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

VALIENTE, Doreen (1922 - 1999)

Doreen Valiente

One of the most respected leading Witches of the 20th Century, born in London, with family connections in Dorset, and in the New Forest area of Hampshire. Her father's name was Dominy, a family name frequently met with in the area around Cerne Abbas in Dorset. She was the widow of a refugee from the Spanish Civil War, Casimiro Valiente, who went on to serve with the Free French forces in World War II. They were married in London in 1944. In 1956 they moved to the south coast in Sussex and her husband died in 1972.

Doreen Valiente was a practising witch and Clairvoyant, although in her later years did regard herself as Wiccan. She was a great admirer of the late Dion Fortune. She was friend and adviser to Gerald Gardner and was, for a time, the High Priestess of his New Forest Coven, assisting him with the revisions of his Book of Shadows.

She was subsequently initiated into other branches of Witchcraft in Britain. She is the author of several titles, most notably An ABC of Witchcraft and The Rebirth of Witchcraft. She possessed a private collection of witchcraft artefacts, a fine library of Occult books and made frequent radio and television appearances. She continued to live and practice in Brighton, Sussex until her death in 1999.

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