Witches Past and Present.
While witchcraft has it’s roots in ancient time’s.
Wicca in its present form is a neo-pagan or contemporary spiritual religion.
Neo-paganism is a romantic anti-urban phenomenon invented during the 19th
century. It does not try to
reinvent the past, but draws its spirituality and its love of nature from the
same perceived ideals, rituals and festivals our ancient ancestors are thought
to have used. As such it represents
a genuine search for new ways of expressing contemporary spirituality.
As with any new movement or doctrine, its rise and success
depends on certain personalities. Those
people whose courage, vision and determination helped to create the bases and
foundations from which growth could begin.
In the modern era of Wicca, Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism there are many such persons whose
contributions have in many respects been
exceptional. It’s to those people
I dedicate these biographies in tribute.
In researching these
biographies, and in my efforts to ascertain the truth, I have come across many ambiguities in the facts and intentions of
various individuals. So much so that in some instances I have made
assumptions of my own, purely for readability reasons only
(i.e. to fill in the gaps so to speak). It is not my intention to glamorize or impoverish the achievements of
these individuals, merely to present their lives from the recorded facts and
information freely available about them, and from what minimal resources I
am able to tap into, i.e. the internet and the few books I have been able to
purchase.
These biographies are by no means intellectual or exhaustive in
content, but many of the individuals I have touch upon have in some way advanced the call and cause of
"Witchcraft". However, I am not a trained scholar or researcher and don't have the resources to take my findings further.
It is my hope therefore that my glimpse of these people will inspire future academic's and researchers with better resources than
mine to use them as a template for further research.
My time to write and research is obviously limited, as this is
not my full time job, so I would invite interested readers and writers to
contribute. If you spot any serious discrepancies please don't be shy to
criticize, I cannot hope to put things right without some feed back, and I
promise you will not upset me. Please e-mail me at the addresses below if you
feel you can help or add anything. Further, if there is someone you think I have
missed, and who deserves to be mentioned in this "Roll-Call of Honour",
please feel free to let me know.
Best
wishes and Blessed Be
