Patricia Crowther (born 14 October 1927) who also goes by the

craft name A craft name, also referred to as a magical name, is a secondary religious name often adopted by practitioners of Wicca and other forms of Neopagan witchcraft or magic. Craft names may be adopted as a means of protecting one's privacy (especially ...

Thelema, is a British occultist considered influential in the early promotion of the

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 religion and she is the mother of the witch or wiccan runes.

Early life

Crowther was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

in 1927, then as Patricia Dawson. She was initiated into Witchcraft by fellow well-known Wiccan

Gerald Gardner Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bri ...

in 1960. (This is incorrect as in fact her handfasting to Arnold was in 1960. This was not the date of her initiation

Career

Along with like

Doreen Valiente Doreen Edith Dominy Valiente (4 January 1922 – 1 September 1999) was an English Wiccan who was responsible for writing much of the early religious liturgy within the tradition of Gardnerian Wicca. An author and poet, she also published five b ...

, Lois Bourne, and

Eleanor Bone Eleanor "Ray" Bone (15 December 1911 – 21 September 2001) who also went under the craft name Artemis, was an influential figure in the neopagan religion of Wicca. She claimed to have been initiated in 1941 by a couple of hereditary witches in C ...

, Crowther is considered to be one of the "early mothers" of modern Wicca. Patricia and her then-husband, Arnold Crowther (1909–1974), founded the Sheffield Coven in 1961, of which they were High Priestess and High Priest. Crowther has promoted Witchcraft through a number of book publications, contributions to occult magazines and journals, and through a number of interviews with local and national newspapers. She has also appeared several times on television. In 1971, both Patricia and her then-husband Arnold wrote and presented ''A Spell of Witchcraft'', a radio programme produced and broadcast by BBC Radio Sheffield in six 20-minute parts. The radio programme, the first of its kind in relation to modern Witchcraft as a religion, explored the history and folklore of Witchcraft and presented elements of a local coven's activities and practices within the community.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrUmzSKIyNA, date=December 2012

Books

*1965 - ''The Witches Speak'' (with Arnold Crowther)(Athol Publications) * 1973 - ''Witchcraft in Yorkshire'' (Dalesman) * 1974 - ''Witch Blood (The Diary of a Witch High Priestess)'' (House of Collectibles) * 1981 - ''Lid off the Cauldron: A handbook for witches'' (Muller) * 1992 - ''The Zodiac Experience'' (Samuel Weiser Inc) * 1992 - ''The Secrets of Ancient Witchcraft With the Witches' Tarot'' (Carol Publishing) * 1992 - ''Witches Were for Hanging'' (Excalibur Press of London) * 1998 - ''One Witch's World'' (Robert Hale) (published in America under the title ''High Priestess''. Apart from the title, they are the same book) (Phoenix Publishing) * 2001 - ''High Priestess: The Life & Times of Patricia Crowther'' (Phoenix Publishing Inc.) * 2002 - ''From Stagecraft to Witchcraft: The Early years of a High Priestess''(Capall Bann) *2009 - ''Covensense'' (Robert Hale)

References

External links

The Mystica site on Patricia Crowther

* ttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLERh-OV_Nfkf-2OiYZp0YXscbUi_Y3k2w Patricia Crowther personal recording from her book ''Zodiac Experience'' 1927 births Gardnerian Wiccans English Wiccans Living people C {{Neopaganism-stub