Customer Reviews

King of the Witches: World of Alex Sanders

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Alex Saunders was a fascinating man whose story, as told in this book, is one I have heard from a number of sources, so if it is not true, it is still the one he wished others to believe. Some of what was written in the Johns book was later confirmed in the books by the Farrars who were, as I understand it, students of his at one time. I often wonder at the disillusion which caused Alex to stop being the priest he was. Whatever he is viewed, as personally having been at the time the book was written and in his life before priesthood, he was a knowledgable "light in the darkness" in the times when the Craft was just beginning to be important again. This book is about those times. It does not comment or criticise his life. It is, rather, a reporter's view of it. For one in today's world to speak ill of the facts in this book simply serves as one's judgement of his personal life, not his life as a priest which, fortunately, June Johns has not seen fit to do. The purity of her approach sheds light on the times in which the events took place. Such judgement is based on life today, not life as it was in ancient times or even as it was in Alex's time. Although I did not know Alex personally I knew people who did and who respected him, as he was one of a very few who were the fathers and mothers of the Craft as it grew in modern times. Johns has done a good job of research and the stories of things that happened to Alex are remeniscent of things which happened to many people working in the Craft during those years. How those things came to pass and how he handled them may be quite different, but this is meant to be one man's story and I wish they had printed another several thousand copies, for I would have had every student I have ever had read it as backgroud for the old histories. Wherever he is today, I wish Alex the best as, I am sure did June Johns. The magical and Craft stories in this book are beautifully detailed and the problems which assailed every one of us in the time of Alex's priesthood and our learning of the difference between magic and the religion of the Craft are precious to us all. I am writing to locate another copy since mine disappeared years ago. If one reads this with an open mind to a culture fast disappearing beneath the glamour of today's self-initiated and racy cultural Wicca, they will find a man who truly tried to preserve what he had learned and follow the law to pass it on to others. DEA Boreadean Order of Druid and Feryllt

This Book is a cornerstone of Wiccan Literature. It is easy to read in biography form and explains a number of complex phenomena that were then taking place within wicca during the early generation of this past century. As it tells the story of his life, the book explores intricate balances of life and death, good and evil and of course the tender standing of wicca to the only just repealed laws forbidding the public practice of any sort of witch craft. It includes fascinating accounts of coven meetings and eary structure, sets the standard for known practise and is a must-read, along with Gerald Gardener's "Witchcraft Today". The emergance of hereditary witchcraft into mainstream society was institutionalised by the leadership of these men and their contribution of not only the newly unvieled shadows of craft, but also mystic lore of past ages and knowledge of ancient secrets and grimoires all has come to form what we recognise today as modern wicca. The only thing I felt the book lacked were color photos and maps, which are always of great value and interest.

This is such a load of crap. Certainly, this should be listed under "Poorly-written Fantasy" rather than "Biography". We have all heard the "grandma in the kitchen" story, but even the rest of the book must (hopefully) be pure fiction. What Sanders practiced in no way resembles the Wicca that I practice. Supposedly, my tradition is an off-shoot of Alexandrian, but I can see no familar traces whatsoever. I just hope that this book is old enough and obscure enough that non-Pagans don't accidentally read it and form their opinion from it!

I've been a Practicing Occultist the majority of my life (I'm 47 now) and I was always fascinated by Alex Sanders. In my late teen years in the late 1970's I got involved in "Wica" and eventually went on to later be initiated into Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wica but I liked Alexandrian Wica a bit better since it got more into some Ceremonial Magick practices. I've heard for years both the good and bad as well as the many rumours of Alex's exploits, but after reading this book though I enjoyed it's entertainment value, I was left with mixed emotions.

The accounts of Alex's "black magick" exploits of which he would later feel guilty about and thus seek to redeem himself by performing purging rituals deemed from Christianized Ceremonial Magick tomes sounded to me a bit too contrived...possibly by the author who in her introduction tells us of her Angelican background. No TRUE Witch...especially a British Witch...back then would have such shortcomings since from the explanation of the "Black Magick" Alex was supposed to have practiced was to my years of knowledge of the Occult obviously "White" Ceremonial Magick not to mention that much of the supposed "Witch Laws" sounded phoney to me as well, having studied "Wica" many years ago as part of my Occult education.

Thus, I suggest one read this book soley for it's entertainment value as well as the novelty of a historic figure from Wiccan "History", but not to be taken as a serious book on the practice of Witchcraft!

Blessed Goddess, I HOPE this was a terribly skewed book! It presents a fascinating but ultimately nauseating portrait of Alex Sanders (founder of the Alexandrian tradition of Wicca) as an egotistical, hateful, perverted individual. I found this in a second-hand shop, and horrified, read it cover-to-cover. Contains black & white photos of historical interest to modern Witches, and features naked Pagans dancing 'round a bonfire on the BACK of the dust jacket! Amazing that this book (full of photos of naked Witches) got published in 1969! Salacious, bizarre, and not-at-all flattering to Alex Sanders...I wonder if he sued after publication?