Dion Fortune was born on December 6, 1890, in Wales, United Kingdom. Her father practiced law, and her mother was a Christian Science healer. Violet’s mother was convinced that Violet’s soul was altered at birth. Violet began having visions and memories of an ancient civilization known as Atlantis when she was four years old. She thought she had been a temple priestess there in a previous life. Violet was a bright and intelligent child who began writing poetry when she was thirteen. She was also extremely imaginative and sensitive.

Violet was adamant about making it on her own. She enrolled at Studley College in Warwickshire, where she would learn to be a gardener when she was only twenty years old. This College’s warden was Dr. Lilias Hamilton, who was well-versed in occult knowledge and hypnosis. This warden was in charge of stealing money from students. Violet decided to leave, but the warden told her she couldn’t unless she admitted to being incompetent and lacking self-confidence. Violet had a nervous breakdown after the warden repeated these remarks for four hours. For several years, this affected her logic and weakened her physically and emotionally.

This experience piqued her interest in the mind’s abilities, and she enrolled in the psychology and psychoanalysis program at the University of London. She was one of London’s highest-paid lay-analysts at the age of 23. She quickly discovered that she was highly telepathic while working in a clinic, and she began to notice that psychology alone was frequently insufficient to help her clients. In 1929 and 1930, she wrote a book called Psychic Self Defense about this time in her life. With this book, she warned readers about the misuse of occult powers and gave them advice on how to defend themselves. Her best remark is that reactions to fear or longing always damage the aura from the inside out.

Violet met Dr. Theodore Moriarty, a Freemason, solo magician, and occultist with a special interest in psychology and healing, at the end of World War I, in 1917. He was convinced that diseases or mental illnesses could only be explained by looking into past lives. Moriarty had the ability to read auras, project his astral body, and summon objects from an unknown location into his room. He understood the workings of the universe and remembered previous lives as a priest in Egypt and Atlantis. He was an astrologer who knew how to deal with entities or thoughtforms by absorbing their energy into his own aura.

Moriarty tutored Violet until she was well-versed in the Western Mystery Tradition. In 1926, she published The Secrets of Doctor Taverner, a collection of short stories about him. In this book, she changed Moriarty’s name to Taverner, but she insists that the stories in the book are literally true, even if they have been toned down for print. “To ‘Dr. Taverner,’ I owe the greatest debt of my life, and without ‘Dr. Taverner,’ there would have been no ‘Dion Fortune,'” she writes in the introduction to this book.

Dion Fortune devoted her life to resurrecting the Western Mystery Tradition. “I want to know so that I can serve,” she said. According to Dion, magic is the art of causing changes in consciousness to occur in accordance with her will. She and her priests’ spiritual sex magic benefited the entire human race. Dion possessed extensive esoteric knowledge as well as a straightforward, no-nonsense demeanor. As a result, she became one of the twentieth century’s most approachable occultists and writers. Dion Fortune is a pen-name she adopted for her occult writing after being born Violet Mary Firth. It means “God, not luck.”

It is nearly impossible to discuss the topic of witchcraft without shedding light on the most infamous series of historic witch trials sparking mass hysteria. Tituba, the first woman to be accused of witchcraft in Salem, is responsible for making her profound mark in the world of witchcraft. While she was put on trial, it was Tituba’s resilience and level-headed demeanor that gained her much attention from her neighborhood and soon…the rest of the world. For some context, The Salem Witch Trials occurred just as Europe’s “witchcraft craze’’ from the 14th to 17th centuries was coming to a slow halt. During the Salem Witch Trials, it is estimated that tens of thousands of European witches, significantly women, were accused and inevitably executed. The witch trials gained their extensive relevancy in the winter of 1692, a time of chilling mayhem in Salem Village. It all began when three girls who were allegedly having bizarre visions and fits of hysteria were diagnosed with bewitchment by a doctor.

According to The History of Massachusetts blog, it is interesting to note that “Many modern theories suggest the girls were suffering from epilepsy, boredom, child abuse, mental illness, or even a disease brought on by eating rye infected with fungus.” At the time, of course, these possible explanations of unnatural behavior were not considered to be legitimate factors. It was much easier to accuse the women of dark arts and voodoo given the paranoia and massive delusions surrounding the trials. There is a factual and historic basis for this creation of mass hysteria in Salem, including the trauma of a British-French war on American soil, the fear of Native American retribution, smallpox that had spread throughout the colonies, and longtime resentment between neighboring towns.

By February of 1692, three women were accused of bewitching two young girls who had begun suffering from fits, uncontrollable screaming, and body contortion: a Caribbean enslaved woman named Tituba, a homeless beggar named Sarah Good, and an elderly woman, Sarah Osborn. The three girls blamed their abnormal behavior on these women who were considered social outcasts at the time and therefore easy targets. Before that time, Tituba had been famous locally as an indigenous healer; it was shocking, therefore, that many people heard her name involved in the suspicions of witchcraft. During the trials, Tituba confessed to being a “witch” under pressure from Reverend Samuel Parris because he wanted someone to blame for his daughter Betty’s illness. Tituba said she had signed the devil’s book, but she had later denied her confession, which has been widely speculated to have been a product of intimidation, after being brutally beaten.

Laurie Cabot was born Mercedes Elizabeth Keersey, in Wewoka, Oklahoma on March 6, 1933. As a teenager, Laurie and her family moved to Boston where she developed a profound interest in witchcraft; her discovery of the dark arts evolved over time as she began to spend her free time researching its intricacies in the Boston Public Library.

Born a peasant girl from Tuscany, Italy, Aradia has gained her powerful reputation as the Queen of Witches with a profound connection to nature. There have been many stories passed down through generations by oral traditions, cementing her origin story as a divine goddess. It is due to this revelation of divine power that surged Aradia to pursue witchcraft in its extensive entirety. After some time, she began to gain the attention of others as her powers became widespread as an enchanting topic of conversation. It was Margaret Murray’s discovery of Aradia, though, that changed the course of supernatural black art as we know it today. Aradia rose to levels of new and momentous fame in England with the publishing of Margaret’s “The Witch Cult in Western Europe” in 1921. In this book, Margaret claims that Aradia was an incarnation of Diana, the Roman goddess of wild animals and the hunt. More specifically, Margaret believes that Aradia was the daughter of Diana and Lucifer who had been sent down into the world on the eve of the Christian Era to enlighten others of Diana’s distinction as goddess of the underworld.

Aradia, a trailblazer of her time, became a Messiah to the slaves, peasants, and those who were persecuted by feudal lords and the Catholic Church alike. Aradia utilized her role as a celestial teacher to illuminate witchcraft as a tool of liberation, offering enchantments to assist the slaves and paupers of society to rid themselves of the “race of oppressors.” Aradia is notable for promising “ye shall all be freed from slavery,/ And so ye shall be free in everything.” Aradia was a monumental figure in the community of dark magic, and even more impressively, she was able to convey her knowledge of the arts onto her impressionable students. It is evident that Aradia became a significant role model for her students, as they would eventually become witches and proud scholars of sorcery.

Aradia’s story of infamy has inspired many famous witches in history, including Gerald Gardner. Gardner, the pioneer of the modern witchcraft revival movement, wrote about her as well as founded England’s Wiccan movement. Based on the witchcraft taught by Aradia, Gardner’s belief of the arts expanded with intense ferocity. The “Ritual of Diana, Goddess of Witches” is one of the famous witchcraft rites attributed to Arabia; published in 1916 by a man named Charles Leland, the rite describes how witches appealed to and admired her while simultaneously looking for love and vigor. Charles’ work greatly influenced Margaret Murray and her witch-cult hypothesis: “people, especially women, who were persecuted for being witches were, in reality, practicing an ancient, naturalistic religion that was widespread before Christianity came to Europe” (“Forged into the Fringe: Margaret Murray’s Witch-Cult Hypothesis”).

“The Charge of the Goddess”, which establishes the Wiccan tradition of ritual nudity, was made apparent by Aradia’s influences. Aradia’s role in witchcraft is one that holds a profound legacy; through her example, she has significantly contributed to an intense surge in the research of witchcraft as a whole. Aradia is reputably worshiped by modern Pagans and Wiccans as the Queen of the Witches, as well as followers of the divine.

Many of you may know Rasputin as a memorable figure from your high school history classroom, but now it’s time for me to take you on a field trip into his mysterious origin. Grigori Rasputin was born into humble beginnings in Pokrovskoye, Siberia in 1869. Belonging to a family of peasants, Grigori grew up illiterate for most of his early years. As he grew, petty crimes and rebellious behaviors became commonplace in his daily life. This all began to change however when he became motivated to go on a spiritual pilgrimage at the age of 28. The pilgrimage, a roughly 421 mile trip to St. Nicholas Monastery in Verkhoturye, permanently transformed Grigori. His stay at the monastery lasted several months, and he opportunely learned to read and write. Now unrecognizable, he had molded himself into a man of virtue and fortitude. He traveled as a Strannik, or a “holy wanderer”, for years, forming an intimate group of loyal followers. Over the years, Rasputin’s reputation grew to higher levels of infamy and power due to his indistinguishable charisma and influence.

In the early 1900s, Grigori Rasputin became notorious in monastic circles as a sacred man with exceptional powers. On his journey to St Petersburg, he befriended many prominent members of the Russian court and aristocracy. As a result, Grigori would inevitably meet the Czar in the year 1905. From that time on, Rasputin’s influence over the royal family grew significantly. He served as a spiritual guide, healer, and political advisor to close acquaintance Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra. It was his close bond with Alexandra though, that cemented Grigori’s place in the royal family. Her son Alexei was ailed with hemophilia, a medical condition in which the ability of the blood to clot is severely reduced, causing the sufferer to bleed severely due to blood thinning. Alexandra desperately implored for Grigori’s assistance as a known “faith healer”. Within two days, Alexei was miraculously healed, allowing Rasputin’s influence to fully develop over the royals. The elite, however, saw Rasputin as a severe political threat. Thus introduced his infamous name, “The Mad Monk.”

Because of Rasputin’s supposed “superhuman strength” and “immunity to poison”, rumors began to circulate of his powers of witchcraft and black magic. In his journals, Rasputin wrote of his ongoing battle with the Devil. He claimed that he could see the Devil standing in front of him. There were even bystander witnesses of Rasputin screaming to himself in the streets to this invisible figure, the supposed Devil himself. Before Rasputin died he even cursed the Czar, saying, “If I am killed by common men, you and your children will rule Russia for centuries to come; if I am killed by one of your stock, you and your family will be killed by the Russian people!” These words came true less than two years later when the entire family was brought to a basement and murdered. In an attempt to kill Rasputin, Yusupov and his friends poisoned and shot him in the chest several times. After some time, Yusupov felt the urge to check on Rasputin, only to find him with his eyes wide open. Rasputin had “rose from the dead” and ran to the courtyard not too far away. Then, the men beat Rasputin with metal rods and threw his body in a freezing river. An autopsy report would later reveal that there was water in Rasputin’s lungs, meaning that he had continued to breathe even after being shot in the head. Those that had interacted with Rasputin personally had stated his bizarre and dark energy, supporting his distinction as a man of dark magic. He will forever go down in history as a mysterious and mystical man of infamy.

Without further ado, I would love to introduce a woman who needs no introduction…Stevie Nicks. I’m so excited to share with you the unique and thrilling mystical career of Miss Stevie. Before I get too ahead of myself, I must supply some key background history surrounding her infamous rise to fame. Born in Phoenix, Arizona on May 26, 1948, Stevie was raised with a strong appreciation for the prominence of music. When she was only four years old, she began to show love and intense passion for music, singing country and western duets with her grandfather. Her father, due to his ever-changing work schedule as a corporate executive, resulted in frequent moving for Stevie and her family. With a new job opportunity available, her family made the move to San Francisco, where she began songwriting and performing at Menlo-Atherton High School.

It would be at Menlo-Atherton that she would ultimately meet her future band member and lover, Lindsey Buckingham. With Buckingham by her side, she joined the local band, Fritz, which collected a small following. Stevie and Lindsey signed with Polydor Records, and produced their first collaboration, “Buckingham-Nicks“. In time, the two were dropped from the label but managed to successfully gain the attention of Mick Fleetwood. Mick invited them to join Fleetwood Mack and the rest is history. In 1975, the self-titled album “Fleetwood Mac” topped the charts, headlined by Stevie’s “Rhiannon“. Stevie became an overnight sensation almost immediately, changing the world of rock forever.

Now, for the fun stuff. To quote the legend herself, “A long, long time ago I decided I was going to have a kind of mystical presence, so I made my clothes, my boots, my hair, and my whole being go with that. But it wasn’t something I just made up at that point. It’s the way I’ve always been. I’ve always believed in good witches-not bad witches-and fairies and angels” (Nicks, Interview Magazine, July 1998). Nicks has always been a captivating and remarkably talented figure, and she credits this ability to her powerful spirituality. By solely observing her unique discography, it is undeniable that one would experience an otherwordly musical experience. Nicks has been able to transcend the world of Rock N’ Roll by expressing her music in a way that was never seen previously. On her connection with mysticism, she has stated, “There is always magic to be summoned at any point. I love to live in a world of magic, but not a fake world of magic. We all really basically have a lot of magic….it’s only those of us that choose to accept it, that really understand it. It’s there for everyone” (Nicks, Jim Ladd Innerview, 1979). 

In reference to the infamous song “Rhiannon“, Nicks had been inspired to write about a woman Rhiannon from a book called Triad by Mary Leader. In Welsh mythology, Rhiannon, whose name means White Witch, is a horse goddess depicted in the Mabinogion. She bears deep magic and can manifest her dreams and desires for the virtue of all. She is a mystical healer who spends her days traveling on a powerful white horse with her peculiar birds. These birds are magical and possess great healing powers, for they are the birds of Sweetest Song and she is their divine mistress. As you can see, Nicks is very much in touch with her spirituality, and it is reflected dearly in her art. I am so grateful to be in a generation that can witness and appreciate such a unique and empowering artist. Stevie Nicks has truly shaped the musical world in ways that are actively bringing people together today.

Hello fellow peers! As you may know, witches are present in a multitude of modern-day sources of literature and storytelling. These mystical figures of sorcery and magical potions may seem to be mere entertaining tales, but this is not the case. There is a significant and profound history hidden amidst the depictions of stark black cauldrons and pointed hats. There is no better woman to delve into this supernatural paradox with other than the Voodoo queen herself, Marie Laveau. Marie is believed to have been born and raised by a wealthy Creole (a person of mixed European and black descent) plantation owner, Charles Laveau. Marie was raised with an ardent educational and religious background, as she attended mass every day as a devout Catholic. She married carpenter Jacques Paris, a free person of color who was part of large Haitian immigration to New Orleans. This Haitian Revolution allowed the roots of Voodoo practice, along with other African-based cultural practices, to flourish within the community of New Orleans. Soon after discovering a curiosity in these traditional African practices, Marie began to devote her time to Voodoo.

For the years that followed her time in New Orleans Marie began to establish a prominent name for herself in the world of witchcraft. She studied her craft with Doctor John, an infamous Voodoo doctor with immense knowledge on sorcery and spirit possession. Although it was commonly practiced in New Orleans, Voodoo had gained an ominous and shunned reputation. Through her revolutionary combination of Voodoo beliefs and Catholic traditions, she emerged to levels of powerful recognition within her community. Not only did this action spark a widespread involvement in Voodoo practice, but it also made such affiliations accessible to the upper-class individuals of New Orleans as well.

Marie rapidly came to dominate as the most powerful Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, leading rituals and ceremonies held at the Maison Blanche, also known as the White House, for secret voodoo meetings. She spent her time reading fortunes, imparting love advice, and curing various ailments. Admirers near and far praised Marie for her saintly nature, for she was responsible for nursing individuals both spiritually and physically. Marie Laveau died on June 15, 1881, at the age of 86. Her tomb is decorated with hearts, pentagrams, and beautifully written poetry. Marie was and continues to be a prominent figure of New Orleans culture. She has notably shaped a significant lifestyle prevalent in New Orleans Voodoo, specifically in aiding connections with nature and spirits. Voodoo is more than witchcraft; it is the foundation on which New Orleans has built its unique identity.

Witches throughout history have been able to fundamentally influence the way in which people behave and interact with their surroundings. Marie is a great example of this power, for she has influenced thousands of individuals for the better. In her witchcraft, she taught the importance of meaningful relationships with nature, spirits, and ancestors. This continues to be a universal concept that lies within each one of us. That is, to seek truths of our own individuality that lie beyond our present reality. Marie has conveyed powerful wisdom to New Orleans: a tenacious spirit and a good nature make all the difference.