Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was an American Neo-Druid who published a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and magic. He was a public speaker, liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founder of the Neopagan organizations Ár nDraíocht Féin and the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League. Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, Bonewits had been heavily involved in occultism since the 1960s.
Wicca, also known as The Craft, is a modern neo-pagan syncretic religion. Scholars of religion categorize it as both a new religious movement and as part of occultist Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Wicca draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th-century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practices.
Alexandrian Wicca or Alexandrian Witchcraft is a tradition of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, founded by Alex Sanders who, with his wife Maxine Sanders, established the tradition in the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Alexandrian Wicca is similar in many ways to Gardnerian Wicca, and receives regular mention in books on Wicca as one of the religion's most widely recognized traditions.
Gerina Dunwich is a professional astrologer, occult historian, and New Age author best known for her books on Wicca and various occult subjects.
The Free Spirit Alliance (FSA) is a non-profit spiritual networking organization serving the Pagan and pantheist communities. Founded on May 21, 1986 and based in the Mid-Atlantic area of the United States, FSA's focus has been presenting regional and local events where people from diverse backgrounds can learn and share ideas. Its promotional literature and website state that the organization has striven to develop a national reputation for being willing to work with often sensitive and personal issues in a friendly and safe environment.
Rev. Paul Beyerl, born 1945 in Owen, Wisconsin, is known as an author and educator, and particularly as a Wiccan priest, in Wiccan and neopagan circles.
Gary Charles Erbe, known as Raven Grimassi, was an American author of over 20 books, including topics on Wicca, Stregheria, witchcraft and neo-paganism. He popularized Stregheria, the religious practice of witchcraft with roots in Italy. Grimassi presented this material in the form of neo-paganism through his books. He had been a practitioner of witchcraft for over 45 years and was the co-director of the Ash, Birch and Willow tradition. He died of pancreatic cancer on March 10, 2019.
Selena Fox is a Wiccan priestess, interfaith minister, environmentalist, pagan elder, author, and lecturer in the fields of pagan studies, ecopsychology, and comparative religion.
Gavin Frost was an American occult writer, doctor of physics and mathematics, and member of the American esoteric community.
Yvonne Frost is an American writer, lecturer, and practitioner from Los Angeles. Together with her late husband Gavin Frost, she founded the Church and School of Wicca in 1968. She has co-written many books with him, and appeared on the Phil Donahue Show, PM Magazine, and Tom Snyder's Tomorrow Show. Together, they lead workshops at many events in the Neo-Pagan community such as Stones Rising, Sirius Rising, Pagan Pride Day, and the Starwood Festival.
The Church and School of Wicca was founded by Gavin Frost and Yvonne Frost in 1968. It was the first federally recognized Church of the religion known as Wicca in the United States. It is well known for its correspondence courses on the Frosts' unique interpretation of Wicca. The Church and School are located in Beckley, West Virginia.
Kerr Cuhulain is the pen name of Canadian Wiccan and retired Detective Constable Charles Ennis. A former child abuse investigator, he is the author of several articles on child abuse investigation that appeared in Law & Order Magazine. A former Air Force officer, Cuhulain was a police officer for over 28 years, a police dispatcher for another 8 years, and a Wiccan for over forty. He's served on the SWAT team, Gang Crime Unit, and hostage negotiation team.
Rev. Robert Lee "Skip" Ellison is a Druid priest and liturgist and an author in the fields of Druidry, Magic and divination. He was initiated into a Celtic Traditional Wiccan coven in 1982. He has been a member of the Druidic organization Ár nDraíocht Féin since 1990, serving on its Mother Grove since 1992. He served as ADF's Archdruid, and is Chief of its Magician's Guild. He was the grove Organizer for Muin Mound Grove, ADF, and became its second Senior Druid, a position he held since 1992. He has been a frequent speaker at Neo-Pagan events including the Starwood Festival, Sirius Rising, and the Wellspring Gathering. He has created a magical training system based on the trees of the forest, and has authored four books on Druidry and divination. He is also a retired industrial electrician.
Circle Sanctuary is a non-profit organization and legally recognized neopagan church based in southwestern Wisconsin, US. It aims to encourage community celebrations, spiritual healing, research, networking and education.
Judy Harrow was an author, counselor, lecturer, and Wiccan priestess.
Patricia "Trish" Telesco is an American author, herbalist, poet, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, and folk magician who has written more than 60 books on a variety of subjects ranging from self-help and cookbooks to magic, folklore and global religion. Articles by Telesco have appeared in several mainstream publications such as Cosmo, Woman's World, and Cats' Magazine, and in such Neopagan publications such as Circle Network News and popular websites such as The Witches' Voice.
Deanna "D. J." Conway was a non-fiction author of books in the field of magic, Wicca, Druidism, shamanism, metaphysics and the occult, and the author of three fantasy novels. Born in Hood River, Oregon to a family of Irish, North Germanic, and Native North American descent, she studied the occult and Pagan religion for over thirty years. In 1998 she was voted Best Wiccan and New Age author by Silver Chalice, a Neo-Pagan magazine. She was an ordained minister in two New Age churches and holder of a Doctor of Divinity degree. Several of her stories were published in magazines, such as the science fantasy publication Encounters, and she was interviewed in magazines and appeared on such television shows as Journey with Brenda Roberts. She also designed Tarot decks, in collaboration with fellow author Sirona Knight and illustrator Lisa Hunt.
Neopagan witchcraft, sometimes referred to as The Craft, is an umbrella term for some neo-pagan traditions that include the attempted practice of magic. These traditions began in the mid-20th century and were influenced by the witch-cult hypothesis, a now-rejected theory that persecuted witches in Europe had actually been followers of a surviving pagan religion. Traditions classed as neopagan witchcraft include Wicca and the various movements that describe themselves as "Traditional Witchcraft".
The Panthean Temple, abbreviated as PTC as the Panthean Temple of Connecticut, is located in New Haven County, Connecticut and was the first Pagan and Wiccan church to incorporate in the state of Connecticut under its first name of the "Pagan Community Church," and is a non-profit 501(c)3 religious organization. It was founded by Rev. Alicia Lyon Folberth, in 1995.
A magical alphabet, or magickal alphabet, is a set of letters used primarily in ceremonial magic ('magick'), occult practices, and esoteric traditions. These alphabets serve various purposes, including encoding secret messages, conducting rituals, creating amulets or talismans, casting spells, and invoking spiritual entities. Several magical alphabets, including the Celestial Alphabet, Malachim, and Transitus Fluvii, are based on the Hebrew alphabet, which itself has a long history of use in mystical and magical contexts.
