Aidan Kelly
Encyclopedia
Aidan Kelly is an American
academic, poet and influential figure in the Neopagan
religion of Wicca
. Having developed his own branch of the faith, the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn
, during the 1960s, he was also initiated into other traditions, including Gardnerianism
and Feri, in subsequent decades. Alongside this, he was also an important figure in the creation of the Covenant of the Goddess
, an organisation designed to protect the civil rights of members of the Wiccan community in the United States. He has also published academic work studying the early development of Gardnerian Wiccan liturgy, primarily through his controversial 1991 book Crafting the Art of Magic.
Kelly became an organizer and leader in the Neo-Pagan community while studying for a Master's degree in creative writing at San Francisco State University
in 1967 and 1968. A friend asked him to write a ritual for a Witch sabbat as part of an art seminar. This project led to the founding in October 1967 of the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn
(NROOGD), which evolved into a Wiccan coven
in 1969. Although humorously named after the famous Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
, Kelly's coven was otherwise unrelated to that group.
The NROOGD tradition co-founded by Kelly in 1969 continues to operate in California and has covens in other states, Canada and the UK.
As one of the co-founders of the Covenant of the Goddess
(CoG), Kelly helped write the organization's charter and bylaws in 1975. The organization's charter was filed with the State of California on October 31, 1975, incorporating CoG as a non-profit religious corporation. From CoG's inception in 1975 until 1977, Kelly served on its national board of directors.
, where Kelly graduated from Tamalpais High School
in 1957. Later Aiden would find out that, from the time of WWII until the 1990's, his father was working high-ranking military intelligence officer.
Shortly after moving to Mill Valley, Kelly experienced what he described as a "spontaneous mystical experience," when a vision of the Goddess first appeared to him at the age of 15. Although Kelly was raised as a Roman Catholic, his vision of the Goddess in Mill Valley triggered a lifelong interest in alternative religions.
After graduating from high school, Kelly studied at the University of California, Berkely, then San Francisco State University
(San Francisco State College at that time), where he received his bachelor's degree in 1964.
. He returned to San Francisco State in 1966, where he completed a master's degree in creative writing in 1968. From then, until 1973, Kelly worked for publisher W. H. Freeman and Company
. At the end of 1973, he left W. H. Freeman to begin working on a Ph.D. at the Graduate Theological Union
(GTU) in Berkeley. He also started his own business as a consulting editor at this time.
While working on his Ph.D. during 1974 and 1975, Kelly was able to study pages from an early Book of Shadows
, purportedly typed by Gerald Gardner as well as a manuscript titled “Ye Bok of ye Art Magical” from Gardner's former Museum of Witchcraft
, then owned by Ripley’s
, now owned by the Wiccan Church of Canada. He hoped to use these materials to reconstruct a history of how Gardner founded modern Wicca
. The resulting manuscript was used to satisfy his comprehensive examination topic in Sociology of Religion for his doctorate program at GTU. Although Kelly wrote the manuscript under contract to Llewellyn Publications
, it was declined by Llewellyn as "too difficult and scholarly." He offered the book to other publishers without success.
In 1976, Kelly sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous
. He withdrew from participation in the Neo-Pagan community in 1977 and became a practicing Roman Catholic from 1978 until 1987. However, as Kelly explained in a 2006 interview with Lisa Harris of Widershins, he "never stopped being a witch; I just stopped practicing for a while."
Kelly received a Ph.D. in Theology from GTU in 1980. For the next eight years, he taught at schools in the San Francisco Bay area, including the University of San Francisco
and Holy Family College. He was active in scholarly professional societies, and from 1987 to 1990 co-chaired the steering committee for the American Academy of Religion
's Group on New Religious Movements.
Llewellyn published Kelly's previously rejected research in 1991 as Crafting the Art of Magic, which has since been republished in a revised 2007 edition titled Inventing Witchcraft.
After moving to Seattle, Washington in 1997, Kelly worked for several companies related to Microsoft. He accepted a teaching position for the Berkeley Learning Center in Lakewood, Washington in 2001. In 2008, Kelly and his family moved to New Orleans, where he teaches for ITT Technical Institute
and continues to write.
In support of his theory, Kelly explains that "the paper trail stops in 1946. We have no serious historical evidence for the existence of any Gardnerian coven before then." (p. 32)
Not surprisingly, Inventing Witchcraft and the earlier edition of Kelly's work, Crafting the Art of Magic, became a source of controversy among Wiccans, especially in Gardnerian Wicca
covens, who trace the origin of their traditions to Gerald Gardner. To accept Kelly's theory that Gardner "invented" a new religion, would mean giving up the belief that Gardnerian Wicca was the revival of an ancient faith previously held in secret by a few survivors. (p. 28)
Kelly's work was criticized for both its overall premise and specific details. Donald H. Frew
complained that Crafing the Art of Magic contained errors in quoting source texts to support Kelly's theory. Frew also objected to the accusation of homophobia
(Inventing Witchcraft, p. 155) that Kelly felt was exhibited by Gardner's writings.
The "new religion" concept in Kelly's work was not entirely unwelcome in the Wiccan community. Other Neo-Pagan historians, such as Ronald Hutton
and Jacqueline Simpson
, wrote supportive responses to Kelly's work, disputing some of the criticism.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic, poet and influential figure in the Neopagan
Neopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
religion of Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
. Having developed his own branch of the faith, the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn
New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn
The New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn is a Wiccan organization/tradition/denomination that, despite its name, has little or nothing to do with the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.The NROOGD Tradition of the Craft originated in 1967 with a group of friends The New Reformed...
, during the 1960s, he was also initiated into other traditions, including Gardnerianism
Gardnerian Wicca
Gardnerian Wicca, or Gardnerian Witchcraft, is a mystery cult tradition or denomination in the neopagan religion of Wicca, whose members can trace initiatory descent from Gerald Gardner. The tradition is itself named after Gardner , a British civil servant and scholar of magic...
and Feri, in subsequent decades. Alongside this, he was also an important figure in the creation of the Covenant of the Goddess
Covenant of the Goddess
The Covenant of the Goddess is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens . It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among Witches and to secure for Witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other...
, an organisation designed to protect the civil rights of members of the Wiccan community in the United States. He has also published academic work studying the early development of Gardnerian Wiccan liturgy, primarily through his controversial 1991 book Crafting the Art of Magic.
Kelly became an organizer and leader in the Neo-Pagan community while studying for a Master's degree in creative writing at San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
in 1967 and 1968. A friend asked him to write a ritual for a Witch sabbat as part of an art seminar. This project led to the founding in October 1967 of the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn
New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn
The New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn is a Wiccan organization/tradition/denomination that, despite its name, has little or nothing to do with the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.The NROOGD Tradition of the Craft originated in 1967 with a group of friends The New Reformed...
(NROOGD), which evolved into a Wiccan coven
Coven
A coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
in 1969. Although humorously named after the famous Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
, Kelly's coven was otherwise unrelated to that group.
The NROOGD tradition co-founded by Kelly in 1969 continues to operate in California and has covens in other states, Canada and the UK.
As one of the co-founders of the Covenant of the Goddess
Covenant of the Goddess
The Covenant of the Goddess is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens . It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among Witches and to secure for Witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other...
(CoG), Kelly helped write the organization's charter and bylaws in 1975. The organization's charter was filed with the State of California on October 31, 1975, incorporating CoG as a non-profit religious corporation. From CoG's inception in 1975 until 1977, Kelly served on its national board of directors.
Early life and education
Aidan Kelly was born on October 22, 1940 in Colon, Panama, the first of four children to Marie Cecile Kelly and John Patrick Kelly. Panama was his father's first assignment as a U.S. Army officer after graduating from West Point. John Patrick Kelly's military career took the family to assignments around the world. In 1955 they settled in Mill Valley, CaliforniaMill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
, where Kelly graduated from Tamalpais High School
Tamalpais High School
Tamalpais High School is a public secondary school located in Mill Valley, California. It is named after nearby Mount Tamalpais, which rises more than above Mill Valley....
in 1957. Later Aiden would find out that, from the time of WWII until the 1990's, his father was working high-ranking military intelligence officer.
Shortly after moving to Mill Valley, Kelly experienced what he described as a "spontaneous mystical experience," when a vision of the Goddess first appeared to him at the age of 15. Although Kelly was raised as a Roman Catholic, his vision of the Goddess in Mill Valley triggered a lifelong interest in alternative religions.
After graduating from high school, Kelly studied at the University of California, Berkely, then San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
(San Francisco State College at that time), where he received his bachelor's degree in 1964.
Writing Career and Professional Life
After graduating from San Francisco State in 1964, Kelly worked as an editor for Stanford University PressStanford University Press
The Stanford University Press is the publishing house of Stanford University. In 1892, an independent publishing company was established at the university. The first use of the name "Stanford University Press" in a book's imprinting occurred in 1895...
. He returned to San Francisco State in 1966, where he completed a master's degree in creative writing in 1968. From then, until 1973, Kelly worked for publisher W. H. Freeman and Company
W. H. Freeman
-History:The company was founded in 1946 by William H. Freeman. He had been a salesman and editor at Macmillan Publishing. Freeman's first published book was General Chemistry by Linus Pauling. Freeman was acquired by Scientific American Inc. in 1964. Holtzbrinck bought Scientific American in...
. At the end of 1973, he left W. H. Freeman to begin working on a Ph.D. at the Graduate Theological Union
Graduate Theological Union
The Graduate Theological Union ' is a consortium of nine independent theological schools, and eleven centers and affiliates. Eight of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded in 1962. It maintains the Graduate Theological Union Library, one of the most...
(GTU) in Berkeley. He also started his own business as a consulting editor at this time.
While working on his Ph.D. during 1974 and 1975, Kelly was able to study pages from an early Book of Shadows
Book of Shadows
A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious texts and instructions for magical rituals found within the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Originating within the Gardnerian tradition of the Craft, the first Book of Shadows was created by the pioneering Wiccan Gerald Gardner sometime in the late 1940s...
, purportedly typed by Gerald Gardner as well as a manuscript titled “Ye Bok of ye Art Magical” from Gardner's former Museum of Witchcraft
Museum of Witchcraft
Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall, England is a museum dedicated to witchcraft and has the largest collection of witchcraft and Wiccan related artifacts in the world...
, then owned by Ripley’s
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims...
, now owned by the Wiccan Church of Canada. He hoped to use these materials to reconstruct a history of how Gardner founded modern Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
. The resulting manuscript was used to satisfy his comprehensive examination topic in Sociology of Religion for his doctorate program at GTU. Although Kelly wrote the manuscript under contract to Llewellyn Publications
Llewellyn Worldwide
Llewellyn Worldwide is a New Age publisher, currently based in Woodbury, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul. Llewellyn's mission is to "serve the trade and consumers worldwide with options and tools for exploring new worlds of mind & spirit, thereby aiding in the quests of expanded human potential,...
, it was declined by Llewellyn as "too difficult and scholarly." He offered the book to other publishers without success.
In 1976, Kelly sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
. He withdrew from participation in the Neo-Pagan community in 1977 and became a practicing Roman Catholic from 1978 until 1987. However, as Kelly explained in a 2006 interview with Lisa Harris of Widershins, he "never stopped being a witch; I just stopped practicing for a while."
Kelly received a Ph.D. in Theology from GTU in 1980. For the next eight years, he taught at schools in the San Francisco Bay area, including the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
and Holy Family College. He was active in scholarly professional societies, and from 1987 to 1990 co-chaired the steering committee for the American Academy of Religion
American Academy of Religion
The American Academy of Religion is the world's largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association,...
's Group on New Religious Movements.
Llewellyn published Kelly's previously rejected research in 1991 as Crafting the Art of Magic, which has since been republished in a revised 2007 edition titled Inventing Witchcraft.
After moving to Seattle, Washington in 1997, Kelly worked for several companies related to Microsoft. He accepted a teaching position for the Berkeley Learning Center in Lakewood, Washington in 2001. In 2008, Kelly and his family moved to New Orleans, where he teaches for ITT Technical Institute
ITT Technical Institute
ITT Technical Institute is a for-profit technical institute with over 130 campuses in 38 states of the United States. ITT Tech is owned and operated by ITT Educational Services, Inc. , a publicly traded company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. ITT Educational Services, Inc...
and continues to write.
Controversial Work
Inventing Witchcraft labels "the Craft" as a new religion, founded by Gerald Gardner "in 1947, give or take a year." (p. 33-34) This theory obviously conflicts with Gardner's own claim to have been initiated in 1939 into one of England's last surviving witch covens. Kelly's book identifies the initiation of Gardner as "the foundational myth" of Modern Witchcraft. (p. 35)In support of his theory, Kelly explains that "the paper trail stops in 1946. We have no serious historical evidence for the existence of any Gardnerian coven before then." (p. 32)
Not surprisingly, Inventing Witchcraft and the earlier edition of Kelly's work, Crafting the Art of Magic, became a source of controversy among Wiccans, especially in Gardnerian Wicca
Gardnerian Wicca
Gardnerian Wicca, or Gardnerian Witchcraft, is a mystery cult tradition or denomination in the neopagan religion of Wicca, whose members can trace initiatory descent from Gerald Gardner. The tradition is itself named after Gardner , a British civil servant and scholar of magic...
covens, who trace the origin of their traditions to Gerald Gardner. To accept Kelly's theory that Gardner "invented" a new religion, would mean giving up the belief that Gardnerian Wicca was the revival of an ancient faith previously held in secret by a few survivors. (p. 28)
Kelly's work was criticized for both its overall premise and specific details. Donald H. Frew
Donald H. Frew
Donald Hudson 'Don' Frew is a notable figure in American Wicca, the Covenant of the Goddess, national and international interfaith work, and original research.He is a National Interfaith Representative for the Covenant of the Goddess...
complained that Crafing the Art of Magic contained errors in quoting source texts to support Kelly's theory. Frew also objected to the accusation of homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
(Inventing Witchcraft, p. 155) that Kelly felt was exhibited by Gardner's writings.
The "new religion" concept in Kelly's work was not entirely unwelcome in the Wiccan community. Other Neo-Pagan historians, such as Ronald Hutton
Ronald Hutton
Ronald Hutton is an English historian who specializes in the study of Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and contemporary Paganism. A reader in the subject at the University of Bristol, Hutton has published fourteen books and has appeared on British television and radio...
and Jacqueline Simpson
Jacqueline Simpson
Dr. Jacqueline Simpson is a United Kingdom researcher and author on folklore and legend.She studied English Literature and Medieval Icelandic at Bedford College, University of London. Dr. Simpson has been, at various times, Editor, Secretary, and President of the Folklore Society. She was awarded...
, wrote supportive responses to Kelly's work, disputing some of the criticism.