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Who is George Pinckingill

George Pickingill, sometimes known simply as "Old George", (one assumes to separate him from his namesake
child) is as much an enigma today to many as he must have been when he was alive. Many stories surround this figure,
(both 'good' and 'bad' - depending on the perspective one takes) and it is hard to separate the myth from the man. This
is especially so in the modern climate wherein many views are naturally biased towards the "Neo-pagan" ways of
thought and the views of the founders of the same are often received and treated as gospel.

I myself have heard many stories, (from both 'sides of the fence') but none have fascinated me nor awaked as much of
a 'ring of truth' as those that I have heard from one of his descendants - Bill Liddell." (Scott Bisseker, 2000)

"George Pickingill is central to many of the claims advanced by Modern Witchcraft. Claire Smythe refers to him as
George Pickingale in her article 'Canewdon', which was published in '50 Strange Stories of the Supernatural' (edited
by ). Smythe claims "Canewdon was not only one of the last places in which the traditional belief in witches survived,
but also the home of the last Masters of Witches (Canewdon legend maintains that their witches have a Master). This
old man, George Pickingale, died in 1909 aged ninety three. Pickingale was both a black and white magician, and
while he was much feared by the villagers who dared not disobey him for fear of what he might do in reprisal, he
would also charm their warts and was sometimes called in to settle their disputes. He used his reputation to exploit the
villagers, who were convinced that he had the power to summon the local witches by means of a wooden whistle and
that he could bewitch the threshing machinery if he felt so inclined. On the other hand, if he did choose to work he
could summon up a whole bevy of imps who could do it all for him while he sat in the shade smoking his pipe." (Claire
Smythe, John Canning Souvenir press London 1974, p64-65)" (Bill Liddell, 1999)

"My paternal great, great grandfather changed his surname from Pickingill. I was inducted into the Pickingill Craft in
Essex, 'near the River Crouch' on May Eve 1950, and am a Pickingill both by blood and by training." (Bill Liddell,
1999)
"Mike Howard, in his introduction to The Pickingill papers, mentions that the earliest references to George Pickingill
of which he is aware were Eric Maple's folklore articles, and Charles Lefebure's 'Witness to Witchcraft.' (ace books
USA 1970)
Maple claimed that George Pickingill's reputation was such that in his old age visitors came from vast distances to see
him and they gave him money. Lefebure confirms Maple's claim that George Pickingill terrified the villagers with his
supernatural powers; and adds for good measure that Pickingill eventually became so infamous that he was visited by
black magicians (sic) from all over Europe for advice and instruction.
Charles Lefebure stresses the 'satanic' image of George Pickingill in the local folklore, He states that Pickingill has
the same reputation in modern witchcraft circles as Crowley and Gardner. Lefebure describes him as The Devil
incarnate' who knew the secret of the Elixir of Life and eternal youth. it is hardly surprising that contemporary
Wiccan leaders and the pagan Federation are now repudiating any links between Wicca and Pickingill's Nine Covens.
Lefebure claims that Pickingill was believed to have sold his soul to the Devil and he was alleged to hold nocturnal
orgies in the graveyard of St. Nicholas' church attended by his Romany kin. These midnight rites were allegedly
ignored by the aged incumbent vicar who was terrified of George Pickingill's powers. However, when a young cleric
replaced him for a short time he challenged the wizard and his gypsy coven. Hearing the sounds of revelry and seeing
flickering flames in the churchyard The clergyman ran into the place brandishing a riding crop. Silence greeted him
and all he could see were thirteen white rabbits peeping from behind the gravestones. (The white rabbit is the
traditional familiar of my family.) Here we have a supposed incidence of shape shifting barely 100 years ago. It seems
obvious that all the old fables about witches were still current in the remote Essex marshes at the turn of the twentieth
century.
Lefebure's testimony is of some value because he confirms that the Pickingill family were renowned and feared all
over East Anglia for generations as 'a race apart' of witches, wizards and warlocks. He adds that anyone who dared
cross George Pickingill immediately fell ill and could only be restored to health by the touch of his famous blackthorn
walking stick. I have relied on Mike Howard's introduction to 'The Pickingill papers' because I had never heard of
Charles Lefebure, let alone read 'Witness to Witchcraft.' My Elders and brethren who supplied the material for the
'Lugh' letters had never heard of him either.

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Mike Howard visited Canewdon in 1977 and met 'Granny' Garner. Lillian Garner was Eric Maple's chief informant
when he visited Canewdon in the winter of 1959/60. He described Mrs. Garner, who was born in 1890, as the last of
Canewdon's 'white witches.' She told Mike Howard in 1977 that her mother had informed her that George Pickingill
was the leader of the Canewdon witches, and that he had 'many visitors' who came seeking his knowledge of occult
arts." (Bill Liddell, 1999)
"I was investigating George Pickingill a good twelve years before Maple visited Canewdon. 'Old George' was the
first-cousin of my paternal great-great grandfather, who adopted the surname of one of his employers. This was
standard practice for many members of the widespread Pickingill stock. They sought refuge with Romany families
and imbibed much Rom magic. There are some 30 to 40 Pickingill siblings by last count and most bear different
surnames. However, only 5 or 6 are remotely interested in the silly superstitions of their ignorant forebears. Such is
progress!" (Bill Liddell, 1999)
"George Pickingill was an itinerant horse dealer who accompanied his Rom kinsmen to Horse Fairs. He was
renowned as a Gypsy sorcerer and met a number of his nine female leaders when travelling with the Rom. The
Gypsies have always known the favoured haunts of the traditional witches. They had no trouble locating Pickingill
covens. Mike Howard advised me in personal correspondence dated 27th March 1997 : "Your comments about the
gypsies and Pickingill covens has reminded me of an encounter I had in 1976 with a Romany called George Wells
who lived in South London. He claimed to know of Pickingill people on the Suffolk-Essex border at Brandon, and
others still in the New Forest area." Mike was not impressed and gave little heed to Wells at the time. In hindsight this
was a pity. It may have been possible to corroborate some of the claims in the Lugh material.
George Pickingill was apprenticed to a Cunning Man named Shewell, His education was completed by Rom
sorcerers and the leaders of Old Style covens. His reputation preceded him and landowners and influential
'Rosicrucians' were impressed with Pickingill's magical prowess. He was granted access to the archives of several
'Cunning' Lodges. It was not long before Pickingill was exhibiting his gifts at Masonic Temples and private houses.
He confined the bulk of his demonstrations to a country house in Hertfordshire." (Bill Liddell, 1999)
"The strong possibility exists that George Pickingill, the famous Rom horse whisperer, is the 'George Pettingale' who
was buried on the 14th April 1909. This George Pickingill was born on the 23rd December 1803 in either Suffolk or
Norfolk. He would have been 105 in April 1909. This George Pickingill had retired to the Hundred of Dengie, which
adjoins the Hundred of Rochford in which Canewdon is situated. Pickingill sons were named for English kings;
George, William and Charles were the most common forenames. There is nothing improbable in having three George
Pickingills living just a few miles apart. The church wardens and the parishioners of St. Nicholas' church in
Canewdon would never have permitted their vicar to bury the George Pickingill in their churchyard. This was the
satanist who allegedly conducted sex orgies in their churchyard. It seems more plausible to suggest that the son, or the
innocuous Rom horse-whisperer, is the George Pettingale buried at Canewdon. The recorded age of 103 suggests it
could have been the ancient horse-whisperer rather than George Jnr. 'Pettingale' may have been substituted for
Pickingill as a sop to the sensitivities of the parishioners and the other villagers.
It seems eminently feasible that 'Old George' Pickingill lies in an unmarked and unhallowed grave. However, his
input into the pagan revival is his epitaph." (Bill Liddell, 1999)
George Pickingill is central to many of the claims advanced by Modern Witchcraft. Claire Smythe refers to him as
George Pickingale in her article 'Canewdon', which was published in '50 Strange Stories of the Supernatural' (edited
by John Canning Souvenir Press London 1974). Smythe claims:
"Canewdon was not only one of the last places in which the traditional belief in witches survived, but also the home of
the last Masters of Witches (Canewdon legend maintains that their witches have a Master). This old man, George
Pickingale, died in 1909 aged ninety three. Pickingale was both a black and white magician, and while he was much
feared by the villagers who dared not disobey him for fear of what he might do in reprisal, he would also charm their
warts and was sometimes called in to settle their disputes. He used his reputation to exploit the villagers, who were
convinced that he had the power to summon the local witches by means of a wooden whistle and that he could bewitch
the threshing machinery if he felt so inclined. On the other hand, if he did choose to work he could summon up a whole
bevy of imps who could do it all for him while he sat in the shade smoking his pipe." (P64-65)
Clare Smythe visited Canewdon to research her article. She writes:
"The last six witches to have been documented lived around the 1880's, and were described by those who remembered
them only some twenty years ago. One of them was well known to bewitch wagon wheels and to possess imps. Another
inflicted plagues of lice on those who annoyed her. A third fixed people with glaring eyes and prevented them from
entering the church." (P67)

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Modern Crafters cannot comprehend that the traditional witches and cunning folk could heal or kill. They were able
to turn and bend forces in nature for good or for selfish purposes. Smythe relates that Cunning Murrell, who died in
1860, dealt with one witch by "telling her victim to follow her to her home, thrusting a knife into the witch's'
footprints." For good measure, Smythe adds that Cunning Murrell killed a witch from Canewdon in a magical duel:
"For some time neither party seemed to be gaining the upper hand until at last Murrell commanded her to die. Which
she promptly did." (P66)
Clare Smythe has the last word on the puzzling evidence gathered by scholars and other pundits when they quiz the
old villagers about George Pickingill. No two stories seem to agree. She claims: "The remains of Pickingale's cottage
- which eventually fell down since nobody would live in it after his death - have long since been swept away, and the
inhabitants scoff or become irritated, or exploit the old tales according to their own interests." Cecil Williamson has
stated that Gerald Gardner always claimed that the cottage used as the Brickett Wood covenstead had belonged to
George Pickingill. Williamson investigated and found Gardner's claim to be a lie. He has also claimed That Crowley
sent Gardner to Canewdon to study the legend of George Pickingill. These anecdotes may be important because the
Lugh letters, which are subsequently published as The Pickingill Papers, argue that there was some collusion
between Crowley and Gardner to launch Wicca.
Smythe had her own supernormal encounter with the Canewdon witches:
"Canewdon witches were also able to enchant wheels of carts and wagons, and a tradition persisted well into the
twentieth century that it was unlucky to take a bicycle into Canewdon for it would surely suffer a puncture.... (P65).....
And I know That when I came out of the Canewdon church after having had a look at the carved witches' cat and the
old altar tomb where it is said the children used to listen to the Devil rattling his chains - I found that my car had its
first puncture for over five years." (P67)
Evidence of even earlier activities of the Canewdon coven was contained in a letter to The Times published on 27th
January 1959. The correspondent had recently interviewed "a 94 year old gardener by the name of Arthur Downes
who was born and bred in Canewdon," Old Downes claimed that there were nine, not six, witches living in Canewdon
and "many more in silk than cotton." A persistent legend claims that there would always be six witches in Canewdon;
'Three in silk and three in cotton." I was always taught that the full compliment was nine. My paternal great, great
grandfather changed his surname from Pickingill. I was inducted into the Pickingill Craft in Essex, 'near the River
Crouch' on May Eve 1950, and am a Pickingill both by blood and by training.
Old Downes' testimony indicates that the notorious Canewdon coven was operating prior to 1860. The two local
witches who achieved prominence were Lady Lodwick and the wife of William Atkinson, the Vicar of Canewdon,
The Times correspondent checked the records in St. Nicholas' church and found that Eliza Lodwick and Mary Ann
Atkinson were sisters. Their maiden name was Kerstemans, The Kerstemans were "an old family of Flemish
extraction which had settled in Canewdon in 1700." These sisters would have been two of the 'Three in silk." There
are still some old witch families living in the area. Eliza Lodwick died in 1861 and Mary Ann had predeceased her
sister.
Arthur Downes responded with the following anecdote when pointedly asked if he had ever heard of Cunning
Murrell, The Canewdon villagers petitioned their Vicar, the Rev.. William Atkinson, "to let Murrell exercise his
whistling powers and make the witches confess themselves by dancing round the churchyard." However, the Vicar
refused because he knew that Mary Ann, his own wife, would be dancing with the witches! This suggests that
Cunning Murrell was believed to be the Master of the Canewdon witches. George Pickingill was also claimed to
summon the Canewdon coven by blowing on his wooden whistle. This power was traditionally vested in the Master
of Witches who presided over the local witches.
Mike Howard, in his introduction to The Pickingill Papers, mentions that the earliest references to George Pickingill
of which he is aware were Eric Maple's folklore articles, and Charles Lefebure's 'Witness to Witchcraft.' (Ace Books
USA 1970)
Maple claimed that George Pickingill's reputation was such that in his old age visitors came from vast distances to see
him and they gave him money. Lefebure confirms Maple's claim That George Pickingill terrified the villagers with
his supernatural powers; and adds for good measure That Pickingill eventually became so infamous that he was
visited by black magicians (sic) from all over Europe for advice and instruction.
Charles Lefebure stresses the 'satanic' image of George Pickingill in the local folklore, He states that Pickingill has
the same reputation in modern witchcraft circles as Crowley and Gardner. Lefebure describes him as The Devil
incarnate' who knew the secret of the Elixir of Life and eternal youth. It is hardly surprising that contemporary
Wiccan leaders and the Pagan Federation are now repudiating any links between Wicca and Pickingill's Nine

03
Covens.
Lefebure claims that Pickingill was believed to have sold his soul to the Devil and he was alleged to hold nocturnal
orgies in the graveyard of St. Nicholas' church attended by his Romany kin. These midnight rites were allegedly
ignored by the aged incumbent vicar who was terrified of George Pickingill's powers. However, when a young cleric
replaced him for a short time he challenged the wizard and his gypsy coven. Hearing the sounds of revelry and seeing
flickering flames in the churchyard The clergyman ran into the place brandishing a riding crop. Silence greeted him
and all he could see were thirteen white rabbits peeping from behind the gravestones. (The white rabbit is the
traditional familiar of my family.) Here we have a supposed incidence of shape shifting barely 100 years ago. It seems
obvious that all the old fables about witches were still current in the remote Essex marshes at the turn of the twentieth
century.
Lefebure's testimony is of some value because he confirms that the Pickingill family were renowned and feared all
over East Anglia for generations as 'a race apart' of witches, wizards and warlocks. He adds that anyone who dared
cross George Pickingill immediately fell ill and could only be restored to health by the touch of his famous blackthorn
walking stick. I have relied on Mike Howard's introduction to 'The Pickingill Papers' because I had never heard of
Charles Lefebure, let alone read 'Witness to Witchcraft.' My Elders and Brethren who supplied the material for the
'Lugh' letters had never heard of him either.
Mike Howard visited Canewdon in 1977 and met 'Granny' Garner. Lillian Garner was Eric Maple's chief informant
when he visited Canewdon in the winter of 1959/60. He described Mrs. Garner, who was born in 1890, as the last of
Canewdon's 'white witches.' She told Mike Howard in 1977 that her mother had informed her that George Pickingill
was the leader of the Canewdon witches, and that he had 'many visitors' who came seeking his knowledge of occult
arts.
The Lugh corpus was expressly written to be confrontational. Several surviving Craft families, a number of
solitaries, and my own Brethren were at first amused - and then alarmed - at the Witchcraft beliefs being propounded
by Gerald Gardner and Alex Sanders. The tenets of Wicca bore little resemblance to the rites and practices of
Traditional Witchcraft in England. My Brethren decided to take the bull by the horns and find a public platform to
explain that there were a number of disparate witch traditions. Margaret Murray has done the Revived Craft a
disservice by postulating the existence of one central witch cult. Different ethnic origins contributed to the various
witch traditions in regional England.
Several traditional witches had expostulated against Gardner's version of English Witchcraft. They got absolutely
nowhere, and nothing was done about their disclaimers. My Brethren shrewdly decided that it was pointless to
educate the general public. They decided to concentrate on Craft periodicals. Typed material was forwarded to me in
New Zealand, I drafted articles from this material and submitted these to the magazines nominated by my associates.
The nom-de-plume 'Lugh' is my Gardnerian name.
A careful reading of the 'Lugh' corpus in The Pickingill Papers will reveal both inconsistencies and conflicting views.
Almost a dozen of my Elders from such disparate factions as a Cunning Lodge, Pickingill covens and Hereditary
"companies" used me as a letter box.
Many of my Elders were alarmed by inner plane advice that Gerald Gardner was an instrument to restore the Old
Religion. The Hereditary faction wanted to record their East Anglian rites as a counter-balance to the 'heresy' of
Wicca. The Pickingill Elders wanted to encourage Goddess worship and female leadership. They were not trying to
combat Gardnerian 'Wicca.'
I believe it was imperative that these Elders stated their views about the origins of Wicca, and imparted knowledge of
the various discrepancies in Craft practices. As I pointed out in my first letter to The Wiccan :
"My own people make some very dogmatic and sweeping statements concerning the Gardner-Crowley controversy. I
am not yet decided whether to accept all of their claims in toto. Their attempted explanations do seem convincing on a
number of issues. I am inclined to adhere to their views until I discover other explanations which fit the facts insofar
as I understand them." (P19 Pickingill Papers)
It is a supreme irony that the efforts of my Elders have backfired on them. So much so that Aidan Kelly can write in
'Crafting the Art of Magic' : "In order to evaluate Lugh's claims, we need to place them in the perspective of what at
least looks a purposeful policy of disinformation instituted by Gardner and carried on by some of his successors in the
leadership of the Craft movement." (P1 71) My Elders are not Gardnerians and do not have a vested interest in
corroborating Gardner's claims! I have personal reservations about some of the more controversial claims, but accept
wholeheartedly their statements about Craft practices. It is worth stressing that neither Mike Howard nor myself is

04
anti-Wiccan. Mike Howard is a Gardnerian Third but now concerns himself with the Traditional Craft, I am a
Gardnerian Third and an Alexandrian Third per courtesy of Sylvia Tatham, who was both my High Priestess and my
handfast wife when we lived together in New Zealand.
It may cement differences between Craft Traditions if Sylvia Tatham's role in the Alexandrian segment is recounted.
Professor Ron Hutton has advised me (personal correspondence dated 28th July 1998) that Sylvia Tatham's name is
mentioned in Pat Kopanski's letter to Gerald Gardner. This letter is dated 5th September 1963, and is preserved
among Gardner's papers in Toronto. Kopanski relates that she had left Pat Crowther's Sheffield coven because of
petty differences in 1962. She began working with Medea's coven, and inveigled 'Medea' to arrange initiations for
Alex Sanders and Sylvia Tatham.
Medea's coven was independent of and hostile to Pat Crowther's coven. Professor Hutton elaborates on the initiation
details outlined in Kopanski's letter to Gardner : "On 9th March 1963 Alex got his first degree in Medea's coven, and
the next evening Sylvia got her first and Kopanski was raised to the second. The coven then collapsed on the sudden
death of Medea's husband, and her withdrawal from both the Craft and the area. The trio of initiations, however,
meant that Kopanski could found her own, with Sylvia as Maiden and Alex as the only man..... Their main problem
was that they had been cast loose before they had all the rituals of the Craft, and asked Gardner to help them in this
matter; she and Sylvia very much wanted to meet him."
I replied to Professor Hutton and explained that Sylvia subsequently went to the Isle of Man. She received her third
from "Loric", the husband of Monique Wilson. Sylvia returned to Sanders and gave him his third. She brought the
complete Gardnerian BoS with her. Pat Kopanski left Sanders because he would not marry her. Sylvia replaced her as
Sander's High Priestess until Alex met Maxine Morris, Sanders appointed Sylvia his High Priestess for Australia. She
came to live with me in New Zealand. When Sylvia left me and went to Perth, Alex Sanders appointed me his High
Priest for New Zealand.
If it had not been for Professor Hutton's revealing the contents of Kopanski's letter to Gerald Gardner, the Craft world
would never have heard of Sylvia Tatham. Neither Doreen Valiente nor Aidan Kelly mention Sylvia when discussing
Sanders' 'Gardnerian' initiation. Doreen contents herself by claiming that Pat Crowther rebuffed Alex Sanders, who
promptly had himself initiated by one of Crowther's former coveners. She then adds : "Later he went to see Gerald
Gardner in the Isle of Man, and Gerald gave him or allowed him to copy the 'Book of Shadows.'"(P166 The Rebirth of
Witchcraft)
Doreen is quite wrong on this point. Neither she nor her friend Pat Crowther can explain how Sanders acquired the
complete Gardnerian rituals because Kopanski was only a first degree initiate in Crowther's coven.
Aidan Kelly is also ill-informed because he likewise believes that Sanders was initiated by Kopanski : "The
Alexandrians, we now know, trace their ancestry, via Pat Kopanski, to Patricia Crowther, who at least is one of
Doreen's friends." (P1 71 Crafting the Art of Magic) It is high time that the Craft world was informed that Sanders
traced his Craft lineage, via Monique Wilson, directly to Gerald Gardner himself.
Sylvia Tatham also helped circulate several Craft legends which obtained some credence in English Craft circles; and
one of which was featured in the 'Lugh' material. Sylvia and others were banished from the Wilsons' circle on the Isle
of Man when Monique ('The Lady Olwen'), and Scotty ('Loric'), declared their intention of working the Fourth
Degree. Rumours still are current that Gardner had a fourth degree which he could confer.
Sylvia had some girlie talks with Monique Wilson. Gardner was a very old man when he worked with Monique, and
needed some stimulation for the Great Rite. Monique confided that she had to whack Gardner across the buttocks
while he was suspended by tied wrists from a meat hook.
Rumours had long circulated that a Book of Shadows in Crowley's handwriting was held in Gardner's Witchcraft
Museum on the Isle of Man. My Brethren had heard this yarn and concluded that this was the BoS written by Crowley
when Gardner made him an honorary witch, Both Doreen Valiente and Aidan Kelly deny the existence of this book.
My Brethren erred in their conclusion but, like several of their more sensational claims, there is an underlying
element of factual truth in the material supplied to me.
'Scotty' Wilson showed Sylvia Tatham a Book of Shadows which he claimed was in Aleister Crowley's handwriting.
She had little more than a cursory examination of the material but recognised Gardnerian rites interspersed with
various magical rituals. If 'Scotty' Wilson had shown other selected visitors this mysterious BoS, it is not surprising
that rumours soon circulated. I am satisfied that the supposed BoS in Crowley's handwriting is none other than
Gardner's 'Ye Bok of ye Art Magical.' Professor Ron Hutton agrees with this identification. Aidan Kelly failed to
make the connection but has rendered valuable service by publicising the existence of this notebook. He claims:

05
"Once 'Ye Bok of ye Art Magical' was full, and no longer useful as a notebook, Gardner hid it in the back of a cabinet
in the museum, when it was found by the team from Ripley's in 1971; the Wilsons, who arrived after it had been
retired, probably didn't even know it existed; thus it was preserved, to provide the clues to unravel the puzzle." (P98
Crafting the Art of Magic)
Alan Greenfield has supplied a plausible - and eminently satisfactory - explanation as to why Gardner's handwritten
source book for Wiccan rituals could be confused with a Book of Shadows in Crowley's handwriting. Greenfield had
approached Ripley's International Pty Ltd, to whom Monique Wilson had sold the Witchcraft Museum contents, and
arranged to purchase the legendary Book of Shadows which was supposedly held in Gardner's museum on the Isle of
Man.
Greenfield had ample time to peruse the manuscript which was produced. It was none other than 'Ye Bok of ye Art
Magical.' He declined to buy the book after a thorough examination of its contents, but did purchase the Charter
whereby Aleister Crowley authorised Gerald Gardner to found an O.T.O Chapter.
Gardner was empowered to confer the three degrees of the Man of Earth camp in the Ordo Templi Orientis !
This O.T.O Charter now hangs on the wall of Greenfield's Temple. It is written in Gerald Gardner's handwriting but is
signed and sealed by Aleister Crowley. The handwriting on Crowley's Charter is identical with that in 'Ye Bok of ye
Art Magical.'
Greenfield concludes after his examination of 'Ye Bok' :
"I have the impression it was essentially unknown in and after Gardner's lifetime, and that by the summer of 1986 few
had seen inside it; I knew of only Kelly and my own party. Perhaps the cover had been seen by some along the line,
accounting for the rumour of a 'very old Book of Shadows' in Gardner's museum.
"If someone had seen the charter signed by Crowley ('Baphomet) but written by Gerald Gardner, and had gotten a
look, as well, at Ye Bok, they may well have concluded that Crowley had written both, an honest error, but maybe the
source of that long-standing accusation. There is even a notation in the Ripley catalogue attributing the manuscript
to Crowley on someone's say-so, but I have no indication Ripley has any other such book. Finally, if the notebook is a
source book of any religious system, it is not that of medieval witchcraft, but the twentieth century madness or sanity
or both of the infamous magus Aleister Crowley and the Thelemic/Gnostic creed of The Book of the Law.
"As I sat there I read aloud familiar quotations or paraphrases from published material in the Crowley-Thelemic
canon. This is not the 'ancient religion of the wise' but the modern sayings of 'The Beast 300' as Crowley was want to
style himself." (Alan Greenfield. 'A True History of Witchcraft.' 1992)
Greenfield is a chartered initiator and a V degree initiate in the O.T.O, as well as a Bishop in Crowley's Gnostic
Catholic Church. He is well qualified to comment on the O.T.O Charter and Crowley's published material in
Gardner's 'Ye Bok of ye Art Magical.' However, it is important to stress that Aidan Kelly confirms that Ye Bok also
contains Gardnerian initiation rituals. This is exactly what Sylvia Tatham told me.
I am fully satisfied that 'Ye Bok of ye Art Magical' contained the material from which Gardner created 'The Book of
Shadows.' This does not mean that Gardner invented the rituals himself. The 'Lugh' material affirms that Gardner had
legitimate access to the New Forest coven, and was subsequently inducted into several Pickingill covens. It was also
claimed in the 'Lugh' corpus that Aleister Crowley was inducted into another of Pickingill's nine covens at the turn of
the twentieth century. My Brethren averred that Crowley used magical recall to remember the rituals of the defunct
Norfolk coven, and presented Gardner with what he claimed were his own coven's rituals. The 'Lugh' corpus stressed
Crowley's contribution to the concept and practices of modern witchcraft.
Everybody who reads the 'Lugh' letters in the original magazine context, or in the collected format as 'The Pickingill
Papers', interprets key texts incorrectly. Aidan Kelly, Doreen Valiente and Gareth Medway are among the prime
culprits.
Aidan Kelly states:
'Lugh's claim that Crowley wrote Gardner's original Book of Shadows - he is no doubt building on the similar claim
by King (P180) - cannot possibly be true: nothing that could be called a Book of Shadows existed while Crowley was
alive. Furthermore, Lugh seems to be ignorant (or is pretending to be ignorant) of the true role of Doreen Valiente in
writing the Book of Shadows." (P174 Crafting the Art of Magic)
This is deliberate misrepresentation. Kelly ignores the opening sentence of the first 'Lugh' letter, which was
published in The Wiccan 40 & 41, November 1974 : "Gerald Gardner wrote his own BoS from different sources."
(P19 The Pickingill Papers) Again, a sentence on P30 is apposite : "Gardner should be publicly vindicated for writing

06
his own BoS."
Richard Kaczynski has perused a cache of Gardner's letters which are held at the Warburg Institute in London,
Crowley's diaries from 1936 to 1947 were also examined by Kaczynski, who stated the following conclusions in an
Internet message to Grendel. (PS The Singing Head, Issue 43)
“A: Crowley met Gardner on May 1,1947. (not 1946, as I originally estimated) Subsequent meetings occurred on
May 7, 14 and 27. At this time Crowley was very ill and his diaries are spotty at best. The nature of their meetings are
not indicated; there may have been others. NOWHERE do the diaries state that Gardner paid Crowley any money to
write any BoS. Crowley died six months after they met.
B: Crowley certified Gardner as a IV degree member of the O.T.O, and chartered him to operate a lodge and initiate
in the first three degrees. On June 14, 1947, Gerald Gardner wrote to Crowley, enclosing his 10/10 (shillings/pence)
payment for his O.T.O dues up to the VII degree and mentioning a query he'd received for the fee schedule for
advanced degrees.
C: In January, 1950, Gardner wrote to John Symonds that only illness prevented him from starting an O.T.O Lodge;
that Crowley's successor, Karl Germer, acknowledged him as head of the Order in Europe; and that Crowley, prior to
his death, read part of High Magic's Aid and highly approved. 'He, (Crowley), wanted me to put the witch part in full,
but I was only given permission to publish things as fiction.' Gardner says he included the third degree ritual, but it
was excised from the MS. [I also have copies of Germer's letters on this score] Therefore, before Crowley's death,
SOMEONE had written the Gardnerian rituals, of which A.C approved (although they have undoubtedly been
revised over the years). This book Gardner published under his O.T.O motto, Scire."
It would be helpful if Richard Kaczynski could supply full details of "Germer's letters on this score." One can only
assume from the context that they relate to the 'Gardnerian' third degree. Why should the Head of the O.T.O concern
himself with Gardner's rituals? Francis King pointed out: "in 1917 Crowley rewrote the first three degrees of the
O.T.O because American Freemasons had complained that they were too similar to their own degrees." ('Modern
Ritual Magic.' appendix E. footnote 5. P206)
Kaczynski concluded that "before Crowley's death, SOMEONE had written the Gardnerian rituals, of which A.C
approved...." He should have cited a letter dated 12th July 1950, wherein Gardner told John Symonds that "Crowley
was interested in combining the 'witch cult' (sic) with the O.T.O and that he (A.C) was fascinated by some snaps of the
'witches cottage.' "Gardner then claims that he tried to form an O.T.O lodge but the interested parties were sent to
Germany as part of the British Occupation Army of the Rhine. His most interesting [and potentially damaging]
statement is the admission : "I wrote the third degree of the Witch Cult, but they went up in steam and cut it out
entirely and of course things have been changed a little in the ritual, but I've got it nearyl (sic) as they do it."
A great deal hinges on what Gardner really meant when he admitted "I wrote the third degree of the Witch Cult and of
course things have been changed a little in the ritual, but I've got it nearyl (sic) as they do it." Please note that there is
no mention of the 'Craft of the Wise'; this was a later invention! Gardner simply refers to the 'Witch Cult.' His wording
in this letter suggests that he amended or adapted an existing ritual. It is not clear whether he wrote a 'third degree' to
augment two existing 'degrees.'
The third degree ritual is hinted at on page 197 of 'A Goddess Arrives,' There is an ambiguous reference to a 'great
rite.' Ritual nudity is a feature of a goddess-oriented cult! A Goddess Arrives' was published in 1939, three years after
Gardner returned to England upon his retirement. Although the third degree ritual was expunged from 'High Magic's
Aid,' Morven intimates that a sexual sacrament was available to "all who had taken the second degree." (P300)
There is documentary evidence that Gardner was consulting with Crowley on the subject of Craft rituals prior to the
latter's death in 1947. Walter Five's famous Internet message dated 13th May 1993 confirms that Gardner sent a
manuscript on Persephone's descent into the underworld to Crowley for correction. Walter Five is interested in
Thelemic magic and may not have initially recognised the importance of his discovery: collusion between Gardner
and Crowley to create the Legend of the Goddess, and the direct implication that the Second Degree ritual was being
compiled prior to Crowley's death in 1947!
Area PODSnet MagickNet
Msg# 7669
From Walter Five
To All
Subj Pentegrams

07
From : walter5@hrnowl. lonestar. org. (Walter Five)
Newsgroups : mag.magiknet
Subject: Pentegrams
Date: 05-13-93 13:25
Read : Yes Replied : No
Mark:
That's true, Zephyr Love - - the Humanities Library at University of Texas, Austin which has one of the largest
collections of rare/unpublished and published Crowley material has at least ONE manuscript that Gardner did send
to Crowley for HIS correction, it involves Persephone's descent into the underworld, and is very much a passion play.
We got a xerox of it that was bootlegged from the U.T Archives - - (I can tell because it says so on the margins, along
with the statement DO NOT REMOVE.) I don't think it's ever been published except for Gardner's private circulation
to his disciples - - it's VERY Gardnerian, flogging the Priestess and all - does anyone else use a scourge in their
rituals? Blessed Beast!
Walter Five
* Origin : Two Wheelers gateway (hrnowllurchin.fidonet.org)(1:106/88.0)
Detractors of the 'Lugh' material should note P103 of 'The Pickingill Papers.' (First published in TC 34 May 1984)
My Brethren claimed that the Goddess Legend used by Pickingill's Nine covens "was a so far unidentified fragment
from the Demeter-Persephone mysteries." Walter Five's 1993 net message tallies with their claim : the 'passion play'
forwarded by Gardner to Crowley for correction involved Persephone's descent into the underworld!
It is difficult to see how Aidan Kelly can sustain his argument that "nothing that could be called a Book of Shadows
existed while Crowley was alive," He concedes that Gardner says he wrote 'High Magic's Aid' around 1946; and adds
: "In fact, as we will see, Gardner was working on the novel and on rewriting the rituals simultaneously, around
1946." (P43 'Crafting the Art of Magic') Kelly then says of 'High Magic's Aid' : "The book includes step-by-step
descriptions of the First and Second Degree rituals, following the text of 'Ye Bok of ye Art Magical' rather closely, and
explains that these 'witch' initiations have to be worked within a magical circle cast by a ceremonial magician I" (P43
'Crafting the Art of Magic') The Magister in the Pickingill Nine Covens described the circle! The Lady then
conducted the rites in toto.
Alan Greenfield's views may be apposite in this context:
"I had the distinct impression this 'notebook' had been written over a considerable period of time, perhaps years,
perhaps even decades. It may indeed, date from his days in the 1930's when he linked up with a neorosicrucian
grouping that could have included among its members the legendary Dorothy Clutterbuck, who set Gardner on the
path which led to Wicca." ('A True History of Witchcraft.' 1992)
Frederic Lamond, who was inducted into the Gardnerian tradition in 1957, lends some support to the belief that
Gardner received some rituals from the New Forest coven prior to Crowley's death in 1947. He also stresses
Gardner's O.T.O links. ('Notes on Gardnerian Witchcraft in England.' http ://www. geocities. com ./soho/5
756/bgrdtrad. html)
"0. 1946: Dafo allowed Gerald to describe some of their rituals in fictional form. The resultant book, High Magic's
Aid, was published in 1948.
"0. Spring 1947: Gerald met Aleister Crowley, who after three more meetings gave Gerald a charter to revive the
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O) in Britain.
"0. Summer 1947: Gerald sailed for America to meet the American O.T.O heads. He met Jack Parsons in California,
who may have persuaded Gerald to promote witchcraft rather than the O.T.O."
Kelly formulated the belief that Gardner and his colleagues invented witchcraft rituals largely in response to the
threat of a German invasion. Kelly tells his readers on PX of his introduction "In contrast, I have been working since
1971 to ferret out the hard, verifiable facts of Gardnerian history." He then clarifies his motive for researching
Gardnerian history : "Having been able to construct the NROOGD rituals out of fragments of information about
Gardnerian practices, I began to wonder if perhaps Gardner had not done much the same thing : constructed his
'survival' out of the fragments of data that can be gleaned from Margaret Murray and other sources." (XII 'Crafting the
Art of Magic.) Kelly's determination to prove that Gardner "resurrected" the Craft by piecing together snippets from
published sources has interfered with his objectivity. Exhaustive literary criticism is not a reliable means of

08
establishing historical fact.
Kelly then establishes his credentials as an 'historian' by guessing at the identities of the New Forest coven members,
and speculating as to when and why they decided to revive witchcraft.
It was necessary for Kelly to discredit opposing views. Perhaps I should feel flattered that he singled out the 'Lugh'
corpus as the object of his denunciations, Kelly states on P171:
"I must also deal with some data that I know will be appealed to by those who want to resist my conclusions. These are
the claims about George Pickingill raised by a writer known only as 'Lugh', in a series of articles that appeared in two
British Craft periodicals, The Wiccan, and then later in The Cauldron, in the 1970's. (Doreen Valiente has written me
that, as Lugh's 'stories became more and more preposterous.... Michael Howard, the editor of The Cauldron,
eventually stopped publishing them.')"
Kelly has demonstrated that he is the purveyor of "hard, verifiable facts" by carefully editing a letter from a highly-
respected witch to convince his readers that Mike Howard stopped publishing the 'Lugh' material because it was
becoming progressively preposterous. This claim is palpably untrue. Mike Howard has assured me that he honestly
cannot remember making such a statement!
Mike Howard was unable to publish the 'Lugh' articles when my Brethren ceased forwarding material to me. The
articles stopped abruptly because I had no further material to submit to him after 1981 or 1982. However, Mike had a
back-log of my letters which he continued to publish until 1 992! This gives the lie direct to Kelly's snide attempt to
discredit 'Lugh.'
Kelly's claim (P1 74) that George Pickingill "had initiated Aleister Crowley" is pure conjecture. Nothing in the text
supports this assumption. Crowley was inducted by the Lady of Pickingill's Norfolk coven.
Assumptions loom large in Kelly's historical research. He argues :
"Lugh also alleges that Crowley had used bits and pieces of Pickingill's rituals in his own writings. He apparently
wants his readers to think that the passages from Crowley which Gardner quotes are the ones that Crowley was
quoting from Pickingill. Likewise, his allegations that Pickingill was the source for various unspecified elements of
the Golden Dawn rituals is intended to encourage his readers to think that the identifiable Golden Dawn elements in
Gardner's rituals may therefore instead be from the Pickingill tradition. Hence this is special pleading." (P1 76/1 77)
Kelly has honed in on two totally unsubstantiated claims in the Lugh corpus. No attempt was ever made to clarify
these important issues. Academics and Craft leaders have seized on what appear to be ludicrous statements to
discredit the Lugh material. My Brethren were at fault for not explaining the facts as they understood them, However,
they were intent on establishing startling and controversial punch-lines to make their Craft readers sit up and start
thinking. There is no substitute for personal research and hard work, Crafters, like all occultists, must learn to ask the
right questions and diligently search for their own truth.
The first of the "preposterous stories" appeared in The Wiccan 40 & 41, November 1974 :
"Crowley was bitter because he was expelled from the Craft and he used the knowledge gleaned from Pickingill, and
the magical potency inherent in the Pickingill rituals, to draft his own new magical rituals. You may not be aware that
Crowley drew heavily from Pickingill's magical rituals when compiling his own O.T.O (Ordo Templi Orientis)
rituals. They speak of a volume of secret lore, a magic dagger, quarters etc. A dagger is immersed in a sacred chalice
as a substitute for the Great Rite." (P28/29 The Pickingill Papers)
Pickingill's Nine covens observed ritual nudity at moon phases and scourged at actual "initiations," Women in three
of the Nine wore garters made of animal skins. The Pickingill covens used sexual techniques to promote spiritual
illumination, and the traditional version of the Five Fold Kiss used by Wiccans.
Francis King states that a direct-voice communication in 1904 "made Crowley decide to not only establish a new
religion to replace Christianity, but to build a new Rosicrucian Order with himself as its Chief..... Around this time he
drew up, in skeletonic form, revised Golden Dawn rituals..." (P113 'Modern Ritual Magic')
King cites 'rough notes' which give an idea of Crowley's thinking at the time; the 13 points contain resemblances to
the Pickingill covens and Wicca. (P11 3/114 'Modern Ritual Magic')
"1. A mock ordeal on "a great cross in a position to cause some pain" replaces the old Craft ordeal - mandatory sexual
induction,
4, The initiate "is stripped of all attributes - banishing all symbols - and made naked, after which he is
5. Scourged." (Crowley derived nudity and scourging from the Pickingill Nine. There are no precedents in Masonic,

09
Rosicrucian or Golden Dawn rituals.)
gold." (This is Crowley's adaption of the "signing" of the Pickingill initiate after an induction which involved
scourging of the nude neophyte and the bestowal of the 'Five Fold Kiss.' Initiation in the Pickingill covens was always
man to woman and woman to man.)
10. The wand of D.P is given to him".
11. "He is given the sword." (This segment represents the presentation of the 'tools' as performed in Wiccan rituals.
The Pickingill Nine do not use the identical 'tools' but there is a presentation. Crowley may have borrowed the
Pickingill model rather than the Masonic equivalent. However, the Wiccan challenge was inspired by the Masonic
original.)
Francis King adds: "By the time Crowley eventually founded his order (1907) he seems to have abandoned these
plans. Instead he decided to use only slightly amended versions of the Golden Dawn rituals." (P114 'Modern Ritual
Magic.')
It is unfair of Aidan Kelly to accuse Gardner of a wholesale borrowing of Masonic, Rosicrucian and Golden Dawn
rituals. The German occultists who created the O.T.O had been chartered by John Yarker, a purveyor of spurious and
imaginative Masonic rituals, to establish a German Grand Lodge of Yorker's heavily-revised Masonic rites Gardner
received O.T.O documents and instructions from Crowley.
Karl Kellner, the founder-head of the O.T.O, was already a high-ranking German Freemason who was fascinated by
the Knights Templar. Francis King claims that Kellner's knowledge of sex magic may have been gleaned from "a
group of European followers of the American occultist P.B Randolph." (P120 'Modern Ritual Magic') He adds that
the sexual teachings of a surviving French group of Randolph's followers "are identical with those of the O.T.O."
The O.T.O claimed that sex magic was the key which opens up all Masonic and Hermetic secrets. If Kellner did
receive this knowledge via P.B Randolph then Pickingill's influence on the O.T.O can be demonstrated. The
Pickingill Nine employed texts from the Classical Mysteries in conjunction with sexual techniques to contact ancient
Divine Forces. P.B Randolph visited London in 1858 and discussed sex magic techniques with Hargrave Jennings,
who was one of George Pickingill's pupils. Both Jennings and Randolph were Rosicrucians and occultists. Jennings'
magnum opus 'The Rosicrucians:
"Their Rites and Mysteries' linked Rosicrucianism with druidism, the Templars, the Fellowship of the Round Table,
the Order of the Garter and sex worship in ancient cultures Hargrave Jennings and W.J Hughan were Freemasons as
well as pupils of Pickingill. They were never inducted into the Craft, but their contacts ensured entree for Pickingill to
Masonic Temples and country houses. Many of Margaret Murray's ideas were simply rehashes of Hargrave
Jennings' extraordinary theories. "
Jean Overton Fuller has confirmed that Crowley adopted the Pickingill technique of combining sexual activity with
the reciting of ancient texts during the Paris working. She relates that victor Neuburg and Crowley "made up a ritual
along the lines of those they imagined to have been practised in antiquity, and that the chief clues they had came
through Roman texts though they believed the traditions they glimpsed through them went back to an antiquity far
more remote….." (P182 'The Magical Dilemma of Victor Neuburg.')
Fuller's testimony is important because she received a full transcript of the Paris Working from Gerald Yorke.
Neuburg and Crowley "laid out incense, fire (I suppose this means a lighted candle), bread, wine, a chain, a scourge,
dagger, and oil..... After Crowley struck two strokes on a bell, victor danced the Banishing Ritual Taking instruments
from the altar Crowley scourged Victor, cut a cross over his heart and bound the chain round his forehead," (P182)
Crowley had a marked preference for scourging, and favoured the dagger and scourge as potent magical weapons. He
always placed the instruments on an altar!
Jean Fuller also provides the historical background for the Wiccan Five Fold Kiss, She quotes from King Philippe's
letter condemning "the brothers of the Order to the Knights Templar:
"Then he [the commander or Master] makes him take his clothes off, kisses him at the base of the spine, under the belt,
on the navel and on the mouth." (P1 75)
This is clearly an adaption of the 'Saracen Kiss' which was in reality the Masters' hot-breath technique directed at
chakra centres. Some of the old style covens use variants of this kiss. The Pickingill Nine gave the naked neophyte
'the ordeal' (scourging) and the Five Breaths. Both Crowley and Gardner would have been familiar with these rites as
they were initiates of sister covens.
Fuller suggests we ignore all the learned treatises written about the Templars "and begin with King Philippe's text.

10
Despite the indignation and incomprehension that informs it, it seems to me that there transpires the structure of a
genuine rite. The places touched with a kiss are the sites of psychic centres, called in Hindu science chakras ; the
phrase 'at the base of the spine' is to be taken literally; it is not a euphemism, and the touching is for the purpose of
awakening kundalini. Even today there exist lines of initiation in which the candidate is touched on the higher
chakras of breast and head, those situated lower being omitted. It is usually done with an instrument; yet the chaste
Albigenses initiated with a kiss on the mouth. The rite of disrobing is also very eloquent." (P1 76)
Mike Howard's comments in his Introduction to 'The Pickingill Papers' provide an excellent summary of the 'Lugh'
corpus. (P11) "The Lugh material suggests that modern perceptions of the historical Craft have been adversely
coloured by neo-pagan and Wiccan concepts which are recent innovations..... Taken at face value many of the more
sensational claims made in The Pickingill Papers seem too fantastic to be true. During our lengthy correspondence
spanning nearly twenty years Bill Liddell has always claimed that the information was provided by his Elders and
that he also had some doubts about some of it. Although the material is critical about Gardner it also establishes a
historical legitimacy for Wicca as a descendent of The Pickingill Craft and therefore by association of the 'true
persuasion' ie, the old Hereditary and Traditional Craft." (P11)
Critics seize upon three 'preposterous' statements to discredit the whole Lugh corpus:
1) George Pickingill had paved the way for the revival of witchcraft.
2) Hargrave Jennings prevailed upon George Pickingill to help forge Rosicrucian documents which led to the
foundation of Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia.
3) George Pickingill had some input into unspecified Golden Dawn rituals.
Scholars and Wiccan leaders have all made unwarranted assumptions when attempting to discredit the Lugh
material. Professor James W. Baker assumes that the Lugh corpus was an attempt to topple Gardner. He writes :
"The most exotic of these attempts to depose Gardner was an extravagant hoax which first surfaced shortly after his
death in February 1964. The gist of the matter was that the real witch tradition could be traced not to Gardner but
rather to an Essex Cunning Man named George Pickingill who died in 1909." (P185. White Witches : Historic Fact
and Romantic Fantasy, an article in 'Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, edited by James R Lewis, New York
1996)
Baker's testimony is valuable because it alleges that an English newspaper claimed that modern witchcraft could be
traced to George Pickingill - some 10 years before the first Lugh article was published in The Wiccan! He states :
"I had read of Pickingill (or Pickingale) in Eric Maple's Dark World of Witches (1961) and contacted him to see what
he might know about this (private communication, 29th December 1975) He told me that the earliest appearance of
the claim was in 'The News of the World' in 1963 or 1964, but interest soon subsided. It was his opinion that people
associated with Doreen Valiente were behind it, though I would doubt that, as she is one of the most honest of
commentators on the subject." (P186)
I was in New Zealand in January 1963 and have not been back to England since then. Everybody interviewed by 'The
News of the World' is photographed and their personal details accompany any article. Baker's testimony confirms
that I could not have initiated this "hoax," My Brethren have assured me that they did not originate this material in
'The News of the World,' There appears to be an independent source for this information.
Baker then makes another assumption. He refers disparagingly to Pickingill's "alleged control over nine hereditary
covens that were apparently scattered over most of southern England." (P1 86) Nothing in the Lugh text suggests that
Pickingill had any continuing jurisdiction over the Nine Covens!
Baker then states that Maple "assured me that he had talked with old people who remembered Pickingill and knew his
reputation at first hand, and that the whole idea was preposterous. Pickingill was a real old Cunning Man, one of the
last of his type, but quite illiterate and in his later years more interested in caging (sic) beer and getting a rise out of the
people than anything else," (P186)
Baker is scathing about the Pickingill "hoax." He has based his conclusions largely on Maple and Kelly.
Unfortunately for Baker, he was unaware of how Maple obtained his information. A handful of elderly people were
assembled in the home of the local school mistress. These worthies were of farm labouring stock and as superstitious
as any Essex yokels could be. They recounted lurid tales of Canewdon witches. Maple visited two elderly ladies in a
neighbouring village and completed his folklore survey by consulting Lillian Garner. Maple recorded village gossip
from people who had seen George Pickingill, and whose parents were probably as terrified of him as the rest of the
Canewdon villagers.

11
I was investigating George Pickingill a good twelve years before Maple visited Canewdon. 'Old George' was the
first-cousin of my paternal great-great grandfather, who adopted the surname of one of his employers. This was
standard practice for many members of the widespread Pickingill stock. They sought refuge with Romany families
and imbibed much Rom magic. There are some 30 to 40 Pickingill siblings by last count and most bear different
surnames. However, only 5 or 6 are remotely interested in the silly superstitions of their ignorant forebears. Such is
progress!
The strong possibility exists that the villagers interviewed by Maple deliberately confused George Pickingill with his
illiterate elder son, who was also named George. There is a remarkable parallel between Cunning Murrell and George
Pickingill : both wizards had an illiterate son.
George Pickingill Junior had none of the reputed abilities of his infamous family. He was an illiterate farm labourer
who cadged drinks from the credulous in return for information about the local witches. The Canewdon villagers
avoided discussing or naming 'black' witches because they believed that careless words would attract evil to
themselves or their families. Maple's informants may have resorted to subterfuge when asked about 'George
Pickingill', and substituted the illiterate son for the feared father.
The so-called Nine Covens were founded over a period of many years. During the course of his long life, George
Pickingill inducted nine women with Hereditary connections into his own version of witchcraft. Armed with Old
George's Craft authority and rituals these women formed the nucleus of a Pickingill coven. Nothing in the Lugh
corpus suggested that Pickingill exercised a supervisory role over the Nine covens.
George Pickingill was an itinerant horse dealer who accompanied his Rom kinsmen to Horse Fairs. He was renowned
as a Gypsy sorcerer and met a number of his nine female leaders when travelling with the Rom. The Gypsies have
always known the favoured haunts of the traditional witches. They had no trouble locating Pickingill covens. Mike
Howard advised me in personal correspondence dated 27th March 1997 : "Your comments about the gypsies and
Pickingill covens has reminded me of an encounter I had in 1976 with a Romany called George Wells who lived in
South London. He claimed to know of Pickingill people on the Suffolk-Essex border at Brandon, and others still in
the New Forest area." Mike was not impressed and gave little heed to Wells at the time. In hindsight this was a pity. It
may have been possible to corroborate some of the claims in the Lugh material.
George Pickingill was apprenticed to a cunning man named Shewell, His education was completed by Rom sorcerers
and the leaders of Old Style covens. His reputation preceded him and landowners and influential 'Rosicrucians' were
impressed with Pickingill's magical prowess. He was granted access to the archives of several 'Cunning' Lodges. It
was not long before Pickingill was exhibiting his gifts at Masonic Temples and private houses. He confined the bulk
of his demonstrations to a country house in Hertfordshire.
John Symonds states in his biography of Crowley (P1 7 of the 1973 paperback edition) that Eliphas Levi visited
Knebworth, the country house in Hertfordshire, where Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton conducted his magical club. It is
certainly possible that Bulwer Lytton's home was 'The country house in Hertfordshire" mentioned in The Pickingill
Papers. Many Masons and Rosicrucians are known to have observed the magical experiments at Knebworth.
Mike Howard asks (personal correspondence dated 27/3/1999): "Could this be the 'country house' where Moina
Bergson saw Pickingill do his party tricks? Could it also be, I suggest, the 'country house in Hertfordshire', where in
1939 Moina Mathers' magical equipment was burnt in a bonfire in the grounds?7' (P358 Mary Greer. Women of the
Golden Dawn, Park Street Press. USA 1995) Minna (Moina) Bergson married G.S.L MacGregor Mathers, one of
three architects of the Golden Dawn rituals. The Magic Club at Knebworth deserves serious research. The claims that
international magicians and occultists visited George Pickingill became more credible if this simply entailed
travelling to Knebworth, or attending 'Rosicrucian' and Masonic Temples in London. Knebworth was central to
London then as now. There was no public transport to Canewdon until after World War I.
Doreen Valiente examines the Pickingill material in Chapter Twelve of 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft.' She was virtually
forced to do this after endorsing many claims from the Lugh corpus in 'Witchcraft for Tomorrow,' (Robert Hale, UK
and St Martin's Press, USA 1978) Doreen argues that it "really strains one's credulity 'to believe that Minna Bergson
(ie Moina Mathers) "became the 'pupil' of a rough old countryman who upheld the idea of sexual induction' as 'a
hallmark of the Hereditary Craft' - that is, the passing-on of power by sexual union. Minna Bergson would have
swooned." (P202/203) Nowhere in the Lugh text was it claimed or suggested that Moina Mathers was initiated into
the Craft. This is Doreen's assumption and a problem of her own making! Minna Bergson (aka Moina Mathers) was a
'pupil' in the sense that she attended four or five of Pickingill's demonstrations at a country house in Hertfordshire.
Minna Bergson would have had a sound reason for attending any magical experiments at Knebworth : Bulwer-Lytton
was experimenting with the so-called VRIL, the universal magical power which underlies the universe. Doreen has

12
conveniently forgotten that Minna Bergson was the sister of Henri Bergson, the French philosopher who sought to
bridge the gap between metaphysics and science. He received the Nobel prize for literature in 1927. Henri Bergson's
major preoccupation was a life-giving force which, he believed, permeated the entire natural order. His concept of
elan vital suggested that a creative principle in all organisms was responsible for evolution Bulwer-Lytton and his
magicians were studying this force from the magical viewpoint. Hargrave Jennings and P.B Randolph were primarily
concerned with its sex magic application. Jennings made a fuss of George Pickingill because he realised that the Old
Style Craft held the secrets of sexual illuminism : man could experience his latent divinity by 'sexual' transformation.
Cecil Williamson told an English newspaper some years ago that Gerald Gardner hired prostitutes from Kings Cross
as 'altar fodder' for the Great Rite. The highest states of divine consciousness can be achieved without sex. It is the
personal choice of the individual aspirant.
Doreen Valiente has tried to extricate herself with some dignity, and without too much loss of face, by dismissing
George Pickingill in 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft' as "an unlettered farm labourer." This is a far cry from her claim in
'Witchcraft for Tomorrow' that Pickingill had collaborated in forging the mysterious cipher documents which had
justified the foundation of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Even Professor Baker had contented himself
with the cautious claim that the Lugh material "implied that Pickingill and Hargrave Jennings were responsible for
forging the cipher manuscripts that formed the basis for the Golden Dawn." Nowhere in the Lugh corpus was the
forged Rogan MSS identified with the cipher manuscripts of the Golden Dawn.
Doreen states on P200 of 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft': "I knew that the origin of the cipher manuscripts upon which the
elaborate rituals of the most important magical order of modern times were based had long been a matter of great
speculation among occult students. I therefore flatly refused to believe that these had been 'collaborated' in by an
unlettered farm labourer, The thing was just not possible, as anyone acquainted with the magical system in question
will realise - unless, of course, George Pickingill was a self-taught genius." This opinion contrasts starkly with her
earlier claims in 'Witchcraft for Tomorrow,' It was amusing to read the statement of a contributor to the 'Arcana'
segment on the Internet, This gentleman argued that 'Lugh' must have claimed that George Pickingill forged the
Golden Dawn cipher manuscripts - because Doreen Valiente repeated his statement in one of her books.
Both Doreen Valiente and her associate John Score, the editor of The Wiccan, had a vested interest in uncritically
endorsing the Lugh material. Score thanked me profusely for 'legitimising' the Gardnerian tradition, Doreen jumped
on the bandwagon and asked permission to include my claims in her next book. She gives her version of this request
on P199 of 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft.'
The critics who were haranguing the beleaguered Wiccans soon vent their spleen on 'Lugh.' The apparent
endorsement of Gardner's claims in the early Lugh articles confused many commentators. Leo Martello decided that
Doreen Valiente was 'Lugh.' Even Aidan Kelly, the unsung Craft historian, believes that 'Lugh' was "purposely
creating a phoney history in order to throw researchers off the trail." (P1 74 'Crafting the Art of Magic')
The initial euphoria soon subsided as the Gardnerian hierarchy realised that my Elders were not intent on vindicating
Wiccan practices. It was never the intention of my informants to substantiate Gardner's claims. Despite their terse and
confrontational style, they were trying to be fair and even-handed with the knowledge they wanted to impart.
Gardner had trained with covens with traditional overtones! However, he did create his own version of witchcraft and
tried to pass it off as the witch cult eulogised by Margaret Murray. We are not supposed to question how the God of the
mediaeval Craft became the Goddess of Gardner's neo-pagan religion.
Crowley's influence on Gardner should not be minimised. In 1914 Aleister Crowley wrote to Frater Achad
suggesting the formation of a new 'natural religion' dedicated to sun worship and the Great Mother Goddess. He
envisaged rites at the full and new moon, seasonal festivals to celebrate the sun and moon, and monthly meetings to
honour a lunar phase. Does this sound familiar? It is hardly surprising that Gardner should choose to implement
Crowley's dream. Both men had been exposed to salient features of the Pickingill Nine ritual nudity at the full moon,
scourging at induction rites for a nude neophyte, female leaders who conducted the circle, and an idealised Divine
Woman who was worshipped as the GODDESS. This may be the reason why Gardner joined Druidic Orders, He was
interested in solar observations, seasonal festivals, and the rites of Arianrhod and Cerridwen.
Doreen Valiente corresponded with Alan Greenfield in 1986, and raised an interesting point in one letter: "I have a
remarkable little book by Jack Parsons called Magick, Gnosticism and The Witchcraft. It is unfortunately undated,
but Parsons died in 1952. The section on witchcraft is particularly interesting because it looks forward to a revival of
witchcraft as the Old Religion I find this very thought provoking. Did Parsons write this around the time that Crowley
was getting together with Gardner and perhaps communicated with the California group to tell them about it?'
It is unfortunate that Doreen Valiente did not share these suspicions with her readers in 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft.'

13
(Phoenix 1989) She has always tried to distance Gardner from Crowley. Doreen expunged most of Crowley's
material from the Book of Shadows. 'Old Gerald' had padded his concocted rituals with Crowley's writings after he
was chartered to establish an O.T.O Chapter. He looked forward to a New Religion for the New Aeon.
Doreen Valiente categorically denied in 'An A.B.C of Witchcraft Past and Present' that Crowley had ever been a
witch. The publication of the Lugh articles may have prompted Doreen's memory; she recalled that Gardner had told
her that Crowley was a witch in his youth.
Doreen's attempt to disassociate Wicca from Crowley's influence is highlighted by a rebuttal of a 'Lugh' claim. The
problem here is one of semantics rather than fact. Doreen seized on a loosely-worded claim that Crowley "..dutifully
copied the present Book of shadows," My Elders were not alluding to the 'present version' which reflects Valiente's
creative genius. They were attempting to explain that when Crowley copied set rituals in his very own handwriting it
was the first ever 'Gardnerian' ritual book. In short, it was the prototype of the Wiccan Book of Shadows.
Folk witches and rural cunning people have never relied on written rituals. They had collections of psalms, snatches
of dog latin, 'barbarous words' from grimoires, and other ploys to impress the incredulous. Natural witchcraft is
spontaneous. Traditional witches believed that remembering set passages interfered with their concentrated will. If,
and when, a coven situation existed then meetings and inductions were conducted on an extempore basis. Both
Margaret Murray and Gerald Gardner did the Craft a great disservice by postulating an organised religion with a
supposed coven structure. The insistence by Gardner and Sanders on a three-tiered hierarchical grouping with its
emphasis on apostolic succession has enabled sex perverts and power junkies to exploit the gullible. The true spirit of
witchcraft exudes joy and spontaneity. Witches should do whatever they feel like doing, provided they can live
comfortably with themselves afterwards. Self-initiation was common in the Traditional Craft. It is arguably the best
option today. Witches are called inwardly by the Old Gods. You are a witch if you dedicate your life to your faith. If
other so-called witches have a problem with your lack of lineage, then it merely shows that their own initiation was a
sham. The Lord and the Lady confer all 'initiations'; and reliance on human intervention to award 'degrees' merely
boosts one's ego.
Doreen Valiente dismissed the claim that Crowley 'dutifully copied out the present Gardnerian Book of Shadows.'
However, the reasons given for her rejection caused reverberations which she could never have envisaged. Doreen
explained : "Crowley could not have copied out 'the present Gardnerian Book of Shadows' in 1946, because in its
present form it did not exist in 1946. As I have already made clear (I hope), contributed quite a lot to the present
Gardnerian 'Book of shadows'; and I had not even met Gerald in 1946.' (P202 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft' Phoenix,
1989)
Doreen's admission was a bombshell to those Wiccans who still clung to the outdated belief that the Gardnerian Book
of shadows had been received whole cloth from the New Forest coven. Some 'Hereditary' and 'Celtic' covens were
red-faced because Valiente's wording was incorporated into their supposedly traditional rituals. The Alexandrians
were upset because it was now impossible to believe that Alex Sanders had received his Book of Shadows from his
grandmother.
Despite Doreen's comments about the Pickingill material in 1989, the Gardnerian hierarchy and the Pagan
Federation used the Lugh material when it suited their purpose. Wiccan Publications did not ask my permission when
they published 'Old George Pickingill and the Roots of Modern Witchcraft' in 1982. They also published 'Medieval
Witchcraft and the Freemasons' without my knowledge or permission. Raymond Buckland is supposed to have
exploited the Lugh corpus by issuing his own booklet.
To add insult to injury, the following acknowledgment appears on page 111 of 'The Pickingill Papers'.' "The authors
would like to thank Leonora James, editor of The Wiccan from 1979 to 1990, Wiccan Publications and the Pagan
Federation for their cooperation in the publishing of this book." This was news to me. I had never previously heard of
Leonora James or Wiccan Publications, My permission was not sought to approve this acknowledgment.
Leonora James states in her introduction to 'Lugh' (1982) 'We do know from a totally independent source that many of
the features attributed in these articles to the medieval Craft in Scandinavia are true of present-day Norwegian
witchcraft." (Cited (4) P110 'The Pickingill Papers')
Leonora James also researched the Pickingill family in the halcyon days when 'The Wiccan' and the Pagan Federation
needed the Lugh material to shield Gardner and Wicca from mounting criticism. She established that George
Pickingill was born at Hockley, the first child of Charles Pickingill and Susannah Cudner. He was baptized on the
26th May 1816. A man named George Pettingale was buried at Canewdon on the 14th April 1909. His age was
recorded as 103. James suggests there could be some confusion here between 'Old George' and his elder son who was
his namesake. Her research established that Pickingill, Pickingale, Pettingale and Pittengale were variants of the

14
surname. She speculated that the daughter of the famous Essex wizard Cunning Murrell, Ann Pett, may have married
into the Pickingills. ('Lugh', 1982)'
Mike Howard thinks that the George Pettingale buried in 1909 is the Essex wizard George Pickingill. He attributes
the discrepancy to the sloppiness of rural records. ((3) P14/15 'The Pickingill Papers') I have reservations about this
identification. Charles Lefebure claimed that 'Old George' died in 1906. My kinsmen have never searched the parish
records. They were convinced that the Church would never bury George Pickingill in hallowed ground. The local
clergy vilified him and had attempted to remove him from the district.
The strong possibility exists that George Pickingill, the famous Rom horse whisperer, is the 'George Pettingale' who
was buried on the 14th April 1909. This George Pickingill was born on the 23rd December 1803 in either Suffolk or
Norfolk. He would have been 105 in April 1909. This George Pickingill had retired to the Hundred of Dengie, which
adjoins the Hundred of Rochford in which Canewdon is situated. Pickingill sons were named for English kings;
George, William and Charles were the most common forenames. There is nothing improbable in having three George
Pickingills living just a few miles apart. The churchwardens and the parishioners of St. Nicholas' church in
Canewdon would never have permitted their vicar to bury the George Pickingill in their churchyard. This was the
satanist who allegedly conducted sex orgies in their churchyard. It seems more plausible to suggest that the son, or the
innocuous Rom horse-whisperer, is the George Pettingale buried at Canewdon. The recorded age of 103 suggests it
could have been the ancient horse-whisperer rather than George Jnr. 'Pettingale' may have been substituted for
Pickingill as a sop to the sensitivities of the parishioners and the other villagers.
It seems eminently feasible that 'Old George' Pickingill lies in an unmarked and unhallowed grave. However, his
input into the pagan revival is his epitaph. I have less of a problem with the claim that "Pickingill collaborated with
pseudo-Rosicrucians to compile the G.D rituals", than with the story about the forged Rogan manuscripts.
It is a great pity that my Brethren were bent on effect rather than fact. The allegation that 'Old George' had a specific
input into the Golden Dawn rituals becomes less outrageous when their viewpoint is clarified.
Hargrave Jennings was not a founding member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia However, he was soon asked
to join this assembly of Master Masons who were interested in magic, the Cabbala, and the Classical Mysteries.
Jennings inveigled Pickingill into drafting some instruction exercises in the Tree of Life, the Cabbala, geomancy,
astrology and the tarot. These exercises were incorporated into training manuals which were intended for use.
Unfortunately, the S.R.I.A members were Master Masons who enjoyed reading about and discussing the esoteric
sciences, They were not prepared to undertake practical work. Three of the four founder-members of the Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn had held high office in the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. The training manuals from the
archives of the S.R.I.A were appropriated by the Golden Dawn, S.L MacGregor Mathers utilised much of the
material in these manuals when he drafted most of the Golden Dawn rituals. The principal magical technique he
borrowed from Pickingill was to have the magician reverse into the Tree of Life to expediate access to the Astral
Plane. George Pickingill acquired this technique from his mentor Shewell, and also from the cunning Lodges. This
link between the S.R.I.A and its Golden Dawn offshoot is the reason behind the incomprehensible claim : "It is no
exaggeration to claim that Pickingill's machinations materially influenced the founding of the S.R.A (in 1865) and
the GD in 1888." (P39 'The Pickingill Papers')
The allegation "that Pickingill's machinations materially influenced the founding of the S.R.A (in 1865) "caused me
disquiet. Francis King stated that the S.R.I.A was founded in 1865. It is generally accepted that Jean Rogan did not die
until 1866. This caused an insurmountable credibility problem. Hargrave Jennings and George Pickingill could not
have colluded to amend papers from the estate of the deceased Rogan in 1865. (See P39/40 'The Pickingill Papers)
However, there may yet be the usual element of truth in the more sensational claims of my Brethren. Recent research
suggests that the inaugural meeting of the S.R.I.A was 1867.
Informed opinion maintains that the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia was founded by Robert Wentworth Little in
1865. He supposedly discovered some ancient manuscripts in Freemasons' Hall. This was a most fortuitous
discovery. Some Master Masons with esoteric interests were anxious to form a Rosicrucian Lodge. Little's
manuscripts bore a resemblance to a German Rosicrucian Order, The coterie of English Master Masons became the
nucleus of the S.R.I.A after Kenneth McKenzie claimed he had been given permission by some hereditary
Rosicrucians in Germany to form a Lodge in England. (It appears that there are hereditary Rosicrucians as well as
hereditary witches.)
R.W Little now had 'German' Rosicrucian manuscripts and the supposed permission of German Rosicrucians to
found an English Rosicrucian Society. The obvious parallel with the subsequent foundation of the Hermetic Order of
the Golden Dawn may not be coincidental. My cynical Brethren were convinced that both the S.R.I.A and the Golden

15
Dawn used forged documents to achieve a spurious lineage. The reliance on forged charters or manuscripts to
authenticate magical orders was arguably more prevalent than is realised.
It is known that Little was initiated into a Scottish 'Rosicrucian' Lodge to provide a credible background for the
S.R.I.A. Jennings arranged for a continental friend to purchase some supposedly authentic Rosicrucian manuscripts
from the estate of the recently deceased Jean Rogan. Little, and other Master Masons with occult pretensions, sighted
the bill of sale for the manuscripts from Rogan's estate. These documents were declared genuine. Jennings and
Pickingill substituted several manuscripts which they had fabricated. Rogan was widely credited with owning a
cache of authentic Rosicrucian manuscripts. He pioneered the extraordinary theory that Freemasonry had been
invented by English Rosicrucians in the 17th century.
Nowhere in the Lugh corpus were the Rogan manuscripts identified with the 'Rosicrucian' documents so
providentially unearthed by R.W Little in Freemasons' Hall. The English-based S.R.I.A rejected the authority of the
Scottish parent Lodge. This may have had something to do with the supposed Rogan manuscripts and the alleged
dispensation from German Rosicrucians. Everything depends on whether the inaugural meeting of the S.R.I.A
actually occurred in 1867 or 1865. George Pickingill influenced both the S.R.I.A and the golden Dawn with his
'training manuals.' Jennings would influence P.B Randolph and thus the O.T.O. Both Aleister Crowley and Gerald
Gardner would benefit from Pickingill's Craft expertise by joining sister covens of the Nine Covens.
It may be unfair to lambaste Gerald Gardner for the wholesale plundering of Masonic, Rosicrucian and Golden Dawn
rituals. Craft commentators have ignored the obvious parallels between Wicca and The Great Brotherhood of God
(G.B.G). Francis King claims that the G.B.G "was an independent magical order, led by Russell and teaching an odd
variation of the systems used in the Golden Dawn and Crowley's O.T.O." (P160 'Modern Ritual Magic', Prism, 1989)
The G.B.G was founded by one of Crowley's disciples. It comprised three degrees and enjoined sex magic as the
surest means of attaining to the knowledge of one's Holy Guardian Angel. Gardner appears to have borrowed the
Wiccan god/ess arm positions directly from the G.B.G rituals. Sexual activity was mandatory at third degree level.
Gardner may have been familiar with the rituals of P.B Randolph's Rosicrucian Brotherhood. Crowley would have
been aware of this magical order. The O.T.O drew much of its sex magic from this source. Randolph's magical
Brotherhood comprised three degrees and combined sex magic with Rosicrucian and Masonic rites, It was said to be
loosely based on the Eleusinian Mysteries.
'Old Gerald' Gardner was inordinately interested in the Graeco-Roman Mystery Schools. An entire chapter in
'Witchcraft Today' is devoted to the Greek Mysteries and their alleged influence on witchcraft. Gardner's visit to the
Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii is highlighted.
Doreen Valiente tries to link Wiccan practices with the Classical Mysteries (P129 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft') The
caption on the top illustration reads "Drawing down the Moon. A sketch made by Gerald Gardner from a Greek vase,
c 200 BC." Two nude women with drawn weapons are supposedly drawing down the moon. It is a pity that Gardner
did not supply the provenance and present whereabouts of this vase. Gardner may have understood the classical
concept of drawing down the moon, but he was too much of a Victorian gentleman to spell it out. All ancient races
feared the lunar cycles in the female body : fertility and sterility. J.W Brodie-Innes, a prominent member of the
Golden Dawn, contributed witchcraft articles in 'The Occult Review' in 1917. He claims :
"The spells in vogue in Scotland or in England three hundred years ago, and of which we find perhaps only a few
obscure traces existing today, may be much more clear and definite in Brittany or the Channel Islands. Others again
still farther afield. When I was writing The Devil's Mistress I found in the Confession of Isabel Goudie distinct traces,
but no more, of the 'moon paste.' But what it was, and how prepared, no testimony in this country gave the smallest
clue. Hints in Hesiod, and other classical authors, showed that the formula was used in Thessaly, and Medieval
Italians spoke of bringing the moon down from Heaven. Still they eluded me, till at last Iran it to earth in Morocco, as
recorded in the notes of Emile Mauchamp and others, The key fitted exactly; not only Isobel Goudie but the
Thessalian witches were justified by the experience of a modern scientific traveller." (P148 R.A Gilbert 'The Sorcerer
and His Apprentice', Aquarian Press, 1983)
J.W Brodie-Innes (1848-1923) formulated theories which would be seized on by Margaret Murray and Gerald
Gardner. He writes: "I shall therefore for the most part confine myself to cases [of witchcraft] that I can personally
vouch for, and of these the most interesting to the student are those which show the survival of forms current in the
Middle Ages, or in remote classical times." (P143) Gardner did not have far to look when he decided to found a pagan
religion which claimed an historical continuity with both the Classical Mysteries and the mediaeval witch cult.
Gardner derived the Wiccan concept of Drawing down the Moon from traditional Craft: the Magister, who is the
consort of the Goddess, calls down the Moon on the Lady; and the Lady, who is the Bride of the God, calls down the

16
sun on the Magister.
Gardner appears to be all at sea when citing the murals from the villa of Mysteries at Pompeii. He wanted the public to
believe that this was the source of scourging in the modern Craft. Doreen Valiente obligingly depicts several of these
scenes on page 129 of 'The Rebirth of Witchcraft.' The caption reads "Scenes of the initiation ordeal and its joyous
conclusion from the Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii. From a guidebook, formerly the property of Gerald Gardner
and now in the collection of the author." Two garbed females watch a winged goddess, who is stripped to the waist,
scourge a partially clad female whose back and buttocks are exposed. There is not a male in sight! The neophyte is
neither bound nor blindfolded! The next scene shows the neophyte apparently dancing joyously. She is completely
nude except for a veil-like garment nonchalantly draped over one shoulder. The woman who appears to be divesting
her of this last garment looks suspiciously like the woman who held her during the scourging.
Gerald Gardner set out to create a mystery school and needed classical precedents to bolster his claims. Crowley
favoured this enterprise; his own interest in the Eleusinian Mysteries is well documented. Critics have correctly
claimed that Crowley denigrated witchcraft and witches. However, C.R Cammell has provided a plausible
explanation for Crowley's assisting Gardner with advice and relevant documents. Cammell says of his close friend
Aleister: "Eleusis was the natural goal of Crowley's aspiring. In Orpheus he had foreshadowed the new religion of
hope, love and beauty." (P72 'Aleister Crowley The Black Magician', N.E.L. 1969)
Wicca exudes freedom and joyous abandon. It is essentially a religion and a religious experience. This is why Wicca
bears so little resemblance to the traditional forms of Witchcraft. Witches seek to manipulate Nature to achieve a
material objective.
My Brethren were adamant that Gardner had a legitimate link with the vaunted New Forest coven. However, there is
endless controversy as to the exact nature and background of his parent coven. Frederic Lamond, a prominent
member of the Pagan Federation, claimed in 'Talking Stick': "Gardner himself told his biographer Jack Bracelin (J
Bracelin : Gerald Gardner, Witch) that he had been initiated into the secret inner witchcraft core of the Crotona
Fellowship, a Co-Mason lodge based in Christchurch, Hants..... his sponsor was a music teacher - Mrs Woodford-
Grimes - whom my initiatrix and later HPS Dayonis met. The Crotona Fellowship's existence in Christchurch in The
late 930's has been checked and confirmed by historians; whether an inner core tried to resurrect witchcraft rites is
more difficult to prove, but according to Cecil Williamson most magical lodges of The time were trying out
witchcraft techniques because of the popularity of Margaret Murray's theories."
Very little about The New Forest coven can be substantiated. The problem is that Gardner told different stories to
different initiates when pressed for factual information. He claimed to have been initiated in Old Dorothy's home.
When pestered for Old Dorothy's surname he claimed she was Dorothy Clutterbuck. Gardner told some initiates he
had been initiated by Dafo (Mrs Edith Woodford-Grimes), who was the Maiden of 'New Forest.' In Lamond's account
this lady sponsored Gardner into the Crotona Fellowship of the Rosy Cross. Dafo is The only tangible link between
Wicca and The New Forest coven. Doreen Valiente was initiated by Gerald Gardner in Dafo's Christchurch home. It
is a pity that we were not told whether other members of the New Forest coven attended Doreen's induction into
'Wica.' One could assume That only Dafo, Gardner and Doreen were present. This natural assumption raises distinct
problems. Did 'New Forest' disband after Old Dorothy's death in 1951? Did Dafo and Gardner leave the coven after a
dispute?
Dafo must have accepted nudity and scourging as Craft rituals when she attended Doreen's initiation. One assumes
that Dafo acted as Gardner's High Priestess at Doreen's induction, Indeed, Gardner assured some of his initiates that
Dafo had become the High Priestess of The New Forest coven. This begs The question: did Dafo's parent coven use
nudity and scourging as Gardner claimed?
It is ludicrous to imagine That there was a 'secret inner witchcraft core' in any Co-Masonic lodge. A distinction should
be made between the Crotona Fellowship of the Rosy Cross and any lodge established by Mabel Besant-Scott. The
Crotona Fellowship was founded by Alexander Sullivan, It combined Rosicrucian fantasies with Freemasonry. In
1938 Sullivan and Mrs Mabel Besant-Scott founded The Rosicrucian Theatre in Christchurch. They produced plays
which featured The druids and Pythagoras.
Gardner's story was That a group of Co-Masons had followed Mabel Besant-Scott to Hampshire in the 1930's, She
was a leader in the Co-Masonic movement, a member of the Esoteric Section, and the daughter of Annie Besant, the
Theosophical leader. We are asked to believe that middle-aged, middle-class Theosophists and Co-Masons danced
naked in the woods, performed the Great Rite, and resurrected the witch cult in accordance with Margaret Murray's
quaint theories. Most of the Co-Masons at The time were recruited from The Theosophical Society. The majority
were members of the Esoteric Section. They had pledged their lives to the service of Blavatsky's Eastern Masters.

17
Australian Theosophists and Co-Masons contributed funds to build an amphitheatre in Sydney so that the Elect could
watch The Lord Maitreya walk across the water as He entered Sydney Heads. Their English counterparts awaited the
New Millennium and The Advent of the Lord Maitreya. Do these delightfully ga-ga spiritual disciples appear to be
likely witch material?
It is more likely that the New Forest coven was recruited from the Christchurch Theatre and the Crotona Fellowship
of The Rosy Cross. Dafo and Gardner mat have been the only Co-Masons in the witch group. It requires a remarkable
flight of imagination to visualise Theosophists and Co-Masons scourging nude neophytes.
My Brethren assured me that the rites of 'New Forest' incorporated ritual nudity, bound scourging, excerpts and
practices derived from ceremonial magic, the dance-and-drop technique, thumb-pricking, the soaking and retention
of The measure, dedicating the neophyte to a French God by pledging everything between The crown and the soles to
HIS service, and some shamanic techniques. They confirmed that 'New Forest' was a curious mixing of local
'traditional' witches and a middle-class intelligentsia with magical pretensions.
The New Forest coven certainly emulated the practices outlined by Margaret Murray. There was The traditional
Black Book of the devil's art. The witch took a new name. Blood was drawn. The so-called witches 'mark' would
become 'signing' The witch with symbols peculiar to Wicca, Ointments were allegedly used. The method of
dedicating the witch was supposedly traditional. An oath was extracted. The presentation of the witch to The quarters
may have been inspired by The presentation of the candidate to the 'Devil.' (The Wiccan equivalent is clearly based
on Masonic and Golden Dawn rituals.) The mandatory sexual induction is reflected in the Great Rite. The three
admission rites mentioned by Murray have become The three degrees. The Wiccan meal perpetuates the concept of
the witches' banquet. The Kiss of Shame has become the Five Fold Kiss. Witches were frequently consecrated to the
Devil in a magic circle. The Devil's reading instructions to the assembled witches may be The basis for the Charge
and The Legend. Margaret Murray believed that scourging was a feature of The Witch Cult.
Internal evidence suggests that my Brethren were right to classify 'New Forest' as a God-oriented coven. Margaret
Murray was amenable to writing a foreword for Gardner's book because she, at least, recognised The traditional
hallmarks of The Witch Cult. Gardner had access to several covens with traditional pretensions and a Cunning
Lodge. The use of cords derives from the French Craft, via the Pickingill Nine. The Cathars, Templars and
Waldensians also wore cords/girdles. The use of ceremonial magic could be partly traditional. Gardner's Cunning
Lodge used quasi-Masonic rituals and symbolism, together with ceremonial magic.
Aidan Kelly could not believe that English traditional witches used Judaeo-Christian ceremonial magic. This merely
illustrates how ill-prepared he was to discuss English witchcraft. Kelly also dismisses 'The Warning' which features
in the Book of Shadows. He cannot believe that it is traditional. There is evidence, of a sort, in 'The Warlock's Book'
compiled by Peter Haining. This evidence seems too good to be true.
The preface of Haining's book reads:
"From The first page of a sixteenth-century Black Magic grimoire believed to have belonged to a Scottish warlock
and now lodged in the British Museum. "Keep a book in thine own hand of write. Let brothers and sisters copy what
they will but never let this book out of thy hands and never keep the writings of another, for if it be found in Their own
hand of write they will be taken and tortured, Each should guard his own writings and destroy them whenever danger
threaten. Learn as much as ye may by heart and when danger is past rewrite thy book. For This reason if any die,
destroy their book if they have not been able to do so, for if it be found, 'tis clear proof against Them. "Ye may not be a
warlock alone', so all their friends be in danger of the torture, so destroy everything unnecessary. If thy book be found
on thee, 'tis clear proof against thee, thou mayst be tortured."
There is another lengthy paragraph which discloses a remarkable verbal identity with Gardner's text. Gardner needed
this 'Warning' to explain the singular absence of a pre-existing copy of his Book of Shadows. Peter Haining would
have us believe that the Black Book he postulates "was painstakingly preserved through several generations by hand-
copying - and was compiled in such a way that, with a little basic instruction from another practitioner, even an
illiterate witch could devise from its symbols and codes the secrets of Black Magic." He suggests that this supposed
book "contained characters, circles, exorcisms, and conjurations." Grimoires were smuggled out of Church libraries
after the fall of Constantinople and the suppression of the monasteries. Many Spell Books were compiled from these
grimoires. Gerald Gardner had a selective grasp of history. Not only did he neglect to mention the shady ancestry of
his Book of Shadows, but he denied That the Danes and Saxons had any witches of their own.
Julia Philipps mentioned at The 1991 Wiccan Conference Gardner's own derivation of Wicca:
"As they (the Dane and Saxon invaders of England) had no witches of their own they had no special name for them;

18
however, they made one up from 'wig' an idol, and 'laer', learning, 'Wiglaer' which they shortened into 'Wicca. "

"It is a curious fact That when the witches became English speaking they adopted their Saxon name, 'Wica. "

Julia was quoting from 'The Meaning of Witchcraft.' It is no wonder that modern witches have such an imperfect
knowledge of Craft history. Gardner's extraordinary bias has led them up the garden path. Not only did he espouse
Margaret Murray's concept of a centralised Fertility Religion, but he totally ignored the important contributions
made by Saxon and Scandinavian witchcraft.
Julia's talk was a fair and well-balanced appraisal. However, there are some points I must address. Julia breached
accepted Craft ethics by revealing my name to the Conference when she knew it was not in the public domain. Mike
Howard, Doreen Valiente and John Score respected my anonymity. She Then claimed: "Mike Howard still has some
of Liddell's material which he has never published, and I have yet to meet anyone within the British Craft who gives
credence to Liddell's claims." The inference appears to be that Mike had refused to publish this material, Mike has
since published most of this material. Indeed, Mike Howard made an overture to me which resulted in the publication
of 'The Pickingill Papers.'
Julia Then cast doubts on the purported photograph of Old George Pickingill. She cited an article in Issue 31 of
Insight magazine which claimed that the subject of the photograph was actually a station porter named Alf Cavill,
Julia did concede: "A very respected Craft authority has told me that he believes the photo, which is in his possession,
to be of Pickingill, but like so much to do with Craft history, there is no definitive answer to this one."
Mike is the 'Very respected Craft authority' who holds Pickingill's photograph. He received it from 'Granny' Garner
when he visited Canewdon in 1977. Mrs Garner knew Old George Pickingill when she was a child. It seems feasible
that it is a likeness of 'Old George.' The provenance is right, and it is difficult to see why 'Granny' Garner would have
lied to Mike.
Julia then claimed: "The very idea of Pickingill, an illiterate farm labourer, coordinating and supervising nine covens
across The breadth of the UK is staggering." (P7) I challenge Julia to show me where it states in The Lugh text that
Pickingill coordinated and supervised the nine covens. This was Julia's own assumption!
Doubt was then cast on the claim That Alan Bennett and Aleister Crowley were Pickingill's pupils. Bennett was
supposedly The pupil. Crowley was reported as visiting Pickingill on several occasions. Col. Lawrence has
subsequently claimed that Lydia, his great-grandmother, met Crowley when she visited George Pickingill.
I wholeheartedly agree with Julia that none of the claims of my Brethren has been substantiated. However, I took
umbrage when she stated: "and when pushed, he retreats into the time honoured favourite of, 'I can't reveal that -
you're not an initiate,"' This glib remark is unworthy of Julia, and detracts from the overall tenor of her talk. At no time
have I written or spoken the remarks that Julia attributed to me. She is obviously recalling the inane responses one
hears from other English Wiccans. Mind you, This sort of nonsense is not unknown in Australia.
Two Australian Craft figures accepted the validity of many claims in the Lugh corpus. The late Simon Goodman
always spoke of Wicca as the Pickingill Craft. Tim Ryan (aka Robin Fletcher) falsely claimed to be a Pickingill
Magister. Neither Goodman nor Ryan was ever a Pickingill initiate.
An informant has sighted the BoS of Goodman's 'Sussex' tradition and states it is basically Alexandrian with Irish god
names. She confirms that Goodman read copies of my articles in The Wiccan and decided to claim a Pickingill
lineage. (Personal correspondence 5/3/1997)
The late Simon Goodman claimed that he was initiated into the Conventus Quercus coven, which was run in Perth by
Paul Morley. This coven claimed that it originated from a parent group in The Etchingham area of Sussex. Morley
had run a Mouni Sadhu group in New Zealand before settling in Perth. However, he had become an hereditary witch
when he touted for students in Perth.
Goodman was also associated with an Alexandrian coven run by David Paltrige (Jesse). This group broke up in 1972.
Goodman's partner in the Conventus Quercus was known variously as Faye Cubbon, Helen Cubbon, Helen Walker
and Helena Bartlett. Goodman and his partner, who had as many names as the Goddess, ran their own coven until
they separated in 1975. The Grand Council of Alexandrian Elders gave Simon Goodman a Charter to initiate others in
Australia. Goodman always admitted that he had not been actually initiated as an Alexandrian. However, he had
letters from Alex and Maxine which lent credibility to his claims. To his credit, Simon does not appear to have
claimed that he was initiated into the Pickingill Craft. However, Tim Ryan (aka Robin Fletcher) had no such qualms.

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Robin Fletcher claimed on page 9 of issue 3 of the Veneficia magazine, dated March 1989: "... we are currently
preparing a course entitled : Inner Mysteries of Pickingill Craft." Some of Fletcher's dupes have given me copies of
the supposed Pickingill rituals, The Pickingill covens have no written rituals! (None of the traditional covens use set
written rituals.) The supposed Inner Pickingill meditation techniques originated in Fletcher's fertile imagination.
Fletcher assured his dupes that his druidic mentor Bev was really a Celtic fairy who was 500 years old. That's nothing.
Bev and her entourage lived in Kew in Melbourne. Bev and Fabian assured startled pagans in Melbourne that the
principal gateway to The Underworld was located on the Kew Golf course. And to Think that Julia Philipps described
some of my claims as being from cloudcuckoo land.
'Rhiannon Ryall' was also taken in by Robin Fletcher, who had received a backdoor initiation from one of Simon
Goodman's initiates. Fletcher was as keen on the Sussex Craft as any of Goodman's disciples. Ryall was obviously
influenced by Fletcher when she wrote in 'Celtic Lore and Druidic Ritual,' that the Sussex Craft originated from a
merging 'in very far off days' between the Wessex Craft (created by the druids) and the Tuatha De Danaan tradition
from Ireland. This would certainly explain the Irish god names! She goes on to say: "There is the theory that Old
George Pickingill was Sussex Craft, but as he died before the First World War, there is no way of discovering whether
this is in fact correct," Oh yes There is! I will categorically state that Ryall's statement is unadulterated balderdash!
She concludes: "I have been told by those more learned than myself that The British Alexandrian tradition of
Witchcraft was set up so that the most promising, when they reached the so-called Third Degree, could then be taken
into First Degree Sussex Craft..." That explains why Goodman's BoS was Alexandrian! Let me state unequivocally
that neither Simon Goodman nor Robin Fletcher had any connection whatever with a Pickingill coven.

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