OccultBird

This is a remembered herstory.  I don’t have all of the documents, too many moves and far too many loses.

I think it was my 19th birthday, 1962, that I was given a book – I remember this because my son Aaron was under a year old.  The book, which I still have in my possession with notes all through it is:
de Laurence, L.W. The Great Book of Magical Art, Hindu Magic and East Indian Occultism and The Book of Secret Hindu, Ceremonial, and Talismanic Magic. Chicago: The de Laurence Company, Inc., 1939

Ok, then I was truly sucked in.  I read and read and read and read and studied and mostly studied the Tarot:
Gray, Eden. A Complete Guide to the Tarot. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1970.
_________. The Tarot Revealed, A Modern Guide to Reading the Tarot Cards. New York: Inspiration House, 1960.

And then I purchased and self initiated myself around 1973 using:
Grammary, Ann. The Witch’s Workbook. New York: Pocket Books, 1973

I remember this because the book was brand new and there hadn’t been any books of guidance published before this (that I knew of).
Somewhere right after this was a Witchcraft explosion and the argument about calling the Craft Witchcraft or Wicca blossomed.  We know now who won out.

I joined the School of Wicca, P.O. Box 693, St, Charles, Missouri 03301 (old address) and received my first mark on a completed first lesson 6/24/72.  I completed the course 1/13/73 and somewhere after that received my legal Doctorate.  Their current website:  www.wicca.org

The Magical Child opened in Brooklyn NY (somewhere around 1974 – Lisa, my last kid, was just born) and I joined the Outer Court and was initiated directly to Third Degree by them about a year later.  This was a Gardnarian  Coven.  The primaries for the store and the coven were:  Herman Slater, Eddie Bajinsky (sp) and Lady Rhea (who’s last name I never knew).  Eddie had gone to England to be initiated.  Both Eddie and Herman are deceased today and Rhea had a store in the Bronx for a while.  I spoke with her about 10 years ago right around the time that I closed my store:  Witches Rune.

They created and self-published:  A Book of Pagan Rituals, Earth Religious Supplies, 300 Henry Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, (now nonexistent).

I continued to study and read voraciously and lead services here and there.  I joined other groups and participated in their various first degree initiations – Saex Wicca, Faerie, Minoan Sisterhood, etc. until 1979 at which time I attended Fordham University, College of Religion, Rose Hill Campus, Bronx, NY and majored in Comparative Religions.  I taught a few individual classes and started forming my own Covens.

Over the years (from birth onward) I have been honored to accept my Eleke’s, accept Buddha, receive Catholic Communion, and become baptized into a local Baptist storefront church as well as other religious experiences with other types of religions along the way.

I’ve initiated 13 people to the Third Degree and had a total, during my 45+ years of 6 covens.

I was Croned on my 60th birthday, July 26, 2003.

I’m sure I’ve left out stuff, but I think I got most of it.

Raven Crone

http://www.wiccan-grove.com