Mary Oneida Toups (April 25, 1928 – September 1981) was an American

occultist The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...

known as the "Witch Queen of New Orleans". Toups was the founder and high priestess of the Religious Order of Witchcraft, which was the first coven to be chartered as an official religious organization in the state of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. In 1975 she published an instructional occultist book titled ''Magick High and Low''.

Biography

Toups was born on April 25, 1928, in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

, to Arthur Hodgin and Mary Ellen Killing. She moved to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 1968. Toups was married to Albert Toups, a

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

who was a high-ranking

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and ran a bar on Decatur Street. On February 2, 1972, she chartered the Religious Order of Witchcraft, the first coven to be registered as an official religious organization within the state of Louisiana. The order, which often gathered at Popp Fountain in City Park, practiced Western ceremonialist magic, not

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...

rooted practices like voodoo and hoodoo that are commonly associated with New Orleans. Later in 1972, Toups caught the attention of writer Howard Jacobs, who wrote about her in his column ''Remoulade'', after she publicly defended witchcraft when the practice had been blamed for a murder in Opelousas. She ran two witchcraft shops in the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...

, opening her first store on September 1, 1970. Toups also published the occult text ''Magick High and Low'' in 1975. Toups died in September 1981 of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

Legacy

Popps Fountain City Park New Orleans 1936 WPA 116

Toups is mentioned in the 1994 memoir ''Under A Hoodoo Moon: The Life of the Night Tripper''. She is also mentioned in the book ''Real Zombies, the Living Dead, and Creatures of the Apocalypse'' by Brad Steiger. On the first episode of '' American Horror Story: Coven'', titled '' Bitchcraft'', Fiona Goode (played by

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. With a career spanning over five decades, she is known for her roles Jessica Lange on screen and stage, on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominati ...

) references Toups and her coven practicing witchcraft at Popp Fountain in City Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toups, Mary Oneida 1928 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American women writers 20th-century occultists American modern pagans American occultists American occult writers Cajun people Ceremonial magicians Date of death missing Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States Founders of modern pagan movements Louisiana folklore Modern pagan writers People from Meridian, Mississippi Religion in New Orleans Religious leaders from Louisiana Religious leaders from Mississippi

Biography

Legacy

See also

References