TOP OF MY READING LIST AT THE MOMENT IS ANDREA J MILES' 'FAMOUS OCCULTISTS AND WITCHES'

 

Famous Occultists and Witches - Their Biographies and Birth Charts by Andrea J Miles Green magic publishing

This quiet, studious study is an unexpected discovery, consist­ing of well-researched biogra­phies of famous and notorious witches and occultists with ‘birth-charts’ thrown in. Of astrologers, ‘Cheiro’, Linda Goodman and the witch Sybil Leek are numbered. Among the Wiccans are Gerald Gardner, Stewart Farrar, Doreen Valiente, Scott Cunningham and Alex Sanders. Representing the occultists is Dion Fortune, with Margaret Murray, Eric Maple and Cecil Williamson (founder of the Museum of Witchcraft) as folklorists of occult and witch lore. Helen Duncan (the last person to be imprisoned in Britain’s under the Witchcraft Act of 1735) joins them too; but the star of this strange constellation has to be the relatively little known George Pickingill (d.1909), believed to have tutored Crowley and Gard­ner among others. Although he was a farm labourer, he was feared by rural folk far beyond the Essex village of Canewdon as a powerful ‘Cunning Man’ and an ancient wizard. 

The life and works of each character have a detailed coverage, sup­plemented with rare photos, lists of relevant publications and material, and an astrologi­cal assessment. A delightful read as well as a useful and handy reference for writers and historians of the paranormal.