-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/angelic/361/page4.html Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/angelic/361/page4.html";>The Story continues ....</A> ----- Steve Wilson obviously had problems with the "hard evidence" which was "arriving almost daily." In 1995 he itemized the material which would appear in Aisling No 9. Unfortunately, this edition was never published. The Aisling magazine, which is officially defunct, has been "relegated to the dustbins of pagan history." The person who allegedly linked the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry with the Chactonbury Ring coven has not been named. There is no proof that a Woodcraft faction in the New Forest performed nude rites to honour Dionysus, Pan and Artemis. There may be an element of truth in the Aisling argument, but certainly not in the sense in which it was presented. Dr Ron Hutton advised Mike Howard that he did not believe that there was any direct overlap between the Woodcraft Chivalry and Dorothy Clutterbuck's coven. (personal correspondence September 1994) However, Ron did claim that one faction of the Woodcraft Chivalry were also members of the Rosicrucian Theatre. This is a promising lead and could explain what may have happened. One of Dr Hutton's informants was a Dr Faithfull, who attended Woodcraft Chivalry ceremonies in the New Forest in the 1920's and 1930's. Dr Faithfull, who was a member of the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry from 1923 until 1947, had never heard of Dorothy Clutterbuck, Gerald Gardner or Wicca. A link between pre-war witchcraft revivalists and the "back to nature" movement was only to be expected. Several occultists toyed with the idea of reviving a pagan understanding of Nature. J. Chapman claims : "Kenneth Grant well remembers Dion's zest in discussing with Crowley the possibility of reviving the Pagan attitudes to cosmic and elemental forces." (Search for Dion Fortune P145) Grant's recollection of this meeting between Dion Fortune and Aleister Crowley lends credence to the belief that Gardner, Crowley et al set out to revive Paganism under the guise of Wicca. Steve Wilson and his associates have concluded that a Woodcraft group progressed from Paganism and ecology to full-blown witchcraft. This conclusion is unlikely, and is certainly not warranted from the available evidence. Wilson and his colleagues have completely ignored a more plausible explanation : the Woodcraft faction allegedly attending the Rosicrucian Theatre could have encountered members of the New Forest coven. Gerald Gardner always claimed that he met the witches who were to initiate him when he attended meetings of the Rosicrucian Crotona Fellowship. There is no valid reason to disbelieve this story. My own Brethren were adamant that Gardner had encountered a pre-existing coven with traditional pretensions. The Woodcraft faction which allegedly attended the Rosicrucian Theatre could have appropriated circle dancing, quarter invoking and the worship of Pan and Artemis from the witches in the Crotona Fellowship. This theory is all the more feasible because the Co-Masons and Rosicrucians in this Fellowship would have been au fait with Masonic and Golden Dawn rituals. My elders argued cogently that the New Forest rites were a hotch-potch of Traditional Craft practices, ceremonial magic, and a calculated attempt to incorporate concepts culled from Margaret Murray's books. Gardner would subsequently emulate this eclectic approach and augment the scanty rituals he received with material drawn from disparate sources. Gerald Gardner may have been the link between the New Forest coven and the hypothetical Woodcraft faction. He could have met some of the Woodcraft factions at the New Forest Naturist Club. His talk of structured, traditional rites to honour the old Pagan deities would have interested them. Gardner's insistence on nude worship would have appealed to them. Rumour has it that Gardner joined one of the principal Woodcraft groups. This is quite likely. "Old Gerald" was an inveterate joiner. He liked to attend esoteric meetings which interested his friends. However, Gardner's membership of a Woodcraft faction is not tangible proof that Wicca is the direct descendant of the Woodcraft movement. Wilson and his collaborators have made this leap of faith because they have a vested interest in demonstrating that Wicca has a pure and untainted pagan and ecological background. Several committee members of the Pagan Federation intend to hold Interfaith dialogues with the Christian Church. It is thus necessary to prove that the Revived Craft is nothing more sinister than a re-statement of classical pagan thought. To this end a nebulous pagan theology has been evolved at the direct expense of the authentic witchcraft roots of Wicca. Fred Lamond is a prominent and highly respected member of the Pagan Federation committee. He sent a copy of Aisling No 8 to The Hidden Path, the leading Gardnerian magazine in America. One assumes that Fred was trying to influence the editorial stance of this Craft magazine, which gave the Pickingill Papers a very favourable review. Fred Lamond's background would encourage empathy with the views of the Woodcraft factions. He states in a Talking Stick article : "Before I was initiated into Wicca, I was a member of the Progressive League, whose programme included nudism and free love side by side with progressive education, socialism, pacifism, European and World Federalism." In short, he enjoined many of the beliefs and practices of the Woodcraft groups. Geoff Wright stated in his article on Gerald Gardner in Talking Stick XXXIII (Autumn 1996) : "Modern historical research hast cast considerable doubt on Gardner's claim to have been initiated into an Old Craft (sic) coven." Both Mike Howard and Fred Lamond responded in the "Spell It Out" columns of Talki ng Stick. Mike correctly pointed out that there is no conclusive proof to discredit the New Forest coven. Fred, who knew Gerald Gardner personally and was initiated into Wicca in his presence 40 years ago, claimed : "Gerald Gardner never pretended, at least to his early initiates like myself, that he had been initiated into an Old Craft coven. That claim was made on his behalf a decade after his death by E.W. Liddell, who signed himself 'Lugh' in the highly suspect Pickingill Papers, first published in The Cauldron." Fred is certainly wrong on one point. The 'Lugh' articles were first published in The Wiccan, the Craft magazine founded by the late John Score. John had also established the Pagan Ferderation. Fred and other committee members of the Pagan Federation have conveniently forgotten that both The Wiccan and the Pagan Federation endorsed the Lugh material from 1974 until 1977. John wrote and thanked me for legitimizing the Gardnerian tradition. It suited both Score and the Pagan Federation to support the Pickingill material because nothing else vindicated Gardner's claim to have accessed Traditional sources. The title "Pickingill Papers" was coined by Mike Howard when he conceived the idea of publishing all the Lugh articles in a book format. It is difficult to see how Fred Lamond can sustain his argument that Gardner never claimed that he had been initiated into an Old Craft coven. Gerald Gardner says of his initiation experience : ".. And I knew that that which I had thought burnt out hundreds of years ago still survived." (J.L. Bracelin, Gerald Gardner : Witch, The Octagon Press 1960, P165) Fred appears to doubt Gardner's own testimony. He also claimed : "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, ..." Fred then explained the reason for his reservations : ".. 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." Irrespective of whether an authentic witch coven operated behind the scenes in the Crotona Fellowship, or whether these Rosicrucians invented their own witchcraft rituals, the Fellowship is the most likely model for the supposed witch rites of the Woodcraft factions. Steve Wilson and his supporters have not even considered this possibility. Wilson is a member of the Pagan Federation committee, and belongs to the Alexandrian/Gardnerian clique. Unfortunately, he is so dogmatic in his views that he has gone to inordinate lengths to denigrate the Pickingill material. Wilson was the consultant for Michael Jordan's book Witches : An Encyclopedia of Paganism and Magic. (Kyle Cathie 1996) He abused a position of trust to supply misleading information to Jordan. Jordan wrote "Liddell has continued to write for Pagan journals including The Cauldron, but in 1996 retracted many of his claims, which are now accepted as fraudulent." This is a palpable untruth! Jordan is culpable in that he failed to verify the facts with either Mike Howard or Capall Bann Publishing. Legal advice has convinced me that I cannot afford to sue Jordan in an English court. I don't have the financial resources. This is the only reason that Jordan has not appeared in court to explain his deliberate falsehoods. My publishers approached Kyle Cathie to ascertain the source of Jordan's extraordinary allegations. Caroline Taggart responded to Julia Day's overture. (Personal correspondence 22nd January 1997) : "Michael Jordan tells me that the information about Bill Liddell was given to him by a respected academic who is considered an authority on modern paganism; and endorsed by an official of the Pagan Federation who checked the manuscript for us. "However, if you tell me that this is incorrect, I will ensure that it is removed from subsequent editions." Michael Jordan appears to be pointing the finger at Professor Ronald Hutton and Steve Wilson, both of whom favour a Woodcraft genesis for Wicca. I am disinclined to believe that Professor Hutton was the primary source for this falsehood as Jordan suggests. Ron Hutton is always negative rather than condemnatory. He was always courteous and honourable when we corresponded. Indeed, his latest book treats both myself and the Lugh corpus in a very fair and even-handed manner. He largely confines himself to stressing that there is no corroborative evidence to support the claims advanced in the Pickingill material. I suggest that the only part Professor Hutton played in this sorry farce was to confirm that no tangible evidence supported the Lugh corpus! (No documentary evidence can be expected because the Old Craft has an oral tradition, and refuses to proselytize.) Steve Wilson is the obvious instigator of this calumny. Kyle Cathie Ltd, retained him as the consultant for Jordan's book. Michael Jordan would have accepted Wilson's calumnious advice with alacrity; we had previously disparaged each other in the pages of The Cauldron. Jordan was already prejudiced because he questioned my views in print. Wilson's motive for malice should be self evident. He has correctly concluded that the Lugh corpus is the principal stumbling block to the acceptance of his own pet theory : the Woodcraft genesis of Wicca. In a similar manner, Aidan Kelly felt constrained to denigrate the Lugh corpus when he was advocating his own speculative theory about the origin of modern witchcraft. Steve Wilson claimed at a Pagan Pub moot in Manchester that the Pickingill material was deliberately written to deceive. Both Gareth Medway and Steve Wilson fondly imagine that I fabricated the Lugh corpus. Indeed, Medway has accused me of inventing the entire Pickingill tradition. His article Gardner, Crowley and Lugh concludes : "... there is no corroboration for any of Lugh's stories, and plenty of examples of facts which refute them. But it is certainly a good selling point : readers who invent their own traditions invent also some elders whose word on any subject cannot be doubted." (P8 Aisling No 8) It will be difficult for Medway to substantiate his accusation about these infallible elders. He has completely ignored my preamble on page 19 of the Pickingill Papers : "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." My reference to the "attempted explanations" of these elders should preclude any suggestion that they are remotely omniscient. My Elders have already been proved wrong in their stated belief that there was a Book of Shadows allegedly in Crowley's handwriting in the Isle of Man museum. It is generally agreed that this mysterious book is none other than Gardner's handwritten Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical. There is no unanimity in the material supplied by my informants. One Elder dissents from his colleagues by claiming that "George spent his formative years in a Romany caravan." (Page 88 The Pickingill Papers) This dissenting Elder has confused the Essex-born George Pickingill with the Rom horse whisperer, who was his namesake. It was Essex-born George who entertained his social betters at the country house in Hertfordshire. (This may have been Knebworth. The Magic Club associated with Lord Lytton survived his death in 1873.) The balance of my Brethren are adamant that Essex-born George was not raised in a Rom caravan although he had Rom cousins. They also confirm that the Essex-born George Pickingill was the Master of the Canewdon witches. The anomalies in the text were ably seized upon in a book review published in "Pagans for Peace." The reviewer states : "Liddell's claims are provocative and difficult to refute. Because of secrecy and illiteracy there are few written sources, and much of the material is anecdotal. The essays were definitely based upon material from several sources, as he claims, because of inconsistencies and differences in 'voice' ..... The 'ring of truth' comes through much of this material - if it is not completely accurate it is at least believed to be accurate by the Elders writing it." In Chapter 25 of The Pickingill Papers I have attempted to clarify some of the queries raised by both Aidan Kelly and Doreen Valiente. I have also tried in various articles and personal correspondence to explain ambiguous or contentious statements in the Lugh material. These attempts at elucidation could explain Wilson’s peculiar behaviour. He does not understand the meaning of the term "a balanced assessment." If Wilson sincerely believes that I did fabricate the Lugh corpus, then any subsequent clarification or elucidation on my part could conceivably be construed as a retraction. This is singularly unfortunate, but it appears to fit Wilson's black or white mindset. My information is that Gerald Gardner did not join the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry until the early 1950's. If this opinion is correct, it tends to discredit the belief that the Woodcraft movement spawned Wicca. Dr Aidan Kelly claims in Crafting the Art of Magic : "Doreen Valiente does own the Book of Shadows that Gardner was using when he and Dafo initiated her in 1953. The older of them (which Stewart Farrar labelled Text A) is more or less the Book of Shadows as it stood in 1949." (P45) Aidan Kelly says of the novel High Magic's Aid : "It reveals that Gardner (and whoever else helped him write it) had already given much thought to what a medieval, magical, pagan religion might have been like, and how it might be now 'reconstructed’..... It also reveals how thoroughly familiar Gardner and his people were with Murray; dozens of elements from The Witch-Cult in Western Europe are incorporated in High Magic's Aid, and that is one of the major clues that allowed me to realize they had begun from her data. 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! This is quite antithetical to current Craft practice - but it is how the Gardnerian circles had been worked, and would continue to be worked, until about 1957." (P43 Crafting the Art of Magic) My Brethren would heartily endorse the cited comments. Kelly's principal error was to conclude that Gardner and his friends initiated themselves in September 1939. His original premise excluded the possibility that Gardner had encountered any genuine witches. Kelly's research also raises doubts about the Woodcraft genesis theory. He has concluded that Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical was "written between about 1945 (or earlier) and 1953 ..." (P186) Several of Gardner's extant letters claim that the basic format of the Gardnerian First and Second Degrees had been established prior to Crowley's death in 1947. A Woodcraft origin for Wicca becomes less likely if Gardner joined the Chivalry in the 1950's. It should also be borne in mind that Dr Faithfull, who was a member of the New Forest Woodcraft Chivalry from 1923 until 1947, had never heard of Gardner or Wicca! Steve Wilson's claim that the Chactonbury Ring coven was founded by a member of the Woodcraft Chivalry raises some awkward questions. This is the coven into which John Matthews claimed to have been initiated. I have always entertained doubts about this supposed "Hereditary" initiation. John Matthews claimed that as a teenager he spent his holidays on Sussex Downs near Chactonbury. He heard chanting coming from the Chactonbury Ring when he was out cycling one evening. John investigated and was dragged into the circle. These "Hereditary" witches assured the startled teenager that they were waiting for him. John was told that the coven was "very old." He was initiated by having to crawl through the legs of the High Priestess, whose breasts were decorated with Celtic spirals. The dates of their coven meetings were usually communicated by letter. John could identify only one other member of this coven. He subsequently assured his Gardnerian High Priestess that he could not remember the rituals of his parent coven. However, he did remember that they were spontaneous and unstructured. It is doubtful whether the Chactonbury coven was "Hereditary." Old Style covens always convene at midnight. Why was John aimlessly cycling in Sussex lanes after midnight? No Hereditary coven would meet or initiate a candidate in the manner described. John was right to claim that the rituals were spontaneous and unstructured. The Old Style Craft has no written rituals; everything is extempore. This was the problem confronting the New Forest coven when they set out to resurrect the Witch Cult. It is no wonder that Aidan Kelly disbelieved Gardner's claim of a Craft lieage when everything in the Book of Shadows can be traced to a published literacy source. There are clearly areas of concern when John Matthews claims that his parent coven was Hereditary and "very old," and Steve Wilson counterclaims that it was founded by a member of the Woodcraft Chivalry. This concern is heightened when Gardnerian sources recall that John Matthews showed several High Priestesses a sheaf of papers which he claimed were the rituals of the Chactonbury Ring coven. Gone was the pretence of basic and improvised rites. These rituals were couched in flowery language. Still, memory lapses are not uncommon in Wiccan circles. Caitlin Matthews denied categorically that she had ever been in the Craft. She was the guest of honour in the Brisbane home of Dr Lynne Hume. Several of my friends queried Caitlin about her Wiccan past. John and Kathy (Caitlin) Matthews are Gardnerian initiates. Their lineage derives from Rae Bone. Caitlin was also a member of Sanders' Bayswater coven. The Matthews' memory lapses are eclipsed by the temporal confusion which afflicted the Lady Sheba and Patricia Crowther. Jessie Bell, the renowned Lady Sheba, claimed to have met Gerald Gardner in the late 1960's. However, Gardner died in February 1964. There are problems with Patricia Crowther's published claim that she met Aleister Crowley. Her article was published in the Prediction magazine in 1970. Patricia stated that Arnold Crowther had taken her to meet Aleister Crowley. Unfortunately, she never met Arnold until 1956 when they worked together on the Isle of Wight. Crowley had died in 1947. This anomaly may have wider repercussions. Patricia's testimony is cited by Wiccans to prove that Gardner could not possibly have met Crowley prior to 1946. Still, the claims of other Wiccans are open to question. Perhaps Steve Wilson should disregard the link with the Chactonbury coven and concentrate on concrete evidence to substantiate the Woodcraft theory. One wonders whether John Matthews explained to him why the Chactonbury rituals were so dissimilar to Wicca. This is puzzling if both traditions originated within the Woodcraft movement. I wish to thank Julia and Jon Day for approaching Michael Jordan's publisher. I greatly appreciate their intervention on my behalf. Jon requested Kyle Cathie to publish a retraction of Jordan's claims in The Pagan Dawn. Unfortunately, this excellent newsletter is linked to the Pagan Federation, and several committee members of this organization favour the Woodcraft theory. Considerable space has been allotted to the claim that the Woodcraft movement spawned Wicca. This theory is steadily gaining adherents. Some Pagan leaders believe that such an untainted background would place "Paganism" on an equal footing with the mainstream religions. This is clearly a pipe dream, and is on a par with the other examples of fantasy and illusion woven into the Wiccan myth. The next segment will move on to the history of the many types of witchcraft in Britain. There has never been one centralized Witch Cult in Europe as postulated by Margaret Murray. ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
