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

Early life

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

Career

Along with Doreen Valiente, Lois Bourne, and Eleanor Bone, Crowther is considered 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. 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.

Books

• 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

1. Elders of the Wica Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
2. Book of witchcraft Lid of the cauldron ISBN 0-584-10421-9
3. ^ "Arnold Crowther". www.controverscial.com. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
4. Philip Heselton, Witchfather. A life of Gerald Gardner. Volume II, Thoth Publications, Loughborough, Leichestershire, 2012
5. "Patricia Crowther". www.controverscial.com. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrUmzSKIyNA%7Cdate=December 2012

External links

• 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

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

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