Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits (October 1, 1949 – August 12, 2010) was an American

Neo-Druid Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spirituality, spiritual or religion, religious movement that promotes the cultivation of honorable relationships with the physical landscapes, flora, fauna, and diverse peoples of the world, as w ...

who published a number of books on the subject of

Neopaganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

and magic. He was a public speaker, liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founder of the Neopagan organizations

Ár nDraíocht Féin Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship, Inc. (otherwise known simply as ADF) is a non-profit religious organization dedicated to the study and further development of modern Druidry. In Modern Irish, ''Ár nDraíocht Féin'' () means "our own mag ...

and the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League. Born in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along ...

, Bonewits had been heavily involved in

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

since the 1960s.

Early life and education

Bonewits was born on October 1, 1949, in

, as the fourth of five children. His father was a Presbyterian while his mother a Catholic. Spending much of his childhood in Ferndale, he was moved at age 12 to

San Clemente, California San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwe ...

, where he spent a short time in a Catholic high school before he went back to public school to graduate from high school a year early. He enrolled at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

in 1966; he graduated from the university in 1970 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in magic, perhaps becoming the first and only person known to have ever received any kind of academic degree in magic from an accredited university.

Career

Early years

In 1966, while enrolled at

, Bonewits joined the

Reformed Druids of North America The Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) is an American Neo-Druidic organization. It was formed in 1963 at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota as a humorous protest against the college's required attendance of religious services. This orig ...

(RDNA). Bonewits was ordained as a

Neo-druid Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spirituality, spiritual or religion, religious movement that promotes the cultivation of honorable relationships with the physical landscapes, flora, fauna, and diverse peoples of the world, as w ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1969. During this period, the 18-year-old Bonewits was also recruited by the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in ''The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, Apr ...

, but left due to political and philosophical conflicts with Anton LaVey. During his stint in the Church of Satan, Bonewits appeared in some scenes of the 1970 documentary '' Satanis: The Devil's Mass''. Bonewits, in his article "My Satanic Adventure", asserts that the rituals in ''Satanis'' were staged for the movie at the behest of the filmmakers and were not authentic ceremonies.

1970s: author and editor

His first book, ''Real Magic'', was published in 1971. Between 1973 and 1975 Bonewits was employed as the editor of ''Gnostica'' magazine in Minnesota (published by Llewellyn Publications). He established an offshoot group of the

(RDNA) called the Schismatic Druids of North America, and helped create a group called the Hasidic Druids of North America (despite, in his words, his "lifelong status as a

gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

"). He also founded the short-lived Aquarian Anti-Defamation League (AADL), an early Pagan civil rights group. In 1976, Bonewits moved back to Berkeley and rejoined his original grove there, now part of the New Reformed Druids of North America (NRDNA). He was later elected Archdruid of the Berkeley Grove.

1980s: founding of Ár nDraíocht Féin

Throughout his life Bonewits had varying degrees of involvement with occult groups including Gardnerian Wicca and the

New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn The New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn (abbreviated NROOGD, commonly pronounced "nuh-roog'd") is a Wiccan tradition founded in 1967. Despite its name, has little or nothing to do with the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ...

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

n organization not to be confused with the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ( la, Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th ce ...

). Bonewits was a regular presenter at Neopagan conferences and festivals all over the US, as well as attending gaming conventions in the Bay Area. He promoted his book ''Authentic Thaumaturgy'' to gamers as a way of organizing

Dungeons and Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

games and to give a background to games of Magic: the Gathering. In 1983, Bonewits founded

(also known as "A Druid Fellowship" or ADF), which was incorporated in 1990 in the state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

as a U.S. 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Although illness curtailed many of his activities and travels for a time, he remained Archdruid of ADF until 1996. In that year, he resigned from the position of Archdruid but retained the lifelong title of ADF Archdruid Emeritus.

Musician and activist

A songwriter, singer, and recording artist, he produced two CDs of pagan music and numerous recorded lectures and panel discussions, produced and distributed by the

Association for Consciousness Exploration The Association for Consciousness Exploration LLC (ACE) is an American organization based in Northeastern Ohio which produces events, books, and recorded media in the fields of "magic, mind-sciences, alternative lifestyles, comparative religion/sp ...

. He lived in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, and was a member of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS). Bonewits encouraged charity programs to help Neopagan seniors, and in January 2006 was the keynote speaker at the Conference On Current Pagan Studies at the

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna C ...

in Claremont, CA.

Personal life

Bonewits was married five times. He was married to Rusty Elliot from 1973 to 1976. His second wife was Selene Kumin Vega, followed by marriage to

Sally Eaton Sally Eaton (born April 6, 1947) is an American Wiccan high priestess, liturgist, singer and actress, whose credits include creating and playing the role of Jeannie in the Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions of the musical ''Hair'', and a ...

(1980 to 1985). His fourth wife was author

Deborah Lipp According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars c ...

, from 1988 to 1998. On July 23, 2004, he was married in a

handfasting Handfasting is a traditional practice that, depending on the term's usage, may define an unofficiated wedding (in which a couple marries without an officiant, usually with the intent of later undergoing a second wedding with an officiant), a ...

ceremony to a former vice-president of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, Phaedra Heyman Bonewits. At the time of the handfasting, the marriage was not yet legal because he had not yet been legally divorced from Lipp, although they had been separated for several years. Paperwork and legalities caught up on December 31, 2007, making them legally married. Bonewits' only child, was born to Deborah Lipp in 1990.

Illness and death

In 1990, Bonewits was diagnosed with eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome. The illness was a factor in his eventual resignation from the position of Archdruid of the ADF. On October 25, 2009, Bonewits was diagnosed with a rare form of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

,''Isaac Bonewits Diagnosed with Cancer''
, Jason Pitzl-Waters, ''The Wild Hunt'' for which he underwent treatment. He died at home, on August 12, 2010, surrounded by his family.

Contributions to Neopaganism

In his book ''Real Magic'' (1971), Bonewits proposed his "Laws of Magic". These "laws" are synthesized from a multitude of

belief system A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to tak ...

s from around the world to explain and categorize magical beliefs within a cohesive framework. Many interrelationships exist, and some belief systems are

subset In mathematics, set ''A'' is a subset of a set ''B'' if all elements of ''A'' are also elements of ''B''; ''B'' is then a superset of ''A''. It is possible for ''A'' and ''B'' to be equal; if they are unequal, then ''A'' is a proper subset o ...

s of others. This work was chosen by Dennis Wheatley in the 1970s to be part of his publishing project ''Library of the Occult''. Bonewits also coined much of the modern terminology used to articulate the themes and issues that affect the North American Neopagan community. * Pioneered the modern usage of the terms " thealogy", " Paleo-Paganism", "

Meso-Paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. In ...

", and numerous other

retronym A retronym is a newer name for an existing thing that helps differentiate the original form/version from a more recent one. It is thus a word or phrase created to avoid confusion between older and newer types, whereas previously (before there were ...

s. * Possibly coined the term "

Pagan Reconstructionism Polytheistic reconstructionism (or simply Reconstructionism) is an approach to modern paganism first emerging in the late 1960s to early 1970s, which gathered momentum starting in the 1990s. Reconstructionism attempts to re-establish genuine poly ...

", though the communities in question would later diverge from his initial meaning. Author is unsure whether he "got this use of the term from one or more of the other culturally focused Neopagan movements of the time, or if ejust applied it in a novel fashion".McColman (2003) p.51: "Such reconstructionists are attempting, through both spiritual and scholarly means, to create as purely Celtic a spirituality as possible." * Founded Ar nDraiocht Fein, which was incorporated in 1990 in the state of Delaware as a U.S. 501(c)3 non-profit organization. * Developed the ''Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame'' (ABCDEF). * Coined the phrase "Never Again the Burning". * Critiqued the Burning Times / Old Religion Murray thesis (in ''Bonewits's Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca''). * In his book ''Real Magic'' (1971), Bonewits proposed his hypothesis on the Laws of Magic, which were then elaborated in his RPG supplement ''Authentic Thaumaturgy''. The book makes it clear it is an adaptation of the ideas from Real Magic to gaming with the Laws presented being abbreviated from those in ''Real Magic''.Bonewits, Isaac (2005). ''Authentic Thaumaturgy''. Steve Jackson Games. p. 58

Bibliography

*''Real Magic: An Introductory Treatise on the Basic Principles of Yellow Magic''. (1972, 1979, 1989) Weiser Books *''The Druid Chronicles (Evolved)''. (1976 Drunemeton Press, 2005 Drynemetum Press) (With Selene Kumin Vega, Rusty Elliot, and Arlynde d'Loughlan) *'' Authentic Thaumaturgy''. (With others) (1978 Chaosium, 1998 Steve Jackson Games) *''Rites of Worship: A Neopagan Approach''. (2003) Earth Religions Press OP *''Witchcraft: A Concise Guide or Which Witch Is Which?''. (2003) Earth Religions Press *''The Pagan Man: Priests, Warriors, Hunters, and Drummers''. (2005) Citadel , *''Bonewits's Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca''. (2006) Citadel , *''Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism''. (2006) Citadel , *''Real Energy: Systems, Spirits, And Substances to Heal, Change, And Grow''. (2007) New Leaf , . Co-authored with Phaedra Bonewits. *''Neopagan Rites: A Guide to Creating Public Rituals that Work''. (2007) Llewellyn , *

Discography

Music

* ''Be Pagan Once Again!'' – Isaac Bonewits & Friends (including Ian Corrigan, Victoria Ganger, and Todd Alan) (CD) ( ACE/ ADF) * ''Avalon is Rising!'' – Real Magic (CD)(ACE/ADF)

Spoken word

* ''The Structure of Craft Ritual'' (ACE) * ''A Magician Prepares'' (ACE) * ''Programming Magical Ritual: Top-Down Liturgical Design'' (ACE) * ''Druidism: Ancient & Modern'' (ACE) * ''How Does Magic Work?'' (ACE) * ''Rituals That Work'' (ACE) * ''Sexual Magic & Magical Sex'' (with

) (ACE) * ''Making Fun of Religion'' (with

) (ACE)

Panel discussions

* ''The Magickal Movement: Present & Future'' (with Margot Adler, Selena Fox, and

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilso ...

) (ACE) * ''Magick Changing the World, the World Changing Magick'' (with AmyLee, Selena Fox, Jeff Rosenbaum and