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Pagan Pioneers: Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others
Thomas Ady
Written and compiled by George Knowles
Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John, Four corners to my
bed
(from: ‘A Candle in the Dark’ by Thomas Ady 1656).
Few men of the early 15th - 16th century were brave enough to speak out against the Catholic Church and the atrocities inflicted on witches and other poor souls by the inquisition. One such person was Thomas Ady, an English physician, about whom very little is known except for the books he left behind as a legacy. While they did little to ease the situation during his time, they survived to inspire others and opened the way for credible thought and rational reason against the delusion.
Many writers sought to convince potential jurors of the fictional misinformation being spread about the actuality of witchcraft. As such Thomas Aby’s books were considered and used by some as an authority to counter claims of witchcraft, as in the case of the Rev. George Burroughs during his trial in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Sadly for the Rev. Burroughs, quoting from one of Ady’s most popular books did little to convince anyone on his jury, nor alter the course of his execution.
The book in question has for its full title: A Candle in the Dark, or a Treatise concerning the nature of witches and witchcraft: being advice to the judges, sheriffs, justice of the peace and grandjurymen what to do before they pass sentence on such as are arraigned for their lives as witches (Printed for R.I., to be sold at the Three Lions in Cornhill by the Exchange, 1656.) In it, Ady wrote against the delusion and attacked the misinformed beliefs about witchcraft head on, by using the same tools as the ‘witchmongers’ themselves, ‘the Bible’.
‘A Candle in the Dark’ was written in three parts. In the first part, he gives multiple meanings and descriptions of a witch, and disproves the contemporary application of the biblical injunction: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”. Deuteronomy xviii. 10-11 for example, gives nine classifications of a witch, including: astrologer, enchanter, pythonist (as with the Endor Witch), soothsayer, necromancer and juggler (Exodus xii. 15). According to these definitions, real witches were merely ‘popish routs and contrivers of charms’.
In the second part, Ady shows that contemporary beliefs in witchcraft are nowhere to be found in the Bible:
“Where is it written in all the Old and New Testaments that a witch is a murderer, or hath power to kill by witchcraft, or to afflict with any disease or infirmity? Where is it written that witches have imps sucking of their bodies? Where is it written that witches have biggs (nipples) for imps to suck on… that the devil setteth privy marks upon witches… that witches can hurt corn or cattle… or can fly in the air… Where do we read of a he-devil or she-devil, called incubus or succubus, that useth generation or copulation?
And in the third part, he attacks some of the so called ‘authoritative’ writers concerning witches, most particular that of ‘Demonology’ written by King James I, which Ady suggests was ghost-written for him by James, Bishop of Winton (Winchester). He also opposes Matthew Perkins’s ‘Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft (published posthumously in 1608)’ as “a collection of mingled notions taken from the writings of Bodin, Spina and other popish blood suckers who composed great volumes of lies and impossibilities”.
Throughout his book Ady remembers his mission function was to sway judges and juries, and like Reginald Scot before him, he exposes swimming, witches marks, malediction by witches, their reliance on charms and amulets, ventriloquism (speaking from the belly) and jugglers (who often use to delude people with a imitation mouse attached to a springy wire as a familiar).
The tenets of evangelical Protestantism were rooted in the Bible, and the Protestant belief in witchcraft although originally carried over from Roman Catholicism, was therefore easily vulnerable. Once the biblical sanction for witchcraft had been disproved and removed, they could not claim as did the Roman Catholic demonologists, the tradition of the Church. Ady therefore was very shrewd in basing his arguments, not on discrediting individual cases or trials of witches, but on the absence of scriptural authority.
Ady’s second book was published 5 years later in 1661 and was entitled: A Perfect Discovery of Witches, Shewing The Divine Cause of the Distractions of this Kingdome, and also of the Christian World. Justitia Thronum firmat. Prov. 19-14 The King that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall bee established. Very profitable to bee read by all sorts of people, especially judges of assizes, sheriffs, justices of the peace, and grandjurymen before they passe sentence on those that are condemned for Witchcraft (Published in London, Printed for R. I. to bee sold by H. Brome at the Gun in Ivy-Lane, 1661). In this book Ady courageously addressed the notorious Witch Hunts and Witchfinders of the era. He questioned the blame attached to witches by incompetent Physicians when they failed to heal a patient, and the general responsibility placed on witches for any unexplainable catastrophes such as storms, drought, illness and disease. The blame on witches, he argued, was to disguise the ignorance of the people in power.
His third and last book was published some 15 years later in 1676 and was entitled: The Doctrine of Devils, Proved to be the grand Apostacy of these later Times. An Essay tending to rectifie those Undue Notions and Apprehensions Men have about Daemons and Evil Spirits (Published in London, Printed for the Author and are to be sold at the Kings-Arms in the Poultry, 1676).
Original copies of Thomas Ady’s books are today very rare indeed, and are extent only in a few of the worlds top libraries. One such library where all three books can be found is the ‘Witchcraft Collection’ held at Cornell University Library in America, text copies of which have been made available online, and can be accessed at: http://historical.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/witch/docviewer?did=002
Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology - by Rossell Hope Robbins
Plus a number of websites:
http://www.rhymes.org.uk/a58-matthew-mark-luke-and-john.htm http://illusionata.com/mpt/view.php?id=192&type=articles http://historical.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/witch/docviewer?did=002
First published on the 04 March 2007, 18:22:06 © George Knowles
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Correspondence Tables:
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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 /
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history of the Malleus Maleficarum: includes: Pope
Innocent VIII /
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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
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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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