thirteen or fewer persons. They differ primarily in espousing a robed tradition (Gardnerian rituals are done in the nude). Couples and family relations are emphasized.

The American Order is organized into dependent covens tied together by their relationship to Lady Sheba, who is recognized as having come from a long line of witches. Covens are located across the country, and there are a few overseas.

During the 1970s, at the time Lady Sheba's books were being published, the American Order was among the most active groups in promoting interaction and cooperation among witches of various traditions. Much of the organizational leadership was assumed by Carl Weschcke, owner-publisher of Llewellyn Publications, who had been initiated by Lady Sheba. In 1973, the Twin Cities Area Council of the American Order of the Brotherhood of Wicca was formed as a council of coven leaders, and all traditions were invited to participate. In 1974, the Order was a strong force behind the formation of the short-lived ecumenical organization, the Council of American Witches. In more recent years the Order has assumed a much lower profile, and its current status is uncertain.

Membership: Not reported. There are only a few covens currently associated with the order.

Sources:

Sheba, Lady [Jessie Wicker Bell]. Witch. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1973.

——. The Grimoire of Lady Sheba. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1974.

★1926 ★

Ammonite Foundation

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Ammonite Foundation is the modern expression of ancient Egyptian religion. Though recently becoming visible in Western Europe and North America, it traces its origin to the reign of Pharaoh Tutankhammun and the city of Thebes. The current head of the foundation is Her Grace Sekmet Montu. According to the foundation, the Ammonites were the original people of Egypt and their religion, now commonly treated as simply "mythology," was the Ammonite Faith. It is, according to the foundation, the oldest still-practiced religion in the world, religion being considered the whole range of codes of conduct (morality, diet, dress) and the psychological and philosophical aspects of living in the world. Its approach has both a monotheistic and polytheistic theological perspective, in that it affirms belief in one God as the root of faith which finds expression with a multitudinous or multi-faceted God face, i.e., a polytheistic expression of belief. It is comparable to modern systems in which the work of the one God is carried out through angels and/or saints. The Ammonite Faith has many obvious parallels to Hinduism and Native American faiths, but also to Christianity, as, it is believed, Jesus Christ borrowed many of his teachings from Egypt.

Individual believers are urged to work out a personal code of behavior based upon their acquisition of facts and the exercise of their free will. There are no commandments. The foundation also rejects the practice of tithing (or the payment of a designated amount of one's income to the religion's centers), but survives from the voluntary offerings of members.

A complete presentation of beliefs and practices is offered to prospective members through a correspondence course available from the foundation's headquarters. It is believed that after successfully restoring Ammun (the deity) to his temples, Pharaoh Tutankhammun decreed that the ancient religion of Egypt be preserved intact so the worship of Ammun could continue throughout the ages. Thus it was that Horemheb (the last pharaoh of the 18th dynasty) created the Ammonite Way to preserve the knowledge for future generations. The Ammonite Foundation claims to still possess the book commonly referred to as the Book of Tehuti or Book of Thoth in its complete form. The first half of that book, found on tomb walls and published as The Book of the Dead, is readily available to anyone. It deals with death and resurrection. The second half, that part not found in the tombs, deals with creation and life. It was kept secret to preserve the faith. The correspondence course prepares the believer for what is contained in the second part of the Book of Tehuti.

The foundation recommends a variety of books on Egyptian religion to those who wish to identify with the Ammonite Faith. The list includes the writings of E. A. Wallis Budge, Joan Grant's Winged Pharaoh, E. A. Schwaller de Lubicz's Her-Bak, and Elizabeth Haich's Initiation.

Membership: In 1995 the foundation reported 50 lay members and four clergy members in the United States but 270,000 lay members and 9,000 clergy worldwide. Members are found in Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, India, Germany, and Great Britain.

★1927 ★

Ancient Keltic Church

PO Box 663
Tujunga, CA 91043-0663

The Ancient Keltic Church is Pagan organization that is attempting to revive the ancient mystery faith of the Celtic peoples and integrate it into modern life. It began as an experimental group, the Roebuck, put together by Ann and David Finnin. The Roebuck included people from various Wiccan traditions as an experimental group called The Roebuck. Of particular importance in the formation of the Roebuck were the writings of Robert Cochrane (pseudonym of Roy Bowers) (d. 1966) Cochrane was the head of the Clan of Tubal Cain, a Wiccan group in the Gardnerian tradition that emerged in England in the 1960s and became public through articles that appeared in various Wiccan and occult publications in the mid-1960s.

In 1976, the Finnins began the revival of the Clan of Tubal Cain. In 1982 they contacted William G. Gray and Evan John Jones, former members of Cochrane's original group, and after two years of study they were adopted into the clan by Jones who empowered them to lead the tradition in the United States and teach the various methods of personal magical development. In 1989, The Roebuck incorporated as the Ancient Keltic Church as a modern day Celtic mystery school. Membership is concentrated in a group of devotees who study the mysteries and an Initiate priesthood who lead rituals teach and offer oracles as requested. This core group guard the rites and teachings against any who might dilute or corrupt them.

While many of the teachings are not available to nonmembers, the church practices a form of magic that includes the invocation of unseen forces and the use of natural materials (stones, herbs, animals, etc.) to that end. It places spiritual development ahead of magic in its priorities. One method for spiritual development is contact with what are termed "inner plane guardians" also known as god, shining ones, or fairies-the primordial forces of nature described in Irish, Welsh and Gaelic folklore.

These guardians, along with the Father God and Mother Goddess, constitute the church's pantheon. The goal of spiritual and magical development is service to the people. Service by church members is offered in the form of healing, counseling, and rites of passage.

The church operates primarily in southern California, where the Finnins lead various public festivals and workshops that introduce the church. The church differs from much of the Pagan and Wiccan community in that it is self-consciously an elitist groups that believes that only a minority of Pagans have "the intelligence, imagination and will to study the mysteries," a stance that is contra the majority who espouse a more democratic and egalitarian approach. The church also differs in that it is, by its own ascription, anti-feminist, meaning that it does not focus upon women's (and, by extension, the earth's) fertility cycles, and homophobic, in that the church's teaching assume the different ways of generating magical power in men and women and that does not change with sexual preferences. The church is also committed to tradition sexual mores concerning marriage and sexual behavior.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ancient Keltic Church. http://members.aol.com/akcroebuck/. 23 April 2002.

★1928 ★

Angelseaxisce Ealdriht

202 E. Mulbury
Huntsville, MO 65259

The Angelseaxisce Ealdriht (Anglo-Saxon Eldright) is a structured, closely knit society which seeks to understand and live the beliefs and values of Anglo-Saxon and other Germanic Heathens (or Pagans) in the context of modern life. Most of the group's deities, values, and beliefs are like those of other Norse Heathen/Asatru organizations and groups. Its deities are those termed the Aesir and the Vanir, including among others Woden (Odin), Frige (Frigg), Thunor (Thor), Tiw (Tyr), Ing Frea (Freyr), and Freo (Freya).

The word "Ealdriht" refers to the common-law rights, customs, and moral values that belong to people by ancient tradition and precedent, those rights and customs that have been earned, established, and held firm through many generations, the Magna Carta (1217 C.E.) being a worthy example. Building on the ancient Heathen ways, the modern Heathen seek to reestablish the enduring customs, values, and ways in the modern world. As modern Heathens, the Angelseaxisce Ealdriht value thoth (beliefs), which includes loyalty to the gods and goddesses, ancestors, and other Heathens. Thoth is strengthened through the swearing of holy oaths and vows.

The Angelseaxisce Ealdriht is organized on a Heathen Anglo-Saxon model. Social rankings are termed "arungs," and these are earned by demonstrating learning, skill, community service, and a level of acceptance of responsibility. The important decisions together are voted upon democratically during the quarterly maethelings (assemblies or Things). Ranks are conferred by democratic vote of the maethels (social units).

There are three categories of membership in the Eldright: the Folgere, an associate or a "friend of the Eldright" (without oath); the Laet, an apprentice preparing for full membership (requiring a provisional oath); and the full, oathed permanent members who have full voting rights and ranks. Members affiliate with "maethels," and each full member of the Eldright belongs to one and only one maethel. Incoming members must be accepted by a maethel which will sponsor and teach them, and promote their growth and well-being in the Eldright. The maethel leaders, either Maethelgerefa (with a temporary term of leadership, renewable by vote) or Maethel Ealdor (elected permanent leader), are elected from within each maethel, and serve on the Witangemot, the governing council of the Eldright. Maethel officers include the Heargweard (priest) if available, Hordere (hoarder/treasurer), and Stigeweard (steward).

Ideally, a maethel is comprised of people who live relatively close together, who can physically gather and get to know one another face to face. However, since Eldright members are scattered across the country, and it is often not possible to have enough members in one place to form a maethel locally, modern maethels often include members who are geographically distant from one another.

The governing body of the Eldright as a whole is the Witangemot, the Eldright council. It is comprised of the leaders of all the maethels, plus the Eldright's Thyle (the counsellor or rede-giver, who is also the educational coordinator) and the leader of Haligwaerstow, the Eldright's Priest Hall or Guild. The Witangemot and the whole voting body of the Eldright elects the leader of the Witangemot and the Eldright—the Eldright Ealdor. The Witangemot must approve the establishment of new maethels or guilds (independent social units, each focused on some defined area of skill, knowledge, and service).

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

http://www.geocities.com/Aythens/Delphi/6909/.

★1929 ★

Aquarian Tabernacle Church

PO Box 409
Index, WA 98256

The Aquarian Tabernacle Church was founded by the Rev. Pierre C. Davis and other Pagans in 1979. Davis had been a Pagan for several years when a decision was made to organize independently and incorporate the group as a church. The incorporation was completed in 1983. Since that time the church has emerged as an aggressive and assertive proponent of Neo-Paganism. In 1988 the church received its tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. Subsequently in 1991 the church was granted a group exemption letter covering affiliated congregations. Davis and Deborah K. Hudson serve as the archpriest and archpriestess of the A.T.C. tradition.

Paganism is defined by the church as a set of common beliefs held by most Pagans. These include the following: the idea that divinity is both imminent and transcendent, and likely to manifest as both male and female; a multiplicity of gods and goddesses; a respect for nature; a distrust of monolithic religious organizations; life as joyful, loving, and pleasurable; ethics based on the avoidance of harm to others; magic; celebration of the solar and lunar cycles; eclecticism; faith in the ability of people to solve their own problems; commitment to growth, evolution and balance; human interdependence and the need for community cooperation; and the need for a consistency in lifestyle and professed belief.

The church operates both church and retreat house in the Cascade Mountains. Its purpose is to re-treat the body, mind, and spirit. Near the church is the Moon Stone Circle, a ring of menhirs used for worship and meditation. They also have a shrine dedicated to the Goddess Hecate located nearby. The church sponsors a Spring Mysteries Festival (Eostre), Hecate's Sickle Festival (Samhain), and the Pagan Church Conference, annually. The church operates a recorded-message phone service which features a two-to-three minute message on some aspect of Neo-Paganism. It is also affiliated with the Interfaith Council of Washington State. Davis was elected president of the Interfaith Council in March 1995, the first Wiccan priest ever to hold such a position in the United States. He served two terms. He also serves as a member of the Religious Advisory Commission of the Department of the Corrections in Washington State.

Membership: In 1995 the church reported 1,894 members in 36 congregations in the United States, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, and Australia.

Educational Facilities: The Woolston-Steer Theological Seminary, Index, Washington.

Periodicals: Panegyria. • Looking Upward •Hecate's Horn.

★1930 ★

Ar nDraiocht Fein: A Druid Fellowship, Inc.

c/o Raven's Cry Grove
859 N. Hollywood Way, Box 368
Burbank, CA 91505

Ar nDraiocht Fein: A Druid Fellowship, Inc. is a Neopagan Druid community founded in the mid-1980s by Isaac Bonewits. The attempt to reconstruct and revive a form of Druidism began at Carleton College during the 1962-1963 school year. It spread from there as the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA). Bonewits became a Druid in 1969. The following year he attained some degree of fame when he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Magic. He published his survey of the field, Real Magic, in 1971. Through the 1970s, Bonewits took a prominent role in Druid affairs. He published a newsletter and edited the Druid Chronicles (Evolved) (1976), but toward the end of the decade he withdrew from leadership and kept a low profile for several years.

Bonewits reasserted his position as an Archdruid in 1984 with the publication of the first issue of The Druids' Progress and the announcement of the founding of Ar nDraiocht Fein as a specifically Neopagan form of Druidism. The order maintains a contemporary faith based upon the latest academic research and assessment of ancient Druidism. While reviving the best aspects of the past, this approach advocates self-consciously living in a modern scientific, artistic, ecological, and holistic context. Like other Neo-pagan groups, it is a nature worshipping, polytheistic faith.

Bonewits also designed the new Druidism so it was not limited to Celtic traditions, but pan-Indo-European to allow a broad inter-cultural participation. Though Neopagan Druidism is seen as very close to Wicca, it is distinguished from Wicca by its emphasis upon polytheism rather than just two major Wiccan deities (the Sky God and the Earth Mother), its large group orientation as opposed to small covens, and its public inclusionary character.

Neopagan Druids are organized into groves that meet twice monthly and celebrate the common eight pagan festivals. Bonewits (with the assistance of other members) has written The ADF Grove Organizers Handbook, The ADF Members' Guide, The ADF Study Manual, and the ADF Liturgical Manual. Recently Bonewits retired and was named Archdruid Emeritus. Ian Corrigan has been named acting Archdruid in the interim before a New Archdruid is designated.

The group's website can be found at http://www.adf.org.

Membership: In 2002, there are 43 groves in the United States and one grove in Ontario, Canada.

Educational Facilities: The ADF study program provides college-level training for Druidic clergy and other leaders.

Periodicals: • Oak Leaves.

Remarks: It appears that most, if not all, of the various Druid groups that were functioning in the 1970s and 1980s have disbanded and that their work now survives through the ADF. However, at last report there was a former group of the Reformed Druids of North America still functioning in California.

Sources:

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.

Bonewits, Isaac. Real Magic. New York: Coward, McGann, and Goeghegan, 1971.

——. What Do Neopagan Druids Believe? Newark, DE: Mother Grove, 1991. Tract.

——. What Is Ar nDraiocht Fein? Newark, DE: Mother Grove, 1991. Tract.

★1931 ★

Artemisian Order

Current address not obtained for this edition.

One expression of the feminist emphasis in Neopaganism in the 1990s, the Artemisian Order, founded by Oriethyia, a feminist poet, is a clan of sisterhood, a society of women who protect one another while serving nature. Oriethyia was a Dianic Wiccan who decided to start a new Wiccan tradition with the goddess Artemis (the Greek equivalent of the Roman Diana) at the center. Artemisian faith affirmed the female image of god in opposition to the primary male image with which she had grown up, and, unlike most Wicca, Oriethyia saw no need to balance male-female energies by providing the goddess with a consort. The balancing of energies comes from asserting the feminine in a masculine-dominated culture.

Artemisians see themselves as Amazons, the moon women, the fierce fighters whom even the bravest of male warriors fear and respect. In describing their roots, they state, "We are proud, capable women who firmly worship the goddess Artemis. We bow to no man for any reason. If you believe we are war-like and man-haters, consider that men of strictly patriarchal cultures persecuted and killed us for our beliefs. We refuse to submit to the loss of our freedom and rights; therefore, many consider us to be dangerous and unnatural. One may find us running through the forests, hunting down and probably killing any men we find trespassing and spying on our activities. Only a few men survive and become slaves, known as the Gargareans and Philos of the Artemisians. Gargareans are the male companions of the Artemisians and trusted friends and devoted servants of the ideals of the clan. They are respected in the clan for their invaluable services and support. The Gargareans assist the female Artemisians with their duties to nature and women. The Philos are the trusted friends who have fought many battles with us. Through hard work and courage, they have become a very important part of our Order. The Artemisians do not kill these men because they have come to respect them for their undying devotion to the Clan."

The modern Artemisian Order consists of the Sisterhood, Philos, and Gargareans. The Sisterhood maintains the workings of the order on a day-to-day basis. The Goddesses are seen as the order's patrons. The women form the Sophias, the council who lead with their wisdom, the High Priestesses who keep the rituals, the Amazons who defend the way of life, and the Maidens who assist with their strength of mind and spirit. The new Initiates learn from their elder sisters. The Gargareans and Philos, males, assist the Sisterhood by protecting their sacred ways. Present-day Gargareans and Philos are descendants of the men who once existed solely to serve the Amazon women as mates and slaves. Only females may become Initiates. Males may apply, but they will only be allowed to follow the ranks of Gargareans and Philos.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Hopman, Ellen Evert, and Lawrence Bond. People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1996. 402 pp.

★1932 ★

Asatru Alliance

PO Box 961
Payton, AZ 85547

One of the groups to emerge in the wake of the disbanding of the Asatru Free Assembly in 1987 was the Asatru Alliance, which followed the assembly in its basic teachings and a revived form of the ancient religion of the Northern European peoples. It formed as a free association of local Asatru groups called kindreds. The alliance promotes the growth of the faith on a national and regional level by sponsoring meetings and publishing materials. The alliance is headed by the Allthing, its representative legislative body to which all the kindred send a delegate.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Vor Tru.

Sources:

http://www.jcave.com/~eagle/.

★1933 ★

Asatru Folk Assembly

PO Box 445
Nevada City, CA 95959

The Asatru Folk Assembly is one of several groups that emerged following the disbanding of the Asatru Free Assembly in 1987. Stephen A. McNallen, who had founded the original Viking Brotherhood that evolved into the AFA, had expressed his desire to step down from leadership of the Asatru movement in North America and brought the AFA to an end rather than pass its corporate structure to others. In the wake of that decision, a spectrum of Asatru groups emerged. Then in 1994, McNallen decided to return to an active leadership role in the Asatru movement, and founded the Asatru Folk Assembly. He had previously (1992) begun to issue The Runestone, the periodical that had previously served the AFA.

The Asatru Folk Assembly continues the beliefs and practices of the former AFA with its acknowledgment of the ancient Norse deities. Local groups have been organized and several special interest groups (guilds) have emerged. The Warrior Guild issues a periodical, Wolf Age.

An issue plaguing the Asatru community, growing out of its ethnic basis in the peoples of northern Europe, has been the charge of racism. McNallen has strongly refuted the charge. He notes on the assembly's Internet site, "We are not racists (unless being of European heritage and not hating yourself is racist). We are opposed to racial hatred and intimidation, regardless of who practices it. We salute honorable men and women of all racial, ethnic, and religious groups. The AFA sympathizes with the efforts of all cultural and racial groups to maintain their identity and promote their legitimate interests. We are opposed to all forms of totalitarianism, of the left and the right alike."

Membership: Not reported. Membership is estimated to be in the low hundreds.

Periodicals: The Runestone.

Sources:

Asatru Folk Assembly. http://www.runestone.org/flash/home.html. 1 February 2002.

McNallen, Stephen A. Rituals of Asatru. 3vols. Breckenridge, TX: Asatru Free Assembly, 1985.

The Runestone. http://www.therunestone.com/. 1 February 2002.

★1934 ★

Asatru Free Assembly

(Defunct)

The Asatru Free Assembly was formed in 1972 from the Viking Brotherhood by Stephen A. McNallen, then a student at Midwestern University in Wichita Falls, Texas. McNallen had been a follower of the Norse deities for several years as an individual and he decided that the time had come for him to speak publically about them. He began to publish The Runestone, a quarterly periodical. Shortly after forming the brotherhood, McNallen went into the army and served as an officer with NATO in Europe. During this period The Runestone continued to appear, and other groups of Norse Pagans appeared. Upon returning to civilian life in 1976, McNallen began to refine the brotherhood's ritual and doctrine. This refinement led to the adoption of a new name, the Asatru Free Assembly. This change emphasized the great value placed on individualism, courage, integrity, and independence, and the general opposition to all collective ideologies (including fascism) within the assembly (which was home to a wide variety of belief and practice within its general framework). It also set itself apart from "Odinism" (the popular name for Norse Paganism) in that the assembly is looking to revive the "cults" of all the Norse deities, not just Odin.

Worship was viewed as a contradiction of the spirit of ego centrality in the Viking religion. However, basic rituals were devised to celebrate certain events and to recognize the gods, who epitomize certain values. New members were initiated, and name-givings and burials were also occasions for ritual. Adherents celebrated Yule (December 22); Ragnar's Day (March 28), in commemoration of Viking Ragnar Lodbrok, who sailed up the Seine River in 845 and sacked Paris, France; Lindisfarne Day (June 8); and Midsummer Day (summer solstice). Runestone regularly carried a calendar of ritual and remembrance days.

Local groups of the brotherhood were called "Skeppslags" or "ship's crews," and they consist of from two to 15 members. Each Skeppslag operated under the chieftain of the brotherhood. Also becoming active during the early 1980s were a variety of guilds, groups built around a particular interest. These vary from sewing guilds to warriors' and brewers' guilds. Some guilds published their own newsletters. In November 1987, McNallen announced the dissolution of the assembly in the wake of a failure to reorganize. Its periodical, The Runestone, was discontinued. At its height in the mid-1980s, the assembly had approximately 200 members.

Remarks: Within the larger Pagan community, the Norse groups have, as a whole, been condemned for their overt racism. The Asatru Free Assembly was largely free of racist expression and continued to be accepted by non-Norse Pagans.

Sources:

Hundingsbani, Heigi. The Religion of Odin—A Handbook. Red Wing, MN: Viking House, 1978.

McNallen, Stephen A. Rituals of Asatru. Breckenridge, TX: Asatru Free Assembly, 1985.

★1935 ★

Atlantion Wicca

(Defunct)

Atlantion Wicca, though originating in the 1960s, was based upon the teachings (and dedicated to the memory) of Elizabeth Sawyer, the witch of Edmonton, England. Ms. Sawyer was hung at Tyburn, England, on April 19, 1621, for supposedly killing by witchcraft a neighbor, Agnes Ratcleife. She had been known in the town as a healer and midwife and for helping farmers with their crops. The founding high priest was Don Sawyer, a descendant.

Rituals and teachings of Atlantion Wicca were found in its own Book of Shadows, which drew heavily upon Gardnerian Wicca practice. Esbats are held at both the full and new moons, and the sabbats were celebrated. Work was conducted within the circle. Reincarnation was a central belief. The group forbade the use of drugs, orgies, sacrifice, public nudity, and any behavior which might reflect poorly upon the craft.

The Atlantion witches were headquartered in Syracuse, New York and in 1977 they had three covens. For several years they engaged in vigorous activity to establish in the public's mind the image of Witchcraft as a serious religion and to destroy the negative images which connected Wicca to violence, black magic, and the worship of Satan. No sign of the survival of the covens into the mid-1980s has been manifest.

★1936 ★

Avalon Isle/Order of the Royal Oak

PO Box 6006
Athens, GA 30604

Avalon Isle is the covenstead for the American branch of the Order of the Royal Oak, a chivalrous order established in 1660 by King Charles II to honor the men who had supported him during his exile from the throne. According to present members, Charles II was widely regarded as sympathetic to the ways of the wise (witches), and he created the Order of the Royal Oak as a defiant gesture against the Puritans who had run the now discarded Commonwealth. The original symbol of this order was a young oak growing from the cut stump of the old. It is the claim of present members that the old Pagan religion was kept alive for over 300 years, hidden from hostile eyes, and now a new modern version of the order is being revived.

Leading the new order is Lady Amythyst, a direct ancestor; and Sir George Carteritt, a knight of the Order of the Garter and an original member of the Order of the Royal Oak. Amythyst's family came to America in 1663 from the Isle of Jersey. She affirms that she has been a student of the Ancient Ways since her earliest childhood memories, and has taught the Craft of the Wise (Wicca) since 1976. Amythyst is the High Priestess of Avalon Isle and the leader of the Order of the Royal Oak. Lord Taliesin, the coleader, serves as the order's historian and bard.

Located in the hills of East Tennessee, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, Avalon Isle provides a center for higher esoteric learning, and a gathering point for Wiccans of all traditions. Avalon Isle also sponsors an annual festival to honor the Elder Gods on the birth of the New Year on Samhain in the fall of every year. There is also a set of workshops and programs offered through the year.

Lady Amythyst and Lord Taliesin also operate one of the largest Wiccan-owned nonprofit charitable organizations in North America, a transitional home for men who are reentering the mainstream of life, and a shelter for battered women and children. These facilities admit residents regardless of race, creed, religion, or national origin.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

http://mindspring.com/~avalon/.

★1937 ★

Brothers of the Earth

℅ Church of the Earth
Box 13158
Dinkytown Sta.
Minneapolis, MN 55414

The Brothers of the Earth is a male-oriented neopagan fellowship composed of groups and individuals interested in exploring, creating, and celebrating a positive male, earth-centered, life-affirming spirituality that is nurturing, nonhomophobic, and nonsexist. It was founded in 1983 by Gary Lingen, (aka Earthkin), founding elder and priest of the Church of the Earth, a neopagan aquarian age church of nature in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

Lingen saw the emergence of men who had developed a new consciousness in response to the emergence of the feminist movement of the previous decade, but who had become isolated in a world of dominant patriarchal male values. Such men sought not only support, but participation in spiritual consciousness-raising for healing and empowerment, and in rituals which celebrated a new vision of manhood. Earlier attempts at male oriented groups had emerged in the neopagan community through the Radical Fairies (a gay group) and in all-male activities at pagan festivals. Brothers of the Earth differs in that it seeks to involve gay, heterosexual, and bisexual men of all ages and cultures.

As pagan men, the Brothers of the Earth affirms their link to the Earth, sun, moon, and all the elemental forces. The feminine principle in nature is worshipped as the Goddess, and the male principle as the Horned God (One). The Horned God is worshipped as an aspect of (Son, Lover, and Co-Creator) and equal to the Goddess (who tends to take precedence in most neopagan and witchcraft groups). The Horned God is neither effeminate nor a representation of machismo; he is the expression of positive male qualities of creativity and power within, rather than power over, and of natural regenerating potency inseparable from the Goddess, the prime and nurturing force.

Membership: In 1988 the fellowship reported 125 members in the United States, eight members in Canada, and 12 in other countries. Membership in the fellowship network comes from all parts of the United States and includes several Witchcraft and Neopagan groups.

Periodicals: Brothersong.

★1938 ★

Church and School of Wicca

Box 297
Hinton, WV 25951-0297

The Church and School of Wicca was founded in 1968 by Gavin Frost and his wife Yvonne Frost. It was one of the earliest of the organizations to develop in America out of the Neo-Pagan revival. In 1972, it received its IRS tax-exempt status, the first Wiccan organization so recognized. It became well-known because of the widely-advertised correspondence course it conducts. During the quarter of a century of its existence, the church has received more than a half-million inquiries and accepted more than 50,000 students.

The church has eclectic teachings which draw on a variety of religious and magical beliefs and practices. There is what is described as a Celtic flavor due to the personal history of the founders in that magical tradition. The current teachings of the church rest upon what are thought of as its five supports: 1. Old masters and new texts: The church members, many of whom possess specialized linguistic and scholarly skills, have examined and offered insights from many ancient and modern religious texts; 2. Experimental work: A continuous process of research on beliefs and practices. As a result, both undergo change and modification; 3. Research into modern remnants of pre-technological cultures: This area, especially as studies by social anthropologists continue, currently forms one of the expanding areas of new insight for the church; 4. Family traditions: The church began with the fragmentary family tradition passed to Gavin Frost. It has largely been discarded because if its patriarchal emphases; and 5. Students and other Wiccans and Pagans: As dialogue is had with Wiccans and Pagans outside the church, especially those who come to the church after years of practice elsewhere, new insights are brought into the church's teachings. The present philosophy of the church can be summarized in five basic tenets resting on a central affirmation of God, pictured as an impersonal reality. From this affirmation other ideas flow, including: 1. The Wiccan Rede: "If it harm none, do what you will;" 2. Reincarnation as an orderly system of learning. Reincarnation is not so much an accounting of sins and punishments, as it is a means of guiding learning; 3. The Law of Attraction: What I do to other living creatures, I will draw to myself; 4. Power through knowledge. It is assumed that each living creature has power or energy within its body and that the skill to direct that power can be taught and learned; and 5. Harmony: It makes sense to live in harmony with the perceptible rhythms of the sun, moons, and seasons of the year.

Over the years, the church has chartered 28 subsidiary churches worldwide. All of these subsidiaries have completed their training period and have become independent entities. The church sponsors three national gatherings every year.

The church continually fights for Wiccan rights and recognition in the public sphere. This has involved them in supporting religious freedom for incarcerated Wiccans and assisting the military in becoming informed about Wicca. The church also sponsors special interest groups for gay Wiccans, military Wiccans, solitary Witches, and other Wiccan groups founded around a particular interest or concern. The church runs a survival community called the Celtic Heritage Investigation Foundation, where land can be purchased by Wiccans and regular church services are held.

The school associated with the church teaches a full range of courses on alternative topics. They are directed at serious students and require considerable independent study and reading. Approximately 250 students graduate from the school annually.

Membership: At present, the church has limited the student body (enrolled in correspondence courses) to 5,000. It currently sponsors three subsidiary churches (down from a peak of 28), the drop due in part to its insistence that each church attain its own credentials from the IRS.

Periodicals: Survival.

Sources:

Frost, Gavin, and Yvonne Frost. The Magic Power of Witchcraft. West Nyack, NY: Parker Publishing Company, 1976.

——. Meta-Psychometry: Key to Power and Abundance. West Nyack, NY: Parker Publishing Co., 1978.

——. Power Secrets from a Sorcerer's Private Magnum Arcanum. West Nyack, NY: Parker Publishing Co., 1980.

——. Who Speaks for the Witch. New Bern, NC: Godolphin House, 1991.

——. The Witch's Bible. New York: Berkley Publishing Company, 1975.

——. A Witch's Guide to Life. Cottonwood, AZ: Esoteric Publications, 1978.

★1939 ★

Church of All Worlds

960 Berry St.
Toledo, OH 43605-3044

Among the largest and most influential of all Neo-Pagan religious groups during the 1970s was the Church of All Worlds (CAW). The church traces its history back to April 7, 1962, when a "water-brotherhood," called "Atl," was formed by Tim Zell and Lance Christie at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. During the mid-1960s, the group was centered on the University of Oklahoma campus at Norman and operated under the name Atlan Foundation. A periodical, The Atlan Torch (later The Atlan Annals), was published, 1962-1968. In 1968, following a move to St. Louis, Missouri, the Church of All Worlds was legally incorporated. In March of that year, the Green Egg appeared. From its inauspicious beginnings as a one-page ditto sheet, it grew into a 60-page journal over 80 issues, becoming the most significant periodical in the Pagan movement during the 1970s and made Tim Zell, its editor, a major force in Neo-Paganism (a term which Zell coined). It was also the major instrument in the church's expansion.

The Church of All Worlds took much inspiration from the science fiction classic, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. In the novel, the Stranger, Valentine Michael Smith, was an earthman born on Mars and raised by Martians. Among his other adventures upon being brought to earth was the formation of the "Church of All Worlds." The church was built around "nests," a combination of a congregation and an intentional community. A basic concept was "grokking," i.e., the ability to be fully empathic. CAW also emphasized the experience of non-possessive love and joyous expression of sexuality as divine union. The nests were places where this grokking and joyful sexual love could find expression. The common greeting was, "Thou art God," a recognition of immanent divinity in each person.

The non-fictional Church of All Worlds is organized around a Central Nest where master records are kept. Autonomous nests are composed of at least three members of 2nd Circle or inner located in the same area. There are nine circles of advancement, named after the nine planets; each circle includes study, writings, magical training, sensitivity, and encounter-group experience, as well as active participation in the life of the church. The clergy, consisting of legally ordained priests and priestesses, begins at 7th Circle and is made up of longtime members of the church who have worked through the other circles, undergone personal and leadership development, religious training, and completed the church's other ordination requirements. The Board of Directors includes representatives from all Circles attending quarterly board meetings with an annual General Meeting to elect officers and make periodic changes in the church's ever-evolving bylaws.

Incorporated in 1968, CAW was the first of the Neo-Pagan/Earth Religions to obtain full federal recognition. However, the church had some trouble being recognized as a legitimate religious body and was originally refused recognition by the Missouri Department of Revenue for purposes of state sales tax exemption. The rejection was on the basis of its lack of primary concern about the hereafter, God, the destiny of souls, heaven, hell, sin and its punishment, and other supernatural matters. The ruling was overturned as unconstitutional in 1971.

The basic theology of the CAW is a form of pantheism which focuses on immanent rather than transcendant divinity. The most important theological statement came in the form of a revelatory writings by Zell in 1970-73, on the theory which later came to be known as the Gaia Thesis. This concept is a biological validation of an ancient intuition: that the planet is a single living organism—Mother Earth (Gaia).

Pantheists hold as divine the living spirit of Nature. Thus, the CAW recognizes Mother Earth, the Horned God, and other spirits of animistic totemism as the Divine pantheon. In this manner, the Church of All Worlds became an early forerunner of the Deep Ecology movement. Through its focus on Mother Nature as a goddess, its recognition and ordination of women as priestesses, CAW can also rightly be held to be the first Eco-Feminist church. Its only creed states: "The Church of All Worlds is dedicated to the celebration of life, the maximal actualization of human potential and the realization of ultimate individual freedom and personal responsiblity in harmonious eco-psyhic relationship with the total Biosphere of Holy Mother Earth."

Worship in the Church involves weekly or monthly meetings which are held usually in the homes of nest members on a rotational basis. The basic liturgical form is based on a Circle where members take turns sharing their creativity. A chalice of water is always shared around the Circle either as the opening or closing of the ceremony. Other events are celebrated at the church sanctuary, a 55-acre parcel of sacred land called Annfwn, in northern California. Annwfn has a handbuilt two story temple, a garden, an orchard, and a small pond. It has solar electricity, propane hot water, and a cellular telephone. In addition to the eight Celtic seasonal festivals commonly associated with Witchcraft, the church holds handfastings (marriages), vision quests, initiations, workshops, retreats, workparties, and staff meetings on the land.

In 1974, the church reported nests located in Missouri, California, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Wyoming, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. It was publishing two periodicals, Green Egg and The Pagan. Two years later, Zell, having established the churched, moved from St. Louis to northern California with his new wife, Morning Glory, an ordained Priestess, for a rural life more centered upon writing, research in some areas of particular interest and the practice of the religion he had developed. They left the administration and the publication of the Green Egg in the hands of other church leaders. After only a few more issues, the magazine ceased to appear and many of the church nests dissolved in the wake of intense internal conflicts.

By the mid-1980s, CAW survived only in California, focalized around the sanctuary land bequeathed to the church by its bard, the late Gwydion Pendderwen. On and around this rural retreat, a pagan homesteading community grew up which included the Zells (Tim Zell had changed his first name to Otter in 1979 following a vision quest) and other long-time church members who moved to the community, as well as many new people. Two new clergy were ordained—Orion Stormcrow and Anodea Judith—who have since become significant leaders in the church (Anodea becoming the president for seven years).

In the late 1980s, following Otter and Morning Glory's emergence from eight years of living in the wilderness, the Church of All Worlds began a reorganization and revivification. The community on the land broke up as the other people moved back into civilization. The membership program was radically upgraded to include intensive training courses and new responsiblities, along with a new members-only newsletter, The Scarlet Flame.

The first issue of the revived Green Egg (The Next Generation!) appeared in May 1988 to commemorate the twenieth anniversary of its original publication, and it has once again risen to a position of prominence among the 500 or so Pagan periodicals currently being published. In 1991, with 52 pages and a four-color glossy cover, Green Egg won the Silver Award from the Wiccan/Pagan Press Alliance for "Most Professionally Formatted Pagan Publication."

As of February 1992, the church has six chartered nests in California, with others in Florida, Illinois, Arizona, and Minnesota. A number of others are in the process of formation. Otter is presently engaged in the formation of the Universal Federation of Pagans, a worldwide association with which he hopes to unify the global Pagan community. A Grand Convocation is being planned for August of 1992 to mark the 30th anniversary of the church.

Over the years, the Church of All Worlds has chartered a number of subsidiary organizations through which it practices and teaches its religion. These subsidiaries have continued to function even while the main body of the church went dormant. These subsidiary orders and current (1992) addresses are as follows:

• Forever Forests: Box 212, Redwood Valley, CA 95470. Founded in 1977 by Gwydion Pendderwen. This is the ecology branch. Sponsors tree-planting events and rituals.

• Lifeways: 2140 Shattuck, No. 2093, Berkeley, CA 94704. Founded in 1983 by Anodea Judith. The teaching branch. Offers workshops, classes, healing rituals, recovery programs, and training for the priesthood.

• Nemeton: 960 Berry, Toledo, OH 43605. Founded in 1972 by Gwydion Pennderwen and Alison Harlow. The marketing branch. Tapes, records, songbooks, t-shirts, philosophical tracts, and books. Catalog available.

• Ecosophical Research Assn. (ERA): Box 982, Ukiah, CA95482. Founded in 1977 by Morning Glory Zell. Branch devoted to research and exploration in the fields of history, mythology, and natural sciences. Produced the Living Unicorn project, the New Guinea Mermaid expedition and a Peruvian Pilgrimage, as well as a series of replicas of ancient God and Goddess votive figurines (sculpted by Otter).

• Holy Order of Mother Earth (HOME): 2140 Shattuck, No. 2093, Berkeley, CA 94704. Founded in 1977 by the Zells and Alison Harlow. Magical and shamanic branch open only to trained initiates of this religious discipline. Creates and conducts the church's rituals and ceremonies.

Membership: No records are kept of first Circle members, but as of February 2002, 2nd Circle and inner members numbered 575.

Periodicals: The Green Egg. Send orders to Box 982, Ukiah, CA95482. • How About Magic?

Remarks: The research initiated by Morning Glory and Otter Zell as part of the Ecosophical Research Association branch of CAW in the late 1970s lead to the production of the Living Unicorn, i.e., an animal with but a single horn growing from its forehead. These unicorns were produced by a simple operation on baby goats. The Zells claim that their research has shown that this is how the legendary creature was originally created by ancient pastoral people in the Middle East. The emergence of the first such animal, named Lancelot, was followed by a national publicity campaign, a shortlived periodical, Unicornews (1980-82) and the eventual lease of exhibition rights by the Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Circus, which contract ended in 1988.

Sources:

Judith, Anodea. Wheels of Life. Illustrated by Otter Zell. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1987.

Guiley, Rosemary. Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. New York: Facts on File, 1989.

The Living Unicorn. Los Gatos, CA: Living Unicorn, [1980].

Zell, Tim. Cataclysm and Consciousness: From the Golden Age to the Age of Iron. Redwood Valley, CA: The Author, 1977.

★1940 ★

Church of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love

(Defunct)

The Church of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, was founded in 1939 on West Hemstead, Long Island, New York, by Gleb Botkin. Born and raised in Russia, the son of the czar's personal physician, he trained for the Russian Orthodox Church priesthood, but prior to ordination he had a change of heart. He decided that Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love, was a more appropriate object of his worship. Before Botkin was able to start a church in Russia, the 1917 revolution began. He fled to Japan and finally came to the United States in 1923. During the following years Botkin provided for his family by writing about his homeland. However, he never gave up his belief and he finally founded his church in his Long Island home. He acquired a life-sized statue of Venus de'Medici as a worship center.

By the time the church was formally chartered, it had some 50 members. Botkin was a monotheist of the feminine principle, and believed the "Eternal Feminine" was a truer personal symbol of the Divine than its masculine counterpart. The church's creedal statement affirmed a belief in Aphrodite, described as "the flower-faced, sweetly-smelling, laughter-loving Goddess of Love and Beauty." He was committed to the ideal of love as a primal virtue and advocated the concept of love both as ethical good will toward the neighbor and as an affinity with a beloved individual. He also favored greater freedom between the sexes as a means of reducing passion. Sex was seen as an ideal, divine and wonderful. Botkin believed in conditional immortality; one could gain immortal life by coming into a relationship with Aphrodite. Worship was held four times weekly on Sunday morning and afternoon, and Friday and Saturday evenings.

Botkin lived in New York for a number of years but at some point moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he died around 1970. The church ceased to exist at that time.

Sources:

"Church of Aphrodite." Newsweek (November 27, 1939): 32.

"Church of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love Is Chartered in New York." Life (December 4, 1939): 101.

★1941 ★

Church of Pan

114 Johnson Rd.
Foster, RI 02825

The Church of Pan was founded in 1970 by Kenneth Walker(d. 1987) and members of a nudist campground in rural Rhode Island. The organization of the church was occasioned by the request of two members to be married in the nude and the inability of the group to locate a minister to perform the ceremony. They decided to form a church and Walker became the minister.

The Church of Pan espouses naturalist principles. Reverence and devotion is directed toward the Creator, and actions follow patterns discerned to be in concert with the Creator's designs and purposes. While engaged in altruistic actions which attempt to modify the harshness of nature, in line with the destiny of creation, the church denounces human actions which have destroyed life-supporting systems and polluted nature. Humans have the task of maintaining the balance of life on the planet. The church also opposes the distortions of human society in its treatment of sexuality. Forgetting the naturalness of sex, society tends to view it either as sinful or something to be marketed.

The church is headquartered at a nudist campground managed by Beulah A. Rathbun. Members are active in the promotion of environmental concerns. As might be expected from the nature of its beginning, the church has experienced difficulties over its status as a tax-exempt religious organization.

Membership: In 1988 the church reported 30 families, all members of the one "congregation" in Rhode Island.

★1942 ★

Church of Seven Arrows

PO Box 185
Wheat Ridge, CO 80034-0185

The Church of Seven Arrows was founded in 1975 by the Revs. George Dew and Linda Hillshafer, who serve as the shamans of the church. In 1977, the church was established in Wheatridge, Colorado, a Denver suburb, and began publishing the monthly periodical Thunderbow. While functioning within the larger Neo-Pagan Movement, the Church of Seven Arrows derives its system of belief and practice from a variety of sources, including contemporary western occultism, Hinduism, and, most prominently, the traditions of the Hopi and Plains Indians as expressed through the writings of Frank Waters and Hyemeyohsts Storm. The basic worldview and system of working is described in the two sets of books produced by the church, Basics of Magic and Shaman's Notes.

Beliefs of the church are expounded in terms of mythos, dogma, and doctrine. The church's mythos, its overall perspective on the nature of life and the universe, states that in the beginning, Creator existed as a State of Being. Creator acted, creating Nephew, who in turn created nine realms, one for Creator, Himself, and seven others. Spirits were created to populate the realms and the worlds. The world of humanity was given into the charge of "She Whom We Call Grandmother." She first created the body-forms of the animal and plant kingdoms and then the human species in which the spirit resides. The human spirit is special in that it is the only spirit that may choose whether or not to fulfill its place, and the only one that must learn it. Humanity's function is to lead all the beings of Earth in raising a harmonious sound to the Creator's realm.

Eventually, the original harmony was lost and the sound arising from earth became a cacophony. At this point, Nephew and Grandmother cleansed the world with fire, and the first world gave way to a second. The second world proceeded like the first, but added to the growing cacophony was a mistreatment of the earth for purposes never intended for it. A second cleansing by ice was followed by the third world, its disintegration, and a cleansing by means of water and geologic shift. We now live in the fourth world, which is progressing toward the time of another cleansing cycle. Those in touch with the harmony of Earth, Grandmother, and the original purpose and function of humankind will survive and pass through the cleansing activity.

The dogmas of the church include these: an affirmation that each being is a spirit and mirror of the Creator; a being cannot be destroyed; the universe exists in a state of patterned change; each being has a right to exist (but each form of existing may or may not be acceptable); bodies are masks of the spirit; no one path is proper for all people at all times; and the same basic principles manifest in both the spiritual and material realm.

Doctrine, the more ephemeral beliefs of the church, are summarized in nine statements as a "Guide for Daily Living on the Path of Seven Arrows." These statements call for members to know themselves, live in harmony, study the sciences (including the ancient science of magic), avoid self-destructive agreements, and live so that joyous sounds arise to the Creator's ear. The ancient sciences should be used so as to avoid harm to anyone. The church offers a set of rituals for both personal and group use.

The church is headed by a board of directors. A variety of classes on basic magic and shamanism are taught at regular intervals. Most members live in the Denver metropolitan area, but the periodical has a national audience. Rituals follow the solar and lunar cycles. Thunderbow, a popular Pagan periodical for a decade, was discontinued in 1987. Since 1990 the church has sponsored the Earth Home Society which networks among holistic healers in the Denver Metropolitan area.

Membership: As of 1997, approximately 50 participants attend church activities in the Denver area during any given period. Currently, approximately 500 "graduate-practitioners" of church training around the country kept in communication and retain some informal ties with it.

Periodicals: Earth Home Society Resource Directory.

Sources:

Basics of Magic. 2 vols. Wheatridge, CO: Church of Seven Arrows, 1980.

Shaman's Notes. 3 vols. Wheatridge, CO: Church of Seven Arrows, 1983-85.

Storm, Hyemeyohsts. The Song of Heyoehkah. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1981.

Waters, Frank. Book of the Hopi. New York: Ballantine, 1963.

★1943 ★

Church of the Eternal Source

PO Box 2778
Mission Viejo, CA 92690-0778

The Church of the Eternal Source, the most substantial of the several Egyptian Neo-Pagan bodies, was founded in 1970 by Donald D. Harrison and Harold Moss. Harrison, a former Roman Catholic, and Moss were converted to Paganism through the study of Greek and Roman religion and the attraction of the fine arts of ancient Egypt. In 1967, Harrison founded the Julian Review, which became the organ of the Delphic Fellowship, an early Pagan fellowship based upon Greek motifs. Moss organized a social group professing the Egyptian religion after seeing a movie, "The Egyptian," which focused on Akhenaten. In 1963, the group held an Egyptian costume party. The Church of the Eternal Source combines aspects of a number of Egyptian temples. Each priest and priestess acts autonomously in supervising ritual and initiation procedures for his or her temple.

The two basic principles of the Church of the Eternal Source are polytheism, the plurality of gods, and authentic Egyptianism. The church teaches that divinity is a balance of distinct divine vectors. The diversity of the gods, and their transactions, produce reality. Man's task is to achieve balance in his soul in the divine vectors. Authentic Egyptian religion relates to the early period when Egypt was relatively untainted by non-Egyptian ideas. This period becomes a source for all later religious insights. The mastery of Egyptian history is stressed. Many of the church leaders have made pilgrimages to Egypt.

Religious practices center on personal shrines, the study of theology, divination, the fine arts and personal worship with wide variations. Group worship is manifest in the festivals, which are dramatic reenactments of a holy myth. The Egyptian pantheon forms the basic content of faith. A typical myth is the story of the rebirth of Osiris. Osiris was killed by Set, the god of darkness. Isis, the wife of Osiris, sought him, her tears causing the Nile to overflow. She found the body and buried it, but not carefully. Set exhumed it, dismembered it and scattered the pieces through the land. Isis then carefully sought and assembled each piece. Osiris was then resurrected. Osiris and Isis are accompanied in the pantheon by Horus, their son; Bast, the beneficent solar goddess represented as a cat; Thoth, the god of wisdom; and Ra, the sun god often represented as Khepera, the beetle (believed to be self-generated). The myths are described in ancient literature, such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Important festival days are held each full moon; on the birthdays of the deities, the latter occurring in July; and the equinoxes and the solstices. Ritual magick is performed, but no set ritual is prescribed. A typical Egyptian ritual is found in Magic, An Occult Primer by David Conway. The group's web site is found at http://members.aol.com/amanitae/ces.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Kephera.

Remarks: Don Harrison, one of the Church' founders, is the author of several novels emphasizing both ancient religions and sexual themes.

Sources:

Conway, David. Magic, An Occult Primer. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1972.

Frankfort, Henri. Ancient Egyptian Religion, An Interpretation. New York: Harper & Row, 1961.

★1944 ★

Church of the Most High Goddess

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Church of the Most High Goddess is a neo-pagan organization founded in 1986 by Mary Ellen Tracy and her husband, Wilbur Tracy. According to Wilbur Tracy, the church grew out of a 1984 revelation enabling him to discover the existence of a priestess with a lineage back to ancient Egypt. She could not publicly assume her religious functions, but ordained him. Mary Ellen Tracy soon had a similar revelation and was trained and ordained as a priestess by her husband.

The church teaches and practices a form of hedonism, a philosophy that sees the search for pleasure as the goal of life. It draws its inspiration from ancient Egypt, which it also sees as the originating point of Christianity. Thus, members consider themselves Christian but deny any relation to Judaism. They believe that Mary Magdalene was a priestess of Isis (or Eastar) and that it was to her that Jesus first appeared after his resurrection (also an old Egyptian belief). Jesus entrusted the church to Mary Magdalene, but the apostles later wrestled control away from her.

The essence of the church's practice is found in the rituals, the ordinances of the Goddess. The nature of these rituals is only hinted at in the church's few pieces of literature. Participation in the series of rituals is deemed necessary for individual progress. They begin with confession, a personal acknowledgement of one's spiritual state. Dedication (or commitment) is an act of devotion which leads to a higher order of hedonism. A sacrifice, or offering, is required as a sign of dedication. Immersion is the preparatory ritual for the communication through the Goddess, represented by the priestess.

In 1989 the Tracys were arrested for prostitution. The state of California charged that the church was merely a cover for their operating a house of prostitution, and that the rituals, which involve oral sex (dedication), the payment of a sum of money (sacrifice), and intercourse (immersion) constituted simple sex for money. The Tracys were convicted and have pursued an appeal. They claim interference with their right to freely practice their religion.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Bush, G. M. "Priestess or Prostitute? Municipal Court to Consider Freedom-of-Religion Defense." Los Angeles Daily Journal (July 12, 1989).

"The Church of the Most High Goddess." N.p., 1987. Tract.

★1945 ★

Church of the Wyccan Rede

(Defunct)

The Church of the Wyccan Rede was a Celtic traditional Witchcraft group headed by Lady Cybele and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. The Goddess and Horned God were worshipped, the former taking slight precedence. The Goddess was thought to rule from Yule to Midsummer's Eve, and the God, the other half of the year. The eight sabbats were also celebrated. Midsummer's Eve is the most important. The sabbats were concluded with a shared meal. There are also regular esbats.

Worship was within the circle. Members took turns in being the coven leader and conducting the ceremonies. There were no overt sexual activities involved in the rituals. Oneness with nature was the prime goal. Members were pacifistic and charitable, and refused reward for their services. Black magic and Satanism were strongly condemned.

For several years, Lady Cybele managed The Cauldron, an occult supply store and center. It offered lectures on occult topics, psychic readings, books and health food. Lady Cybele is a herbalist and incorporated her knowledge of herbs into her teachings. Associated with the Church for the Wyccan Rede was a coven in Milwaukee headed by Frederic A. Buchholtz. Buchholtz was the operator of Sanctum Regnum, an occult supply and book shop.

★1946 ★

Church of Universal Forces

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Church of Universal Forces is a Neo-Pagan nature-oriented religion founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1980 by Lady Isis and Lord Adonis. It teaches a system of Pantheism that emphasizes freedom, joy, and self-worth. The church emphasizes the right and privilege of religious freedom and champions a "live and let live" philosophy. At the same time the church is opposed to those forms of religion that are preoccupied with sin and suffering to the extent that followers are not allowed to develop their own individuality.

The Church of Universal Forces is a pantheistic religion and acknowledges the Godhead of the Divine as the root of humanity. The Godhead, known under many names of gods and goddesses, is both male and female in equal portions. The Godhead is to be worshipped daily. Members are encouraged to have daily devotions in their home and to raise their children in the knowledge of the deities.

Ethically the church follows the Rede, "That ye harm none, do what you will." It also encourages members to develop a spirit of brotherly love toward one another and to watch over other members especially in times of illness. Members are admonished to be slow to take offense and quick to seek reconciliation with another member with whom there might have been differences.

The church has developed its own variation on the Neopagan rituals. It teaches development of psychic ability and affirms a belief in astrology. It offers a course on magick and magical religions whose graduates are ready to form their own group. The church also operates an occult supply house and offers a course to the general public on various occult and related topics.

Membership: Not reported.

★1947 ★

Circle

℅ Circle Sanctuary
Box 219
Mount Horeb, WI 53572

Circle began in 1974 when Selena Fox, its founder, received the central concept, logo, and name in meditation. Shortly after this event, she and her partner Jim Alan began to host informal gatherings of people interested in magic and mysticism with a Wiccan focus in their home in Madison, Wisconsin. In June 1975, they moved to a farm near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. This site, known as Circle Farm, was the meeting place for Circle's first coven and later for Circle's first community, which included several covens. Through their writings and music, Fox and Alan began to meet and correspond with Pagans around the United States and in the British Isles. In 1977, their first book, a songbook, was published, as well as a tape of their spiritual music. Fox also founded Circle Network that year. The following year Fox began to devote her full time to the expanding Circle ministry which was incorporated as the Church of Circle Wicca in October 1978. In May 1979, Fox compiled the first Circle resource guide, a networking directory and sourcebook, which contributed to the growth of the developing Pagan movement.

In November 1979, after being evicted from their first farm because of their religion, which had received national media attention, Circle moved first to a farm near Middleton, Wisconsin, and then to a farm outside of Black Earth. In 1983, a more permanent location, Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, was purchased near Barneveld, Wisconsin, and Circle changed its corporate name to Circle Sanctuary. The preserve includes a variety of ritual sites and meditation places, including a stone circle, outdoor shrines, and an indoor temple.

During this time, Circle became the focus of an ever-widening network of Neopagans and Witches throughout the United States and other countries. In 1980, Circle began publishing Circle Magazine (formerly Circle Network News), in a quarterly newspaper format. Also that year, the Pagan Spirit Alliance was formed as an international and ecumenical Pagan friendship network. In 1981, the first of the annual week-long International Pagan Spirit Gatherings was held. In 1985, Circle expanded its Wiccan-Pagan religious freedom work through its leadership in a nationwide action, and in 1991, this form of ministry was further developed through the creation of the Lady Liberty League. In 1988, after a two-year legal battle, Circle Sanctuary land won local zoning as a church, and Circle began being listed alongside churches of other faiths in the worship directory of Madison area newspapers.

Circle has followed an evolving eclectic Pagan/Witchcraft faith, which Fox termed "Circle Wicca" in the 1970s and "Wiccan Shamanism" in the 1980s, and is now called "Circle Craft Tradition." This is a synthesis of Wiccan spirituality, nature mysticism, multicultural shamanism, and humanistic and transpersonal psychology. This path emphasizes communion with the Divine in nature and focuses upon honoring the Goddess as Mother Earth. Strong elements of ecofeminism, animism, shamanic healing, and Native American land spirit wisdom help to shape the ritual life. In the 1990s, Circle has increasingly used the term "Nature Spirituality" (a term coined by Fox in 1981) to describe its multifaceted networking and spiritual focus.

Circle has emerged as one of the most visible and public centers for Witchcraft and Neopaganism in the United States, and Fox is reguarly called upon by the media, the government, and other churches to speak for the broader Neopagan community. Through the variety of periodicals and festivals sponsored by Circle, it has built the largest network currently existing within the community. It has also been the seedbed for other Pagan groups, some of which have had their beginnings among those who have studied and worked at Circle's headquarters.

Currently the church is headed by Fox and her husband, Dennis Carpenter, who function as high priestess and high priest. Both are professionaly trained psychotherapists. Fox does counseling and spiritual healing, and Carpenter is involved in doing scholarly research and writing as part of their ministry.

The multifaceted local and global ministry of Circle is carried out by volunteers and full-time staff members. In 1992, Circle published its updated statement of purpose which identifies the thrust of its work as encouraging the growth and well-being of nature spirituality.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Circle Sanctuary, Barneveld, Wisconsin.

Periodicals: Circle Network Bulletin. • Circle Network News. • Pagan Spirit Alliance Newsletter. • Sanctuary Circles Circle Guide to Pagan Arts. • Circle Guide of Pagan Groups.

Remarks: Following the movement of the Church of Circle Wicca on the land that had been purchased as Circle Sanctuary, the church was forced into a still ongoing battle against elements in the county opposed to the existence of a pagan center in their community. An attempt was made to use zoning laws (in a heavily agricultural section of the state) to force the church from their land. After a lengthy fight to inform the public of the nature of their faith, in 1988 the Sanctuary finally received church zoning, though other issues remain to be resolved. In the midst of the debates with county officials, Fox founded the Pagan Strength Web, and broadened her efforts in defending religious rights of pagans in other parts of the country.

Sources:

Alan, Jim, and Selena Fox. Circle Magick Songs. Madison, WI: Circle Publications, 1977.

Blacksun. The Elements of Beginning Ritual Construction. Madison, WI:

Circle, 1982. Carpenter, Dennis D. Spiritual Experiences, Life Changes, and EcologicalViewpoints of Contemporary Pagans. Mt. Horeb, WI: Circle Publications, 1994.

Fox, Selena. Circle Guide to Pagan Resources. Mt. Horeb, WI: Circle, 1987.

——. Goddess Comunion: Rituals & Meditations. Mt. Horeb, WI: Circle Publications, 1989.

Fox, Selena, Dennis Carpenter, and Theresa Berrie, eds. circle Guide to Pagan Groups. Mt. Horeb, WI: Circle Publications, 2001.

★1948 ★

Confederation of Independent Asatru Kindred (CIAK)

PO Box 85
Adamsville, AL 35005

Confederation of Independent Asatru Kindred (CIAK) was founded in Alabama in 1996 as a Pagan organization that facilitates, in a non-dogmatic manner, the following of the Gods of the Northern Tradition and fellowship among those who do. CIAK is led by a circle of elders. Early growth came as otherwise independent Asatru groups affiliated. Any group of three or more adult members may form a kindred (local group) within CIAK.

At the time of its creation, the founders of CIAK dictated that there would be several semiindependent guilds and halls that would be active as subsidiary organizations. Among these are the Ancestors Hall, to provide a focus on the religious importance of honoring one's ancestors and doing research in family history; the Clergy Hall, to facilitate the training of the clergy (gothi and gythia) and encourage the continuing pursuit of knowledge by the leadership; and the Warriors Guild that prepares members to cope with the enemies of the faith.

While presenting a loose format for the worship of the deities, CIAK has a strong ethical policy that members are asked to accept. It includes responsibility to the organization and its members; living so as to contribute constructively to the public image of Asatru and Asatru-like belief systems; honesty; and acting in no way that is unlawful or detrimental to the health and welfare of the public. Members are asked to refrain from attacks upon other Asatru and/or Norse Tradition organizations.

CIAK has developed a reading program of clergy training for those who would assume leadership. It annually sponsors a national Asatru gathering, the Summer's End Moot. A variety of holidays are celebrated annually, including the anniversary of the founding of the original Kindred in Alabama during Yule of 1996. Among the goals of CIAK are to offer an online library on the northern traditions and to locate land upon which a hof can be built and an Asatru community created.

Membership: Not reported. Currently there are four kindreds associated with CIAK, with an estimated less than 50 members.

Sources:

Confederation of Independent Asatru Kindred. http://www.ciak.org/. 7 May 2002.

★1949 ★

Congregation of Aten

(Defunct)

A growing split within the Pristine Egyptian Orthodox Church (discussed elsewhere in this chapter) led in 1974 to a schism and the withdrawal of Milton J. Neruda, who then formed the Congregation of Aten. At least one issue in the schism was the method of approaching the dominant American Christian faith. Neruda argued that Christianity was heavily reliant on Egyptian religion for such concepts as the Trinity, the virgin birth, Christmas and resurrection. He took a highly polemical stance with respect to the Christian faith. The Egyptian faith of the congregation of Aten offered answers "to one who is not blinded by prejudice and ignorance. Knowledge is the only path to true salvation!" The Pristine Egyptian Orthodox Church had taken a much milder stance. Neruda led the single congregation which existed for several years in Chicago.

★1950 ★

Congregationalist Witchcraft Association

PO Box 2205
Clearbrook, BC, Canada V2T 3X8

The Congregationalist Witchcraft Association was founded in the late 1980s by members of several Neo-Pagan Witchcraft covens across Canada after several years of discussion of its bases of agreement and constitution. When finally chartered in 1992 by the Canadian government as a non-profit corporation, the association began life as a confederation of self-governing groups (covens) in several Canadian provinces (Initially in Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia; it presently also has members in Alberta, Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.). Groups share a common statement of belief and ethical principles, but whose members control their own administration and worship. The association was formed to accomplish tasks that no one of its members (all of which tend to be small covens) can accomplish alone. It represents them to the government, promotes festivals and gatherings, and assists the growth of Wicca.

The association holds that divinity is multi-faceted and as such can be given a variety of names by which the many gods and goddesses are known. There are also levels of divinity; thus it is appropriate to speak of lesser deities such as guardian spirits. The divine is primarily immanent rather than transcendent, and thus ever-present and active in the world. Every woman and man is an embodiment of divinity, and all acts of love and pleasure are acts of praise of the Goddess. All forms of sexual expression that are non-coercive are considered legitimate by the association. Members also practice magic and believe that through petition, action, and ritual, the world may be changed according to their will.

Members of the association agree not to practice animal sacrifice, promote coercive activities, or charge fees either for teaching the Craft or initiation. Priests and priestesses are expected to keep pastoral confidences.

The association is headed by a national council of officers chosen by vote of the member covens.

Membership: In 1994 there were five full member congregations (one each in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia) and seven associate members congregations (found in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia). There were also 17 individual members.

Educational Facilities: The association was formed with the idea of creating a nondegree granting-college to train people for the priesthood.

Periodicals: The association publishes a newsletter, Duck Tales, for members only. Several of the member congregations also publish newsletters.

★1951 ★

Covenant of Gaia; Church of Alberta

PO Box 1742, Sta. M
Calgary, AB, Canada T2P 2L7

The Covenant of Gaia; Church of Alberta is a Neo-Pagan Wiccan church founded in Calgary, Alberta, in 1989. The church is congregational in structure, being composed of autonomous covens and solitary practitioners. It honors a multiplicity of female and male deities, and follows the worship cycle of the eight common Wiccan festivals by celebrating community cycles. The church offers many different clergy services to its community, such as weddings, funerals, and coming of age rites. The church is headed by a board of directors who are elected annually.

The group has an Internetsite at http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca.

Membership: In 2002, the church reported betweeen 30-60 members.

Sources:

What Is the Covenant of Gaia? Calgary, AB: Covenant of Gaia, 1991. 5-page tract.

★1952 ★

Covenant of the Goddess

Box 1226
Berkeley, CA 94704

The Covenant of the Goddess (C.O.G.) was formed in 1975 by members of approximately ten covens in California as a confederation of autonomous covens to facilitate cooperation between covens and secure legal status and tax exemption for Witchcraft groups. Largely confined to California in its first years, by the end of the decade it had accepted covens in the East and during the early 1980s became a national organization which had shifted a significant amount of its activity to the Midwest. It now has covens in seven regional groupings across the country.

Membership is open to witches, both covens and individuals practicing as solitaries. New members must be recommended by two active C.O.G. members and follow the worship of the Goddess and/or the Old Goddess and the Gods. A code of ethics binds members to the Wiccan Rede, "An ye harm none, do as ye will." It also espouses guidelines on finances, the sovereignty of the individual covens, secrecy, and respect for diversity.

Annually members of the Covenant of the Goddess gather for the Merry Meet, an annual festival, during which the Grand Council meets and the officers are elected. Where three or more covens exist in close geographic proximity, they may organize a local council for the accomplishment of specific projects and general cooperative endeavor.

Membership: In 1992 there were 65 covens.

Periodicals: The Covenant of the Goddess Newsletter.

Sources:

Starhawk. Dreaming the Dark. Boston: Beacon Press, 1982.

——. The Spiral Dance. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1979.

★1953 ★

Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPs)

8190A Beechmont Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45255-3154

The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPs) emerged in the mid-1980s among some Unitarian Universalists who had come into contact with the Neo-Pagan movement and had concluded that the two groups had much in common and much of value to share with each other. At the 1985 Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in Atlanta, Georgia, a spontaneous and spirited summer solstice ritual led to exploration of the possibility of an ongoing organization. A newsletter was begun, and Pagan scholar and writer Margot Adler was invited to address the 1987 assembly, at which time CUUPs was formally organized. The interim steering committee became the first board of directors. The possibility of such a group within the UUA is the result of its movement as primarily a liberal Christian body to one which acknowledges its life as a confluence of the world's religious traditions and insights. The association also places a great deal of emphasis upon individual freedom of belief and worship, intellectual inquiry, and toleration of differences. Religious pluralism has become an established way of life within the association.

CUUPs has developed a formal program of providing networking among Unitarian Universalists who identify themselves as Pagan, promoting dialogue among Pagans and those of the dominant western religious traditions, and serving as a liaison between Pagans and the larger UUA. In practice, CUUPs has provided the Pagan community with not only a means for Pagan clergy to gain a theological education and credentials, but also a spiritual home for many Pagans who otherwise have no relation to the UUA. Thus CUUPs operates as both a caucus within the association and as a growing and increasingly important Pagan grouping in its own right. In 1995 CUUPs experienced a major acknowledgement when the UUA Assembly voted to acknowledge "earth-centered spirituality" in the association by-laws as a major source of UUA beliefs. It was the first such recognition of the significance of Neo-Paganism by a major American religious body.

CUUPs is headed by a board of directors co-chaired by the Revs. Lesley Rebecca Phillips and Linda Sophia Pinti. It holds a national meeting in conjunction with the annual UUA Assembly, and numerous chapters have been formed around the United States and Canada.

Membership: Not reported. There are approximately 80 CUUPs chapters in North America.

Periodicals: Pagan NUUS.

★1954 ★

Cymry Wicca

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Cymry Wicca is a Celtic traditional witchcraft group founded in 1967 in Washington, D.C., by William, or, as he is known in the craft, Rhuddlwm Gawr. The proper name is Cymry ab Prydian or Welsh Sons and Daughters of the Isle of Great Britain. The group was originally the Brotherhood of Wicca but changed the name, so as not to be confused with Lady Sheba's covens. William was initiated in England and afterwards spent four months studying in Wales. The Cymry received its laws and traditions from Great Britain through William. They are contained in eight volumes in manuscript form. The Cymry Wicca moved its headquarters to Georgia in 1973.

The Cymry has three deities: the Goddess, the Horned God, and their son, the Child of Light (corresponding to the Egyptian Isis, Osiris and Horus). Celtic names are employed by the Cymry. Worship is both skyclad (naked) and robed, and both inside and outside the circle, depending on the occasion. Reincarnation is stressed. Major focus of Cymry is on becoming attuned to nature and its forces. Drugs are forbidden.

The Cymry differs from other Wicca groups in that it is organized on seven levels. Each probationer is given a level name and a secret name, both in Welsh. Movement through the levels is occasioned by initiation ceremonies. The first level, the "naming," is coincidental with the members' identification with the coven. The Cymry is organized in autonomous covens. There is no witch king or queen, but there are elders who render binding decisions on questions put to them.

Cymry Wicca covens were most active in the mid-1970s. In 1974, there were approximately fifteen covens located in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, and Virginia. Rhuddlwn Gawr compiled two editions of the Pagan/Occult/New Age Directory, which included broad segments of the American wicca and neo-pagan community. In September 1978, in upstate Georgia, the Cymry hosted the first of several Gatherings of the Tribes, a conclave of Witches and Neo-Pagans from a wide variety of traditions and perspectives. During the 1980s the covens have been less active.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Sword of Dyrnwyn.

Sources:

Gawr, Rhuddlwn. Pagan/Occult/New Age Directory. Atlanta: Pagan Grove Press, 1980.

Gawr, Rhuddlwn, with Marcy Edwards, The Quest. Smyrna, GA: Pagan Grove Press, 1979

★1955 ★

Dancers of the Sacred Circle

(Defunct)

Closely related to Fereferia, an organization discussed elsewhere in this chapter, were the Dancers of the Sacred Circle, founded in the early 1970s by Richard Stanewick. Stanewick was one of the founders of Fereferia and served as its secretary until he moved to the San Francisco area and formed an autonomous group. Headquarters for the Dancers were near Redway, California, on a forty-acre nature sanctuary.

The Dancers attempted to build a total life based on the central figure of the Maiden divinity. Devotions were daily and seasonal, and had both aesthetic and erotic emphases. Included were wilderness mysteries, henge rites (a henge is an open air ring temple), and work in the maintenance and creation of gardens, orchards and wilderness shrines. The group was small, consisting of Richard, his wife, Phyllis Stanewick, and a few adherents. It disbanded in the early 1980s.

★1956 ★

Delphic Coven

(Defunct)

Among the early Goddess-worshipping groups in the United States was the Celtic traditional Delphic Coven founded by Bonnie Sherlock, who operated from a small town in Wyoming. According to Sherlock, the tradition had been handed down through the family, which migrated from Scotland in 1570, first to Ireland then to America. Ms. Sherlock was taught the craft by her great-grandmother, who imparted the first two initiations. The third was received from a Sioux medicine man.

The group claimed Celtic origins "in that we take our muse from the Cauldron of the Kerridwen, and will at length become as the radiant browed Taliesin." Egyptian and American Indian elements were added, though a basic dualistic cosmology remained. "The dragon of darkness is the great fetter of ignorance which we must overcome through educational enlightenment, communication, and involvement with others who are likeminded." Included in the group's belief were reincarnation and karma (the consequences of good and bad actions from former incarnations). Creative expression, primarily through arts, was a major theme; ecology and love of nature, especially as expressed in reverence of the mountain environment, were also emphasized. "The earth is a living, breathing thing to be reverenced and looked after, as are all the lesser creatures." Even the Horned God is visualized as a "Big Horned Sheep." Several issues of a periodical, The Medicine Wheel, were published. The coven dissolved following Sherlock's death in the late 1970s.

★1957 ★

Delphic Fellowship

(Defunct)

The Delphic Fellowship originated in 1967 when Michael Kinghorn and Donald D. Harrison began to publish the Julian Re-view as a forum of discussion of the Pagan religion. The Fellowship was formed the following year with the intent of restoring the heritage of Greece and rightful homage to the gods. A program was begun, to acquaint people of Christian, Jewish and agnostic/atheistic backgrounds with the Pagan option.

The Delphic Fellowship took its inspiration from the ancient oracle at Delphi. The Greek pantheon, headed by Zeus, was worshipped. The Delphian Affirmations asserted belief in the plurality of Gods; in the experience of the wholeness of nature; in the sacred character of the Cosmos (and the denial of its fall); in man as a child of Holy Earth; in moral freedom; in the beauty, purity, and holiness of man's sexuality; that the instinct to survive is natural and pleasing to the gods; that man's posture toward nature should be one of reverence and joyous participation, and in the Sacred Precepts of Elder Delphi, especially his admonition, "Know Thyself; Nothing in Excess."

The Delphic Fellowship was small and largely superceded by the Church of the Eternal Source, an Egyptian Pagan group which Harrison help found. The headquarters of the Delphic Fellowship was in Los Angeles.

★1958 ★

Dianic Wicca

℅ Susan B. Anthony Coven No. 1
Box 11363
Oakland, CA 94611

Dianic Wicca is a name given to those Witchcraft covens which have developed a strong emphasis upon feminism and the role of Witchcraft as the religion of females (wimmin). While most Wiccans recognize their origins in the work of Gerald B. Gardner and the new form of Witchcraft he developed in the 1940s, the Dianics claim a tradition independent of Gardner, in the worship of Diana, the ancient Greek Goddess, from Central Europe. It is the belief of Dianic witches that the worship of the Goddess in a primeval past co-existed with a period of peace on earth which was destroyed by the rise of men and patriarchal deities. In Dianic covens, worship is focused upon the mother Goddess as the Source of Life and as the Source of both sexes, and seen as including both sexes already. Individual covens vary from all-female separatist groups, to all female groups, to mixed male-female groups with a strong feminist emphasis.

Within the Dianic coven, the high priestess represents the Goddess and facilitates a ritual based upon the circle. She is assisted by a maiden, and occassionally (where men are allowed) by a high priest. They represent the consort and the child. Some all-female covens operate in the nude, weather and inclination permitting and some Dianic covens believe in parthenogenic birth, that is, birth not requiring male assistance.

Dianic Wicca began to emerge in the United States in 1971 when at least two different Dianic groups began. In southern California, Zsuzsanna Emese Budapest developed a coven associated with the Feminist Wicca, a "matriarchial spiritual center" in Venice, California. That original coven, known as the Susan B. Anthony Coven No. 1, survives today under the leadership of Ruth Barrett, a High Priestess trained by Budapest. It has been renamed the Circle of Aradia. In the early 1980s, Budapest moved to Oakland, California, and began a second coven which eventually took the name abandoned by the first one. In Oakland, Budapest has led in the formation of the Women's Spirituality Forum, an organization dedicated to bringing Goddess consciousness into the mainstream of feminist, earth conservationist, and peace and justice work in the United States. It has staged a number of conferences featuring leading feminists Wiccans such as Merlin Stone, Starhawk, Diana Paxton, Margot Adler, and, of course, Budapest.

At about the same time, in Dallas, Texas, a Dianic coven was founded by Morgan McFarland and Mark Roberts. High Priestess McFarland was a freelance photographer, writer, and feminist who began to explore the Craft in her early teens. She published a shortlived Neopagan periodical, The Harp, before going public in 1972. High Priest Roberts was also a freelance writer and photographer. Their group had originally been established as an occult group called the Seekers. In 1972, that group began to publish The New Broom. An article in described the Dianic aspect as a blending of monotheism and pantheism. Dianic witches were monotheistic in that they worshipped the Goddess as the essential creative force. They were pantheists in their consideration of every creation in nature a child of the Goddess.

Withstanding attacks from those who complained that Dianic Witchcraft had lost the balance implied in the acknowledgement of the God and Goddess, the Dianics have become recognized as an important part of the Goddess tradition in North America. Beside the separate Dianic covens, Dianic Wicca has found strong advocates within otherwise non-Dianic groups. For example, Starhawk, popular feminist Wiccan writer, is the leader of the Compost Coven, a coven within the larger fellowship of the Covenant of the Goddess (see separate entry), as is the Susan B. Anthony Coven No. 1.

The group has a Biannual Goddess Festivals and more information maybe found at their website at http://www.zbudapest.com.

Membership: Dianic is a designation describing a number of covens and Witchcraft groups. Their inclusion under that label does not imply any organizational connection or even mutual recognition. They are united only in their sharing and emphasizing a generally feminist perspective within the larger neopagan community. There are an estimated 20,000 Dranic Wiccans in the United States.

Periodicals: Of a Like Mind. Send orders to Box 6021, Madison, WI 53704.

Sources:

Budapest, B. The Feminist Book of Lights and Shadows. Venice, CA: Luna Publications, 1976.

Budapest, Zsuzsanna. The Rise of the Fates. Los Angeles: Susan B. Anthony Coven No. 1, 1976. The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries. 2 vols. Los Angeles: Susan B. Anthony Coven No. 1, 1979-80.

Christ, Carol P. Diving Deep and Surfacing. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1980

Starhawk. Dreaming the Dark. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1982

——. The Spiral Dance. New York: Harper & Row, 1979

Stone, Merlin. When God Was a Woman. New York: Harcourt Brace Javonovich, 1976.

★1959 ★

Discordian Society

Current address not obtained for this edition.

There is one aspect of the Neo-Pagan movement in America which seems to be a complete put-on, the Discordian Society. As described in Principia Discordia, the "bible" of the group, Discordians worship Eris, the goddess of chaos. The Society was founded by someone named Malaclypse the Younger who, in 1958, upon evoking the Lady in the Erisian aspect, was told, "We Discordians must stick apart." Among the prominent Neo-Pagans who have identified themselves with the Society is Robert Anton Wilson, also known as Mordecai the Foul. Wilson is a popular writer and and advocate of the Illuminatus conspiracy. He coauthored with Robert Shea a three-volume fantasy novel Illuminatus!, describing the Discordian world, including its sister organization, the John Dillinger Died for You Society.

Members in the Discordian Society are initiated as popes. Being infallible, they have the power to excommunicate everyone. As pope, a member is in the Fifth House of Discordia, popularly known as the Out House. The member can then proceed to higher orders—bishop, knight, castle, priest, dupe and finally clown.

In fact the Discordian movement has not functioned as an organization but has been perpetuated as an inside joke and means of relieving tension within Pagan groups. Quite simply it is the Neo-Pagan version of "Murphy's Law." When things go wrong, the Goddess Eris is invoked with the phrase, "Hail, Eris!" Periodically, an individual will take it upon themselves to publish material in the name of the Society. The most well known literature, apart from Principia Discordia (which has been kept in print in ever newer editions) was a periodical, St. John's Bread, that enjoyed a brief life in the mid-1970s.

Sources:

Malacylpse the Younger. Principia Discordia. Mason, MI: Loompanics Unlimited, 1978.

★1960 ★

Divine Circle of the Sacred Grove

Box 1737
Fontana, CA 92334

The Divine Circle of the Sacred Grove was founded in 1985 by Janette Gordon, a priestess who has a long history of participation in Druidism as well as training in Wicca and a broad mastery of occultism in general. In 1965 she founded the Order of Druids, School and Church of Drunements, which was incorporated into the Divine Circle. The church holds weekly religious services and the school offers a full course of study on Wicca, magic, ritual, healing, occultism, and related topics. The school operates as a correspondence school under the tutelage of Janette and her husband, Norman Gordon. She has authored all of the curriculum lesson material.

The church teaches the balance of Nature affirmed in ritual activity, the polarity of Goddess and God, and a way of life based upon personal empowerment through magic. While operating out of a single center in Fontana, California, the church had extended its influence to Wiccans across the United States through its school, which offers master's and doctorate degrees to its graduates. It also offers special training for the priesthood and provides an opportunity for graduates to become initiates and priests of the church.

Membership: Not reported.

★1961 ★

Earthstar Temple

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The New York Coven of Welsh Traditionalist Witches was headed by Ed Buczynski, better known by his ritual name, Hermes, who had taken the "Celtic" rituals used by Gwen Thompson of the New England Welsh Traditionalist Coven and adapted them for use by a group in Brooklyn, New York. The form of Wicca followed was called "Gwyddoniaid" and is traced to the mixture of Celtic (male deity) and Pictish (female deity) religions in Wales. They worship the Earth Mother in her nine-fold aspects and the Horned God.

Covens are limited to thirteen male and female members, chosen alternately. Each coven is under the guidance of a high priest and high priestess. (Each coven is autonomous, but is tied to others by similar ritual and laws.) The high priestess is ascendent, in keeping with the matriarchal orientation. There are weekly and monthly (on the full moon) rituals as well as the eight sabbats. No magick is worked at the latter. Power usually raised for magick is "given directly to the god in loving sacrifice." Worship is done within a nine-foot circle. Identical red robes are worn, emphasizing the equality of individuals before the gods.

The New York Coven came into prominence in the early 1970s when Buczynski (recently deceased) and Herman Slater became public advocates for the craft. They have presented awards to the Inquisitional Bigot of the Year through Friends of the Craft, an affiliated organization. They also operated the Warlock Shop, an occult supplies store in Brooklyn, and, for several years published Earth Religion News. In the late 1970s, Slater, who had absorbed some elements of ritual magick in his practice, assumed leadership of the group and store. He moved both to Manhattan. The group was renamed Earthstar and the store is currently known as the Magickal Child. Slater has periodically sponsored large festive gatherings of Neo-Pagans, witches and magicians in New York City.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Buczynski, Edmund M. Witchcraft Fact Book. New York: Magickal Childe, n.d.

Slater, Herman, ed. The Magickal Formulary. New York: Magickal Childe, 1981.

★1962 ★

Egyptian Temple of Fitness

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Egyptian Temple of Fitness was founded in the mid-1980s by Master Gamal Selim as a center of the Egyptian religion, language, culture, and healing. It strives to teach the universal knowledge of the ancient Egyptians, which it believes can be of benefit to all. To reach its goal, it offers a weekly round of activities that begin with worship services each Sunday afternoon. Ongoing classes are held on the Egyptian sacred sciences, hieroglyphics, natural healing techniques, exercise, and oracle reading (with an Egyptian version of the tarot cards).

Membership: There is one center in Pasadena.

Periodicals: TKA.

★1963 ★

ESP Laboratory

Box 216
219 S. Ridge Dr.
Edgewood, TX 75117

The ESP Laboratory was founded in Los Angeles in 1966 by AlG. Manning. Manning was a certified public accountant who, during meditations, was contacted by a Prof. Reinhardt, his spirit teacher and guide. With Reinhardt's help, he wrote his first book and founded the ESP Laboratory, which functions as both psychic interest center and a church. Manning became a minister of Spiritual Science. He has since written several books. The keynote to Manning's approach to the psychic is results. An early program made use of color to aid attunement to the living light in its differing shades so as to attain personal goals of success, power, prosperity, and healing. Instruction in the mystic light was offered in a twenty-lesson correspondence course. Healing is a major emphasis.

Divination and the occult steadily became more important parts of the Laboratory's work. In 1970, a course on the "I Ching" was first offered. In 1971, a course on "White Magic and Witchcraft" was offered, and a new book, Helping Yourself with White Witchcraft, appeared the following year. Emphasis was placed not so much on the religion of Wicca but rather upon magick, control and the rituals to use for various purposes. One of the members of the Laboratory who completed the course has formed the Astral Coven.

The ESP Laboratory moved its headquarters from Hollywood to Texas in the early 1980s. Members, via correspondence, are found in all fifty states and some foreign countries. Ordination as a minister is offered after the passing of required courses. A monthly newsletter contains announcements, reports on research, a monthly light exercise and an astrology column.

Membership: Not reported. In 1997 there were ministers with credentials from the laboratory functioning in California, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia with members scattered around the United States and several foreign countries.

Periodicals: E.S.P. Laboratory Newsletter.

Sources:

Manning, Al G. Helping Yourself with White Witchcraft. West Nyack, NY: Parker Publishing Company, 1972

——. Helping Yourself with the Power of Gnostic Magic. West Nyack, NY: Parker Publishing Company, 1979.

★1964 ★

Fellowship of the Spiral Path

Box 5521
Berkeley, CA 94701

The Fellowship of the Spiral Path grew out of the early stages of the Goddess movement in the Bay Area of North California. In 1977 a small group of women, some of whom had a background in Neo-Paganism, gathered to perform a ritual for a friend who felt the need for a rite of passage into womanhood to complete the transition which had begun at puberty. That first ritual also proved to be a meaning-producing experience for the participants, who decided to continue meeting for the exploration of goddess-centered worship and as an expression of their own developing sense of community. They began to meet each new moon and called themselves the Dark Moon circle.

The group developed in stages but soon moved to a renovated carriage house in Berkeley, California, and developed rituals to celebrate various events in women's lives such as motherhood and the onset of menopause. In 1981 the Center for Nontraditional Religion was opened to host various groups and activities, including the Dark Moon Circle. That same year Diana Paxton authored the "Liturgy of the Lady," which began the focus of a monthly open ritual for the public. In 1982 the first priestesses were consecrated. At about that same time, the circle joined the Covenant of the Goddess. In 1986 the center transformed into the Fellowship of the Spiral Path.

The Fellowship of the Spiral Path sees itself as a center of the Old Religion. The Old Religion includes the indigenous religions of tribal cultures from Africa to Europe and North America, which bear a close relationship to Hinduism and Shinto in the East. The fellowship views European and American Old Religionists as engaging in a process of re-establishing themselves after a millennia of disruption by Christianity.

Old Religionists believe that the purpose of life is to live in harmony with nature and that creation is a continuum of consciousness from inanimate objects to the pantheons of gods and spiritual beings, all aspects of a single Divine principle. Since sacredness is in all things, no single form of deity can or should predominate. Old Religionists worship the Divine Energy as both male and female, Goddess and God. Life is essentially good, but evil results when natural processes are perverted or unbalanced. The moral life is based upon a reverence for all life, love and trust within the religious community, personal responsibility, respect for the free will of others, and an understanding that what is done to others will react upon the doer. Salvation is dependent upon one's own life-affirming decisions.

A respect for differences means that worship and leadership styles and forms will vary. Most traditions celebrate the rites of passage, and most acknowledge holidays marked by the astronomical/agricultural years, i.e., the solstices, the equinoxes, and the cross-quarter days halfway between.

In Berkeley, the fellowship sponsors several circles, a monthly celebration of the "Liturgy of the Lady," and various outreach activities. There is also a fellowship center in Sacramento, California. Among the leading members of the fellowship is popular fantasy novelist Marion Zimmer Bradley, many of whose novels reflect her own Neo-Pagan beliefs.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Newsletter.

Sources:

Bradley, Marion Zimmer. The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley. Chicago: Academy Chicago, 1985.

★1965 ★

Feraferia

12318 Shady Ln.
Nevada City, CA 95959-3255

Feraferia, one of the oldest Pagan groups in North America, derives from the Fellowship of Hesperides, founded by Fred Adams in 1957. As early as 1951 Adams had become involved in ritual magic and enactments of the Eleusinian mysteries, first studied Stanford University and later at the University of Southern California In 1956 he had a vision of the Goddess, and became a staunch believer in the worship of her. By 1958 Adams had become fully paganized. He began to seek a purified paganism of the highly sacramental culture of Minoan Crete, and he believed that humankind could develop a utopian, paradisiac life on earth by basing culture on horticulture. In 1959 he established an open-air temple in Sierra Madre. Adams and Lady Svetlana met in 1963. Together they delineated the foundations of Feraferia, which were in place by 1965. Feraferia was incorporated as a church in 1967. Svetlana and Fred met and conferred with Robert Graves, the author of The White Goddess, on Island Mallorca early in 1968. As the Pagan movement developed, Adams became a significant leader as a poet and artist. His stylized presentations of the Goddess circulated widely through the movement as did his calendars of archetypal eco-systems.

Feraferia is somewhat unique among Pagan groups in that it centers upon Kore, the Maiden (rather than the Great Mother). Kore is also identified with Persephone in the Eleusinian mysteries, as well as with Aphrodite, ruler of the Golden Age. Feraferia's Maiden Way includes an emphasis on earth mysteries; organic gardening; a reverence for all life, especially trees; a vegetarian diet; outside living; the realization that health, vitality, and rejuvenation are basic to spiritual growth; handicraft technology; the dissolution of coercive structures and the elimination of artificial conditions; natural safeguards against overpopulation; a maximum of free, creative play and erotic development in the tradition of refined and romantic love and devotion; the veneration of beauty, desire, and creativity; the affirmation of the divine mystery of sex as the central polarity of the cosmic process; and ultimate fusion of immortal soul with transmuted body in the living landscape of paradise.

After being headquartered for many years in Southern California, Adams moved to Nevada City in Northern California in the early 1990s. Here, his consort wife Svetlana conducts her versions of Feraferia ceremonies nine times annually. For many years Adams published a newsletter but it has been discontinued. Ten Feraferia texts were published as booklets in Holland in 2000 and 2001, with more announced as forthcoming. Feraferia's Internet site is http://www.finewest.com/feraferia.

Membership: Feraferia reported 21 initiated members plus associates in 2002.

★1966 ★

First Occult Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The First Occult Church is an eclectic Pagan church formed in the early 1990s. It welcomes all who share an interest in occultism and magick from the range of possible perspectives including Wicca, ritual magick, voodoo, Norse Paganism, and other related systems. Members of the church condemn the idea that there is only one way to spiritual truth but also see patriarchal monotheism (which would include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), as outside the realm of their belief—teachings that produce self-hatred, sexism, racism, and homophobia.

Distinct from most groups that operate in the Wiccan/Neo-Pagan context, the First Occult Church is open to Satanic religious expressions. "Manifesto 13," their statement of belief, notes that members are not to equate dark with "evil" and light with "good," and that Magick is neither black nor white, but varies with the intent of the practitioner.

Organizations within the church include the Coven of the Blue Candle, a traditional Wiccan group; the Temple of Aradia, a relatively new form of Witchcraft created by Lady Vgraine and based upon Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches by Charles Leland; and the Order of the Infernal Grotto, a satanic order headed by a former agent of the Church of Satan. The order has an inner circle called the Order of the Apocalypse. It follows what is termed "Infernal Paganism" that merges Satanic thought with pre-and post-Christian Pagan theories and practices.

Manifesto 13, whose first command is "Thou shalt not bore the gods," articulates the church's stance as a group of socially aware Pagans. They believe that magick should not become a means of escaping the world. Members should engage in activities that benefit the whole and avoid those activities that hurt it. Thus members are called upon to: support Pagan neighbors, avoid scapegoating, work to change unjust laws, and keep up a program of learning.

The church is headed by a board of directors called the Cauldron, which currently includes Rev. Lady Vgraine, president and high priestess; Rev. William Gidney, vice-president and high priest, and Lady Dymphna Reynard, Sabre Wilde, Vulcan Lupus, and the church guardian, Snow Eagle. Rev. Gidney and his wife, Lady Vgraine, have produced several occult documentaries including: The War Against God: Occultism in Your Backyard.

Membership: The church does not report membership statistics but has indicated that membership is found across the United States and in several foreign countries.

Periodicals: A Taste from the Cauldron.

★1967 ★

First Wiccan Church of Minnesota

(Defunct)

The First Wiccan Church of Minnesota grew out of the Camelot of the Star of the North Coven of the American Order of the Brotherhood of Wicca, a Wiccan group founded by Lady Sheba. The church was formed by Carl Weschcke (Gnosticus) and his wife Sandra Weschcke (Kashta) in 1973. Carl is head of Llewellyn Publications which during the 1970s published Lady Sheba's books and Gnostica News, which was a major voice within the Wicca/Pagan community. Though following much of the material of Lady Sheba, the First Wiccan Church also developed its own practices.

Three foci of coven activity were recognized. Worship occurred at the esbats held during the full moon and at the sabbats on the solstices and equinoxes. It was an effort to tune into the natural rhythms of the sun and moon. Magick is seen as the ceremonial work which brings people-integration. The ritual of the craft focuses on practical mundane success, the use of mind power to gain an object of desire. Like Lady Sheba, this group opposed the secrecy that has traditionally surrounded the craft. The church was dissloved in the late 1970s.

Sources:

Sheba, Lady. The Grimoire of Lady Sheba. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1974.

Sheba, Lady [Jessie Wicker Bell]. Witch. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1973

★1968 ★

Free Spirit Alliance

Box 25242
Baltimore, MD 21229

The Free Spirit Alliance is an association of Neo-Pagan and witchcraft groups that emphasize a shared belief in a pantheistic worldview. Groups with whom FSA members worship represent a wide variety of Pagan beliefs and practices including traditional Wiccan traditions, non-Wiccan Pagans, and Druids. Those groups accept a basic belief in the many deities of Paganism who exist within the divine universe of nature. Most of the groups follow the eight festivals common to Paganism and some meet biweekly, on the new and full moon, or monthly.

The alliance emphasizes the ethical standards for Pantheist groups and has published a code of honor to which its members must ascribe. It asserts a belief in human freedom, and the need to follow the Wiccan Rede, "an it harm none, do as ye will." Further, members are admonished to consider their pledged word sacred, to respect the rights and freedoms of others, to respect all life on the planet, to seek to undo any harm to another, and to value honesty. FSA sponsors an annual Free Spirit Gathering each summer which is attended by approximately 700 people. It has other seasonal gatherings attended by 100-200 people.

Membership: FSA has approximately 100 members and more than 1,500 "friends" on its local mailing list. The FSA website, http://www.free-spirit.org, provides info about upcoming events and covers, groups, and circles in the area.

★1969 ★

Gardnerian Wicca

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Gerald B. Gardner (1884-1964) did more to revive modern Witchcraft than any single individual. He composed rituals with the assistance of a few others , including Doreen Valiente, which became the source of most rituals used by both Witches and Neo-Pagans. Several members of his British covens (for example, Alexander Sanders and Sybil Leek) took copies of his rituals and published their own edited versions of them as the basis for a new form of Wicca. However, the single largest group of Wiccans are those who continue to use the rituals as finally developed by Gardner in the 1960s.

Gardnerian Wicca was brought to America in the 1960s. It came through several individuals who traveled to Great Britain for initiation in one of Gardner's covens. Most of these revised and rewrote the rituals upon their return. Such was not the case with Raymond Buckland and his wife, Rosemary Buckland. Raymond (who claims a Ph.D. in anthropology) and Rosemary Buckland operated the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick on Long Island. Reared as good members of the Church of England, they began dabbling in occultism and were attracted to Gardner after settling in New York in the early 1960s. They corresponded with him and visited his home on the Isle of Man, where he operated a witchcraft museum. While there, the Bucklands went through a three-week crash program and were initiated in the second degree before they left. (The usual time between any of the three degrees of witchcraft is one year and a day.) Upon their return, they began to organize Gardnerian covens, which spread across the country. This growth was due in part to the widespread media coverage of the museum and the then unique religion espoused by the Bucklands.

Each Gardnerian coven is headed by a high priestess and a high priest. Without the former no ceremonies are held. Membership in the covens is primarily by couples, and the size of the coven is limited only by the space available in the nine-foot circle. New covens are usually formed by a witch's leaving a full-size coven and beginning a new one. The high priestess of the original coven becomes the "witch queen" of the new coven. Within Gardnerian covens there is a form of apostolic succession from Rosemary Buckland (who is no longer associated with the Gardnerian covens) through a lineage of witch queens to presently functioning priestesses.

Gardnerian witches worship in the nude, and by so doing have given to the craft a new word, "skyclad." The female witch does wear a necklace, a symbol of reincarnation. The high priest and priestess wear bracelets symbolic of rank, and the witch queen wears a crown and garter.

In 1973, the Bucklands, known in the craft as Robat and Lady Rowen, were divorced. They turned over the leadership of the Gardnerian covens to Judy Kneitel and her husband Tom Kneitel, known as Lady Theos and Phoenix. During 1973/74, they published Gardnerian Aspects as a magazine within the Green Egg, but discontinued it with issue No. 63 in favor of an intracoven letter. The Hidden Path, begun by Lady Dierdre of the Coven of the Silver Trine in Louisville, Kentucky, continues as a semi-public periodical. Buckland developed an alternative Wicca system called Seax-Wica. On May 1, 1985, Judy Kneitel retired and turned over leadership to Roberta Faillace, known as Lady Rhiannon, and her partner Martin Fleischman, known as Theseus.

Although the Gardnerian Wicca does not have a central address, information about the group and covens can be found through the "Gardnerian Agora" at http://www.gardnerian.net; and "Proteus Coven" at http://www.draknet.com/proteus.

Membership: Membership is not available to the public, but it is estimated that several hundred people are involved in Gardnerian covens recognized by Theos and Phoenix. Many more consider themselves Gardnerian.

Periodicals: The Hidden Path. Send orders to Windwalker, Box 793 F, Wheeling, IL 60090.

Sources:

Bracelin, J. L. Gerald Gardner: Witch. London: Octagon Press, 1960.

Gardner, Gerald B. Witchcraft Today. London: Karrolds, 1968

Valiente, Doreen. Natural Magic. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1975.

——. Witchcraft for Tomorrow. London: Robert Hale Limited, 1978.

A Witch. The Devil's Prayerbook. London: Mayflower, 1975.

★1970 ★

The Georgian Church

1908 Verde St.
Bakersfield, CA 93304

The Georgian Church, originally the Church of Wicca at Bakersfield, California, was formed by George E. Patterson (d. 1984). Patterson claimed a 1940 initiation from a Celtic group. After World War II, he settled in California and in the 1970s began to gather a coven. The group was eclectic, combining rituals from Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca, and other sources, and was termed Georgian. Eventually a charter came from the Universal Life Church, and Patterson obtained a doctor of divinity degree from the American Bible Institute. As with most witches, there is belief in the gods and goddesses, magick, the unity of life and reincarnation. The group does not accept Satanism, black magicians or groups organized only for sex. There are three degrees in Georgian Wicca. These degrees acknowledge attainment of knowledge and time devoted to the craft. The church publishes a periodical, noteworthy both for its size and quality as well as its longevity. Jean M. Davis succeeded Patterson as president of the church.

Membership: Not reported, but in 1987 the Georgian Newsletter reported a circulation of 250 copies. By 1973, there were four affiliated covens in Southern California. By 1978 there were associated covens in Missouri, New York, and New Jersey. As of the mid-1980s, there are loosely affiliated covens (many of them led by priests and/or priestesses trained by Patterson) across the United States and in several foreign countries.

Periodicals: Georgian Newsletter.

★1971 ★

Hawthorn Grove

Box 706
Monticello, NY 12701-0706

Hawthorn Grove is an independent congregation for Witches, Druids, shamans, deep ecologists, and Neo-Pagans founded in 1990 and incorporated two years later. It serves people in the Upper Delaware and MidHudson River Valleys. The grove is very eclectic in its beliefs and practices but is united in the acceptance of the basic Pagan ethical principle, the Wiccan Rede, "That ye harm none, do what thou will"; and the Charge to the Goddess, a passage of a modern sourcebook for Witchcraft, Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches, published in 1899 by Charles Leland. Itreads:

Now when Aradia (the daughter of Diana) had been taught, taught to work all witchcraft, how to destroy the evil race (of oppressors), she (imparted to her pupils) and said unto him:

When I shall have departed from this world, Whenever you have need of anything, Once in the month, and when the moon is full, Ye shall assemble in some desert place Or in a forest all together join To adore the potent spirit of your Queen My mother, great Diana. She who fain Learn all sorcery yet has not won Its deepest secrets, then my mother will Teach her, in truth, all things as yet unknown. And ye shall all be freed from slavery, And so ye shall be free in everything; And as a sign that ye are truly free, Ye shall be naked in your rites, both men And women also; this shall last until The last of your oppressors shall be dead…

In order to encourage its diversity, the grove has remained organizationally independent of other Pagan groups. The grove is headed by a board of directors consisting of a Secretary, Pursewarden, and Summoner. There is no permanent designated High Priestess and/or Priest. Leadership in worship rotates among the members. There is a Council of Elders consisting of from three to 13 of the ordained clergy (elders). Elders are trained by the grove.

Membership: In 1995 the grove reported 50 members and three elders.

Periodicals: The Hawthorn Spinner.

Sources:

Leland, Charles G. Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches. 1899. Rept., New York: Samuel Weiser, 1974.

★1972 ★

Henge of Keltria

PO Box 48369
Minneapolis, MN 55448-0369

The Henge of Keltria was established in 1987 (incorporated in 1995) by cofounders Tony Taylor and Sable Taylor, both former members of the Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF). The Taylors had some administrative difference with ADF and rejected its idea of multicultural Druidism. They work within a context of Celtic Druidism. The Henge of Keltria is a Neopagan group dedicated to protecting and preserving Mother Earth, honoring the ancestors, revering the spirits of nature, and worshipping the Celtic gods and goddesses. Special emphasis is placed on spiritual development fostered through study and practice of the Druidic arts and Celtic magick. Through training, networking, resource material, ritual participation, and meaningful communication, the group aims to provide a religious and spiritual framework through which people may reach their full potential.

Affiliated local groups are called groves. Each grove is free to compose and perform ritual and magick geared to its own particular focus, provided such work remains compatible with the beliefs, ethics, and ritual and structural framework of the Henge.

Members progress through three grades of initiation called rings, a symbolic name derived from the rings of a tree; the ring system measures the growth of its participants. The three rings are named for sacred trees: the Ring of the Birch, the Ring of the Yew, and the Ring of the Oak. Within the highest ring, the Oak, there are three tiers—Hawthorn, Rowan, and Mistletoe. Advancements are based on time, knowledge, and service to either a local grove or the Henge. Special provisions are made for those transferring from other Neopagan paths, so that those with several years of training and experience do not need to begin at the bottom.

Membership: In 2002 there were 246 members. Groves are found in Minnesota, Missouri, New York, and Massachusetts.

Periodicals: Kethria: A Journal of Druidism and Celtic Magic. • Serpent Stone: A Journal of Druidic Wisdoms. • Henge Happenings.

Sources:

Hopman, Ellen Evert, and Lawrence Bond. People of the Earth: New Pagans Speak Out. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1996. 402 pp.

★1973 ★

Hollywood Coven

(Defunct)

The Hollywood Coven was formed as a Celtic traditional Wiccan group in 1967 by E. Tanssan of Hollywood, Florida. Tanssan had formerly been a member of a coven in Birmingham, Michigan. The Birmingham coven, headed by T. Milligan, had been established in the early part of the century. Tanssan had succeeded his teacher as leader in Birmingham shortly before the coven was disbanded because of police harassment. He and some of the members moved to Florida and established the new coven. Emerging as spokeswoman for the coven was Kitty Lessing, who edited its periodical, The Black Lite.

Worship was in the circle. No drugs were allowed. It was a robed tradition. Initiation was allowed only after a year of study of occultism and witchcraft. Initiates were eligible to become a coven lady or grand master. There were no priests or priestesses.

The basic deities were the Great One, the Horned God, and the Lady of Silver, the earth mother. The God was considered the father of all gods and guide to the afterlife. Nature was seen the creation of the gods, hence sacred. Only four sabbaths—Halloween, Yule, Candlemas (February 2) and Lammas (August 1)—were celebrated. The solstices and equinoxes were not formally celebrated. Esbats were held weekly or biweekly. In 1972 two covens were being operated in Hollywood, the main coven and a student coven. During the mid-1970s, Lessing moved to California, and shortly afterward the Hollywood Coven dropped out of sight. This may have been one of the few genuine pre-Gardnerian covens in the United States.

★1974 ★

Holy Order of Briget

(Defunct)

The Holy Order of Briget was a Wicca group formed in the late 1960s in Denver by Michael Myers. For several years, a co-op book store, Spell, Book and Candle, was operated in Denver, but it closed in November, 1973. Land was purchased in rural Colorado, and Craftcast Farm was begun as a "monastic" focus within American Wicca.

Craftcast was run during the brief period of its existence on a communal basis and set aside as a place where ritual would be continual. A deep love for the Mother was the motivating force. Witchcraft, viewed as seeking wisdom by changing knowledge into understanding, was practiced. The monastic ideal allows for "one spiritual goal" to become dominant. According to Myers, other covens in various locations throughout the West were affiliated with the Holy Order of Briget; however, since the dissolving of the farm in the late 1970s, considerable doubt has been cast upon Myers's claims.

★1975 ★

House of the Open Eye

Current address not obtained for this edition.

House of the Open Eye is a Neopagan group in the San Francisco Bay Area headed by Rev. Paula Ashton which draws its inspiration from ancient Egyptian religion and is intent upon revitalizing it. The group builds upon the knowledge of the Netjer (Egyptian pantheon) from history and archeology, and offers strong support to believers gaining all the knowledge of the past. However, members also understand that a significant period of time has passed and that just as culture has evolved, so should the Egyptian religious tradition and the practices associated with it. Thus, they propose a method of serving and honoring the Netjer in ways that are relevant to the modern psyche and environment.

The House of the Open Eye offers a course in Egyptian religion which includes a broad understanding of the Egyptian deities, ancient Egypt, the important concepts of theology and ritual, magick, divination, daily devotional disciplines, and the priesthood.

The group participates in the larger Neopagan community in the Bay Area, and maintains a web site on the Internet.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

http://www.phoenix-alliance.com/HoE.html/.

★1976 ★

IMBAS

PO Box 1215
Montague, NJ 07827-0215

IMBAS (an Irish word meaning "poetic inspiration," pronounced "im-bus") is a Druid Neopagan group founded in the mid-1990s. It promotes what it terms Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism and the cultural heritage of the Celtic peoples. Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism is grounded in folk tradition, mythological texts, and the archaeological and historical records of the Celtic people who include the modern peoples of Alba (Scotland), Breizh (Brittany), Cymru (Wales), ire (Ireland), Kernow (Cornwall), and Mannin (Isle of Man). It finds its focus in the home, the family, and the community/tribe in honoring the land, the ancestors, and the traditional Celtic gods and goddesses. Though Celtic in emphasis, IMBAS is open to people of all ethnic backgrounds.

In reconstructing the Celtic tradition, IMBAS members show a deep reverence for the pre-Christian Celtic deities. They attempt to make contact with both the ancestors and the land spirits, which in a modern context assumes a concern for family and a deep environmental awareness. Members are also students of history and strive to be as historically (and mythologically) accurate as the evidence allows. Gaps in the evidence often makes it necessary to create something new. New realities should nevertheless be as consistent as possible with what is known about the Iron Age Celts and their legacy. Thus IMBAS represents a balanced approach to understanding early Celtic religion, which relies on both sound scholarship and poetic inspiration without mistaking one for the other.

At the same time IMBAS has distanced itself from ceremonial magick (and modern traditions influenced by it, especially Wicca), romantic Revival Druidism (that is, anything inspired by Iolo Morganwg or the Druidic movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries), and eclecticism (combining early Celtic religion with other cultural traditions).

IMBAS publishes a quarterly journal and other material, charters local IMBAS groups, provides a training program for prospective Seanch i (traditional lore keepers), and attempts to provide the public with accurate information about Celtic culture and Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: An Trbhs Mhr: The IMBAS Journal of Celtic Reconstructionism.

Sources:

http://www.morrigan.alabanza.com/imbas/.

★1977 ★

Irminsul Aettir

PO Box 423
Renton, WA 98057-0423

The Irminsul Aettir is an association of Asatruar (people who follow the Asatru or the old Pagan religion of Iceland and Scandinavia) formed in the mid-1990s. It consists of actual (and fictive) kin, family members, friends of the Irminsul Aett, and those affiliated with the Aett to practice and promote the religion of Asatru. The organization is headed by Susan Granquist, who assumed full administrative duties during Yule 1995 and was named Drottning. She is currently assisted by Andrew J. Cantrell, who was named Thule in 1997.

The basic organizational unit of the Aett is the family, followed by extended family type organizations and associations such as kindreds. Both exist to support the growth of individuals in their faith.

Members also believe that everyone should be free to choose their own godhi/gydhia (leader) as well as those with whom they wish to worship. Traditionally, a believer entered into a "Thing-agreement" (agreement of association) with the godhi or gydhia of choice. A godhi or gydhia is a person who serves the community and represents the people of his or her association at assemblies, holds meetings, and maintains meeting places and records, as well as performing other services. According to the ancient oath of office, holding the office of godhi involves perpetual dedication to the gods, folk, and other beings. Today, it is roughly equivalent to a community minister who sees to the needs of those associated with him/her. Given the nonhierarchical nature of the religion, the primary responsibility of the leader is to assist individuals to meet their own spiritual needs through example, providing resources and information and events where individuals can meet with others in their community.

In 1994, Irminsul Aettir organized its first godhordh, similar to a church. It is designed to be actively involved in outreach programs as is any other ministry. Members also sponsor Vinnuhoppurs and Felag groups, study groups, and fellowships, that provide focus on particular topics and more intimate contact between members.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

http://www.eskimo.com/~valkyrie/.

★1978 ★

Lady Sara's Coven

(Defunct)

Sara Cunningham was an Episcopalian who turned witch. During the late 1960s, she operated the Albion Training Coven and, in 1970, became one of the founders of the Church of the Eternal Source. She separated from that group in 1971 over eclecticism (which she expounded) versus a pure Egyptian religion. She founded the Temple of Tiphereth, which combined elements of Western ritual magick, Egyptian religion, and Wicca. The temple was located in Pasadena, where she also ran Stonehenge, an occult supply house. She also met Hans Holzer, who wrote about her psychic abilities in several of his books. In 1973, she moved to Wolf Creek, Oregon, where she formed Lady Sara's Coven, an eclectic Wicca group. She publishes a "Course in Wicca," a year-and-a-day study course which she offers to students around the country. Her coven has dropped out of sight in recent years.

Sources:

AUM, The Sacred Word. Glendale, OR: First Temple of Tipareth, 1975.

The Hermetic Art. Glendale, OR: First Temple of Tiphareth, 1975.

Sara [Cunningham]. Candle Magic. Hollywood, CA: Phoenix House, 1974.

Sara, Lady [Cunningham]. Questions and Answers on Wicca Craft. Wolf Creek, OR: Stonehenge Farm, 1974.

★1979 ★

Mental Science Institute

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Barney C. (Eli) Taylor, who is the grand master of what is termed druidic witchcraft, is a descendant of Thomas Hartley, who was burned at the stake for practicing witchcraft in England in the early 1550s. Hartley was a healer and herbalist. Because of persecution, others like him fled to America and settled in the mountain country of the Appalachians and the Ozarks. (Taylor grew up in the Ozarks.) The Mental Science Institute was organized in the late 1960s as a focus for Taylor's brand of herbal magick. He traces his particular kind of witchcraft to the druid, and it is thus termed druidic. It is also a robed tradition, in contrast to both the modern "naked ones" (i.e., the practitioners of Gardnerian Wicca), and the clothed ones who emphasize magick. The robed ones emphasize healing.

The membership of the Mental Science Institute is divided into covens of no more than twelve individuals, meeting under a wizard. Wizards in turn meet under a magi; the magis under a master magi; and the master magis under the grand master. Taylor is grand master for the United States. Apprentices are those studying in order to join the group. There are three degrees in the craft: a first degree, a basic member; a second degree, a wise leader; and a third degree, the wise doctor.

Worship is conducted in regular esbats and the four grand sabbats. The institute is the most male oriented of all the Wiccan groups and has a theology closely related to Christianity and to ritual magick. The universe is seen as a series of levels—celestial, terrestrial and telestial. The celestial is divided into sublevels at the top of which is God the Father, followed by the Lord of Lights, arch-angels and angels. Man, animals and plants are on the terrestrial level. At the lowest level, the telestial, are the mineral, chemical and electrical elements and creative thought. Just as there is a Father, there is a Mother of all people.

In a concept very close to Mormonism, the institute teaches that God the Father was at one time a child. The children will, in like measure, become gods. Reincarnation is part of that process. A complete cycle lasts for approximately 142 years: from birth to death, a year in purgatory, 70 years to integrate the life experience, and a year waiting for rebirth.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Eli [Taylor]. The First Book of Wisdom. The Author, 1973.

——. The Second Book of Wisdom. N. p., n. d.

★1980 ★

Neo-Dianic Faith

(Defunct)

The late W. Holman Keith came to paganism early in the 1940s. He attended the Church of Aphrodite, an early pagan group founded in the 1920s by Gleb Botkin and, in the late 1960s, emerged as head of his own Neo-Dianic Faith. Keith described the revival of paganism as the recovery of the ancient spirituality embodied in the prehistoric nature religion and Mother Goddess worship. Though the Neo-Dianic Faith was confined to a small group in the Los Angeles area, as Paganism grew through the 1970s, Keith emerged as an elder brother for many just discovering Paganism.

Keith thought of the divine, the great mover, as eternal desire, ideally embodied in woman. Man's and woman's oneness with life and nature is expressed in a primal piety which includes an ethic of pleasure, beauty, subordination of the drive for power and its resulting machinations of control, and worship of the feminine. The Greco-Roman pantheon is favored, but not exclusively. The active participation in the experience of being alive, in worshipping the Goddess, brings its own assurance of immortality, the moment in time being identical with the eternal now.

After Keith's death in the late 1970s his small following dissolved.

★1981 ★

New England Coven of Welsh Traditionalist Witches

(Defunct)

The New England Coven of Welsh Traditionalist Witches was founded in the late 1960s by Gwen Thompson of North Haven, Connecticut. It was a Celtic traditionalist coven. Thompson had taken the Gardnerian rituals and rewritten them around a Welsh Celtic theme. Among the early covens, it was considered conservative in its form of worship, which was conducted only in a properly prepared circle or (for outside worship) grove. Members of the coven wore robes with cords and no footwear. Rituals were kept in a Book of Shadows. The basic belief in the Earth Mother, the Horned One and a family of pagan deities was set within a basic dualistic cosmology reminiscent of Manichaeism, which taught the release of the spirit from matter.

As Thompson stated, "Our doctrine involves the ancient battle between the hosts of Light and those of Darkness…in which Light lost. Light, in this case, may be referred to as Wisdom, or that force which sought to upgrade mankind from his primitive state into a being able to understand more fully his own nature, that of his planet, and the universe at large. It is our belief that our world is governed by the hosts of Darkness who are responsible for the 'three D's:' Death, Disease, and Disaster. We believe that mankind and his world were originally a perfect creation, but that both have been victimized for many thousands of years. We feel that Light will ultimately prevail."

In 1973 Thompson, the high priestess, moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Lady Kerry and her high priest, Stock, succeeded Thompson as the leaders of the New England coven. Thompson began two covens in the Gatlinburg area. During the 1980s, none of the three covens has been located. They are presumed defunct.

★1982 ★

New, Reformed, Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn

℅ The Trine
48 Page St.
San Francisco, CA 94102

The New, Reformed, Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn (NROOGD) began in 1969 in the San Francisco, California, area when a group of friends assembled to help one of their number with a term project for a class on rituals. The original rituals were based on research in a variety of books by authors on witchcraft and magic such as Gerald B. Gardner and Margaret Murray and magical texts such as the Greater Key of Solomon. They decided to become a coven in late 1969, and by the early 1970s, other covens had emerged, all governed by a Red Cord Council. During these years, NROOGD published a magazine, The Trine.

NROOGD disbanded as a formal order in May 1976, when the Red Cord Council decided that henceforth NROOGD shall be a craft tradition rather than a general pagan religious society. In this form it continues to the present day, with covens in the San Francisco Bay area and along the West Coast. Since there is no longer any formal organization, no one really knows how many covens might be practicing in the NROOGD tradition nor where they all might be located. Over the years, a few thousand people have attended NROOGD events and many have incoorporated NROOGD elements in their rituals.

The Bay Area covens continue the tradition of holding rituals open to the neopagan and craft communities, with responsibility rotating informally among them. Most of the eight sabbats are celebrated, and there is an annual September ritual based on the Eleusinian mysteries. Attendance ranges from 50 to 300. The esbats (held at the new and full moons) are closed, celebrated privately by individual covens and their invited guests. The rituals used continue to evolve; sometimes old sabbat rituals are revised, sometimes completely new ones are written. The basic form of the esbat and many of the sabbat rituals are quite similar to the original ones written in 1968.

In February 1988, the NROOGD celebrated its 20th anniversary with a Brigid ritual in Berkeley, California, which brought together many of the past members, including most of the founders. NROOGD members (and former members) have been very active in the Covenant of the Goddess, both as founders and officers. The organization's web site is at http://www.nroogd.org.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Scott, Gini Graham. Cult and Countercult. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1980.

★1983 ★

New Wiccan Church International (NWC)

Box 162046
Sacramento, CA 95816

Established in 1973, the New Wiccan Church is an international association of individual members of British Traditional Wicca (Witchcraft). The NWC defines British Traditional Wicca as an initiatory Pagan Mystery faith, which has ancient roots that originated in the British Isles. The members of the NWC consist of an oath bound priesthood, which differentiates the NWC from the popular Pagan/Wiccan movement that has grown significantly in the past 20 years.

MWC membership is open only to initiated witches of legal age who are in one of more of the following traditions: Kingstone, Silver Crescent, Daoine Coire, Majestic (all derived from Central Valley Wicca or CCW), Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Mohsian, and related traditions. The NWC limits itself to traditions that have similar structures and practices, some of which include a three "degree" structure, cross-gender initiations, and the tenet that Wiccans are not permitted to charge money for initiating or teaching their religion. Wiccans also have an obligation to maintain the privacy of others who are initiates, i.e., not to reveal the name, identity, or residence of another initiated witch without their expressed permission. All members agree to observe and uphold the tenets and bylaws of the NWC, and all members are responsible for the common-sense application of the oaths of initiation that the took as members of their respective traditions.

The objectives of the New Wiccan Church are to preserve and sustain the Craft by: 1) Providing a communications and mutual aid network among members of British Traditional Wicca; 2) Providing avenues through which members may share teachings and other material, in a licit and honorable manner; 3) Allowing members to experience the different styles of practice that fall within the British Traditional Wicca; 4) Encouraging the teaching of British Traditional Wicca and aiding those who teach; 5) Preserving and maintaining the heritage of Wiccan traditions, and promoting study and research in all related fields; 6) Promoting and maintaining a high ethical standard within the Wiccan and Pagan community; and 7) Promoting mirth and reverence and joy in the activities of the members of the association.

As Wiccans, members acknowledge that all of creation stems from an unknowable Source, which is beyond human comprehension. Many members view this Source as both immanent and transcendent. Wiccans honor and worship the Old Gods of Nature: the Great Mother and her consort, the Horned God. Members also work with other additional deities as they see fit. Wiccans seek to experience and understand the cycles and tides of birth-life-death in their daily lives through a personal relationship and a direct connection with their Gods, their ancestors, and the local spirits of the land. They believe in the power of magic, and use both traditional and experimental techniques to achieve their personal goals as well as to help others in an ethical manner. Actual rites are confidential, but published accounts of Gardnerian or Alexandrian-derived rituals are similar. Teachings focus on the development of a personal relationship with Deity, and a keen awareness and attunement with the cycles of Nature through ritual and daily life. Members use traditional Wiccan techniques to gain self-mastery and develop their skills as Witches to help themselves and to help others. Experimental methods may be used, for their traditions provide them with a firm foundation upon which to build an improvise.

The New Wiccan Church holds periodic meetings to discuss business and religious matters concerning the church and its members. Other events include various social gatherings, ritual events, and workshops. Some events are for members only, while others may be open by invitation. The church has a lending and research library of books available to members only.

The NWC works with other Pagan organizations such as Covenant of the Goddess. Various branches of the church have also been active in Pagan Bride Day and at various Pagan festivals. Educational materials about British Traditional Wicca area available at the NWC Internet site (http://www.newwiccanchurch.com) or via mail.

Membership: Membership figures are confidential, but most members are in the Western United States; some are overseas.

Periodicals: Red Garters, Intenational, formerly in print and currently being converted to online format.

★1984 ★

Odin Brotherhood

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Odin Brotherhood is a secret society which follows a polytheistic religion devoted to Odin, Thor, Sif, and the other deities of the Norse tradition. According to the brotherhood, Odinism is an ancient religion that acknowledges the gods by fostering thought, courage, honor, light, and beauty. It traces its existence to the fifteenth century, but now, having survived in the face of Christian attempts to annihilate it, it is making itself known. The brotherhood has no buildings (temples or churches) but attempts to honor the gods everywhere, as long as outsiders are excluded; all words are "whispered," and all "abominations" (promiscuity and assassination) are avoided.

The central rite of the brotherhood is called the "Glimpse-Of-Extraordinary-Beauty," during which the celebrants believe they are "enveloped and penetrated by the thoughts of a god." Members do not have faith so much as they are taught to seek knowledge. The brotherhood does, however, believe in life after death and that there are three "Other-Worlds," one of which is called Valhalla or the White-Kingdom. It is reserved for those heroes who die violent deaths. The existence of the Christian hell is denied.

The brotherhood glorifies strength, asserting that "it is only by becoming stronger that a man can realize his divinity." Initiates to the brotherhood must cut themselves three times with a dagger and "devote, hallow, and sanctify" their blood to "the gods who live."

The brotherhood has distanced itself from the racism that has infected Norse beliefs in the twentieth century and eschews the idea that there are either chosen peoples or master races.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1043/.

★1985 ★

Odinic Rite Vinland

PO Box 2022
Sandusky, OH 44871-2022

Odinic Rite Vinland is the autonomous American branch of the Odinic Rite, an Odinist group based in Great Britain, which worships the deities of ancient northern Europe in a manner similar to that of the European branches. It recognizes the spiritual leadership provided by the Court of Gothar in Great Britain, the head of the Odinic Rite, and Heimgest, its director. (The American branch is led by the Witan ORV, a council of three, oathed in the realms of Gods and men to lead and advance the Holy Nation of Odin and the Odinic Rite Vinland). It consists of Osferth ORV, the High Wita; Heidrun ORV, the Witan Reeve; and Wulfgaest ORV, the Hofwarden.

The Odinic Rite Vinland has developed a gothi (clergy) training program for its members and publishes a range of Odinist materials including The Book of Blotar of the Odinic Rite: Authentic Rituals of the Odinic Rite, which contains the 12 major monthly rituals of the ORV, as well as rites of passage, a healing ritual, and a format for sword naming, land reclamation, banner consecration, and other short invocations.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: ORBriefing-Vinland.

Sources:

http://wwwlrgbc.com/heathen/.

★1986 ★

Odinist Fellowship/Kirk of Odin

c/o Else Christensen
PO Box 1973
Parksville, BC, Canada V9P 2H7

The Odinist Fellowship is an international, Heathen organization intent on bringing back the pre-Christian beliefs and spirituality of northern Europe. The fellowship seeks to find those devotees of the Asatru faith who are isolated from others of a similar faith and provide a wider fellowship. The Odinist Fellowship is the functioning arm of the Kirk of Odin headquartered on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Any three members of the fellowship, living in reasonable proximity, may form a Kindred. A Kindred holds a minimum of four celebrations annually. The spokesperson for the Kindred has the title of Kirk Elder. The Kindred also appoints a Chronicler who keeps records of its activities.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

http://www.bcsupernet.com/users/wodan/odinist1.htm/.

★1987 ★

Omphalos

Current address not obtained for this edition.

While Greek Neopagan groups were among the first formed in the 1960s, Greek and Roman mythology have been a relatively minor theme in the developing Wiccan and Neopagan community, which has centered more on the ancient deities of Western and Northern Europe. Omphalos is a Neopagan organization established in the mid-1990s to bring together Pagans who find their inspiration and format in ancient Greek and/or Roman religion. It was formed by John Opsopaus, also known as Apollonius Omphalos. At present, Omphalos has its primary existence on the Internet, where it has established an information and networking presence. The web site includes information about publications, organizations, and festivals, as well as links to some relevant files on rituals, hymns, and other texts useful to Hellenic Neopagans. Omphalos has as a major goal of providing contact information of Pagans living in the same geographic area.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

http://www.cs,utk,edu/~mclennan/OM/BA/OM/.

★1988 ★

Open Goddess

(Defunct)

The Open Goddess was an eclectic Wicca group that drew on Alexandrian Wicca revised with insights from a broader perspective on Western occultism. The Kabbalistic symbolism of balance was predominant; both the Goddess (my Lady) and God (my Lord) are worshipped. The Goddess is identified with the sephirot Binah and the god with Chochman. These are the first emanations from Kether, the unseen Godhead. The God is the solar principle, the king to be enthroned. The Goddess is the lunar principle, veiled in the mysteries of nature and the universe. The name is derived from the belief that the various names of the Goddess are all equally valid.

At one point in the mid-1970s, the Open Goddess claimed over fifty affiliated covens scattered from New Hampshire to Florida. Headquarters were in Woodbridge, New Jersey, where High Priestess and Priest, Pennie Robbins and Kevin Robbins, resided.

★1989 ★

Order of Osirus

(Defunct)

The Order of Osirus dates from 1572, with Edward Wharton, a Cambridge graduate and schoolteacher who had early become interested in divination and the occult. During his last year at college, he became interested in witchcraft. He started his first coven in the 1510s, but it was disbanded. The first covens of the new order in 1572 had seven members (to avoid the accusation of being a parody on the twelve apostles). The order considers these the first "white covens," as opposed to popular "black" covens that were involved with Satanism and black magic. It was also Wharton's belief that the smaller, more intimate body could generate unlimited power.

The Osirian Order is said to have spread to Massachusetts in the seventeenth century. In 1676, Mary Austin and Anne Brintone arrived in Boston. They were apprehended by Richard Bellingham, who accused them of witchcraft. They were released, however, upon paying 10 pounds sterling and promising to leave Boston. To Simon Newell, who paid the money, credit is due for preservation of the rituals, spells and incantations. They moved to Salem and began the first Osirian coven. By 1692, there were thirty-seven covens in New England. The order then went underground for two hundred years.

Leading the order in the 1970s was Samuel R. Graves, who was introduced to witchcraft by Chris Newell of North Bristol, Massachusetts, a descendant of Simon Newell. Chris gave Simon's journals to Graves. Graves has led in a contemporary revival of the order and the publication of several books. For the order, witchcraft has to do with the mastering of the power of the mind, the strength of individual will and the power of suggestion. The group is primarily concerned with spells and incantations toward some positive goal. Work is done in a circle. Symbol of the Osirian Order is the goat skull, associated with the Horned God, Pan, and the love of nature.

Headquarters of the order were established in Kearney, Nebraska. Membership was open to all after payment of the five-dollar fee. A bimonthly newsletter was published. No recent evidence of the continuance of the order has been available.

Sources:

Graves, Samuel R. Witchcraft: The Osirian Order. San Francisco: JBT Marketing, 1971

Potions and Spells of Witchcraft. San Francisco: JBT Marketing, 1970.

★1990 ★

Ossirian Temple Assembly

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Ossirian Temple Assembly/Order of Osirus was founded in 1979 by Kara Apu, the Guardian-Chief of the Ossirian Religion. The assembly is dedicated to the restoration of ancient Egyptian religion with the goal of creating a New Age of harmony between deity, entity, and humanity. The religion is based upon the sacred law of Mayet (or Maat) as carved upon the inner walls of the pyramids and on temple columns. The message of the religion has returned to the modern world through the instrument of the Rosetta Stone, which has allowed access to the ancient writings.

Ossirians believe in one eternally existing Creator God, Ra, who is identical to the same God recognized in all religions worldwide. Ra sent his message to humanity through the instrument of Lord Osiris, the same Son born in all ages to bring humanity back into fellowship with God. All who accept the Creator God become divine children of God, and all who seek to serve God receive his divine spirit, Heru. Through Heru, who lives in the inner mind, each person can work toward the state of Ka-djed, a state of stability of mind and spirit. One must enter that state before entering the ultimate state of union with the Creator. Reincarnation affords additional opportunities to enter that state.

All people who worship the Creator and seek to follow Mayet (justice, truth, and cosmic order) will be acceptable to Ra. However, the Egyptian rites open the way of understanding the mysteries of God and applying the divine power to energize the inner mind. All people can become Ossirians.

Ossirians find meaningful the story of Osiris, who with Lady Isis ruled in ancient Egypt via Mayet. Osiris was killed by Set out of envy, and his body was cut up into 14 pieces. At Isis' imploring, Ra restored Osiris and made him Judge of all souls. Meanwhile, Isis had lost her throne and bore her son Horus in the marshes of the Nile. She mothered Horus until he was an adult. Horus then fought and reclaimed the throne from Set and now rules with Isis at his side. Osiris, Isis, and Horus are a holy family serving as a contemporary model of harmony bringing in a new age of peace and prosperity for body, mind, and spirit.

Members of the Ossirian religion agree to maintain a daily adoration of the Creator, share the concept of living according to Mayet, sacrifice monthly a portion of gain to support the Temple, and observe the teachings and rituals of the temple. Individuals wishing to join first become shenit (seekers) and then shemsu (full members). Shemsu may become scribes of the temple or priests. The priesthood has three degrees, and there is also a high priesthood of four degrees. The temple/order is headed by a high council (consisting of scribes and priests) and a great council (consisting of some members, scribes, and priests).

Major festivals commemorate the death of Lord Osiris (November 13), his resurrection (December 26), the birth of Horus (December 25), the solstice of Ra (December 21), and Lady Isis' blessing of the sea (March 5). The temple also holds regular services at the full and new moons.

Membership: In 1985 there were 108 members.

Educational Facilities: Ossirian Theological College Seminary

Periodicals: New Horizons.

★1991 ★

Our Lady of Enchantment, Church of the Old Religion

Box 1366
Nashua, NH 03061

Our Lady of Enchantment, Church of the Old Religion was founded in 1978 in Danville, California, by Lady Sabrina. In 1980, the church and school moved to New Bern, North Carolina, and then moved again in 1982 to the New England area. Our Lady of Enchantment offers public classes, regular worship services, and degreed training programs for priesthood and ministerial credentials. Our Lady of Enhantment is recognized by both the state of New Hampshire and the federal government as a legally established church and educational institution with non-profit status.

Our Lady of Enchantment teaches various forms of Wicca, described as not exclusively a religion, but a teaching coming from a time when religion, art, science, and magic were part of an inclusive whole. Integral to Wicca is the practice of magic, a system of working with the powers of nature in order to bring about change and manifest desire.

The center of the church is a Wiccan Metaphysical Center located at 39 Amherst St., Nashua, New Hampshire, which houses the seminary, administrative offices, library, chapel, and a gift shop. Members as well as seekers gather for regular Friday night church services and campus classes. They also gather for a variety of other activities, mostly presided over by Lady Sabrina.

Membership: In 1997, Our Lady of Enchantment reported more than 25,000 students in more than 30 different countries and republics.

Periodicals: Outer Court Communications.

★1992 ★

Pristine Egyptian Orthodox Church

(Defunct)

The Pristine Egyptian Orthodox Church was founded in 1963 in Chicago by Milton J. Neruda and Charles Renslow. It grew out of a small group in suburban Chicago Heights, Illinois. The original name was the Egyptian Holy Church. Its tradition is traced to 1375 B.C. and Pharoah Amenhotep IV (Ikhnaton the Great). The church saw itself as the heir to the original (Pristine), authentic (Orthodox) Egyptian doctrines.

High priority was placed upon individuality and the right of the individual to reason toward belief. Salvation was equated with knowledge. All religions are man-made as outward expressions of God-given faith. The church believed in one creator (Khepera) but venerated the many gods as physical examples of the attributes of the creator. These found expression in the basic Egyptian pantheon. The church also taught living in harmony with nature, the equality of all humans and the spiritual (magical) powers. It sought not to judge individuals, but to leave questions of adultery, murder, homosexuality, etc., to civil authority. (Neruda was an activist in the Chicago homosexual community.) There were four major Holy Days: Easter (March, spring), the Unity of Hator (June 22), the Seb and Mut Festival (September 22) and the Festival of Lights (December 28). There was but a single congregation of the Egyptian Church, in Chicago. It was headed by the Rev. Charles Renslow, arkon of North and South America. There were three priests. The Egyptian Bible, composed of ancient Egyptian materials, formed the scriptures of the church. The church split following a disagreement between Renslow and Neruda over its stance in regard to Christianity. Neruda was more actively against the Christian faith and believed that the church should be vocal in its criticism. He left to found the Congregation of Aten. Neither group survived to the end of the decade.

★1993 ★

Psychedelic Venus Church

(Defunct)

The Psychedelic Venus was formed in 1969 partly as an out-growth of a former body, the Shiva Fellowship. As its name implies, it combines elements of sexual freedom and psychedelic drugs. The Shiva Fellowship dates from November 1967, when Willie Minzey went to India and was dedicated and marked in the traditional way as a worshipper of Shiva. The practice of the religion includes the smoking of hashish. Minzey returned to the United States and established a temple to Shiva in his home in San Francisco. He also began to hold public services in Golden Gate Park. On April 16, 1969, Minzey was arrested and, in 1971, was sentenced to prison for a term lasting from ten years to life. The Shiva Fellowship disintegrated into other groups.

The Psychedelic Venus Church was founded by Jefferson Poland. As a pagan fellowship dedicated to the worship of the Hindu goddess Kali, who was equated with Venus, the church drew together elements implicit in the Sexual Freedom League, the Gay Liberation Front, emerging paganism, the Shiva Fellowship and various other radical activist groups in the Berkeley/San Francisco area. The Psychedelic Venus Church described itself as a "pantheistic nature religion, humanist hedonism, a religious pursuit of bodily pleasure through sex and marijuana."

Worship in the Psychedelic Venus Church focused upon its celebrations. Until the conviction of Minzey, these were held regularly and openly. Afterwards, they were held irregularly. Typical indoor celebrations would begin with the sacrament—smoking marijuana—during which time a liturgy would be held. After the liturgy, sensitivity sessions and partying in the nude would conclude the evening. Public celebrations would center upon the smoking of marijuana and participation in sexual activity. At one such ceremony, Jefferson Poland was arrested.

The church was governed by a board of directors (four females and three males) elected annually by the membership. The board appointed officers. The president through the late 1970s was Mother Boats. Intercourse, a magazine, and Nelly Heathen, appeared as occasional periodicals. At its height in 1971, there were 1,000 members, but the church steadily lost support through the 1970s. By 1974 the group reported only 250 members. By the end of the decade the group had disappeared.

★1994 ★

Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA)

c/o Michael James Scharding
PO Box 353
Elmore, OH 43416-0353

The Reformed Druids of North America was formed in 1963 by a group of students at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, as a protest against a compulsory chapel attendance requirement. It began as a result of a breakfast conversation between David Fisher, Howard Cherniack, and Morman Nelson. The idea emerged of forming a non-bloody sacrificial Druidic group. If students were denied credit for attending its services, then they would claim religious persecution; if they received credit, the whole project would be revealed as a hoax, thus ridiculing the requirement. The requirement was dropped in the summer of 1964, and the Druids quickly claimed victory. The group decided that, since it benefitted from the spiritual inquiry and enjoyed rituals so much, it would continue. At the time, the loose structure was completed and the two basic tenets of belief were outlined: 1) The object of the search for religious truth, which is a universal and a never-ending search, may be found through the Earth Mother, which is Nature, but this is one way, yea, one way among many.2) And great is the importance, which is of a spiritual importance, of Nature, which is the Earth Mother, for it is one of the objects of Creation, and with it we do live, yea, even as we do struggle through life as we come face to face with it. Most Druids wouldn't remember this, so it was simplified to: 1) Nature is good. 2) Likewise, Nature is good.

Rituals had been constructed by the Reformed Druids with a resemblance to the Episcopal service, in addition to materials in anthropological literature, such as The Golden Bough, the classical text by Sir James Fraser. A fire burning altar was constructed on nearby Monument Hill, where the first Protestant service in Minnesota had been held. Though frequently destroyed, the altar was constantly replaced, proving to be an inspiration to future Druids whenever persecuted. Later, prominent immovable boulders were used. Robes of white, originally made from bedsheets, were often worn with various colored ribbons of office. Inspirational readings and concepts were drawn from the texts of all the world's religions, with a strong emphasis on Oriental and Celtic sources. The passing of the waters-of-life is a symbol of oneness with nature and each other. The eight major festival days are Samhain (Nov. 1), Mid-Winter, Oimelc (Feb. 1), Spring Equinox, Beltane (May 1), Mid-Summer, Lughnasadh (Aug. 1), and Fall Equinox. The Celtic/Druidic gods and goddesses are retained to help focus attention on nature, but some groves now use other pantheons or call the simple spirit of the Earth.

Some Reformed Druids are organized into autonomous groves, others are solitary. Each grove is headed by an Arch-Druid, and Preceptor (for business matters), and a Server who assists the Arch-Druid. Three orders of priesthood are recognized, but the majority of members do not enter them. The RDNA is not a scripture-based religion, rather deriving wisdom from experience and inspiration. Many in the group refuse to acknowledge it as a religion, preferring to call it a philosophical form of inquiry. About half of even the most active members eventually join mainstream religious movements, since the lessons of Reformed Druidism are often seen as a catalyst to inquiry and compatible with nearly all faiths.

In the mid-1970s, leadership of the Druid movement passed to Isaac Bonewits, who had made national headlines when he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in magick. Many members of various groves were active protesters against the Draft, which was seen as a target similar to the chapel requirement of the Founding Days, and other prominent issues. During the mid-1970s a great debate arose over whether the RDNA was part of the Neo-Pagan movements of California that had blossomed in the early 1970s. A schism developed, led by Bonewits, to form the New Reformed Druids of North America (NRDNA), which was amenable to Neo-Paganism, and then schismed again into the Schismatic Druids of North America (SDNA), which was exclusively Neo-Pagan.

After several years of publishing the Pentalpha (a national Druid Periodical), trying to promote Druidism, and research into Indo-European religious origins, Bonewits formed a new organization called Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF) ("Our Own Druidism") in 1983. ADF was famous for a broad Indo-European source of inspiration, seminary training, intensive research into liturgical formation, church tax-status, and strong organization; and soon became one of the largest Neo-Pagan groups in the country. In 1986, some members of ADF rebelled and formed The Henge of Keltria, based in Minneapolis, focusing on Celtic religion and more relaxed training methods. The bulk of Druids in America belong to one of these four members of the family of American Druism. Their only major rival in North America is the British organization, Order of Bards Ovates and Druids (OBOD).

During the 1990s, a greater communication ease of e-mail, free downloading capacity, the uncomplicated organizational style, the RDNA's high-profile name, and its status as the third longest-running neo-paganish organization assisted the resurgence of grove formation in the RDNA. In addition to the four remaining groves of 1991, thirty-odd new groves were operating in 2002, mostly on the west and east coast, the Midwest, Japan, and Canada.

Membership: The current Reform has about 4,000 members, but only 400 engage in grove activity. The vast, silent majority of solitary members live apart from groves. Therefore, what happens in the groves should perhaps be seen as the exception of what is standard in the RDNA.

Periodicals: Druid Missal-any.

Sources:

Bonewits, P. E. Isaac. Authentic Thaumaturgy. Albany, CA: The CHAOSium, 1978.

——. Real Magic. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1971.

The Druid Chronicles (Evolved). Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Drunemetom Press, 1976.

★1995 ★

Ring of Thoth

PO Box 25637
Tempe, AZ 85285

The Ring of Thoth was founded shortly after the disbanding of the Asatru Free Assembly in 1987. It was established by Edred Thorsson and James Chisholm as an explicitly non-racist organization dedicated to the promotion of the religion of the Germanic peoples. (During the 1980s racism was a persistent charge leveled against groups promoting Norse Paganism.) It sees itself as taking a more liberal and scholarly approach than that taken by the other major group formed somewhat simultaneously, the Asatru Alliance. In other respects it continues the beliefs and practices of the former Asatru Free Assembly. Thorsson has authored a number of books on the Asatru traditions.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Idunna.

Sources:

Gundarsson, Kveldulf R Hagan, ed. Our Thoth. N.p.: Ring of Thoth, 1992. 711 pp.

Thorsson, Edred. A Book of Thoth. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1989.

★1996 ★

Runic Society

(Defunct)

The Runic Society was formed in 1974 by N. J. Templin. It advocated Wotanism, or Odinism, viewed as the oldest religion in the world and the religion of the Aryans since the late Stone Age. The Society believed that the Nordic Race is the "Chosen Race of Nature" and that only through Odinism can Nordics be true to nature. The Norse gods were worshipped and thought of as manifestations of nature. Since religion was considered a personal matter, there were no religious services. There were, however, religious festivals termed "blots," and priests, whose function it was to perform marriages and funerals. The family unit, self-respect, and loyalty to the ancestral heritage were promoted. The Odinist faith is opposed to Christianity. Odinism was seen as this-worldly; immortality is given through the improvement of the future generation. The Society sought to establish a true economic, racial and, spiritual community (not as a separate nation but within the nation).

The Runic Society was governed by the supreme council, made up of several Wotanist priests, a secretary, treasurer and advisory personnel. It published Einherjar, a quarterly. The associated House of Odin sold Odinist jewelry and articles. Headquarters were in Milwaukee, with a second group in Chicago. Around 1980 the group dissolved after a period of internal dissension.

During its years of existence, the Runic Society kept close association with Da-America (in Pittsburgh), which publishes the journal, New America, and with Die Artgemeinschaft (The Old Religion) in Germany. Also closely related to the Runic Society was the Odinist Movement headquartered in Toronto. It was formed in 1971 and published two periodicals, The Sunwheel and The Odinist.

★1997 ★

Sabaean Religious Order

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Sabaean Religious Order is a continuation of an Afro-Mediterranean religion that dates from prehistoric times to Ancient Sumer, Babylon, and Egypt. Frederic M. de Arechaga (now Odun) and his mother opened the Sabaean Center in Chicago with the Temple of Amn in the late 1960s. Its purpose is to study and research Sabaeanism as well as to celebrate its festivals and rites as a means of sparing it for posterity. This is the first Sabaean temple to be opened since the temple of the moon was closed in Harran in the sixth century by the then reigning Islam.

"Sabaeanism" means "from Saba". Saba is both the name of an ancient city and an ancient Egyptian word found in hieroglyphics and in Arabic. Sabaa (Arabic) means a star, rising or coming forth. The Egyptian hieroglyph means "star" or to emanate from a center point of light, like a star.

The Sabaeans believe in the concept of Amn, an idea that can be either plural or singular in number and implies the "hidden". Therefore "divinity" to a Sabaean is both genderless and awesome. The religion is described as "henotheistic" or rather "kathenotheistic", which is the belief in a "personal god without the exclusion of any other, sometimes emphasizing one supreme at a time without denying the rest."

In symbolic or poetic imagery Amn is referred to in the feminine and in four different colors. It is also associated with the four races of humanity, the seasonal stations, and the major colors of the spectrum. Thus in the winter it is the White goddess, the spring, the Blue goddess, in the summer, the Yellow goddess, and in the fall, the Red goddess. There are two "new year's days" acknowledged by Sabaeans, the autumnal equinox, which is the pontifical beginning, and the vernal equinox, the secular celebration. Following the influence of ancient Roman tradition, the common New Year (December 31-January 1) is also celebrated not as a New Year but rather as the ending of the Saturnalia that starts December 17 and continues through December 31 at midnight.

Beside the main body of "four" symbols there is also the image of the warriors, a trinity headed by the "trickster", the two-faced, Janus-like god that always begins the year and is the entity of the communication between gods and men. Its festival is usually around January 6, about the perihelion of the earth.

Astronomy and astrology are very important to the Sabaean system, not so much as divinatory tools but as relevant positions. Sabaean temples and shrines are usually sidereal-oriented, particularly with the rising and passing of the sun and the moon, but sometimes other stars as well. The precession of the equinoxes is observed and the zodiacal calculations are corrected to this phenomena with true sidereal composition.

Like some other ancient religions, Sabaeanism still observes the ritual of animal sacrifice that usually supplies food for the celebration for which the animals are slaughtered, making the food ritually pure. But other offerings of fruits, vegetables, and grains are made to the Amn as well as incense and flowers, which are more frequently given.

Marriages are called eclipses and are designed for a specific period of time at the end of which the couple can either re-eclipse or part their ways. The standard marriage contract is considered a partnership of possessions and it is imperative to sign at an eclipse. However, if the couple part at the end of their eclipse then this contract must be met with proper judicious courts of law, as the marrriage has no further link to the eclipse or the religion. Sabaeanism is inherently matriarchal. However, unlike its predecessors, it primarily identifies with the brothers and sisters as they are truly of the same blood. The mother is considered the matrix or source and is certainly honored for that function. It is obvious who the mother of an individual is, but it is very difficult to prove who the father is.

The Sabaean Religious Order headquarters is in Chicago, where its Temple of Amn is located. The group has run an occult store, El Sabarum, since 1968. For several years the group has also issued a periodical, Sabaean Chronicles, which has superseded previous periodicals titled Iris and Janus. The Sabaean Chronicles is usually printed on a quarterly basis relative to the passing of the seasons.

The Sabaean Religious Order occasionally writes and produces pagan mystery plays and trains a troupe of dancers called "hierodules" (temple servants) in different dances and pantomimes that use ancient Egyptian dance movements. It also has a small group of musicians that train on drums and bata for the festivals and supplement the electronic keyboard with original compositions.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Sabean Chronicles.

★1998 ★

Seax-Wica

Current address not obtained for this edition.

After his divorce in 1973, Raymond Buckland moved to New Hampshire, remarried, and emerged as a spokesperson (along with his second wife Joan Buckland) for a new tradition, Seax-Wica. Seax-Wica differs from other Wicca groups in that it claims no relation to previously existing covens. A Saxon background has been adopted as an alternative to the Gardnerian Wicca tradition. Buckland and his first wife, Rosemary Buckland, brought Gardnerian witchcraft to America in the early 1960s. Woden and Freya are the names chosen for the male and female deities of Seax-Wica.

Seax-Wica covens are headed by a high priest and priestess chosen annually by a vote of the coven. Members, including priests, are termed "Gesith" after initiation and "Ceorl" before. Those outside the craft are termed "Theow". There is only one degree of initiation. The Tree is the name given the Book of Shadows, the traditional book of rituals.

Besides the matter of tradition, Seax-Wica differs from other groups in several ways. The male deity and the high priest are raised to equality with their female counterparts. Ritual scourging and binding have been dropped. Worship is either skyclad or in a short simple tunic. There is no sexual activity in the rituals.

Autonomous covens had, by 1974, been establsihed in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. A decade later there were covens in most states and several foreign countries. Facilitating the rapid spread of Seax-Wica was a home study course in witchcraft written by Buckland. Seax-Wica Voys was published for several years as the official journal.

Membership: In 1992 Seax-Wica reported approximately 5,000 members in the United States and an additional 2,000 in foreign countries.

Educational Facilities: Seax-Wica Seminary, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Sources:

Buchland, Tara. Beauty Secrets of the Ancient Egyptians. Scottsville, VA: Taray Publications, 1982.

Buckland, Raymond. Practical Color Magick. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1983.

——. The Tree. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1974.

★1999 ★

Skergard

1003 Cottonwood Ave., #53
Red Wing, MN 55066-1300

Skergard is a Pagan organization devoted to the deities of the old Norse religions generally referred to as Asatru and Vanatru. Included in this polytheistic faith is the worship of the gods/goddesses Odin, Thor, Freyr, Frigga, and Freyja, the gods of the old Norse sagas. Religious gatherings, blots, meet regularly and are given focus in the eight major blots held each year.

Membership: Not reported.

★2000 ★

SM Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The SM Church emerged in the mid-1970s in Berkeley, California, among people who defined themselves as being into SM (i.e., sadism and masochism) and who had, in addition, come to believe in the ancient historical practices of Goddess worship (which had appeared in the previous decade throughout the San Francisco Bay area). The church began as discussions of the SM experience led to questions of spiritual meaning associated with intense SM fantasy, beyond simple sexual gratification. Early positive explorations led to the establishment of the "Temple of the Goddess" of the SM Church.

The SM Church opposes the male father image which has dominated Western religion and encourages members to focus upon the feminine aspects of God, which it seeks to uncover in ongoing research into periods and cultures which emphasized Goddess worship. The church differs from many other Neo-Pagan groups in that it believes in a powerful female deity, equivalent to the male monotheistic God. The church is feminist in orientation and from the beginning excluded male dominant-female submissive patterns from its organization. It allows both homosexual and heterosexual patterns of female dominance within the church's philosophy. Undergirding its approach is a belief in the great transition of Western culture. The church believes that society could collapse and, in that event, females would have to take control. The church is attempting to plan for that possibility.

Ritual life, initially adopted from other Neo-Pagan group patterns, includes a unique emphasis upon the use of controlled pain and mortification experiences as a sacrament of penance. On occasion, such rituals are designed to allow both males and females to experience the extremes of female dominance fantasies, though the church denies that female rule in the envisioned postmodern society would be vindictively harsh. Further, the sacramental atmosphere of the rituals attempts to separate them from any identification with commercialized exploitation of SM practices.

The church has published a set of purposes which includes the following: the purchase and/or erection of church facilities; the continuance of the seminary which trains women for the priesthood; the development of ordered communities as models of a matriarchial society; and assistance in improving the image of the SM community (through various charity projects). The church has initiated plans to build a monastery as a full-scale model of a female-dominated society.

The church is governed by a board of directors. Associated with it is the Essemian Society, a nonreligious social-educational group whose activities derive from SM Church perspectives.

Membership: Not reported. Membership in both the SM Church and Essemian Socity is limited to a single congregation in San Francisco. There are estimated to be less than 100 members.

Educational Facilities: The SM Seminary, San Francisco, California.

Sources:

Budd, Russell. "Interview: The SM Organizations of San Francisco." Woman/Slave no. 14 (October-December 1982): 30-37.

Green, Gerald, and Caroline Green. SM, the Last Taboo. New York: Ballantine Books, 1974.

Scott, Geni Graham. Erotic Power: An Exploration of Dominance and Submissions. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 1983.

★2001 ★

Temple of Bacchus

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Temple of Bacchus was formed in 1978 by Bishop H. Carlisle Estes, the temple's pastor. Bacchus, also known as Dionysus, was the ancient Greek god of food and drink. Estes claimed in 1975 that Bacchus revealed to him the temple's teachings, which have been published in a pamphlet, The Book of Bacchus. The Temple believes that there is one God, known by many names, and that Bacchus is His disciple. Bacchus decreed that Estes should form a church to worship God and ordered that it be a place of joy and celebration. Bacchus taught that everything God created is good and humans should enjoy the pleasures of the body-food, wines, music, creative activity, and the arts. However, all should be enjoyed in moderation. Excess in any area leads to illness and pestilence and the disfiguring of bodily form.

According to the revelation, Bacchus has decreed daily worship with feasting and dancing. Six days of bacchanals are followed by a day of fasting and rest. Priests, bishops and cardinals of the church assist in the preparation of the daily feast with a primary responsibility of preventing the rituals from becoming repetitious and stereotyped.

Almost from its founding, the temple has been a subject of controversy. Critics charged Bishop Estes and his assistant, Cardinal Vincent Morino, with operating a restaurant under the guise of a temple in order to circumvent local zoning laws which had previously denied them permission to open a restaurant in the building occupied by the temple. They further charged that the nightly bacchanals (in which those in attendance are asked to contribute a stated donation and in return receive a full meal) are in fact not religious events at all. The controversy has led to several law suits which are, as of the time of this writing, still pending and which will determine the future of the temple.

The temple is one of several religious bodies chartered by the Universal Life Church of Modesto, California.

Membership: In 1979 the church reported 125 members of the single congregation in Maine, with new congregations beginning in Honolulu, Hawaii and in Wiltshire, England.

★2002 ★

Temple of Isis

℅ Crow Haven Corner
125 Essex St.
Salem, MA 01970

The Temple of Isis is the Wiccan center founded by Laurie Cabot (b. 1933), one of the more famous practitioners of witchcraft in America since then-Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts named her the "Official Witch of Salem." She was introduced to witchcraft in high school in Boston by a teacher who revealed to her that she was a witch. According to her own story, she was initiated at the age of 16 in 1949, but it was not until 1965 that she decided to live totally as a witch. Since that time she has dressed in black and worn a pentacle (fivepointed star) and heavy black eye make-up. A short time later, following up on the suggestion of a friend, she moved to Salem.

In Salem she began to teach "Witchcraft as a Science" in local adult education programs and to work as a psychic and tarot card reader. She opened The Witch Shop, which was soon succeeded by Crow Haven Corner, a book and supply house and teaching center. This became her center of activity from the 1970s to the present. The "Witchcraft as a Science" classes are still being taught with an emphasis on psychic development and elementary magic. In the advanced class, students are introduced to ritual.

More recently she has added a class on "The Religion of Witchcraft" in which students are prepared for initiation into the Temple of Isis. Cabot was ordained and the temple chartered by the National Alliance of Pantheists. The temple centers its teaching upon an understanding of a basic creative force underlying and permeating the universe rather than the Goddess and God of the Gardnerian revival Wicca.

Cabot is also the founder of the Witches League for Public Awareness, an activist group which fights for the civil rights of Wiccans. The film version of The Witches of East wick became the occasion to call the league into existence.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Cabot, Laurie, with Tom Cowan. Power of the Witch. New York: Delacorte Press, 1989.

★2003 ★

Temple of the Goddess Within

(Defunct)

The Temple of the Goddess Within was formed by Ann Forfreedom in the 1970s. Raised in the Jewish faith, Forfreedom rejected Judaism for being "too male-dominated." She was drawn into Witchcraft, or Wiccecraeft, through her activity in various feminist causes where she met other female Wiccans. Originally from Sacramento, she moved to Oakland in 1984. It was the teaching of the temple that the proper name for the religion of Witchcraft is Wiccecraeft or Wicce (Craft of the Wise). Wiccecraeft is the Old English feminine form of Witchcraft used by some feminist witches as the proper name of their religion.

As publisher/editor of The Wise Woman, Ann Forfreedom (a name assumed to accentuate her feminist concerns) became a leading spokesperson for Dianic Witchcraft, a term coined by Morgan McFarland and Mark Roberts to describe those traditions which focus mainly or totally on the Goddess. She does not believe, however, that the Dianic tradition is necessarily equated with either female separateness or anti-male attitudes. In the Dianic tradition worship is more Goddess-than God-oriented, but the male deities serve a complimentary role. The Goddess is seen as an expression of the life-force of the universe. Among the basic principles of the temple, it was said, "All Goddesses are one Goddess; all Gods are one God." Members were encouraged to act both collectively and individually upon their feminist goals.

Like other Wicce, the Dianics attend to lunar and solar cycles, gathering in the evenings for times of work (magic) and feasting (celebration). Wicce is a religion of love. Initiation into Wicce is an important step and should be preceded by a period of study. It should be entirely voluntary on the part of the initiate, and the initiator should perform his/her duties without monetary compensation. The temple was an autonomous coven. Unlike Gardnerian Wicca, Feminist Wicce does not have a single leader such as witch queen, nor a single sourcebook such as the Book of Shadows. Rituals are eclectic and variable.

In 1982 the temple sponsored a major conference, "Goddess Rising," which brought together many leading Goddess worshippers and feminists. As a result of the conference, a second organization, Goddess Rising, was founded and incorporated to educate men and women about Feminist Wiccecraeft and to explore Goddess lore. Goddess Rising has been discontinued as of 1992. Ann Forfreedom continues, as of 1992, as the California Director of the Witch's Anti-Discrimination Lobby, a coalition which seeks to educate the mass media and public about Witchcraft. The WADL was founded by Leo Louis Mortello.

Periodicals: The Wise Woman, the Temple's periodical, continues to be published as an independent periodical. Send orders to 2441 Cordova St., Oakland, CA 94602.

Sources:

Forfreedom, Ann. Feminist Wicca Works. Sacramento, CA: The Author, 1980.

——. Mythology, Religion and Woman's Heritage. Sacramento, CA: Sacramento City Unified School District, [1981].

Forfreedom, Ann, and Julie Ann, eds. Book of the Goddess. Sacramento, CA: Temple of the Goddess Within, 1980.

★2004 ★

Temple of the Pagan Way

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Temple of the Pagan Way dates from 1966 and the formation of an occult study and worship group led by Herman Enderle and Virginia Brubaker. The group became associated with the British Pagan Front and began to use the rituals written by Donna Cole. However, divergences developed within the Temple over the ascendancy of the Mother Goddess, a prominent theme in the Pagan Way rituals. A system incorporating a balanced view of deity, both male and female, was adopted, with prominent elements from the Kabbalah. Enderle, who was a student of ritual magick, advocated a strong emphasis on magick in addition to "just worshipping the Goddess."

During the 1970s the Temple was the motivating force in the formation of a number of other Neo-Pagan bodies. Most of the currently existing Neo-Pagan and Wicca groups in the Chicago area derive from it. They include the Calumet Pagan Temple, Epiphanes, and the First Temple of the Craft of WICA (all now independent organizations). The Temple of the Sacred Stones, an eclectic witchcraft coven headed by Donna Cole, had a long association with the Temple, and it now meets in the building which formerly housed the Temple.

After several years as the Temple of the Pagan Way, the group adopted a new name in the spring of 1974, Uranus Temple. During this period, its emphasis upon ritual magick was at its height. Uranus was an initiatory temple with its basis in Western occultism and paganism. Members attended regular services associated with the full and new moon as well as the eight festivals. New members begin with a series of ethics classes which introduce them to the basic perspective of the temple. They are then prepared for a Ritual of Dedication where a public declaration of the acceptance of paganism is made. The next step is initiation. There are five degrees, each of which corresponds to the classical elements of the ancients and entails approximately one year of study.

The first degree is Earth, in which the student is taught to gain control over him/herself and is introduced to basic occult material and exercises. The second degree is Water, with emphasis on exploring the psychic and emotional self. The third degree is Fire, and deals directly with self-change through magick. The fourth degree is Air, and expresses the use of what has been learned and the ability to function easily as a magician and pagan. The fifth degree, Spirit, is the completed use of the first four degrees.

The Temple was headed by a high priest and high priestess elected annually from among the priests and priestesses. Members in the second degree can choose studies leading to the priesthood. A General Council consisting of all members is the highest authority, and there is a Council of Elders, composed of senior members of the community, to which the high priest and priestess are responsible.

In 1975 the high priest (Enderle) and high priestess (Brubaker) had sufficient irreconcilable differences that the group split. The majority (and hence the name) followed Brubaker. Enderle then formed the Earthstar Temple. After using the name Uranus for a short while, it was discarded for the original name. The group has since become a witchcraft coven, though retaining many of the unique ritual and magical emphases from the 1970s. The Temple has taken an active role in the Covenant of the Goddess.

Membership: Not reported. There is one group, located in Chicago, Illinois.

★2005 ★

Temple of the Pagan Way

(Defunct)

One of the most important groups spreading Neo-Paganism (as opposed to Witchcraft) was the Pagan Way, a loosely associated set of Neo-Pagan groves which emerged in the late 1960s. The group had several sources. Donna Cole, a witch in Chicago, had traveled to England in the 1960s and was initiated into Gardnerian Wicca. Upon her return to the United States, she made contact with Herman Enderle and Virginia Brubaker, who had formed an occult study group. Together they established a Pagan Temple. Cole also composed a set of Pagan rituals which were less magical and more celebratory than the Gardnerian ones. During this period, she met Ed Fitch, a California Pagan. Fitch later composed a second set of rituals similar in perspective to Cole's. During the early 1970s, Cole and Fitch circulated the Pagan Way rituals around the United States with the result that a number of Pagan Way Temples (groves) emerged.

One early grove was in Philadelphia and had among its leaders Penny Novak, Michael Novack, and Thomas (a pseudonym). Thomas became the editor in 1970 of the original pagan journal Waxing Moon (later the Crystal Well) when its founder, Joseph Wilson, moved to England. Wilson began a British Waxing Moon, thus precipitating the name change in America. The Crystal Well was never the official organ of the Pagan Way, but it had a close informal connection and functioned as a means whereby Pagan Way groups could stay in contact

The Pagan Way was a celebratory nature religion dedicated to the growth in understanding of the sacred quality of the seasonal rounds and the holy, mystic qualities of everyday life. Unlike most pagan groups, it was not a "magical" group and has no secret rituals. (The rituals were recently published in book form as A Book of Pagan Rituals.) While many individuals practiced magick, the group came together for celebration only. The Goddess was, of course, the central theme of the celebrations.

Pagan Way study centered on three basic steps: first, study of the myths and history of paganism; second, practice of rituals for both individuals and groups; and third, in-depth working in the craft (for those who desired it). In many areas the Pagan Way served as an outer portal to the more secretive craft.

In 1973, Pagan Way groves were functioning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York City; Wilmington, Delaware; Huron, South Dakota; Loiusville, Kentucky; San Bernadino, California; Passaic, New Jersey; and Chicago, Illinois. There were also numerous small Pagan Way groups scattered across the country. Ed Fitch headed the California Grove. In 1974, the Chicago Pagan Way became the Uranus Temple (now the Temple of the Pagan Way). There were between 30 and 60 members at Philadelphia. By 1980, the Pagan Way had largely died. Some groups had been destroyed by internal dissension. Most were were simply superceded by numerous Neo-Pagan and Witchcraft groups under the leadership of those trained in the groves, coupled with the retirement of many of the original leaders. The original rituals, which were not copyrighted, have been published in several editions and remain popular among Neo-Pagans in North America and England.

Sources:

A Book of Pagan Rituals. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1978.

Fitch, Ed. Magical Rites from the Crystal Well. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1984

★2006 ★

Teutonic Temple

(Defunct)

In Dallas, Oregon, the Teutonic Temple functioned as a polytheistic religion derived from the folk customs and festivals of the English, German and Scandinavian peoples. Members believed in a supreme God and a pantheon of lesser deities including Tiw, the sky father; Wodan; Thunar; Fria; and Frua, goddess of fertility and magick. The eight pagan festivals were celebrated. Yule, the winter solstice, is the beginning of the Teutonic year. The Teutonic Temple was a conservative religion against free love, perversion, pornography, drugs, draft dodging and permissiveness. No evidence of its continuance into the 1980s had been located.

★2007 ★

Triskellion

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Triskellion is a traditionalist Wicca (in the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions) group which has incorporated elements of ritual magic which are placed in the service of Wiccan theology. The divine energy is mediated by three principles: the Masculine (god), the Feminine (the goddess) and the Collective (the community). Ultimately, all three principles merge into one and serve the growth of sentient beings. They operate as a team with ritual duties being passed through the group as different skills are needed. Triskellion rituals are based upon a cooperation between coven members, the gods and goddesses, and the particular energies raised in each ritual.

Triskellion sees itself as a second genesis fertility religion. First genesis fertility religions invoked divine energies for fecundity on the physical plane. Having no need of large families, Triskellion members leave the energies called forth on the astral plane and then draw upon them as needed for various creative activities.

Triskellion offers a 29-week course in basic Wicca training which may be followed by a 29-week course in ritual. The group is active in the Heartland Spiritual Alliance, a cooperative Wicca and Pagan fellowship in Kansas City, Missouri.

Membership: Not reported.

★2008 ★

Venusian Church

PO Box 95
Redmond, WA 98073-0905

The Venusian Church was formed in 1975 by Ron Petersen, a Seattle businessman, and chartered the following year by the Universal Life Church. During the 1960s and early 1970s Petersen, a former member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, followed a spiritual pilgrimage that centered upon the release of sexual feelings repressed by the strict sexual code under which he was raised. He found assistance within the human potential movement and became an advocate of helping others who wished to confront their sexual feelings. Meanwhile, he had also become a professional pornographer.

Petersen gathered around him a group of interested people, including several sex therapists and human potential counselors, and began to explore the realm the potential of sex and sexual experience in releasing human creativity and opening the realm of the spiritual. For a short while, the church operated a Temple of Venus in downtown Seattle that featured pornographic films and sexually explicit presentations that attempted to communicate the church's attitude about open sexuality to the general public. In 1977 a retreat center, Camp Armac, was opened and became the focus of church activities. A variety of seminars, workshops, and sexual experimentation was condoned and encouraged.

The leaders of the church resisted any attempts to systematically build a belief system or pattern of worship, and the life of the group slowly emerged out of the spontaneous experiences of various gatherings of the members. First came the worship of nature in the form of the Goddess and the acknowledgment of Her at communal feasts and in the celebration of the solar equinox and solstice. Then in 1979 church members discovered the preexisting Neo-Pagan movement. Having found Neo-Paganism a larger movement that already possessed a complete religious system toward which the Venusian Church seemed to be heading, the church began to absorb both thought and practices from their new acquaintances, especially from the Church of All Worlds. In 1979 Camp Armac closed and for several years the church conducted its programs in the homes of members. In 1981 the church purchased a large tract of land near Redmond, Washington. A former Warehouse was converted into a church center named the Longhouse, and a stonehenge was erected for outdoor rituals.

Because of its strong opinion that sex was divine, the church began to provide public events in Seattle's First Avenue pornography district. The programs, some of which feature nudity and overt sex acts, placed the church in the center of a storm of controversy. Several members were arrested and a lengthy but futile battle with the Internal Revenue Service ensued. As a result, the facilities in Seattle were closed and all activity was restricted to members and their guests only. In more recent years, the church has sponsored workshops and seminars for its members and the public emphasizing personal growth and the aspects of consciousness that expand the wholeness of humanity. These programs have also been offered to inmates in local penitentiaries and to several sex-offender programs.

The Venusian church describes its theology as centered upon a unique sacred space technology, meaning it is a "spatial" system rather than a "conceptual" one. The church's focus is on achievement rather than attempting or trying to create sacred space to be experienced rather than sacred beliefs to which assent is given. Essential to the experience of this sacred place is both inner and outer freedom. The individual's divinity is experienced only in an environment where people have the freedom and the opportunity to be whole and complete. The presence of such an environment would make the experience of a Venusian Paradise possible.

The church has as its immediate concern several steps that will allow for the emergence of the Venusian Paradise. It is attempting to realign members' attitudes toward their own sexuality so as to undo the damage that society and religion have caused by their repressive opinions and rules. This realignment is accompanied by efforts aimed at heading the individual's damaged spirit. The church also works to remove any present outside interference from either church or state with the member's religious freedom.

To implement its goals, the church launched a program called "Paradise Now" through the Internet, which according to the church has become a physical reality beyond simply a cybercommunity. Paradise Now presents a simulated version of a visit to the Isle of Eros. The Internet version of the Isle of Eros has become the basis for a correspondence curriculum called the "Apotheosis Course." Members are taken through the steps of preparation for entry into the Venusian Paradise under the leadership of a priest or priestess as a guide. The individual is led through several steps of purification, deconditioning, and pleasuring as a prelude to their induction into the spiritual/erotic arts (presented as the "Sacred Pleasures Course"); introduced to Venusian technology; and given knowledge on maintaining legal rights and living the spiritual life free of government interference.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the church has kept a low profile and limited its activities primarily to its members. However, at present the church has developed a new outward thrust primarily through the opportunities supplied by the Internet. New "Sex Positive" religious training programs are in preparation and are expected to appear in the next few years.

The church is formally led by a board of directors, but management of the church and its programs has been placed in the hands of a loosely organized council of active members. Ministers are selected from among the members after demonstrating their leadership abilities and competence in dealing with people. Membership and involvement in church activities, at present, is limited to adults; however, the church is developing some programs for the children of members that would be both informative and age-appropriate.

Membership: Not reported.

Remarks: In the mid-1980s, the church failed to reclaim its tax-exempt status and members who had contributed had their deductions disavowed. The resulting financial reverses have greatly hindered the progress of the fragile group.

In January 1997, the Church of Ecstasy merged into the Venusian Church. The Church of Ecstasy had been founded by its high priest, Rev. Michael out of a vision he had experienced on June 27, 1992, on the beach in San Francisco. After having consumed a brownie laced with ganja (marijuana), he fell into a mystical oneness with the Earth and Universe and heard a voice within him say, "Cannabis is the sacrament, and your body is the temple." He interpreted his vision as a spiritual directive to become an advocate of sensually-based spirituality through the sacraments of cannabis and nudism. He summarized the beliefs of the new Church of Ecstasy in five statements which affirm that nudity is a form of meditative yoga that assists in sensitizing people to their environment that Nature is the highest Power; and thus humans should live in harmony with it; that the right to expand spiritual consciousness is limited only by the violation of the rights of others; that the primary goal of the spiritual path is the development in sensitivity, kindness, and love toward others; and that members celebrate the vast diversity of human form, culture, and experience. The church existed as a network of like-minded individuals who accepted its basic spiritual perspective and were tied together by Ekstasis, the church's periodical.

After leading the church for several years, Rev. Michael concluded that he laced the resources to properly administer it and promote its vision. Having learned of the existence of the Venusian Church in who members he felt he had met some kindred souls, he took the lead in guiding the members of the Church of Ecstasy into the larger better-organized body. Rev. Michael has become an active leader in the Venusian Church.

★2009 ★

Wiccan Church of Canada

109 Vaughan Rd.
Toronto, ON, Canada M6C 2L9

The Wiccan Church of Canada is a Neo-Pagan Witchcraft group incorporated in 1979 by High Priestess Tamara James and High Priest Richard F. James. They had their first contacts with Neo-Paganism in 1977 in California. In 1979 they moved to Toronto and founded the Wiccan Church and opened an occult store catering to witches and pagans. With the expansion of their network, in 1983, they organized the area's first Pagan festival. The following year, the first of several covens formed within the church.

The church believes that the universe is selfaware and that portions of self-awareness within the universe have been differentiated and are properly designated gods, the number of which are unknowable, since self awareness is without gender, and deity may be personified as male or female. There are greater and lesser orders and thus one may speak of the gods and goddesses and also of angels, nymphs, fairies, and spirits.

The Wiccan Church espouses the idea that much about the universe is unknowable. We are ignorant ultimately of the origin of the universe, life after death, or the mechanics of miracles and prayer. In the face of such ignorance, the church asserts that religious expressions are purely subjective. Tolerance and nonjudgmental attitudes should hold sway when approaching another's religious life. Awareness is also amoral. Morality is a human creation, and society has the right to assert itself and legislate so as to be protected from violence and outside forces. Among the things that are knowable is that human life is interrelated and linked by karmic ties. Such ties may carry into the future.

The church follows the eight annual festivals common to witches and pagans and also normally gathers on the new and full moon every two weeks. It has developed a full set of rituals to mark the rites of passage from wiccaning (the naming and blessing of a child), to handfasting (marriage), and passing the veil (funeral). They also mark the coming of age (physical maturity) of men and women, bless pregnancies at each trimester, and hold handpartings for couples who are separating.

The church is led by its priesthood council, which includes all of the church's priests and priestesses. The council members lead ritual, train new members, and set qualifications for the priesthood.

Membership: Not reported. In the late 1980s the church reported approximately 100 full members and 300 constituency members who attend festivals. Affiliate branches are located in Toronto, Hamilton, and Ottawa.

Sources:

James, Richard. The WIC-CAN Handbook. Toronto: Wiccan Church of Canada, 1987. 21 pp.

Marron, Kevin. Witches, Pagans, and Magic in the New Age. Toronto: Seal Books, 1989. 230 pp.

Rabinovitch, Shelley TSivia. "The Institutionalization of the Wicca in Ontario via the Wiccan Church of Canada." Unpublished paper, 1991. 22 pp.

★2010 ★

Witches International Craft Associates (W.I.C.A.)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Witches International Craft Associates (W.I.C.A.) is the public structure of the Sicilian Strege tradition headed in America by Dr. Leo Louis Martello. It was formed in 1970. Prior to that time Dr. Martello had been an active Spiritualist. In 1955 he was ordained and became the head of the International Guidance Temple of Bible Spiritual Independents, Mother Church & Seminary in New York City. He served the church for five years. He was also a national officer of the American Graphological Society, a hypnotist, and popular writer on occult subjects.

According to Martello, Witchcraft teaching and practice was passed through his family and was initiated in 1951. During the 1960s he returned to Sicily (from America where his parents had immigrated) and re-established contact with the Strege. In 1969 he published his first book on Witchcraft, and the following year he went public. He founded W.I.C.A.

Martello emerged as one of the earliest spokespersons of the new Witchcraft. His organization led in the formation of a number of necessary structures serving the emerging community in the early 1970s: Witches Encounter Bureau (to aid witches in contacting each other), the Witches Liberation Movement (which published the "Witch Manifesto"), and the Witches Antidefamation League. He also initiated two periodicals, Witchcraft Digest and the W.I.C.A. Newsletter.

According to Martello, the actualities of Strege Wicca have never been revealed, though Charles Leland's book Aradia comes close to revealing them. Aradia was meant to be a study of Strege. The basic deity is Diana, the first created before all creation. She divided into darkness and into light (Lucifer). Desiring the light, she tricked Lucifer into lying with her and thus became the mother of Herodias (Aradia). She also became the Queen of the Witches. The basic ritual is the conjuration of Diana and the invocation of Aradia. Cubes of meal, salt and honey in the shape of a crescent moon are consecrated and eaten. The climax of the ritual, performed at the full moon, is dancing and "love in the darkness." The ritual is skyclad (performed in the nude).

One point at which Sicilian Wicca differs from most traditions is its use of spells and incantations that threaten the deity. For example, Diana is addressed:

Or I may truly at another time So conjure thee that thou shalt have no peace Or happiness, for thou shalt ever be In suffering until thou grantest that Which I require in strictest faith from here!

Threats are a recognition of the essential divinity in each person, a sense of personal power which even the gods and goddesses cannot undermine.

Strege functions as an ethnic branch of the craft. Headed in the United States by Martello, who sees it as one with continuing Sicilian practices. In recent years Martello has discontinued the periodicals, but still circulates his many books though the publishing arm, Hero Press.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Leland, Charles Godfrey. The Mystic Will. New York: Hero Press, 1980.

Martello, Leo Louis. Curses in Verses. New York: Hero Press, 1971.

——. How to Prevent Psychic Blackmail. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1975.

——. Weird Ways of Witchcraft. New York: HC Publishers, 1969.

——. What It Means To Be a Witch. New York: The Author, [1975]

——. Witchcraft, The Old Religion. Secaucus, NJ: University Books, 1973.