Samhain – Pagans Remembered
Since records began Samhain has been considered a night of occult power, when the veil between the unseen world and ours is at its thinnest, a night when the spirits of our departed are free to roam. As such, Samhain has always been considered the best time to honor our ancestors and other departed souls. In association with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and many other contacts in the Pagan community, we have been working together to construct a list of contemporary departed “Pagan Founders, Pioneers and Elders”, those who have died over the past 100 years. These are the people whose dedication and inspiration has helped shape the foundations of our beliefs to-date. Please all light a candle this Samhain and let us remember them:
Departed Pagan Pioneers, Founders and Elders
(listed in chronological order of death)
Old George Pickingill (5/26/1816-1909)
Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth Evans) (12/6/1890-1/8/1946)
Aleister Crowley (10/12/1875-12/1/1947)
Rosamund Sabine (probable matriarch of group into which Gardner was initiated – 2/5/1865-5/6/1948)
Old Dorothy Clutterbuck (1/19/1880–1/12/1951)
Pamela Colman-Smith (Pixie) (2/16/1878-9/18/1951)
Lydia Becket (Aradian Temple of Diana; Lawrence Museum of Magic & Witchcraft) (d. 1952)
Austin Osman Spare (12/30/1886-5/15/1956)
Franz Bardon (12/1/1909-7/10/1958)
Katherine Oldmeadow (best friend of Dorothy Clutterbuck and probably a member of the group who initiated Gardner – 6/10/1878-7/8/1963)
Gerald Brousseau Gardner (6/13/1884-2/12/1964)
Robert Cochrane/Roy Bowers (1734 Tradition) (1/26/1931-7/3/1966)
Ciarriadhe (Kerry Harvey) (Daughters of the Triple Goddess, Framingham, MA) (6/21/1899-6/21/1969)
Norman Lindsay (Australian Pagan artist) (2/22/1879-11/21/1969)
Gleb Evgenievich Botkin (Church of Aphrodite—1930s) (7/29/1900-12/1969)
Barbara Vickers (Gerald Gardner’s first initiate) (7/13/1922-1973)
Arnold Crowther (10/7/1909-5/1/1974)
Edith Woodford-Grimes (Dafo) (12/18/1887-10/28/1975)
Phillip Peter Ross Nichols (6/28/1902-4/30/1975)
Charles Cardell (Rex Nemorensis/The Fish) (1892-1977)
Ernie Mason (hereditary Witch in the group who initiated Gardner) (9/1/1885-2/26/1979)
Susie Mason (hereditary Witch in group who initiated Gardner, sister of Ernie Mason) (8/22/1882-3/30/1979)
Monica English (traditional Witch from East Anglia and member of Bricket Wood coven for awhile) (1/8/1920-9/30/1979)
Rosaleen Miriam Norton (Australia) (10/2/1917-12/5/1979)
John Score (8/1914-12/30/1979)
Jack Bracelin (member of Bricket Wood coven, ran Fiveacres naturist club, co-author of biography “Gerald Gardner Witch”) (6/2/1926-7/28/1981)
Sybil Leek (Diary of a Witch) (2/22/1917-10/26/1982)
Monique Campbell Wilson (Olwen) (1923-1982)
Gwydion Pendderwen (the Faerie Shaman) (5/21/1946-11/9/1982)
George “Pat” Patterson (Georgian Wicca, Bakersfield, CA) (d. 1984)
Francis Israel Regardie (11/17/1907-3/10/1985)
Grady Louis McMurtry (OTO, San Francisco) (10/18/1918-7/12/1985)
Lady Gwen Thomson (NECTW) (9/16/1928-5/22/1986)
“Grandmaster Eli” (Barney C. Taylor) (Druidic Craft of the Wise) (9/22/1917-11/15/1987)
Alex Sanders (Orrell Alexander Carter) (King of the Alexandrian Witches) (6/6/1926-4/30/1988)
Edmund Buczynski (Lord Hermes) (Minoan Brotherhood, NYC) (d. 1989)
Simon Goodman (9/16/1951-9/23/1991)
William G. Gray (1913-1992)
Herman Slater (Magickal Childe, NYC) (1935-7/9/1992)
Scott Cunningham (6/27/1956-3/28/1993)
Marija Gimbutas (1921-2/2/1994)
Margaret St Clair (Sign of the Labrys) (2/17/1911-11/22/1995)
W. Holman Keith (Neo-Dianic Faith) (6/11/1900-1996)
Lord Theodore Mills (d. 1996)
W. Holman Keith (Neo-Dianic Faith) (5/11/1900 – 1996)
Kerry Wendell Thornley (Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst) (Principia Discordia) (4/17/1938-11/28/1998)
Ayeisha (KAM, Baltimore-DC area) (d. 1998)
Annette Hinshaw (PEN, ESBAT, WPPA) (d. 2/22/1999)
Sandy Kopf (Covenant of the Goddess) (d. 7/11/1999)
Doreen Valiente (Ameth) (1/4/1922-9/1/1999)
Marion Zimmer Bradley (The Mists of Avalon) (6/3/1930-9/25/1999)
Grechon Leigh (founder of SageTree in Michigan) (d. 7/18/1999)
Cecil Hugh Williamson (9/18/1909-12/9/1999)
Stewart Farrar (Alexandrian Wicca, Ireland) (6/28/1916-2/7/2000)
Leo Louis Martello (Sicilian Strega, NYC) (9/26/1030-6/29/2000)
Gregory Hill (Malaclypse the Younger) (Principia Discordia) (5/21/1941-7/20/2000)
Judy Foster (Calypso Iris) (1932-2000)
Victor Henry Anderson (Feri) (5/21/1917-9/20/2001)
Eleanor Ray Bone (Artemis) (12/15/1911-9/21/2001)
Pauline Campanelli (1/251943-11/29/2001)
Jessie Wicker Bell “Lady Sheba” (7/18/1920-3/20/2002)
Charles Clark (4/26/1930-8/17/2002)
Kay Gardner (Pagan feminist musician) (d. 8/28/2002)
Virginia “Ginny” Heinlein* (April 22, 1916 – January 18, 2003)
Nelson White (The White Light) (10/29/1938-8/23/2003)
Ellen Cannon Reed (3/21/1943-10/7/2003)
Patalee Glass-Koetep (Lady Phoenix) (10/27/1943-11/11/2003)
Evan John Jones (1936-2003)
Donald D. Harrison (Church of Eternal Source) (5/31/1931-1/7/2004)
Donna Cole Schultz (Pagan Way, Chicago, IL) (d. 3/31/2004)
Lady Circe (Alliance of the Old Religion) (9/8/1921-5/29/2004)
Alison Harlow (Covenant of the Goddess) (8/29/1934-6/13/2004)
Joseph “Bearwalker” Wilson (brought 1734 Tradition to U.S.) (12/11/1942-8/4/2004)
Lady Circe ( Alliance of the Old Religion [AOTOR]) (9/8/1921-5/29/2004)
Robert Larson (co-founder and Arch-Druid of Berkeley Grove of RDNA) (9/31/1943-8/6/2004)
Andrew Chumbley (09/15/1967 – 09/15/2004)
Judy Carusone (Isian, HP of Lady of the Sacred Flame) (d. 9/21/2004)
Albert N. Webb (aka Ur) (West Coast Eclectic Elder) (1/8/1947-1/7/2005)
Elizabeth Pepper Ca Costa (The Witch’s Almanac) (12/7/1923-7/14/2005)
Lady Galadriel (Jodi Monogue) (Grove of the Unicorn, Atlanta, GA) (1956-2/8/2006)
Lee Ann Hussey “motogrrl” (musician, Annwfn) (7/31/1961-5/16/2006)
Robert Anton Wilson (Illuminatus!) (1/18/1932-1/11/2007)
Shekhinah Mountainwater (10/24/1939-8/11/2007)
Lady Phoenix (Mimi Rohwer) (HPs & Nat’l Director 1st Celtic Wiccan Church, Inc.) (6/21/1932-1/21/2008)
Cora Anderson (wife of Victor) (Feri) (1/26/1915-5/1/2008)
Frederick MacLaren Adams (Feraferia) (2/4/1928-8/9/2008)
Sequoia Greenfield (Dianic, Earth First!) (1944-10/10/2008)
Marion Weinstein (Positive Magic and Earth Magic) (5/19/1939-7/1/2009)
Ted Andrews (Animal Speak) (7/16/1952-10/24/2009)
Norman Nelson (Reformed Druids of North America) (d. 4/2009)
Shay Lee (SCPN, Santa Rosa, CA) (d. 10/16/2009)
Pam Kolozsy (Illinois. Co-Founder, PSG Crone Temple of Wisdom) (1948-1/31/2010)
Roy ‘Cuchulainn’ Moorman (11/18/1957-3/1/2010)
Susan Leigh Star (d. 3/24/2010)
Hummy Byron (1947-4/24/2010)
T.J. Collins (Ohio. LGBTQ activist; Co-Director, PSG Rainbow Center) 12/4/1978-4/26/2010)
Robin Goodfellow (Stephen Richard Edwards) (3/11/1945-5/1/2010)
Svetlana Butyrin (wife of Fred Adams) (Feraferia) (11/2/1934-5/6/2010)
Alexei Kondratiev (1949-5/28/2010)
Bruce Kirk Parsons (Wisconsin. Wiccan priest & teacher) (5/10/1947-6/15/2010)
Harold Moss (Church of Eternal Source) (1/30/1944-7/15/2010)
Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits (ADF) (10/1/1949-8/12/2010)
Lady Sintana (Candace Lehrman White) (House of Ravenwood, Atlanta, GA) (1937-9/17/2010)
Len Rosenberg (Black Lotus) (partner of Alexei Kondratiev) (1951-10/15/2010)
Richard Lance Christie (co-founder of ATL, Church of All Worlds, Earth First!) (4/7/1944-10/28/2010)
Jehanah Wedgwood (OBOD groves: Manannan Mac Lir, House of Danu) (1/28/1941-11/15/2010)
Trudy Herring (Mama Dragon) (co-founder of Summerland Grove, Memphis, TN) (??-12/18/2010)
Ardath Elizabeth “Beth” Saunders Stanford (Bone Blossom) (co-founder of Reclaiming Tradition Craft) (12/21/1948-2/10/2011)
Sharon Mitchell (Lady Bastet) (HPs Our Lady at the Shoreline, Gardnerian Witch Queen) (3/1/1947-1/12/2011)
Kenneth Grant (writer and occultist) (5/23/1924-1/15/2011)
Tammy Breckenridge (Tzaddia Morningstar) (Summerland Grove minster) (7/4/1971-1/20/2011)
Merlin Stone (When God was a Woman) (9/27/1931-2/23/2011)
Steve Collins (Lord Senthor) (Elder of Ravenwood Church, Atlanta, GA; headed Pagan band “Moonstruck”) (1956-3/14/2011)
DenaJoy Peacemaker (Texas CMA, CAW Fred Nest) (1/24/1967-3/9/2011)
Bronwen Forbes (co-founder, Free Spirit Alliance) (?/?/1963-4/10/2011)
Gary Ball (Between the Worlds, Mendocino Environmental Center, Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center) (12/14/1948-5/8/2011)
Lady Amythyst Avalon (Bobbie Osley) (Avalon Isle, Highlands of Tennessee Samhain Gathering) (2/2/1932-7/2/2011)
George Moyer (Dragonfest, Hole in the Stone) (8/23/1952-8/25/2011)
Tania Levy (Greenfield Ranch pioneer) (1/7/1946-9/1/2011)
Lord Merlin (Elder High Priest of the House of Ravenwood, and numerous covens) (7/12/1935-9/23/2011)
Carl Henry Dietz (CAW Live the Dream) (1/9/1937-10/2/2011)
Dates of birth and/or death needed:
Ciarriadhe (Kerry Harvey) of Daughters of the Triple Goddess
Bill & Helen Mohs of the Mohsians
Dr. Cornelius Lyle
Bonnie Sherlock (Delphic Coven, Lander, WY) (d. late ‘70s)
Others who have significantly influenced our modern Pagan world, and have
now left us:
Charles Godfrey Leland (8/15/1824-3/20/1903)
S.L. MacGregor-Mathers (1/8/1854-11/20/1918)
William Butler Yeats (6/13/1865-1/28/1939)
Sir James George Frazer (1/1/1854-5/7/1941)
Arthur Edward Waite (10/2/1857-5/19/1942)
Ernest Thompson Seton (8/14/1860-10/23/1946)
Montague Summers – 10th April 1880 – 10th August 1948
Eric Neumann (1/23/1905-11/5/1960)
Margaret Alice Murray (7/13/1863-11/13/1963)
Aldous Huxley (7/26/1894-11/22/1963)
Abraham Maslow (4/1/1908-6/8/1970)
Jim Morrison (12/8/1943-7/3/1971)
J.R.R. Tolkien (1/3/1892-9/2/1973)
Buckminster Fuller (7/12/1895-7/1/1983)
Theodore Sturgeon (2/26/1918-5/8/1985)
Robert Graves (7/24/1895-12/7/1985)
Joseph John Campbell (3/26/1904-10/30/1987)
Robert Anson Heinlein (7/7/1907-5/8/1988)
Manly Palmer Hall (Secret Teachings of All Ages) (3/18/1901-8/29/1990)
Gene Roddenberry (8/19/1921-10/24/1991)
Robert Shea (2/14/1933-3/10/1994)
Margaret St Clair (2/17/1911-11/22/1995)
Idries Shah (6/16/1924-11/23/1996)
Timothy Leary (10/22/1920-5/31/1996)
Idries Shah (6/16/1924-11/23/1996)
Carlos Castañeda (12/25/1925-4/27/1998)
Terrence McKenna (11/16/1946-4/3/2000)
Robert Anton Wilson (1/18/1932-1/11/2007)
Albert Hoffman (1/11/1906-4/29/2008)
Dr. Cornelius Railey Lyle II (aka “Bud” (6/24/1921-1/25/2009)
Jean Dubuis (Noted French alchemist, esotericist, and nuclear physicist.
Founder of “Les Philosopes de le Nature”) (1919-4/6/2010)
Let those remembered never be forgotten, for we shall not see their like again.
There are of course so many other names we may not have credited, those who have dedicated their lives and works to making our Pagan world what it is today. So please, if you know of someone missing, let me know, and I shall add it to our list for next year.
Best wishes and Blessed Be
stop by my store to find Books on these authors
Recent Comments