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Pagan Pioneers: Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others
Marion Weinstein
(The Halloween Witch of New York)
Written and compiled by George Knowles
Marion Weinstein was a Dianic Witch and High Priestess, an author, radio host and comedienne. She was born during a new moon on the 19th May 1939 in Queens, New York, and was the oldest of three daughters raised in a Jewish family. Her mothers name was Sylvia Linder Weinstein. From an early age Marion identified herself with Witchcraft, and had a lifelong affinity with the Goddess Diana. Her favourite time of the year was always Halloween (Samhain), which beyond the usual trick-a-treating, she felt was a time of magic and mystery.
Throughout her early schooling Marion excelled in writing, and at High School had an article called "The Witch's Cat" published in a national magazine, for which she received $50. After finishing High School, Marion took a holiday trip to Pompeii, an ancient city in Italy, and there while walking among the excavated ruins, she felt an instinctive connection with ancient Paganism and the Old Religions.
On her return home she enrolled at Barnard College, a women’s Liberal Arts College, connected with Columbia University in New York. While there, as part of her creative studies, she wrote and produced a musical comedy about witchcraft called The Girl from Salem. After graduating with a BA degree in English literature, she took several courses in film at Columbia University before moving to Los Angeles, and spent the following two years working as a commercial artist and animator. On returning to New York, she took further studies in acting, dance and voice, and then joined a theatre troupe, which began her career in the entertainment industry.
In the late 1960’s, Marion founded the Earth Magic Dianic tradition, an eclectic tradition whose members met regularly to celebrate the Sabbats. Marion always promoted positive magic in her workings, both in public ritual and within her own tradition, encouraging people to raise positive energy for world peace, and healing energy to regenerate the earth. Her stand on this led to her informal title as the “Ethics Witch”.
At Halloween in 1969, Marion began working in radio, combining her entertainment talents with spirituality in a regular show called Marion’s Cauldron. Broadcast live by WBAI radio in New York City, she conducted interviews with experts on religion and spirituality, taught ritual, Tarot, I Ching and numerous other occult techniques, and of course explained her own beliefs about Witchcraft. Such was the popularity of the show it ran continuously for fourteen years, ending as it began at Halloween in 1983. Later when computers became commonplace in our homes, she was one of the first Pagans to have a regular weekly internet radio show, and later produced internet videos for a series on You Tube.
Marion’s first book Positive Magic (1978) was an immediate success, and today continues to be a popular practical guide to Pagan spirituality, theory and practice. In it she documents her own system of working with 5 deities, these include: Diana, Selene and Hecate as the triple Goddess, balanced by Kernunnos and Pan, each representing one of the five points of pentagram, the common symbol of Witchcraft.
Towards the end of the 1970’s Marion began working as a professional stand-up comedienne and soon became a well-known figure in New York nightclubs, popular for using Witchcraft as part of her routines. There was a serious side to her nature however, for throughout her working life she was a keen activist for World peace, Religious freedom and Pagan rights. She presented lectures and workshops on practical magic, led public rituals, and regularly spoke out in the media in her efforts to counter negative disinformation about Witchcraft and Paganism. Later it became a tradition in New York City for her to host and produce an annual Samhain celebration on Halloween night.
(Photo by David Kaplan).
“Marion celebrating Halloween in 2007, an annual tradition held at Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too Restaurant in New York City.”
In 1979 Marion started her own production company called Earth Magic Productions, through which self published her second book Earth Magic: A Dianic Book of Shadows. Initially she only had the one book to start with, but then formed a partnership with Robin Bernardi and started mail ordering her first book Positive Magic. Thereafter they produced all of Marion’s later books, videos and audiotapes (see bibliography).
Throughout her working life and although most of it was spent in New York City, Marion also loved nature. She was a long time friend of Selena Fox and supporter of Circle Sanctuary, the Pagan Nature Preserve near Barneveld in Wisconsin. In her later years she lived, wrote and networked from her family home near Atlantic Beach on Long Island, New York, where she was active in animal rescues and cared for many cats and dogs. She also enjoyed gardening, swimming and taking walks along the beach waters.
Sadly after a long illness, Marion passed away on the 01st July 2009. On the 01st August, a private memorial service was held at her the family home in Long Island, New York, and on the following day, members of her coven and other close friends held another private memorial at a home in New York City’s upper West Side. Later on Saturday the 26th September, as part of the Pagan Pride Day celebrations at Battery Park in New York, a public memorial led by Mama Donna Hennes and Margot Adler was held in her honour. Finally, as a long time supporter of Circle Sanctuary, and according to her own wishes, a custom designed granite pentacle marker was placed in Circle Cemetery, now part of Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, and dedicated to her memory on the 31st October 2009.
Bibliography: Books:
1978
- Positive Magic (re-issued 1981, 1985, 1994, 2002) 1979
- Earth Magic: A Dianic Book
of Shadows (re-issued 1981, 1994, 2003) 1985
- Racewalking (with William
Finley - 1985) 1991
- The Ancient Modern Witch (revised 1993) 1991
- Magic for Peace: The Invisible Realities of War Peace (re-issued 2007) 2008
- Words Of Power, Transform Your Life - The Art of Manifestation 2000
- Marion Weinstein's Handy Guide to The I Ching 2000 - Marion Weinstein's Handy Guide to Tarot Card Videos:
Stand-Up Witch: Live at the Village Gate! Audio Tapes:
1997 - Personal Magic: The Role and the True Self (Audio Cassette) 2000 - How to Use Words of Power (Audio Cassette) 2000 - How to Use The I Ching (Audio Cassette) 2000 - How to Read Tarot Cards (Audio Cassette) 2000 - Divination: Beyond Tea Leaves (Audio Cassette) 2007
- How to Use The I Ching (Audio CD) 2007 - Divination: Beyond Tea Leaves (Audio CD)
Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Witches &Witchcraft - by Rosemary Ellen Guiley http://www.dreamseeker.org/vol01/issue02/authorinterview2.html http://www.circlesanctuary.org/memoriam/mweinstein.htm http://www.twpt.com/weinstein.htm
First published on the 03rd November 2010 © 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:
Pliny the Elder / Hesiod / Pythagoras
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
Abramelin the Mage / Agrippa / 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” / Max Ehrmann and the "Desiderata" / 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 / Paracelsus / 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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