The Famous Witches of the Craft

It is in honor of the Solstice and our Ancestors, Those Who Have Gone Before, that we this week hear from the accused, executed, and initiated. Their magick, understanding, and awareness paved the way for us all to meet here in this moment--and to them do we now turn our attention.

Instagram: @beyondtheseaspodcast - 250 Followers by Summer Solstice and we go to Salem!!!
EMAIL ME: beyondtheseaspodcast@gmail.com
Tarot Collaboration: @thefeatherwitchnyc
Weekly Book: The Cursed Towers
Podcast website: https://beyondtheseas.buzzsprout.com/
More info: https://www.kierandanaan.com/beyond-the-seas

Sources
-"Count St. Germain." Crystalinks, www.crystalinks.com/stgermain.html.
-"Isobel Gowdie: A Witch Trial Extradonaire in Auldearn, Scotland." Spooky Scotland, 8 August 2019. spookyscotland.net/isobel-gowdie.
-Keziah. "The Craft of Isobel Gowdie: The Queen of Scottish Witches." Crowsbone, 15 April 2022. crowsbone.com/blogarchive/the-craft-of-isobel-gowdie-the-queen-of-scottish-witches.
-Mackie, Rachel. "Agnes Sampson: Who Was the Famous East Lothian Midwife, and How Was She Accused, and then Murdered, for Witchcraft in Scotland?" Edinburgh News, 8 March 2022. edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/the-lives-and-deaths-of-east-lothian-women-accused-of-being-witches.
-"Scott Cunningham." Wikipedia, 5 June. 2024. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Cunningham. (referenced)

Music
"Points North" by Ben Winwood
"Intimacy" by Ben Winwood
"Charango" by Ben Winwood
"First Snow" by Beneath the Mountain
"Irish Mountains" by Ben Winwood

Cheers Magick Makers,
Kieran

Chapters

• 0:00 Remembering...
• 2:30 Grand tidings!
• 8:49 Agnes Sampson and Isobel Gowdie
• 28:46 Comte St. Germain, Gerald Gardner, and Scott Cunningham
• 49:16 Outro

Transcript

A breeze rushed in from the museum’s open window,

Causing a ruffle and a stir on the young girl’s sleeve.

She smoothed her shirt down absentmindedly, looking instead towards the hanging portraits.

Women and men, in head wraps, bonnets, dresses, and suits,

All looked differently, yet all had the same story:

Death by fire or hanging. 

These were the accused, the witches of old, 

Who suffered at the hands of those who oppressed them. 

But some, farther down the hall, were more recent additions. 

Portraits celebrating those who turned the tide and reignited the flame of witchcraft.

Dozens of museum goers looked on in awe, some in reverence, others in intrigue. 

The young girl stared on, noticing the faces seeming to look down on her. 

Again, in came the soft breeze from the window, this time carrying a message,

A voice that whispered to her:

“Remember.”

At first, she was confused, not understanding—

Then the memories flooded in.

The fire, the smoke, the choking, the pain. 

But also, an older memory—one that sang to her spirit:

The memory of magick.

Suddenly, she remembered it all,

And secretly smiled to herself, 

Knowing once more the wisdom of old. 

And how her work…

Was about to begin. 

(transition music)

            Grand tidings and welcome to you on this, the Thirty-Third episode, of Beyond the Seas. My name is Kieran and here we are again, back at it for another week. Happy Summer Solstice, magick makers and folklorists, happy Solstice! It’s the longest day of the year! And we’re halfway done with 2024. And all the closer to Wicked premiering in theaters. And as today is the solstice, our goal on Instagram for 250 followers was a wonderful, wonderful journey. As I am prerecording this, look to Instagram to see my daily posts on how we did: so from past me to future me, you did the journey! I am thrilled, though, on how much community is thriving on our little corner of social media, @beyondtheseaspodcast, and I am just chuffed at the other magick makers out there. What a grand group. So, look to my story there to see my post on Salem and the followers and where we get to go next. And follow Claudia’s account, @thefeatherwitchnyc, for her weekly tarot collaboration reels, as she teaches the Tarot one card at a time, one week at a time. AND: the five-star ratings and shares because those help boost the podcast on Apple and Spotify, yadeeyadeeyadah. Thus, ergo, infinitum, thank you a million for being here with me today. 

            And now, artistic and literary updates. The show is going swimmingly well: we are in our second week of performances, which follows the Broadway schedule of eight shows a week. There is a great amount of time we have been gifted to explore Colorado during the day—hiking, kayaking, ziplining, all the fun things—before the show at night. Being an actor is one of the toughest jobs on the planet, but it is contracts like this one that makes it all worth it. Now, the booooook: I have had some more time to listen to The Cursed Towers, the third novel in The Witches of Eileanan series, and things are heating up! We have some characters who were taken, others who are now sadly dead—and others who are earning their witches’ rings of power. So, there’s a lot happening. Lots of twists and turns. It’s a great little read, so find a copy at your local library or second-hand bookshop and join in on the fun.

            And now, the Card of the Week! So when we examine this week’s pull, the Seven of Swords Reversed, we take into account its upright meaning: struggle for no reason beyond struggle’s sake. Thus, we are now reminded of the opposite: we may not be doing enough. There is still room for improvement in our lives, perhaps caused by something that turned our world upside down. Now is the time to reflect on our lives and reexamine our goals: where might we be able to pick up the slack? Spend more time and attention? Are we putting too much energy into one aspect of our lives and neglecting others? Prioritizing certain people over others? There may also be things that are out of your control right now, so watch out for things that are thrown your way that might cause more harm than help. Exercise caution and prudence this week, magick makers. 

            And now, the Wine of the Week! And back to the night at Amanda’s we go! So yet again, a third bottle from that night, this one being the 2020 Golden Reserve Trivento Malbec. WOOF. It has award after award after award. Internationally recognized and awarded. It comes in this beautiful black bottle, and looks incredibly sophisticated. Malbecs normally aren’t my go-to wine, but this one was not too bad! It is drier than I normally like wine, with heavy notes of earth and musk. It pairs well with rosemary-infused dishes, and herby breads. Sour cheese like bleu or goat, and roasted tomatoes and red bell peppers. Anything with fire in it will pair well with this one, magick makers. 

            And, finally, this week’s topic. I have long thought that an episode dedicated to Those Who Have Gone Before, specifically those who have influenced the Craft and the art of Magick, would be abundantly appropriate and profound. There are so many facets, elements, practices, and shades of witchcraft and magick that would not exist today had not these trailblazers existed and consciously decided their course of action. Thus, let us pay homage to all of them today by hearing their life experiences and how they contributed to the Craft. 

            Ergo, grab your favorite bottle of red, find a comfy chair, and close your eyes as I tell you the tale of Famous Witches of the Craft—and take you…

            Beyond the Seas.

            (transition music)

            From the infamous witch trials of the past, to the modern-day practice of witchcraft and magick, we as a history-preserving society understand and acknowledge the legacy of Those Who Have Gone Before. Much of our wisdom and knowledge is a direct result of what has been handed down to us from earlier generations—a feat that in and of itself is a magickal thing. Furthermore, the space created for we today to practice the art of magick is a direct result of those who carved such room out in the first place. To have the freedom to practice witchcraft is something not to be taken for granted, but rather honored and gratified at every possible moment. Thus, to Scotland and the beginning of the European witch trials do we first turn our attention, as a means of paying that due respect and honor to those who suffered in the hands of persecutors and torturers.

            Agnes Sampson was one of the first witches to be tried and executed in Scotland in the sixteenth century. But who exactly was she, and how did she reach such a level of persecution and notoriety? From the Edinburgh News, “When King James decided to marry the 14-year-old Princess of Denmark, Anne, the wedding was arranged, and a proxy stood in James’ stead for the ceremony.

            “Anne’s attempts to join her new husband across the ocean were marred by dangerous and life threatening storms, so he decided to join her instead.

            After another wedding ceremony, which the King had actually attended, the couple decided to head home to Scotland, with yet another storm plaguing their journey.

            “Witchcraft trials had already begun in Denmark, and the King had taken note, so when it was reported to him that witches in East Lothian conspired to cause the treacherous weather that threatened not just his life, but that of his child bride, he believed.

            And then came in a woman called Geillis Duncan, which all you Outlander fans will be happy to hear about next. “David Seton, representative to the local estate owner Lord Seton, resided in Tranent, and began to feel that his maidservant Geillis Duncan was far too a talented healer for his liking. He also decided that she had been sneaking out of the house at night, and duly interrogated her.

            “When she protested her innocence, he used thumbscrews and brutally tortured her until she ‘confessed’. Geillis was stripped and her body searched for the ‘devil’s mark’ which was found.

            She was imprisoned, and implicated several neighbours across East Lothian, including Agnes Sampson, ‘the eldest witch of all dwelling in Haddington.’

            “Agnes Sampson was known locally as a healer and a midwife. She had cared for, and successfully cured, many neighbours of ailments throughout her life.

            “She was a widow with several children, living close to poverty in East Lothian. She had been suspected, and investigated for witchcraft before, and so there was no surprise locally that her name was given.

            “After she was named, Agnes was duly captured, and like Geillis, protested her innocence.

            “The Newes from Scotland, an English written pamphlet written in London from around 1591, says that Agnes was shaved, and each part of her body ‘thrawen’ with a rope for hours, causing intense pain.

            “The Devil’s mark was ‘found’ and she duly confessed, saying that she, and other witches, attended North Berwick Kirk on Halloween night to meet with the Devil.

            “She ‘confessed’ that there were hundreds in attendance.

            “She was placed in front of the King, and to prove her magical powers, she told him the exact words that had passed between him and his new wife on their wedding night.

            “Agnes’ trial was presided over by a judge, with a jury of 17 men from East Lothian, many of whom would have know Agnes personally.

            “After hearing the ‘evidence’, they found her ‘fylit’ – guilty- of 49 out of 51 charges.

            “Among the accusations she was found guilty of, were:

            “Curing the wife of a Sheriff in Haddington who had been bewitched by the wind Curing Alison Ker after another witch cursed her Healing John Duncan in Musselburgh Curing the wife of Cameron ‘who had walked with crutches since birth’ Healing Lady Kilbabertoune when she was seriously ill Curing a seriously ill child

            “In January 1591 she was taken to Edinburgh Castle and strangled to death, with her body then being burned at the stake.”

            All because of hearsay and a pointed finger of accusation. Let us continue our trek through Scotland by next visiting one of my favorite witches of the past, Isobel Gowdie. From Spooky Scotland, “The witchcraft confessions by Isobel Gowdie are some of the most extraordinary on record. She is possibly the most famous ‘witch’ in Scottish history. This is the woman who gave the world the notion of a coven. Some say that her ghost still haunts Auldearn.

            “Very little is known about Isobel Gowdie. She was married to John Gilbert, who had no involvement with the witchcraft case. It seems likely that she was brought up in the Auldearn area as she extensively mentions many of the nearby villages, hamlets and ‘ferm touns’ during her confession. We do not know what her age was, but as the legal age for marriage in Scotland at the time was fifteen years old, we can assume she had to be older than this.

            “It is likely that she lived her life in a turf house and spent her days milking, baking bread, weeding and perhaps spinning yarn. Records indicate that the Laird of Park’s tenants grew flax for linen production. It seems probable that Isobel Gowdie had little or no education. However, despite being unable to read or write, Isobel possessed a good imagination and could express herself eloquently. Perhaps the thing which sets Isobel apart from other witch trials of the time is the sheer volume of her confession.

            “The outcome of Isobel Gowdie’s confessions are unknown and she slipped into obscurity for nearly two hundred years until her confessions were published in 1833 in Robert Pitcairn’s ‘Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland’. Although the confessions quickly became celebrated, the original documents went missing. They were only rediscovered two centuries later when they were found in an uncatalogued box of papers once belonging to Isobel’s landlord, the Laird of Park, in the National Archives of Scotland.

            “The papers reveal that Isobel Gowdie made a series of four confessions over a six-week period, the first being 13th April 1662 in Auldearn, Nairnshire. In keeping with the time, Isobel would have been keep in solitary confinement, probably in the Tolbooth in Auldearn where she was likely beaten and deprived of sleep. Meanwhile, her co-accused, Janet Breadhead, was held in Inshoch Castle, the seat of the Laird of Park.

            “…Isobel’s confessions contain many of the standard witch-confession epitomes of the time such as claiming to have made a pact with the Devil, performing harmful magic or maleficium and attending the Witches’ Sabbath. These aspects of her confession are likely to have been derived from leading questions by the prosecution.

            “However, parts of Isobel’s confession are so unique, vivid and personalised, that they could have only come from Isobel herself, while some of her confession is rich in folkloric detail. For example, her descriptions are dominated by maleficium, or the use of malicious magic, following many of the standard rituals found in other witch trials. She attempted to destroy her neighbour, Breadley’s crops by taking a child’s body from the grave and using it as part of an incantation. However, her account of spoiling crops using a puddock (frog) plow so that afterwards, only thistles and briars would grow, is unique. Like many other witches, Isobel claimed to have performed image magic where she used effigies of the Laird of Park’s male offspring to cause them death or suffering. Where she differed from other trials, is in the extensive detail of how she kneaded the clay for the figure “very hard like rye meal” and then gave it “all the marks and parts of a child such as head, eyes, nose, hands, foot, mouth and little lips” and that “the hands of it folded down by its side like a scone or sucking pig.” The effigies were then burnt as a chant was recited.

            “…During her first confession she gave an account of her first encounter with the Devil. She arranged to meet him in the kirk at Auldearn at night. Naming some others who were in attendance, including Janet Breadhead and Margret Brodie, she said that she renounced her baptism and was re-baptised by the Devil who promptly renamed her Janet. Where she differs from the confession of others is in detailing how the Devil put his mark on her shoulder then sucked her blood. Having admitted to entering into a pact with the Devil, she then disclosed that she had carnal relations with him, kissed his behind and that she met with him in groups as well as on her own. This is standard fare in a witch trial. Where she differs is in the salacious details of her encounters with the Devil, whom she described as being a very cold ‘meikle, blak, roch man’. Allegedly he had forked and cloven feet which he sometimes covered with boots or shoes.

            “Perhaps even more remarkable are Isobel’s depictions of fairy-related activities. She claimed that she feasted under the local fairy hill, the Downie Hill, the site of an Iron Age fort, with the fairy king and queen, the king being a “brawman well-favoured and broad-faced” and the queen “brawly clothed in white linens”. She also expressed her fear of the ‘water bulls’ which she encountered there.

            “Isobel claimed that, transformed into the likeness of a crow, she sneaked into the cellars and kitchens of local castles and houses to eat their food, steal ale from barrels and perform magical rituals. She claimed that she had traveled to the “elves’ house” where she saw “hollow and boss-backed” elf-boys whittling elf-arrow heads and, perhaps more bizarrely of all, that she and her companions charmed corn straws and “windlestraws” into horses and then, crying “Horse and Hattock in the Devil’s name!” flew through the air shooting elf-arrows at passers-by. As they had no bows, the arrows were fired using a flick on the thumb. Isobel claimed that her coven had killed with these arrows, as death was inevitable if struck by one of them.

            “Throughout her dramatic testimony, Isobel recounts no less then twenty-seven charms, the majority of which are unique in British folklore.” Of which, I now want to turn our attention to Keziah’s article on the crowsbone website, titled “The Craft of Isobel Gowdie: The Queen of Scottish Witches.” Within, there are several categories of magick that are pulled directly from Isobel’s confessions, and are as follows: On Becoming a Witch, On the Devil, On Spirit Companions, On Sympathetic Magic, On Taking the Form of an Animal, On Raising the Wind, On Fevers, and On Magical Travel. Some of my favorite highlights from the article are the following:

            “Isobel reveals during her second confession, ‘There are thirteen people in my coven, and each one of us has a spirit to wait upon us, when we please to call on him.’ As an aside, many believe that the standard of having 13 members to a coven comes from Isobel Gowdie’s confessions. 

            “Isobel Gowdie mentions taking on the shape of various animals, an act she performed along with members of her coven. Though she mentions multiple types of animals she can take the shape of, the animal she is most famously remembered for presenting herself as is the hare, the form which the Devil had her take when he sent her on an errand as relayed in her third confession. To this day, artworks in honor of Gowdie still feature the hare.

            “She describes an instance when she took on the form of a jackdaw to gain access to the dye-house of a neighbor in Auldearn, while two other women with her had taken the shapes of a hare and a cat. 

            “During her second confession, Isobel describes how she would take on the shape of a hare – ‘When we go into hare-shape, we say:

                        ‘I shall go into a hare,

                        With sorrow and sych (sigh) and meikel (great, much) care;

                        And I shall go in the Devil’s name,

                        Aye while I come hame (home) again.

                        And instantly we start into a hare.’

            “To change back, she would say:

                        ‘Hare, hare, God send thee care.

                        I am in a hare’s likeness now,

                        But I shall be a woman even now.

                        Hare, hare, God send thee care.’

            “Isobel explains how she and her coven members would raise and control the wind by wetting a cloth rag in water. They then took a laundry stick and ‘knocked the rag upon the stane (stone), saying three times:

                        ‘I knock this rag upon the stane,

                        To raise the wind in the Devil’s name – 

                        It shall not lie until I please again!’

            “When they wanted to calm or lay the wind again, they would dry the rag and say three times:

                        ‘We lay the wind in the Devil’s name

                        It shall not rise ‘til we like to raise it again!’

            Refill your drinking horns, your goblets, your chalices, for the second half of Famous Witches of the Craft, after this brief break.

            (transition music)

            And we’re back. There is sooooooooo much information out there, historically speaking, surrounding the legends and facts of witches of the craft. So without much further ado, let’s dive straight back in, shall we? I next want to turn our attention to France, in the Eighteenth Century. To a man that is reported to still be alive and well, popping up here and there as an ascended master to help those on their own spiritual journeys. It is none other than the Comte St. Germain. Folks, this guy is mind-blowing. Just mind-blowing! If you do not yet know anything about him, strap in, because it is absolutely wild.

            From the Crystalinks website, “Some sources believe St Germain's name is not familial, but was invented by him as a French version of the Latin Sanctus Germanus, meaning ‘Holy Brother.’

            “Since his death, various occult organizations have adopted him as a model figure or even as a powerful deity. In recent years several people have claimed to be the Count of St. Germain. (Note that St Germain was never regarded as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church - the "st." before his name refers to his alleged home).

            “St. Germain never revealed his actual background and identity, leading to many speculations about him and his origin and ancestry. Some of these include the possibility that he was the son of Francis II Rakoczi, the Prince of Transylvania (who was in exile), or that he was the illegitimate son of Maria Anna of Pfalz-Neuburg, the widow of Charles II of Spain.

            “While he may have studied in Italy at Siena University, possibly as a protege of Grand Duke Gian Gastone (the last of the Medici line), St. Germain's first chronicled appearances were in London in 1743 and in Edinburgh in 1745, where he was apparently arrested for spying. He was released and soon acquired a reputation as a great violinist. He was ascetic and apparently celibate. During this time he met Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

            “In 1746 he disappeared. Horace Walpole, who knew him from about 1745 in London, described him thus: "He sings, plays the violin wonderfully, composes, is mad and not very sensible".

            “He reappeared in Versailles in 1758. He claimed to have had recipes for dyes and acquired quarters in the Chateau de Chambord. During this time in Paris he gave diamonds as gifts and reputedly hinted that he was centuries old. The old portrait of him dates from these years. He was an acquaintance of Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour. At the time a mime, Gower, began to mimic his mannerism in salons, joking that he would have advised Jesus.

            “In 1760 he left for England through Holland when the minister of State, Duke of Choiseul, tried to have him arrested.

            “After that the Count passed through the Netherlands into Russia and apparently was in St Petersburg when the Russian army put Catherine the Great on the throne. Later conspiracy theories credit him for causing it. The next year he turned up in Belgium, bought land and took the name Surmount. He tried to offer his processes - treatments of wood, leather, oil paint - to the state.

            “During his negotiations - that came to nothing - with Belgian minister Karl Cobenzl he hinted at a royal birth and turned iron into something resembling gold. He then disappeared for 11 years.

            “In 1774 he resurfaced, and apparently tried to present himself to a count in Bavaria as Freiherr Reinhard Gemmingen-Guttenberg, the count Tsarogy.

            “In 1776 the Count was in Germany, calling himself Count Welldone, and again offered recipes - cosmetics, wines, liqueurs, treatments of bone, paper and ivory. He alienated King Frederick's emissaries by his claims of transmutation of gold and reputedly compared himself to God. To Frederick he claimed to have been a Freemason. He settled in a house of Prince Karl of Hesse-Kassel, governor of Schleswig-Holstein and studied herbal remedies and chemistry to give to the poor. To him he claimed he was a Francis Rakoczy II, Prince of Transylvania.

            “1784 is when the Count supposedly died, probably of pneumonia. He left very little behind.

            “There were rumors of him alive in Paris in 1835, in Milan in 1867 and in Egypt during Napoleon's campaign. Napoleon III kept a dossier on him. Annie Besant said that she met the Count in 1896.

            “Theosophist C. W. Leadbeater claimed to have met him in Rome in 1926, and said that St. Germain showed him a robe that had been previously owned by a Roman Emperor and that St. Germain told him that one of his residences was a castle in Transylvania.   

            “Theosophist Guy Ballard claimed that the Count had introduced him to visitors from Venus and published a book series about his channelings; Ballard founded the "I Am" Activity.

            “In January 28, 1972, ex-convict and lover of singing star Dalida, Richard Chanfray claimed to be the Count of St. Germain on French television. He also claimed that Louis XV was still alive.

            “There are several ‘authoritative’ biographers who usually do not agree with one another. His ancestry is a matter of much speculation. Theosophists consider him to be an Ascended Master or adept. Aleister Crowley identified with him. Helena Blavatsky said he was one of her Masters of Wisdom and hinted at secret documents. Several books on palmistry and astrology have been published in his name.

            “During the centuries after his death, numerous myths, legends and speculations have surfaced. He has been attributed with occult practices like snake charming and ventriloquism. There are stories about an affair between him and Madame de Pompadour. Other legends report that he was immortal, the Wandering Jew, an alchemist with the elixir of life, a Rosicrucian or an ousted king, a bastard of Queen Anna Maria of Spain, that he prophesied the French Revolution. Casanova called him the violinist Catlini. Count Cagliostro was rumored to be his pupil. The fact that the name "St. Germain" was not exactly uncommon confuses the matters even more.

            “Many groups in occultism honor St. Germain as an Ascended Master. As such, he is believed to have many magical powers such as the ability to teleport, levitate, walk through walls, influence people telepathically, etc.

            “Some esoteric groups credit him with inspiring the Founding Fathers to draft the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.”

            There are two more famous witches that, in the modern day, have sparked a movement that has led each and every single one of us to the Craft, in one way or another. Let us start with the Father of Modern Witchcraft, Gerald Gardner. He is a controversial figure, but his contributions to the modern witchcraft movement and practice are undeniable. 

            From Roz Tappenden at the BBC, “Southridge, a comfortable 1920s house in Highcliffe, was bought by Gardner and his wife, Dorothea, in 1938 when they moved from London.

            “Until then Gardner's life had been unremarkable for someone of his wealthy background in the colonial era.

            “Born in 1884, he had been sent to the warmer climes of Madeira as a child in a bid to alleviate his asthma. Consequently he received little education and later claimed he had taught himself to read.

            “As a young man, he spent time working in Ceylon, Borneo and Malaya before returning to London in 1936.

            “After arriving in Highcliffe, shortly before the outbreak of war, he became acquainted with a group claiming to be witches and was initiated into the New Forest Coven at nearby Mill House.

            “It proved to be a turning point for Gardner who, from that time, devoted himself to promoting his new-found religion.

            “Biographer and Wiccan initiate Philip Heselton said: ‘He wasn't a religious pioneer. What he did was to publicise it and write about it and he gradually became known through that and people made contact.

            “‘He initiated quite a lot of people into the Wiccan culture. He felt it was important that it survived.’

            “…Gardner's theories were drawn from numerous sources, including Freemasonry, magical orders such as the Golden Dawn and fellow occultists, including Aleister Crowley.

            “He also formulated the Wicca calendar of eight festivals, bringing together existing festivals from different traditions.

            “By the time of his death in 1964, Gardnerian Wicca, as it became known, had spread to the United States and beyond. Estimates of the number of Wiccans worldwide range from 100,000 to 800,000.”

            There is a story surrounding him that I absolutely love. During World War II, when Hitler and the Nazis were planning to invade Britain and the United Kingdom, Gardner and his coven formulated a plan. They would create a powerful ritual and cast a spell to protect the entirety of the island from invasion. And so, one auspicious night, they went forth into the forest and cast their magickal witches’ circle. They danced and chanted, conjuring energy and raising the cone of power. They built to a frenzy and cast it forth into the night, sending the energy and its spell hurdling towards Hitler and his army. And the rest is history: Hitler was unsuccessful in his attempt to invade Britain and its islands, which very well may be attributed to bad luck…or to Gardner and his coven. I suppose that is up to you to decide. 

            Now finally, one more witch to discuss on today’s episode. In our honoring of Wicca and its revelation of witchcraft to the world at large, I want to highlight a leading voice that all of us know and love: Scott Cunningham. He was taken from us wayyyyyyy too soon, he died at the young age of 36, but his works and insight into the Craft endure to this day. 

            He was born in 1956, in Michigan, and relocated with his family to San Diego. He spent his youth and college days in California, where he fell in love with writing—eventually dropping out of school to pursue it full-time. Reportedly, though, he spent a large majority of his time with friend, Raymond Buckland, a magickal practitioner himself. Presumably it was through him that Scott was first introduced to the practice of modern witchcraft. 

            He studied for his first-degree intiation under Raven Grimassi from 1980-2, where he then left the coven to pursue a more solitary path. And thus, just six years later, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner was published and born. Personally, that was one of the first books I read on the Craft and it started my journey on the crooked ways of our magickal spirituality. It was highly influential for me and made the Craft empowering, personal, accessible, close not distant, and achievable. I would not be sitting here talking about the Craft today had it not been for his book. 

            He has several published works on magick and witchcraft, some of which were published posthumously. It was in 1990 when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, which apparently he healed from. But he also was an openly gay man and suffered from AIDS and HIV. It was complications thereof, in 1993, that eventually led to his death. Taken far too soon. 

            But through his life and works, as well as the stories and histories of Agnes, Isobel, The Count, and Gerald, do we see the power and lineage of witchcraft itself. There are many facts to sift through, but all of them important nonetheless. For it is through their practical experiences, and their knowledge they discovered and lived by, that we today know the craft to be what is as a result. Somehow, someway, they discovered inspiration and perspective and insight into the magick of the world around us—putting it into practice, words, rhymes, and chants, for future generations to learn from and practice—and build upon. 

            And thus, despite the efforts of the persecutors and naysayers, magick itself has survived. The practice of witchcraft has survived—because we have all dared to tread the crooked path. The bravery and courage of these witches discussed today should not be forgotten or thought little of: they are some of the most courageous people I can think of. And we have so much to thank them all for, to this day. Because, quite literally, your magick, my magick—our magick—will always be made stronger and more impactful…because of them. Honor to Those Who Have Gone Before and Paved the Way. Blessed Be. 

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                        The stories, research, and production elements were done and edited, respectively, by me, Kieran, with sources attached in the description. If you want to be a guest on the show, or have a topic you wish me to explore and discuss, send me an email at beyondtheseaspodcast@gmail.com. And be sure to hit the follow button, on whichever platform you enjoy the podcast, and look forward to more content next week. Until then, seek the veil between the worlds, and allow yourself to travel…Beyond the Seas.