WEST COUNTRY WICCA. A Journal of the Old Religion.; With Illustrations by Diana Green.
Custer, WA: Phoenix Publishing Co., [1989]. First Edition. Small quarto, original pictorial wrappers (trade paper format). 99 pp, Index, Illustrations. Light wear to spine, small crease to rear cover and last few pages; a very good, sound copy. Item #312369
Rhiannon Ryall (pseudonym) is an English-born Australian Wiccan who achieved claims the existence of a group of Wiccans living in England's West Country during the 1940s. These claims were first publicized here in 'West Country Wicca: A Journal of the Old Religion'. Ryall talks about growing up along the borders between the English counties of Devon and Somerset, and how she was initiated into a local Wiccan tradition that many of the people in the surrounding villages were members of. Claiming that they were "pre-Gardnerian", she asserts that her family had not been Wiccan, and as such she was not a hereditary witch, but that at the age of sixteen, she, like many other boys and girls, were taken to the female "Elders of the Village" who taught them about the Craft. Ryall asserts that the religion's local followers worshiped the Great Goddess, who was often known as "the Green Lady" and who it was believed slept during the winter months, along with a Horned God, whom they referred to as "Old Horny". Ryall states that the Wiccans met in secretive covens and performed the Drawing Down the Moon rite as a part of their faith, as well as celebrating five Sabbats annually, which were termed Lady Day (25 March), Beltane (30 April), the Summer Solstice (21 June), Samhain (31 October) and the Winter Solstice (21 December). Describing the group's practices, she claims that they wore robes, which were "mainly brown or black, although for festivals they were usually green" and that they used a cup, a knife, a wand and a dish of salt as their ritual tools. She also claimed that they wrote nothing down, and as such did not make use of a Book of Shadows.
Price (USD): $45.00