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

NORTH, Dolores (died 1982)

A London-based Neo-Pagan, also known to Gerald Gardner as the 'Witch of St. Giles', although the pen name under which she wrote to occult periodicals was Madeline Montalban.

She developed a system of inner Ceremonial/Angelic Magick which she called 'Hermetics', and was reputed to give Psychic tips to financial speculators in exchange for a share of any profits.

She was allegedly retained as a Psychic adviser to the Mountbatten family during World War II and was a friend of Gardner. She was also responsible for generating the typescript of Gardner's novel High Magic's Aid.

There are unsubstantiated claims that she was involved with Gardner's New Forest Coven largely stemming from the book by Kenneth Grant, Nightside of Eden, which refers to a 'Mrs. South' who may have been one and the same with Dolores North.

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