George Pickingill 1816-1909 George Pickingill was born in 1816 in the village of Hockly England, he claimed to be descended from Julia Pickingill "the Witch of Brandon" who died in England circa 1071. George had a sinister reputation and many of the village folk were afraid of him and his magical abilities. When he established a coven, its leader had to present evidence that she or he was of hereditary witch blood.George's covens arose in Essex, Hampshire, Hertford, Norfolk and Sussex.Each one had to meet his standards in order for him to pass his "power" on to the leaders. When Gerald Gardner began writing openly about Wicca many elders of the craft community became alarmed. They feared exposure and damage that could result due to the distorted image of witchcraft. The East Anglian craft elders were concerned about associating George Pickingill and Aleister Crowly with Wicca. In order to protect against their discovery, the elders of hereditary traditions set things in motion to discredit claims of Gerald Gardner concerning survival of witch families.This envolved the eradication of as many traces of Pickingill and his "Nine Covens" as possible. George Pickingill intrduced many new concepts and embellished the ritual themes originally contained in hid Book of Shadows.He later moved to the village of Caewdon where he died in 1909.

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