Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

CROWTHER, Patricia C. (1927- )

Patricia Crowther

Patricia Crowther at work at her personal home altar (circa 1970)

As a Witch and High Priestess of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, Patricia Crowther has since the 1960s been a predominant spokesperson for Witchcraft. She has authored several books as well as giving many media and lecture appearances. She was initiated into Wicca by Gerald B. Gardner, being considered his spiritual heir, has worked promoting the renaissance of Witchcraft in order "to benefit and enlighten humankind". She had formed flourishing covens throughout the United Kingdom.

Born as Patricia Dawson in Sheffield, her great grandmother of Brittany was a herbalist and a clairvoyant. Her grandmother Elizabeth (Tizzy) Machon (her maiden name) was a very small woman whose surname means "fairy."

The Dawson family lived next door to a palmist, Madame Melba, who predicted that Patricia would possess great clairvoyant powers. In her childhood, she experienced synchronistic association with fairies and Witchcraft: at a children's birthday party she was chosen to be the Fairy on the Moon, and she was whirled around seated on an illuminated crescent moon (The Goddess with crescent moon is often symbolic of the Goddess Diana); as a birthday present she received a gold snake bangle, a symbol of wisdom, life, and rebirth; she performed as Robin Hood in pantomime, and performed in a revue entitled The Legend of the Moon Goddess.

At 30, a hypnotist allegedly regressed Patricia to previous lives including one as a Witch, Polly, an old crone of about 66 in the year 1670. Polly revealed that she lived in a hut with a cat, frog, goat and hen, and worked spells for people, most of whom she loathed. She openly recited numerous spells, all of which rhymed, and gave instructions for using them. Patricia possessed no knowledge of the spells which experts claimed to be authentic. However, the alleged regression substantiated the belief that she had been a Witch in a past life and, according to Witch lore, she would become a Witch in this her present life. Since that regression experience Patricia has recalled in numerous clairvoyant visions, another past life in which she served as a priestess of the Goddess of great power. She feels more affinity with the spiritual priestess than with the spell-casting crone.

Her parents were able to train her in singing, dancing, and acting for stage. Patricia toured all over the United Kingdom. When playing at a theater at Birmingham in 1954, a fortune-teller predicted that she would meet her future husband, a man named Arnold, two years later over water. At the time the prediction seemed utterly fantastic, but it was borne out. It was in 1956, when flying to a summer engagement, which she had taken on the Isle of Wight, Patricia met Arnold Crowther, a stage magician and ventriloquist who was to perform in the same show as she. When Arnold discovered her interest in Witchcraft he offered to introduce her to Gerald B. Gardner, a personal friend. Thus, another prediction came true. Several years earlier, Gardner had told Crowther that he would meet a fair-haired who would initiate him into Wicca.

Following several meetings with Gardner, he initiated her into Wicca on June 6, 1960. The initiation occurred in Gardner's private Magic Room, the top floor of a barn, at his home in Castletown on the Isle of Man. Patricia in turn initiated Arnold. Gardner presented them with ritual tools and jewelry, including a coral necklace for Patricia.

During the rite, Patricia had a profound and powerful trance experience in which she envisioned herself as being reborn into the priesthood of the Moon Mysteries, initiated by a line of howling, naked women who passed her, gauntlet-style, through their spread legs. Gardner postulated that she had gone back to another previous life and relived an ancient initiation ceremony.

Their marriage occurred a few weeks later. On November 8, 1960, Patricia and Arnold were married in a private handfasting ceremony of which Gardner officiated. The ceremony took place in a circle, and all participants were skyclad (nude). The couple were married in a civil ceremony the next day, November 9. The press found out about it in advance, and it was highly publicized. The Crowthers made their home in Sheffield. They took their second-degree initiation on October 11, 1961, and Patricia became High Priestess on October 14.

The media eagerly sought after the Crowthers for interviews. When asked by a reporter if she would like to meet people interested in Wicca, Patricia answered yes. This inadvertently prompted the reporter's news headline, "Witch Seeks Recruits for Coven," which brought many inquiries. The Crowthers initiated the first member of their Coven in December, 1961, with others gradually following over time.

Simultaneously they continued their instruction in Wicca with Gardner. Also, an old woman named Jean, who lived in Inverness, saw Patricia on television taught her an allegedly 300-year-old secret, inner tradition. She told Patricia she considered her worthy to inherit this knowledge which she imparted through a two year correspondence course.

The Crowthers gave many interviews and speaking engagements always promoting knowledge of Wicca. Together they authored two books, The Witches Speak (1965, 1976) and The Secrets of Ancient Witchcraft (1974). For Radio Sheffield they produced the first radio series in Britain on Witchcraft, A Spell of Witchcraft, which debuted on January 7, 1971. Also, they cast spells and exorcised ghosts for people. They wrote seasonal rituals as well as new music and poetry for Wicca. As well as writing poetry, she has designed three of the tarot cards (The Sun, Karma, and The World) used for the Tarot of the Old Path (1990).

Patricia's books include: Witchcraft in Yorkshire; Witch Blood, her autobiography; The Witches Speak (1976); and Lid Off the Cauldron (1981, 1985). Her articles have appeared in numerous periodicals including Prediction, Gnostica, New Dimensions, and The Lamp of Thoth. She appears on as a guest on radio and television shows attempting to dispel misconceptions concerning Wicca and modern Witchcraft. She has endeavoured to bring back the Great Goddess consciousness on a racial level, in order to promote a greater harmony on spiritual levels of thought, and to further the equality and prominence of women in general. In 1978, she represented Wicca in the United Kingdom at an international conference in Barcelona.

Besides her Craft activities Patricia continues to perform professionally as a singer, magician and puppeteer.

see also: CROWTHER, Arnold (1909-1974)

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc