Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits (October 1, 1949 – August 12, 2010) was an American Neo-Druid who published a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. He was a public speaker, liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founder of the Neopagan organizations Ár nDraíocht Féin and the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League. Born in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along t ...

, Bonewits had been heavily involved in occultism since the 1960s.

Early life and education

Bonewits was born on October 1, 1949, in

, as the fourth of five children. His father was a Presbyterian while his mother a Catholic. Spending much of his childhood in Ferndale, he was moved at age 12 to San Clemente, California, where he spent a short time in a Catholic high school before he went back to public school to graduate from high school a year early. He enrolled at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

in 1966; he graduated from the university in 1970 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in magic, perhaps becoming the first and only person known to have ever received any kind of academic degree in

from an accredited university.

Career

Early years

In 1966, while enrolled at

, Bonewits joined the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA). Bonewits was ordained as a Neo-druid

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1969. During this period, the 18-year-old Bonewits was also recruited by the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in '' The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, A ...

, but left due to political and philosophical conflicts with Anton LaVey. During his stint in the Church of Satan, Bonewits appeared in some scenes of the 1970 documentary '' Satanis: The Devil's Mass''. Bonewits, in his article "My Satanic Adventure", asserts that the rituals in ''Satanis'' were staged for the movie at the behest of the filmmakers and were not authentic ceremonies.

1970s: author and editor

His first book, ''Real Magic'', was published in 1971. Between 1973 and 1975 Bonewits was employed as the editor of ''Gnostica'' magazine in Minnesota (published by

Llewellyn Publications Llewellyn Worldwide (formerly Llewellyn Publications) is a New Age publisher based in Woodbury, Minnesota. Llewellyn's mission is to "serve the trade and consumers worldwide with options and tools for exploring new worlds of mind & spirit, thereb ...

). He established an offshoot group of the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) called the Schismatic Druids of North America, and helped create a group called the Hasidic Druids of North America (despite, in his words, his "lifelong status as a

gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

"). He also founded the short-lived Aquarian Anti-Defamation League (AADL), an early Pagan civil rights group. In 1976, Bonewits moved back to Berkeley and rejoined his original grove there, now part of the New Reformed Druids of North America (NRDNA). He was later elected Archdruid of the Berkeley Grove.

1980s: founding of Ár nDraíocht Féin

Throughout his life Bonewits had varying degrees of involvement with occult groups including Gardnerian Wicca and the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn (a

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

n organization not to be confused with the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ( la, Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th ...

). Bonewits was a regular presenter at Neopagan conferences and festivals all over the US, as well as attending gaming conventions in the Bay Area. He promoted his book ''Authentic Thaumaturgy'' to gamers as a way of organizing

Dungeons and Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

games and to give a background to games of

Magic: the Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

. In 1983, Bonewits founded Ár nDraíocht Féin (also known as "A Druid Fellowship" or ADF), which was incorporated in 1990 in the state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

as a U.S. 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Although illness curtailed many of his activities and travels for a time, he remained Archdruid of ADF until 1996. In that year, he resigned from the position of Archdruid but retained the lifelong title of ADF Archdruid Emeritus.

Musician and activist

A songwriter, singer, and recording artist, he produced two CDs of pagan music and numerous recorded lectures and panel discussions, produced and distributed by the Association for Consciousness Exploration. He lived in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, and was a member of the

Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (abbr: CUUPS) is an independent affiliate of Unitarian Universalists who identify with the precepts of classical or contemporary Paganism: celebrating the sacred circle of life and guiding people to l ...

(CUUPS). Bonewits encouraged charity programs to help Neopagan seniors, and in January 2006 was the keynote speaker at the Conference On Current Pagan Studies at the Claremont Graduate University in

Claremont, CA Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a po ...

Personal life

Bonewits was married five times. He was married to Rusty Elliot from 1973 to 1976. His second wife was Selene Kumin Vega, followed by marriage to Sally Eaton (1980 to 1985). His fourth wife was author Deborah Lipp, from 1988 to 1998. On July 23, 2004, he was married in a

handfasting Handfasting is a traditional practice that, depending on the term's usage, may define an unofficiated wedding (in which a couple marries without an officiant, usually with the intent of later undergoing a second wedding with an officiant), a ...

ceremony to a former vice-president of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, Phaedra Heyman Bonewits. At the time of the handfasting, the marriage was not yet legal because he had not yet been legally divorced from Lipp, although they had been separated for several years. Paperwork and legalities caught up on December 31, 2007, making them legally married. Bonewits' only child, was born to Deborah Lipp in 1990.

Illness and death

In 1990, Bonewits was diagnosed with eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome. The illness was a factor in his eventual resignation from the position of Archdruid of the ADF. On October 25, 2009, Bonewits was diagnosed with a rare form of colon cancer,''Isaac Bonewits Diagnosed with Cancer''
, Jason Pitzl-Waters, ''The Wild Hunt'' for which he underwent treatment. He died at home, on August 12, 2010, surrounded by his family.

Contributions to Neopaganism

In his book ''Real Magic'' (1971), Bonewits proposed his "Laws of Magic". These "laws" are synthesized from a multitude of

belief system A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take ...

s from around the world to explain and categorize magical beliefs within a cohesive framework. Many interrelationships exist, and some belief systems are subsets of others. This work was chosen by Dennis Wheatley in the 1970s to be part of his publishing project ''Library of the Occult''. Bonewits also coined much of the modern terminology used to articulate the themes and issues that affect the North American Neopagan community. * Pioneered the modern usage of the terms "

thealogy Thealogy views divine matters with feminine perspectives including but not only feminism. Valerie Saiving, Isaac Bonewits (1976) and Naomi Goldenberg (1979) introduced the concept as a neologism (new word) in feminist terms. Its use then wid ...

", "

Paleo-Paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

", "

Meso-Paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

", and numerous other

retronym A retronym is a newer name for an existing thing that helps differentiate the original form/version from a more recent one. It is thus a word or phrase created to avoid confusion between older and newer types, whereas previously (before there were ...

s. * Possibly coined the term " Pagan Reconstructionism", though the communities in question would later diverge from his initial meaning. Author is unsure whether he "got this use of the term from one or more of the other culturally focused Neopagan movements of the time, or if ejust applied it in a novel fashion".McColman (2003) p.51: "Such reconstructionists are attempting, through both spiritual and scholarly means, to create as purely Celtic a spirituality as possible." * Founded Ar nDraiocht Fein, which was incorporated in 1990 in the state of Delaware as a U.S. 501(c)3 non-profit organization. * Developed the ''Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame'' (ABCDEF). * Coined the phrase "Never Again the Burning". * Critiqued the Burning Times / Old Religion Murray thesis (in ''Bonewits's Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca''). * In his book ''Real Magic'' (1971), Bonewits proposed his hypothesis on the Laws of Magic, which were then elaborated in his RPG supplement ''Authentic Thaumaturgy''. The book makes it clear it is an adaptation of the ideas from Real Magic to gaming with the Laws presented being abbreviated from those in ''Real Magic''.Bonewits, Isaac (2005). ''Authentic Thaumaturgy''. Steve Jackson Games. p. 58

Bibliography

*''Real Magic: An Introductory Treatise on the Basic Principles of Yellow Magic''. (1972, 1979, 1989) Weiser Books *''The Druid Chronicles (Evolved)''. (1976 Drunemeton Press, 2005 Drynemetum Press) (With Selene Kumin Vega, Rusty Elliot, and Arlynde d'Loughlan) *''

Authentic Thaumaturgy Authentic Thaumaturgy is a set of rules for portraying magic in role-playing games, written by Isaac Bonewits. The first edition was published by Chaosium in 1978. A substantially expanded edition was published by Steve Jackson Games in 1998, wit ...

''. (With others) (1978 Chaosium, 1998 Steve Jackson Games) *''Rites of Worship: A Neopagan Approach''. (2003) Earth Religions Press OP *''Witchcraft: A Concise Guide or Which Witch Is Which?''. (2003) Earth Religions Press *''The Pagan Man: Priests, Warriors, Hunters, and Drummers''. (2005) Citadel , *''Bonewits's Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca''. (2006) Citadel , *''Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism''. (2006) Citadel , *''Real Energy: Systems, Spirits, And Substances to Heal, Change, And Grow''. (2007) New Leaf , . Co-authored with Phaedra Bonewits. *''Neopagan Rites: A Guide to Creating Public Rituals that Work''. (2007) Llewellyn , *

Discography

Music

* ''Be Pagan Once Again!'' – Isaac Bonewits & Friends (including Ian Corrigan, Victoria Ganger, and Todd Alan) (CD) (

ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

/ ADF) * ''Avalon is Rising!'' – Real Magic (CD)(ACE/ADF)

Spoken word

* ''The Structure of Craft Ritual'' (ACE) * ''A Magician Prepares'' (ACE) * ''Programming Magical Ritual: Top-Down Liturgical Design'' (ACE) * ''Druidism: Ancient & Modern'' (ACE) * ''How Does Magic Work?'' (ACE) * ''Rituals That Work'' (ACE) * ''Sexual Magic & Magical Sex'' (with Deborah Lipp) (ACE) * ''Making Fun of Religion'' (with Deborah Lipp) (ACE)

Panel discussions

* ''The Magickal Movement: Present & Future'' (with

Margot Adler Margot Susanna Adler (April 16, 1946 – July 28, 2014) was an American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, and New York correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR). Early life Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Adler grew up mostly ...

Selena Fox Selena Fox (born 20 October 1949 in Arlington, Virginia) is a Wiccan priestess, interfaith minister, environmentalist, pagan elder, author, and lecturer in the fields of pagan studies, ecopsychology, and comparative religion. Fox is a trained c ...

, and

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

) (ACE) * ''Magick Changing the World, the World Changing Magick'' (with AmyLee,

, Jeff Rosenbaum and

) (ACE)

References

External links

Neopagan Net (formerly "Isaac Bonewits' Homepage")

A Reformed Druid Anthology
includes ''The Druid Chronicles (Evolved)''

*

' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonewits, Isaac 1949 births 2010 deaths American occult writers American Wiccans Writers from California Writers from Michigan Neo-druids Founders of modern pagan movements Writers from New York (state) Cultural anthropologists Deaths from colorectal cancer Former Roman Catholics Deaths from cancer in New York (state) People from Valley Cottage, New York People from Royal Oak, Michigan People from Ferndale, Michigan University of California, Berkeley alumni