Patricia Crowther (Wiccan)

British occultist and Wiccan

Patricia Crowther (born 14 October 1927) who also goes by the craft name Thelema, is a British occultist considered influential in the early promotion of the Wiccan religion[1]

## Early life

[edit]

Crowther was born in Sheffield in 1927, then as Patricia Dawson. She was initiated into Witchcraft by fellow well-known Wiccan Gerald Gardner.[citation needed] Her handfasting to husband Arnold Crowther (1909–1974)[2] took place in 1960.[3]

## Career

[edit]

Along with Doreen Valiente, Lois Bourne, and Eleanor Bone, Crowther is considered[4] to be one of the "early mothers" of modern Wicca. Patricia and her then-husband, Arnold Crowther, founded the Sheffield Coven in 1961, of which they were High Priestess and High Priest.[2] 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.[5]

## Books

[edit]

* 1965 - The Witches Speak (with Arnold Crowther)(Athol Publications)
* 1973 - Witchcraft in Yorkshire (Dalesman) ISBN 0-85206-178-1
* 1974 - Witch Blood (The Diary of a Witch High Priestess) (House of Collectibles) ISBN 0-87637-161-6
* 1981 - Lid off the Cauldron: A handbook for witches (Muller) ISBN 0-584-10421-9
* 1992 - The Zodiac Experience (Samuel Weiser Inc) ISBN 0-87728-739-2
* 1992 - The Secrets of Ancient Witchcraft With the Witches' Tarot (Carol Publishing) ISBN 0-8065-1056-0
* 1992 - Witches Were for Hanging (Excalibur Press of London) ISBN 1-85634-049-X
* 1998 - One Witch's World (Robert Hale) ISBN 0-7090-6222-2 (published in America under the title High Priestess. Apart from the title, they are the same book) (Phoenix Publishing) ISBN 0-919345-87-5
* 2001 - High Priestess: The Life & Times of Patricia Crowther (Phoenix Publishing Inc.) ISBN 978-0919345874
* 2002 - From Stagecraft to Witchcraft: The Early years of a High Priestess(Capall Bann) ISBN 1-86163-163-4
* 2009 - Covensense (Robert Hale) ISBN 9780709087205

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Elders of the Wica Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
2. ^ a b "Arnold Crowther". www.controverscial.com. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
3. ^ Philip Heselton, Witchfather. A life of Gerald Gardner. Volume II, Thoth Publications, Loughborough, Leichestershire, 2012
4. ^ "Patricia Crowther". www.controverscial.com. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
5. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrUmzSKIyNA|date=December 2012

## External links

[edit]

* The Mystica site on Patricia Crowther
* The Wicca - Website with some information about Patricia Crowther. Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
* Patricia Crowther personal recording from her book Zodiac Experience

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands

People|

* Trove

* v
* t
* e

Neopagan witchcraft

History|

* History of Wicca
* Etymology of Wicca
* Wicca and LGBT people
* Dettmer v. Landon

Traditions|

| British Traditional|

* Alexandrian Wicca
* Algard Wicca
* Blue Star Wicca
* Central Valley Wicca
* Chthonioi Alexandrian Wicca
* Gardnerian Wicca

|

Other|

* 1734 Tradition
* Celtic Wicca
* Church and School of Wicca
* Cochrane's Craft
* Coven of Atho
* Dianic Wicca
* Faery Wicca
* Feri
* Georgian Wicca
* Odyssean Wicca
* Reclaiming
* Seax-Wica
* Stregheria
* Universal Eclectic Wicca

Notable
figures|

* Gerald Gardner
* Doreen Valiente
* Alex Sanders
* Maxine Sanders
* Sybil Leek
* Dafo
* Margot Adler
* Victor Anderson
* Artemis
* Gavin Bone
* Lois Bourne
* Jack Bracelin
* Raymond Buckland
* Eddie Buczynski
* Zsuzsanna Budapest
* Charles Cardell
* Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
* Patricia Crowther
* Vivianne Crowley
* Robert Cochrane
* Scott Cunningham
* Phyllis Curott
* Cerridwen Fallingstar
* Janet Farrar
* Stewart Farrar
* Raven Grimassi
* Gavin Frost
* Yvonne Frost
* Philip Heselton
* Frederic Lamond
* Rosaleen Norton
* Silver RavenWolf
* Starhawk
* Joseph Wilson

Deities|

* Triple Goddess
* Horned God
* Green Man
* Spirit of nature
* Holly King / Oak King
* Mother goddess

Key
concepts|

* Wicca
* Wiccan morality
* Wiccan Rede
* Rule of Three
* Wiccan views of divinity
* Coven
* Craft name
* Magic
* Witchcraft
* White magic
* Otherworld
* The Summerland
* Reincarnation
* Karma
* Skyclad
* Summoner
* Watchtower
* Familiar
* Animism

Rites
and ritual|

* Drawing down the Moon
* Great rite
* Handfasting
* Wiccaning
* Fivefold kiss
* Magic circle
* Cone of power
* Herbal medicine
* Scrying
* Spellwork / Incantation
* Banishing
* Divination
* Invocation
* Initiation
* Rite of passage
* Eko Eko Azarak
* Solitary practitioner
* Spiral dance

Holidays|

* Wheel of the Year
* Solstice
* Equinox
* Imbolc
* Ostara
* Beltane
* Midsummer
* Lughnasadh
* Mabon
* Samhain
* Yule
* Esbat
* Wild Hunt

Paraphernalia|

* Magical tools in Wicca
* Altar
* Amulet
* Athame
* Bell
* Besom
* Boline
* Book of Shadows
* Candles
* Cauldron
* Censer
* Chalice/Goblet
* Horn
* Incense
* Parchment
* Pentacle
* Runes
* Scourge
* Statue
* Talisman
* Tarot deck
* Wand
* Witch's ladder

Literature|

* Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches
* The Meaning of Witchcraft
* The Spiral Dance
* What Witches Do
* Witchcraft Today
* Charge of the Goddess
* Enchanted Feminism

Related|

* List of Wiccan organisations
* Bricket Wood coven
* New Forest coven
* Neopagan witchcraft
* Witch-cult hypothesis
* Left-hand path and right-hand path
* Cunning folk in Britain
* European witchcraft
* Malleus Maleficarum
* Granny woman
* Cunning folk
* Magical alphabets
* Runes
* Theban
* Hebrew
* Witching hour
* Witch hunt
* Witches' Sabbath
* Flying ointment
* Museum of Witchcraft and Magic
* Witchcraft Research Association

This modern paganism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template