High Priestess [Paperback]

Patricia Crowther (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1999

High Priestess is a fascinating account of a witch's life as a High Priestess of the Great Goddess.Patricia verifies the Craft's system of Degrees by providing proof of their usage in ancient times and gives startling evidence concerning the long-standing enigma of how Alex Sanders obtained the Book of Shadows, which he incorporated into his own brand of witchcraft. One of the most interesting parts of the book is her recollections of her friendships with occultists and witches such as William Gray, R. J. Stewart, Ray Bone, Ruth Wynn-Owen, and, of course, Gerald Gardner.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

As one of the Western world's leading figures in the modern revival of witchcraft, Patricia Crowther was a close friend and confidante of the late Gerald Gardner who initiated her into the Craft of the Wise.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix Publishing (WA) (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0919345875
• ISBN-13: 978-0919345874
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,081,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Piece of History, December 23, 2001

By 

Boudica (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Priestess (Paperback)

History is an important item when we want to consider where we have come from in order to determine where we are going.

Patricia Crowther puts together in her book an interesting first hand view of the beginnings of modern day Wicca. For those who do not know her, she was initiated into the craft by Gerald Gardner himself, and was one of the key players in the birthing of what has become the basis of our modern day belief system.

What many readers will find interesting is how Ms. Crowther sees the other founders of the various branches of the Craft and other well known influencential persons in the Wiccan movement. Her memories of Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders and R. J. Stewart, to name a few, are interesting and insightful into these early movers and shakers.

Her own path to the Goddess is also recorded here, as well as her own life and times. The 50's and 60's and the early Craft are reflected upon in her stories of her travels and her discovery of the roots of Goddess worship.

This is an interesting book for its history and worth having in your library as a fascinating first hand account of Modern Wicca from one of the Founding Mothers.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Expected, January 6, 2005

By 

kmcorby - See all my reviews

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This review is from: High Priestess (Paperback)

This book is not what I expected. It is gossipy and shallow. I was hoping for some insight into the early history of the craft revival, or perhps impressions of what it is like to run a long-established coven, the lifetime experience of being High priestess. Stories abourt how Crowther's cats lived and died, for example, do not fit the bill. (Goddess knows I love cats as much as any pagan, but still.) Buy this book only of you are a completist, or have an obsessive interest in the early British Craft scene.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, sincere with enjoyable insights, July 28, 2011

By 

D. Riverblue Cloudwalker "Riverblue" (California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: High Priestess (Paperback)

First, it should be noted that the author, Patricia Crowther, wrote another autobiography in 1974 entitled, "Witch Blood! The Diary of a Witch High Priestess". The two autobiographies cover some of the same time period, but this 1998 one also covers later parts of her life.
What strikes me most after reading both books, is the realization that if you happen to be at the right time and place in history to know the pivotal "who's who" of an important and developing movement which will later grow larger, you can probably write most anything you want to and be sure to have an audience. Much of what Crowther writes will be of interest to people, simply because they want to know more about Gerald Gardner and his milieu, and early Wicca. Readers will not find in either of Crowther's autobiographies the stimulation of a collection of highly original thoughts or insights, or presentation of complex or psychologically or philosophically sophisticated ideas about the Craft and Magic. What they will find are many anecdotal stories, tales of interesting synchronicities or inexplicable perhaps psychic/occult phenomena, accounts of relationships, and stories of just plain fun and adventure, including accounts of visits to some ancient Magical sites in Britain.

SOme of Crowther's intutions and insights into human nature do intrigue as they reflect a solid "folksy" wisdom, for instance (from Witch Blood p 134): "I have met a few of these so called black magicians, but I have never been impressed. They have always been insignificant little men, and not over clean in their personal habits." And later, speaking of scammers and frauds in the Witchcraft world, "Strangely enough, all the pretenders are men: yet witchcraft has always been a women's cult ruled by the High Priestess." (pg188 Witch Blood)
As one finds in her last chapter, "Towards the Year 2000!", Crowther represents a very traditionalist perspective, that frowns upon the increasingly common phenomenon of self-initiated witches, "DIY" Witchcraft" as she puts it. She gives a rather unconvincing, weak argument in response to the significant question asked I believe by Doreen Valiente, "Who initiated the first witch?"

In this book, Crowther lops Alex Sanders to pieces as a lying fraud. Read her 1st autobiography Witch Blood for stories of her encounters with Aleister Crowley.