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

WILKINSON, Louis Umfraville

The close friend and literary co-executor of Aleister Crowley; also a novelist writing under the pseudonym Louis Marlow. His father was the headmaster of a preparatory school in Sussex,and he himself reached Oxford University before being sent down on the grounds of blasphemous conduct.

Wilkinson had no direct interest in the Occult but greatly enjoyed Crowley's company and, acting upon his posthumous request, read the Hymn to Pan and the Anthem from the Gnostic Mass at Crowley's funeral at Brighton Crematorium, causing a furore in the local press and prompting one national newspaper editor to label the occasion as a Black Mass.

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