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Pagan Pioneers: Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others
Christopher Penczak
Written and compiled by George Knowles"Christopher
Penczak is a modern day Witch, Author, Teacher and Healing Practitioner.
His practice draws upon the foundation of both modern and traditional
Witchcraft blended with the wisdom of mystical traditions from across the globe.
As a practitioner and teacher of Shamanism, Tarot, Reiki, Herbalism,
Astrology and the Qabalah, his goal is to build bridges of understanding and
practice between different esoteric systems, finding the threads of truth that
transcend individual times and places, weaving them together into new paradigms
for the next age."
Christopher
Penczak is a modern day Witch, Author, Teacher and Healing Practitioner.
His practice draws upon the foundation of both modern and traditional
Witchcraft blended with the wisdom of mystical traditions from across the globe.
As a practitioner and teacher of Shamanism, Tarot, Reiki, Herbalism,
Astrology and the Qabalah, his goal is to build bridges of understanding and
practice between different esoteric systems, finding the threads of truth that
transcend individual times and places, weaving them together into new paradigms
for the next age. He is an
award-winning author of over seventeen books, is a faculty member of the
“Northeast Institute of Whole Health” and an Ordained Minister of the
“Universal Brotherhood Movement, Inc. of Florida”. He
is a High Priest of the “Cabot Tradition of Witchcraft” and the founder of
the “Temple of Witchcraft” system and tradition.
As an international speaker, Penczak travels extensively and maintains
full time teaching and healing practices across the United States. Christopher
Penczak was an only child born to Ronald
and Rosalie Penczak in Lawrence, Massachusetts on the 10th May
1973, but they later moved and he was raised with an Italian/Polish family
living in Salem, New Hampshire,
just over the State-Line from where he was born.
During an interview he states of his parents:
“Overall my parents were
very cool. I was very close to my
parents as an only child. I was
extremely close with my mom and still am. Growing
up, I was less close with my Dad, particularly in our teen years, but we are
really close now. My mom was a
homemaker and my dad worked for Raytheon doing government contract work a lot.
He travelled quite a bit, so there were some times when it was just me
and mom for long stretches.” After twelve years of Catholic school and becoming an avowed agnostic, Penczak initially pursued an interest in Chemistry, this stemming from a childhood fascination with Alchemy and Herbalism. As a youth, he had an out of body experience; he passed out in a fourth grade science class, but observed the whole scene in spirit form from above the room. Then later in high school an apparition of his recently deceased great Aunt visited him. These two experiences made him question his dedication to science and pursue a study of the mysticism and the occult, as well as following his own natural artistic pursuits. In 1991 Penczak attended Lowell College at the University of Massachusetts as a vocal major, later earning a Bachelor of Music Performance/Music Business degree in the Class of 1995 and then set his sights on becoming a full time performer. While studying classical voice, he founded a band called “Doctor Soulshine” that fused mystical imagery and shamanic concepts to traditional heavy rock music. While in college a long time friend and teacher introduced Penczak to the principles of Witchcraft, Meditation, Tarot and Spell-work. At first he was sceptical, but a later experience with a healing spell at a full Moon ritual was enough to convince him that there was truth to these ideas and he sought to understand more. He took classes with Laurie Cabot, in her Cabot Tradition with an emphasis on ‘Witchcraft As A Science’
Laurie Cabot
He soon became fascinated with the science and philosophy of Cabot’s teachings for she based her Witchcraft in sound thinking and personal experience. A psychic healing experience left him with a sense of empowerment and spiritual connection. After his initial training, Penczak studied with an assortment of witches, shamans, yogis, psychic readers and healers in the New England area, developing his own eclectic path of personal Witchcraft. He later focused on the healing arts, and completed training as a Reiki Master (teacher) in the Usui-Tibetan and Shamballa traditions and certification as a flower essence consultant and herbalist. After graduating from college (In ????), Penczak began work at the A&R department of Fort Apache, a recording studio and record label in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He soon found himself leading meditations and ritual groups for friends seeking to know more about the Craft. During his time in the Boston area, Penczak experimented with the ideas he later wrote about in his book “City Magick: Urban Rituals, Spells and Shamanism” (2001 - Red Wheel/Weiser). The initial ritual group he created formed the nucleus of the first Temple of Witchcraft series. Although having no real interest in teaching formally, Penczak received a message during a meditation in 1998 to start teaching and writing. Thinking it was his imagination; Penczak ignored it, saying to himself “I'm too busy with my music career. If you want me to teach, give me the time.” The following week he was laid off from work and although the economy was booming with job opportunities, Penczak had no luck finding a position in the music industry, or a more traditional office job. In an effort to find some sort of work he posted a few flyers about meditation and witchcraft classes at a local shop, and the response was immediate, and he soon began teaching classes in his home. After the release of his first book “The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development” (2002) - he was soon being asked to present workshops at new-age stores, festivals and book-signings, and his career took off. Penczak’s practice focuses on introspection, encouraging others to find their own path and create their own traditions while having a solid foundation in the art, science and spirituality of Witchcraft. From 1997-2002 Penczak published “The Second Road Newsletter, A Journal of Alternative Spirituality”, a quarterly community forum for not only Witchcraft and Paganism in New England, but also for other traditions of spirituality and healing. He wrote many articles for local and national publications including: “Wisdom, Horns & Crescents” and the “Green Egg”. He has also contributed as a columnist to both the “New Witch and New Worlds” magazines. In 2000, Penczak became Ordained as a Minister by the “Universal Brotherhood Movement, Inc. of Florida”. Since then he has been a part-time faculty member at the “North Eastern Institute of Whole Health” and a founding member of the “Gifts of Grace Foundation”,’ a non-profit organization in New Hampshire made up of individuals from diverse spiritual backgrounds dedicated to joyful service to the local communities. He also serves on the “Council of the Between the Worlds Queer Pagan Brotherhood Festival” as director of publicity. In 2002, he graduated from a medicinal herbal-apprentice program and is the owner of “HelioLuna Flower Essences”. Penczak is a founding member of the “Coven of a New Dawn”, which has been operating in various incarnations since 1999; he is also a co-founder of the gay men’s group “The Circle of the Sacred Thyrsus” (2006-). In 2008 Laurie Cabot initiated him as a High Priest in the Cabot Tradition of Witchcraft, alongside Sully Erma of the rock band Godsmack. Today he continues to offer workshops for the Cabot Academy of Witchcraft. To date Penczak has penned seventeen books on spirituality, witchcraft, healing and magick and has won multiple awards, most notably from the ‘Coalition of Visionary Resources.’ He continues to write books and articles while holding down a full time teaching position and a healing practice in New Hampshire, where he lives in a polyamorous relationship with his partners, the roleplaying game designer and developer ‘Steve Kenson’ and Reiki master ‘Adam Sartwell.’
Steve
Kenson and Adam Sartwell
Penczak is a prolific author, and his books have received numerous awards. In 2002, his book City Magick won Best Magic Book from the Coalition of Visionary Retailers. In 2003, he won the same award for The InnerTemple of Witchcraft. In 2004, he received multiple awards from the Coalition of Visionary Retailers, including a tie for Best Book of the Year for The Outer Temple of Witchcraft. A
Select Bibliography:
Llewellyn titles
2002 - The
Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development 2004 - The
Witch's Shield: Protection Magick and Psychic Self-Defense 2004 - The
Outer Temple of Witchcraft: Circles, Spells and Rituals 2004 - Magick
of Reiki: Focused Energy for Healing, Ritual, & Spiritual Development 2005 - Temple
of Shamanic Witchcraft 2006 - Magia
blanca al instante: Descubre el poder de tu intención y tu palabra 2006 - Instant
Magick: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Spellcraft 2006 - Sons of
the Goddess: A Young Man's Guide to Wicca 2006 - The
Mystic Foundation: Understanding and Exploring the Magical Universe 2007 - Ascension
Magick: Ritual, Myth & Healing for the New Aeon 2007 - The
Temple of High Witchcraft: Ceremonies, Spheres and The Witches' Qabalah 2008 - The
Living Temple of Witchcraft Volume One: The Descent of the Goddess 2009 - The
Living Temple of Witchcraft Volume Two: The Journey of the God 2009 (forthcoming)
- The Witch's Coin: Prosperity and Money Magick Red
Wheel/Weiser titles
2001 - City
Magick 2002 - Spirit
Allies: Meet Your Team from the Other Side 2003 - Gay
Witchcraft: Empowering the Tribe Plus so many different media articles End.
Sources
The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft - by Rosemary Ellen Guiley
Plus numerous website resources collated over many years to mention.
First
published on the 10th May 2020 ©
George Knowles
Best wishes and Blessed Be
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Site Contents - Links to all Pages
A Universal Message:
Let there be peace in the world - Where have all the flowers gone?
About me: My Personal Page / My Place in England / My Family Tree (Ancestry)
Wicca & Witchcraft
Wicca/Witchcraft / What is Wicca / What is Magick
Traditional Writings:
The Wiccan Rede / Charge of the Goddess / Charge of the God / The Three-Fold Law (includes The Law of Power and The Four Powers of the Magus) / The Witches Chant / The Witches Creed / Descent of the Goddess / Drawing Down the Moon / The Great Rite Invocation / Invocation of the Horned God / The 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief / The Witches Rede of Chivalry / A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality
Correspondence Tables:
Incense / Candles / Colours / Magickal Days / Stones and Gems / Elements and Elementals
Traditions:
Traditions Part 1 - Alexandrian Wicca / Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) / Ár Ndraíocht Féin (ADF) / Blue Star Wicca / British Traditional (Druidic Witchcraft) / Celtic Wicca / Ceremonial Magic / Chaos Magic / Church and School of Wicca / Circle Sanctuary / Covenant of the Goddess (COG) / Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) / Cyber Wicca / Dianic Wicca / Eclectic Wicca / Feri Wicca /
Traditions Part 2 - Gardnerian Wicca / Georgian Tradition / Henge of Keltria / Hereditary Witchcraft / Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (H.O.G.D.) / Kitchen Witch (Hedge Witch) / Minoan Brotherhood and Minoan Sisterhood Tradition / Nordic Paganism / Pagan Federation / Pectic-Wita / Seax-Wica / Shamanism / Solitary / Strega / Sylvan Tradition / Vodoun or Voodoo / Witches League of Public Awareness (WLPA) /
Other things of interest:
Gods and Goddesses (Greek
Mythology) / Esbats &
Full Moons / Links
to Personal Friends & Resources / Wicca/Witchcraft
Resources / What's a spell? /
Circle Casting and
Sacred Space / Pentagram
- Pentacle / Marks
of a Witch / The Witches
Power / The Witches Hat
/ An
esoteric guide to visiting London / Satanism
/ Pow-wow
/ The
Unitarian Universalist Association / Numerology: Part 1
/ Part 2 / Part
3 / A
history of the Malleus Maleficarum: includes: Pope
Innocent VIII /
The
papal Bull /
The
Malleus Maleficarum /
An extract from the Malleus Maleficarum
/ The letter of approbation
/ Johann
Nider’s Formicarius /
Jacob
Sprenger /
Heinrich Kramer /
Stefano Infessura
/ Montague Summers /
The Waldenses
/ The Albigenses
/
The Hussites / The
Native American Sun Dance
/ Shielding (Occult
and Psychic Protection) /
Sabbats and Festivals:
The Sabbats in History and Mythology / Samhain (October 31st) / Yule (December 21st) / Imbolc (February 2nd) / Ostara (March 21st) / Beltane (April 30th) / Litha (June 21st) / Lammas/Lughnasadh (August 1st) / Mabon (September 21st)
Rituals contributed by Crone:
Samhain / Yule / Imbolc / Ostara / Beltane / Litha / Lammas / Mabon
Tools:
Tools of a Witch / The Besom (Broom) / Poppets and Dolls / Pendulums / Cauldron Magick / Mirror Gazing
Animals:
Animals in Witchcraft (The Witches Familiar and Totem Animals) / Antelope / Bats / Crow / Fox / Frog and Toads / Goat / Honeybee / Kangaroo / Lion / Owl / Phoenix / Rabbits and Hares / Raven / Robin Redbreast / Sheep / Spider / Squirrel / Swans / Unicorn / Wild Boar / Wolf / Serpent / Pig / Stag / Horse / Mouse / Cat / Rats / Unicorn
Trees:
In Worship of Trees - Myths, Lore and the Celtic Tree Calendar. For descriptions and correspondences of the thirteen sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft see the following: Birch / Rowan / Ash / Alder / Willow / Hawthorn / Oak / Holly / Hazel / Vine / Ivy / Reed / Elder
Sacred Sites:
Mystical Sacred Sites - Stonehenge / Glastonbury Tor / Malta - The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni / Avebury / Cerne Abbas - The Chalk Giant / Ireland - Newgrange /
Rocks and Stones:
Stones - History, Myths and Lore
Articles contributed by Patricia Jean Martin:
Apophyllite / Amber / Amethyst / Aquamarine / Aragonite / Aventurine / Black Tourmaline / Bloodstone / Calcite / Carnelian / Celestite / Citrine / Chrysanthemum Stone / Diamond / Emerald / Fluorite / Garnet / Hematite / Herkimer Diamond / Labradorite / Lapis Lazuli / Malachite / Moonstone / Obsidian / Opal / Pyrite / Quartz (Rock Crystal) / Rose Quartz / Ruby / Selenite / Seraphinite / Silver and Gold / Smoky Quartz / Sodalite / Sunstone / Thunderegg / Tree Agate / Zebra Marble
Wisdom and Inspiration:
Knowledge vs Wisdom by Ardriana Cahill / I Talk to the Trees / Awakening / The Witch in You / A Tale of the Woods / I have a Dream by Martin Luther King /
Articles and Stories about Witchcraft:
Murdered by Witchcraft / The Fairy Witch of Clonmel / A Battleship, U-boat, and a Witch / The Troll-Tear (A story for Children) / Goody Hawkins - The Wise Goodwife / The Story of Jack-O-Lantern / The Murder of the Hammersmith Ghost / Josephine Gray (The Infamous Black Widow) / The Two Brothers - Light and Dark
Old Masters of Academia: (Our Ancestors)
Pliny the Elder / Hesiod / Pythagoras / Paracelsus / Abramelin the Mage / Archimedes / Agrippa / Socrates / Aristotle
Biographies
A "Who's Who" of Witches, Pagans and other associated People (Ancient, Past and Present)
(Departed Pagan Pioneers, Founders, Elders and Others)
Pagan
Pioneers: Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others
Aidan A Kelly / Albertus Magnus - “Albert the Great” / Aleister Crowley - “The Great Beast” / Alex Sanders - “King of the Witches” / Alison Harlow / Allan Bennett - the Ven. Ananda Metteyya / Allan Kardec (Spiritism) / Alphonsus de Spina / Amber K / Ann Moura / Anna Franklin / Anodea Judith / Anton Szandor LaVey / Arnold Crowther / Arthur Edward Waite / Austin Osman Spare / Balthasar Bekker / Biddy Early / Barbara Vickers / Bridget Cleary - The Fairy Witch of Clonmel / Carl " Llewellyn" Weschcke / Cecil Hugh Williamson / Charles Godfrey Leland / Charles Walton / Christopher Penczak / Christina Oakley Harrington / Cornelius Loos / Damh the Bard - "Dave Smith" / Dion Fortune / Dolores Aschroft-Nowicki / Donald Michael Kraig / Doreen Valiente / Dorothy Morrison / Dr. John Dee & Edward Kelly / Dr. Leo Louis Martello / Edain McCoy / Edward Fitch / Eleanor Ray Bone - “Matriarch of British Witchcraft” / Eliphas Levi / Ernest Thompson Seton / Ernest Westlake / Fiona Horne / Frederick McLaren Adams - Feraferia / Friedrich von Spee / Francis Barrett / Gavin and Yvonne Frost and the School and Church of Wicca / Gerald B. Gardner - The father of contemporary Witchcraft / Gwydion Pendderwen / Hans Holzer / Helen Duncan / Herman Slater - Horrible Herman / Heinrich Kramer / Isaac Bonewits / Israel Regardie / Ivo Domínguez Jr. / Jack Whiteside Parsons - Rocket Science and Magick / James "Cunning" Murrell - The Master of Witches / Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone / Jean Bodin / Jessie Wicker Bell - “Lady Sheba” / Johann Weyer / Johannes Junius - "The Burgomaster of Bamberg" / Johann Georg Fuchs von Dornheim - the “Hexenbrenner” (witch burner) / John Belham-Payne / John George Hohman - "Pow-wow" / John Gerard / John Gordon Hargrave and the Kibbo Kith Kindred / John Michael Greer / John Score / Joseph “Bearwalker” Wilson / Joseph John Campbell / Karl von Eckartshausen / Lady Gwen Thompson - and "The Rede of the Wiccae" / Laurie Cabot - "the Official Witch of Salem" / Lewis Spence / Lodovico Maria Sinistrari / Ludwig Lavater / Madeline Montalban and the Order of the Morning Star / Margaret Alice Murray / Margot Adler / Michael Howard and the UK "Cauldron Magazine" / Margaret St. Clair - the “Sign of the Labrys” / Marie Laveau - " the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans" / Marion Weinstein / Martin Antoine Del Rio / Matthew Hopkins - “The Witch-Finder General” / Michael A. Aquino - and The Temple of Set / Monique Wilson / Montague Summers / Nicholas Culpeper / Nicholas Remy / M. R. Sellars / Mrs. Maud Grieve - "A Modern Herbal" / Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Morning Glory / Old Dorothy Clutterbuck / Old George Pickingill / Olivia Durdin-Robertson - co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis / Paddy Slade / Pamela Colman-Smith / Patricia Crowther / Patricia Monaghan / Patricia “Trish” Telesco / Paul Foster Case and the “Builders of the Adytum” mystery school / Peter Binsfeld / Philip Heselton / Raven Grimassi / Raymond Buckland / Reginald Scot / Richard Baxter / Robert Cochrane / Robert ‘von Ranke’ Graves and the "The White Goddess" / Rosaleen Norton - “The Witch of Kings Cross” / Rossell Hope Robbins / Ross Nichols and the " Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids" (OBOD) / Rudolf Steiner / Sabrina Underwood - "The Ink Witch" / Scott Cunningham / Selena Fox - founder of "Circle Sanctuary" / Silver Ravenwolf / Sir Francis Dashwood / Sir James George Frazer and the " The Golden Bough" / S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” / Starhawk / Stewart Farrar / Sybil Leek / Ted Andrews / The Mather Family - (includes: Richard Mather, Increase Mather and Cotton Mather ) / Thomas Ady / T. Thorn Coyle / Vera Chapman / Victor & Cora Anderson and the " Feri Tradition" / Vivianne Crowley / Walter Brown Gibson / Walter Ernest Butler / William Butler Yeats / Zsuzsanna Budapest /
Many of the above biographies are briefs and far from complete. If you know about any of these individuals and can help with additional information, please contact me privately at my email address below. Many thanks for reading :-)
"FAIR USE NOTICE"While I have taken due care and diligence to credit all sources where possible, this website may contain copyrighted material which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. My use of making such material available here is done so in my efforts to advance our understanding of religious discrimination, the environmental and social justice issues etc. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this website for purposes of your own then you must obtain permission from the relevant copyright owner yourself.Any queries please contact me at email - George@controverscial.com
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