Christian and collaborated with ceremonial magicians,
Witches, Rosicrucians, and Freemasons in hopes of
spreading beliefs of “the Old Religion” that would
overthrow and replace the Church.
Called “Master of Witches,” Pickingill terrorized
the local farmers. He had Romany kin and was raised
as a Gypsy, learning many practices and rituals im-
ported from medieval Europe, including worship of
the Horned God. Over 60 years, Pickingill established
the “Nine Covens” in Essex, Hertfordshire, Hampshire,
Norfolk, and Sussex, choosing leaders with hereditary
Craft ancestry. Aleister Crowley was initiated into one
of these in 1899 or 1900. Although most covens in-
cluded both men and women, all rites were performed
by the women. One of his covens, the Seven Witches
of Canewdon, was all-female. Another was the New
Forest Coven, into which Gerald Gardner was initiated.Charles Godfrey Leland (1824-1903)
C.G. Leland was an American
folklorist who wrote several classic
texts on English Gypsies and Italian
Witches. As a child, Leland learned
Irish fairy tales from immigrant maids
and Voudon from black kitchen
servants. He spent summers with
American Indians, learning their
spiritual lore. Leland studied magick
with the curiosity of a scholar and practiced it with the
enthusiasm of an initiate. He was called Master by the
Witches and Gypsies. He translated The Divine
Pymander of Hermes Trismegistus.
In 1870 Leland moved to England, where he
studied Gypsy culture. He developed a trusting friend-
ship with the Gypsy King, who taught him Romany,
the language of the Gypsies. Accepted as one of their
own, Leland wrote two classic works on the Gypsies
and became the founder and first president of the
Gypsy Lore Society. In 1888, in Florence, Italy, Leland
met a “fortune-teller” he would only refer to as
“Maddelena.” Learning that she was a Witch, he
employed her in gathering material for his research of
Italian Witchcraft, or Stregheria. The result of this
collaboration was the publication in 1889 of Aradia:
The Gospel of Witches. It was the first book to record
specific Witchcraft spells, folklore, incantations, and
lore, and it formed a basis for much of the 20th century
revival of Witchcraft, particularly in America.S. L. MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918)
Mathers was one of the most
important occult figures of the late
19 th century. Born in London,
Samuel Liddle Mathers added
“MacGregor” to his name to honor
his descent from the Scots clan.
Mathers married a clairvoyant,
Moina Bergson. Moving to Paris,they founded an Ahathoor Temple and celebrated
“Egyptian Masses” in honor of the goddess Isis.
Together they translated an arcane manuscript on
Qabalah and Tarot, publishing it as Kabbalah
Unveiled. Mathers dedicated the book to his mentor,
Dr. Anna Kingsford, leader of the Hermetic Society.
Due to her influence, he became a vegetarian, non-
smoker, anti-vivisectionist and women’s rights activist.
Mathers claimed to have received his teachings
from a group of superhuman adepts, the “Hidden and
Secret Chiefs.” With a letter of authorization from
Fräulein Stein, an adept in one of the German Qabalistic
orders, Mathers co-founded the Hermetic Order of
the Golden Dawn in 1887. He wrote its rituals and
became its “Visible Head.” But an ego-battle and power
struggle with his apprentice, Aleister Crowley, resulted
in the break-up of the Order in 1900.
Able to read English, Hebrew, Latin, French, Celtic,
Coptic, and Greek, Mathers translated and edited
several important magickal texts. These included the
Key of Solomon and The Book of the Sacred Magic of
Abra-Melin the Mage, perhaps the most significant
of all the medieval grimoires. But his greatest contribution
lay in his establishment of a tradition of ceremonial
magick—the Golden Dawn—that has become the
wellspring for all Western occultism ever since.Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1947)
A.E. Waite was born in New
York but raised in London by his
impoverished unwed mother. He
dabbled with spiritism and Theoso-
phy but was most influenced by the
writings of Eliphas Levi, which in-
spired him to begin a lifelong career
in the scholarly examination and
popularization of occult and mystical philosophies.
Waite joined the Golden Dawn in 1891. He
continued his occult writings, translating alchemical
manuscripts and editing an occult journal. When the
Golden Dawn broke up in 1900, Waite became a Mason
and also started his own Orders: first the Rectified
Order of the Golden Dawn in 1904, then the Fellowship
of the Rosy Cross in 1915. Waite spent the rest of his
life researching and writing on various occult and
hermetic subjects, specializing in the history of
Freemasonry. He was instrumental in the development
of the famous Rider-Waite Tarot deck, and wrote
numerous books that are still popular today.Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)
Born the day Eliphas Levi
died, Aleister Crowley believed
himself to be the reincarnation of
Levi, Cagliostro, Edward Kelly, and
Pope Alexander VI. The most
controversial figure in magickal
history, he has been both idolizedCourse Seven: Lore 339
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