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Victor Henry Anderson (May 21, 1917 – September 20, 2001) was an American priest and poet. He was co-founder of the
Feri Tradition The Feri Tradition is an initiatory tradition of modern Pagan witchcraft. It was founded in California in the 1960s by the Americans Victor Henry Anderson and his wife Cora Anderson. Practitioners have described it as an ecstatic tradition rather ...
, a
modern Pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various Paganism, historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of No ...
new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...
established in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
during the 1960s. Much of his poetry was religious in nature, being devoted to Feri deities. Born in
Clayton, New Mexico Clayton is a town and county seat of Union County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,980. History Early History Native Americans were present in the area of Clayton for at least 10,000 years, as evi ...
, to a working-class family, Anderson was left visually impaired during childhood. His family regularly moved around within the United States during his early years, with Anderson claiming that encounters with Mexican, Hawaiian, and Haitian migrants led to him gaining an early understanding of these various cultures' magical practices. The family eventually settled in
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, and Anderson later claimed that it was here that he was initiated into a tradition of witchcraft by an African woman. He later claimed that, in 1932, he joined a magico-religious group known as the Harpy Coven which was based in Ashland and which dissolved in the 1940s. According to his description, the group was devoted to a god and goddess, Setan and
Lilith Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...
, and were influenced by both American folk magic and Huna. In 1944, he married Cora Cremeans in
Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...
, and, inspired by the writings of English Wiccan
Gerald Gardner Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Contemporary Pag ...
, they founded the Mahaelani Coven, gaining followers of what became known as the Feri tradition. One of their first initiates was
Gwydion Pendderwen Thomas deLong (May 21, 1946 – November 6, 1982), better known as Gwydion Pendderwen, was an American musician, writer, poet, conservationist and witch. Early life Pendderwen was born in Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the ea ...
, who was a significant influence on the development of the tradition, and who introduced elements from
Alexandrian Wicca Alexandrian Wicca or Alexandrian Witchcraft is a tradition of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, founded by Alex Sanders (also known as "King of the Witches") who, with his wife Maxine Sanders, established the tradition in the United Kingdom in th ...
in to it. Anderson was a professional
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
player and wrote poetry for various American Pagan magazines. In 1970, he published his first book of poetry, ''Thorns of the Blood Rose'', which contained devotional religious poetry dedicated to the Goddess; it won the Clover International Poetry Competition Award in 1975. Anderson continued to promote the Feri tradition until his death, at which point April Niino was appointed as the new Grandmaster of the tradition.


Early life


Childhood: 1917–1931

Anderson was born on May 21, 1917 at the Buffalo Horn Ranch in
Clayton, New Mexico Clayton is a town and county seat of Union County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,980. History Early History Native Americans were present in the area of Clayton for at least 10,000 years, as evi ...
. His parents were Hilbart Alexander Anderson (1883–1952) and Mary Frances Anderson (née Smith, 1886–1973). Regarding his ethnic ancestry, he later stated that "I am mostly Irish and Spanish with some Native American, including Polynesian". He also claimed that his maternal great-grandmother had been one of the
Blue Fugates The Fugates, a family living in the hills of Kentucky starting in the 19th century, were commonly known as the "Blue Fugates" or the "Blue People of Kentucky". They are known for being carriers of a genetic trait that led to the blood disorder ...
, a community living in
Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
whose skin had a blueish coloration due to
methemoglobinemia Methemoglobinemia, or methaemoglobinaemia, is a condition of elevated methemoglobin in the blood. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, poor muscle coordination, and blue-colored skin (cyanosis). Complications m ...
. Anderson became almost completely blind when he was two years old, either because of an accident or untreated
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
. By 1920, the family were living in
Burkburnett Burkburnett is a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas metropolitan statistical area. Its population was 10,811 at the 2010 census. The community newspaper, the ''Burkburnett Informer/Star,'' is publi ...
, Wichita County,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, where a sister, Elsie Glenan Anderson, was born in February. Here, Hilbart worked as a floor worker on some of the many oil rigs in the town. From there they moved to
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
, New Mexico, where they were recorded as living in the 1923–24 directory, and where Anderson later claimed that he had made many friends among Mexican migrant children. Anderson's later wife claimed that he was also instructed in how to use his etheric vision by "Mexican Witches" during childhood. The family next moved to
Olustee Olustee may refer to: * Olustee, Alabama, a populated place near in Pike County, Alabama * Olustee, Florida, a town in Baker County, Florida **Battle of Olustee, the largest battle fought in Florida during the American Civil War ** Olustee Creek, ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, where Hilbart's brother resided. After several months in Oklahoma they proceeded to the area around Ashland,
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, where Anderson claimed to have befriended Hawaiian and Haitian migrant families who were working as fruit pickers. Anderson often claimed that he had been instructed in the magical practices of Hawaiian
Kahuna ''Kahuna'' is a Hawaiian language, Hawaiian word that refers to an expert in any field. Historically, it has been used to refer to doctors, surgeons and dentists, as well as priests, ministers, and sorcerers. Background A ''kahuna'' may be ver ...
and
Haitian Vodou Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism. There is ...
, with his later wife referring to him as both "one of the last Kahuna" and "a priest of Voudou". He claimed to have been instructed in Vodou by Haitians who were working in southern Oregon. While living in that state he attended a school for the blind, although despite this was largely self-educated. The family moved around the state in the coming years; in August 1928 they were living in Pinehurst, where Hilbert was recorded as working as an engineer at a lumber mill in the 1930 census. By the 1940 census, the family were recorded as living in East Phoenix, Jackson county, Oregon, with Higbert adding that he had also been living there in 1935. At this point, Hilbert was working as a millwright and Mary as a trained nurse. In 1942 they were recorded as living in Ashland, and it was here that they attended the First Baptist Church, before relocating to Bend prior to 1944. Anderson claimed to be initiated into a tradition of witchcraft in 1926 by a woman "of the Fairy race", whom he elsewhere referred to as "a priestess from Africa". Anderson informed the journalist
Margot Adler Margot Susanna Adler (April 16, 1946 – July 28, 2014) was an American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, and New York correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR). Early life Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Adler grew up mostly ...
that when he was nine years old he encountered a small old woman sitting in the centre of a circle containing brass bowls of herbs. He alleged that he instinctively stripped naked and that she then sexually initiated him into a witchcraft tradition, during which he had a vision of a goddess and a horned god. After the vision, he claimed that they sat in the circle and she instructed him in the magical use of the various herbs, after which he was washed in butter, oil, and salt, before putting his clothes on and returning home. The
Pagan studies Pagan studies is the multidisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of modern paganism, a broad assortment of modern religious movements, which are typically influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of premodern ...
scholar Ethan Doyle White described this as being "difficult to accept as a literal account", but suggested that Anderson may have undergone a significant spiritual experience with an older woman in 1926, which was subsequently "embellished into the later tale" that he told Adler. A woman who knew Anderson, Cornelia Benavidez, later stated that "He says that he became friends with a woman in the circus who was a fire dancer and when she got older worked the stands. She somehow joined the circus in South Africa and made her way to the US. When he first met her she was 60 years old and he was a nine-year-old boy. He knew her for 15 years". Researcher William Wallworth provided potential supporting evidence for this claim when he noted that a number of the circuses that performed in Oregon during the 1920s and 1930s had Africans in their travelling retinues.


The Harpy Coven: 1932–1943

Anderson claimed that in 1932 he was initiated into a witchcraft group in Ashland that he called the Harpy Coven, although remains the only source testifying to the group's existence. Research into the coven was later conducted by Valerie Voigt, the coordinator of the Pagan, Occult, and Witchcraft Special Interest Group of the United States branch of Mensa, who was also one of Anderson's students and who asked him about the group. According to her claims, the group were led by two figures, known as Maybelle "Cardea" Warren and Jerome Warren, with other members being Jim Murdoch, Patricia Fern, Tom C. ("Arven"), and Ruth D., the latter of whom was a preacher's wife. As related by Voigt, most of them had been immigrants from the Southern states, mainly from
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. According to Voigt, the coven placed an emphasis on practical magic rather than worship, theology, ethics, or ritual, and were eclectic in their practices, mixing Huna with forms of American folk magic. She noted that they did not worship a goddess but held to a belief in a god who was opposed to the God of Christianity. Moreover she claimed that they met together for both outdoor and indoor meetings, according to the phases of the moon. According to Voigt's account, Anderson also claimed that on occasion, the coven used a naked woman as their
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
, and that the group disbanded after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
broke out. After the Pagan studies scholar
Aidan A. Kelly Aidan A. Kelly (born October 22, 1940) 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 ...
published a summary of Voigt's research, Anderson released an open letter dated to August 21, 1991, refuting many of Kelly's claims and referring to it as "the stupid drivel of those who have only a shallow grasp of their alleged research." He stated that contrary to Kelly's assertions, the Harpy Coven had worshiped a goddess, who was known as
Lilith Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...
, and that "we did not think of her as merely the Goddess, but as God Herself". He added that the coven also venerated a consort of the Goddess, who was known as Setan, but "although the Goddess tells us that away from the sweet influence of her love, he is the most terrible of all spirits, he is not the fallen angel or 'Satan' of Christianity or Islam". Kelly later stated that the Harpy Coven might "have been self-trained or may have descended from an earlier person or group".


Later life: 1944–2001

Anderson met Cora Ann Cremeans in
Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...
, in 1944; they married three days later, on 3 May, claiming that they had encountered each other before in the
astral Astral may refer to: Concepts of the non-physical * Astral body, a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers * Astral journey (or ''astral trip''), the same as having an ''out-of-body experience'' * Astral plane (AKA astral world), a ...
realm. Born in Nyota, Alabama, in January 1915, Cora had been exposed to folk magical practices from childhood; reputedly, her Irish grandfather was a "root doctor" who was known among locals as the "
druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
". The Andersons claimed that one of their first acts after their marriage was the erection of an
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
. The following year, a son was born, and they named him Victor Elon, with the latter being the Hebrew word for
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
; Cora claimed that she had received the name in a dream. After the birth, a ritual was held to dedicate the infant to the Goddess. In 1948, the family moved to
Niles, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth most populous city in the Bay Area, behind San Jose, San Fran ...
, later that year purchasing a home in
San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...
. There, Anderson became a member of the Alameda Lodge of the
Fraternal Order of Eagles Fraternal Order of Eagles (F.O.E.) is a fraternal organization that was founded on February 6, 1898, in Seattle, Washington, by a group of six theater owners including John Cort (the first president), brothers John W. and Tim J. Considine, Harry ...
, and he subsequently remained so for forty years. Victor earned his living as a musician, playing the
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
at events, while Cora worked as a hospital cook. It has been claimed that Anderson could speak Hawaiian, Spanish, Creole, Greek, Italian, and Gothic. In the mid-1950s Victor and Cora read ''
Witchcraft Today ''Witchcraft Today'' is a non-fiction book written by Gerald Gardner. Published in 1954, ''Witchcraft Today'' recounts Gardner's thoughts on the history and the practices of the witch-cult, and his claim to have met practising witches in 1930s ...
'', a 1954 book by English Wiccan
Gerald Gardner Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Contemporary Pag ...
, with Cora claiming that Victor corresponded with Gardner for a time. The Pagan studies scholar Chas S. Clifton has suggested that the Andersons used Gardner's work as a "style guide" for the development of their own tradition of modern Pagan witchcraft. Similarly, Kelly stated that the Andersons' tradition "began to more and more resemble that of the Gardnerians" as the couple learned more about the latter, adopting elements from it. Anderson was in correspondence with the Italian-American Wiccan
Leo Martello Leo Martello (September 26, 1930 – June 29, 2000) was an American Wiccan priest, gay rights activist, and author. He was a founding member of the Strega Tradition, a form of the modern Pagan new religious movement of Wicca which drew upon his o ...
, who encouraged Anderson to found his own coven. Circa 1960, the Andersons founded a coven, naming it Mahaelani, after the Hawaiian word for the full moon. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Andersons initiated a number of individuals into the coven. One of these was
Gwydion Pendderwen Thomas deLong (May 21, 1946 – November 6, 1982), better known as Gwydion Pendderwen, was an American musician, writer, poet, conservationist and witch. Early life Pendderwen was born in Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the ea ...
, a friend of their son who shared their interest in
the esoteric The Esoteric is an American hardcore/rock band founded in 1996 from Lawrence, Kansas. They are currently signed to Prosthetic Records. Following several self-produced EPs, the band's debut full-length, '' With the Sureness of Sleepwalking'', c ...
. Pendderwen contributed to the development of what came to be known as the Feri tradition, with some members of the lineage viewing him as its co-founder. Pendderwen noted that he had first met the family when, aged thirteen, he got into a fight with Victor Elon, although the two later became friends. Pendderwen was particularly influenced by
Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...
, and on a visit to Britain he spent time with the
Alexandrian Wicca Alexandrian Wicca or Alexandrian Witchcraft is a tradition of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, founded by Alex Sanders (also known as "King of the Witches") who, with his wife Maxine Sanders, established the tradition in the United Kingdom in th ...
ns Alex Sanders and
Stewart Farrar Frank Stewart Farrar (28 June 1916 – 7 February 2000) was an English screenwriter, novelist and prominent figure in the Neopagan religion of Wicca, which he devoted much of his later life to propagating with the aid of his seventh wife, ...
, subsequently introducing various Alexandrian elements into Feri Wicca. In the early 1970s, the Andersons established a new coven with Pendderwen and his initiate, Alison Harlow. After Pendderwen married, his wife also joined this coven, although it disbanded in 1974.


Anderson's teaching

Over the next four decades, the Andersons would initiate between twenty-five and thirty people into their tradition. Anderson has been described as one of the "founding teachers" and the "seminal voice" of the Feri tradition, although – according to Feri initiate Storm Faerywolf – he preferred to refer to himself as "Grand Master and a fairy chief". The original word that the Andersons used for their tradition was ''Vicia'', "pronounced as in Italian." She added that "the name Fairy became accidentally attached to our tradition because Victor so often mentioned that word in speaking of nature spirits and Celtic magic". Early initiates alternately spelled the name of the tradition as ''Fairy'', ''Faery'', or ''Faerie'', although Anderson began using the spelling ''Feri'' during the 1990s to differentiate it from other witchcraft traditions of the same name; not all practitioners followed his example. Cora claimed that ''Feri'' was the word's original spelling, adding that it meant "the things of magic". Anderson also referred to his form of Wicca as the ''Pictish'' tradition. In their writing, the Andersons mixed terminology adopted from Huna, Gardnerian Wicca, and Voodoo, believing that all reflected the same underlying magico-religious tradition. It drew heavily upon the huna system developed by Max Freedom Long. According to one Feri initiate, Corvia Blackthorn: :"The Andersons' teaching method was very informal. There were no classes in an academic sense, only conversations and the occasional ritual, usually followed by a home-cooked meal. Discussions with Victor were non-linear and overflowing with information. Someone once aptly remarked that talking to Victor was like to trying to drink from a fire hose. Often the connecting threads and underlying patterns in the information didn't become apparent until later on. There was also a non-verbal component to Victor's teaching. He was a true shaman, and had the ability to shift the consciousness of his students on a level well below the surface of conversation." According to Kelly: :"Studying with Victor presented some unusual problems. He demanded as much respect as any working-class grandfather might. One could ask for clarification, but to even hint that one disagreed with him, or worse yet, to contradict him, would result in an immediate and permanent order to leave. One was tempted to ask such forbidden questions because Victor lived in mythic time and was totally uninterested in other people's concepts of logic or consistency ... Another student told me that when Victor read a new book and believed it was true, then he considered it to have always been true and would rethink his history accordingly." According to one initiate, Jim Schuette, Anderson was "a taskmaster. He took pride in testing his students." One of those initiated into the Anderson's Feri tradition was
Starhawk Starhawk (born Miriam Simos on June 17, 1951) is an American feminist and author. She is known as a theorist of feminist Neopaganism and ecofeminism. In 2013, she was listed in Watkins' ''Mind Body Spirit'' magazine as one of the 100 Most Spir ...
, who incorporated ideas from the Feri tradition when creating
Reclaiming In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e. ...
. She also included aspects from it in her 1979 book, ''
The Spiral Dance ''The Spiral Dance: a Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess'' is a book about Neopagan beliefs and practices written by Starhawk. It was first published in 1979, with a second edition in 1989 and a third edition in 1999. It is a ...
'', including mention of the Iron and Pearl Pentagram and the three souls, all of which originated within Feri Wicca. Another prominent initiate was Gabriel Carillo (Caradoc ap Cador), who in the late 1970s developed a written body of Feri teachings, and began offering paid classes in the tradition in the 1980s, generating the Bloodrose lineage; doing so generated controversy among Feri initiates, with critics believing that it was morally wrong to charge for teaching.


Poetry and final years

In 1970 Anderson privately published ''Thorns of the Blood Rose'', which contained poems that he had authored over the previous 25 years. He stated that "every poem is a love letter to the Goddess". Money to publish the book had come from Cora's savings, with sales barely covering the costs of publication, so a second printing was not possible at that time. In 1975, this book received the Clover International Poetry Competition Award, and in 1980 it was republished by Pendderwen, who also put some of Anderson's poems to music for his own 1975 album, ''Songs for the Old Religion''. Anderson also contributed work to Pagan magazines like ''Witch Eye'', ''Green Egg'', and ''Nemeton''. Anderson had assembled a group of poems to be published as a second book, released posthumously as ''Lilith's Garden'' in 2005. To honor her fiftieth wedding anniversary, in 1994 Cora authored a book titled ''Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition'', deeming it a tribute to her husband. It has been termed "the definitive written work on Feri thealogy and thought". In 1998, Cora suffered a stroke and was left largely bedridden by its effects. At the time of his death, he was still running a coven, which was known as Nostos or Blue Circle. He died at his home on September 20, 2001. He was survived by his wife, son, and various grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Cora then appointed a woman named Anaar, or April Niino, to be the new Grandmaster of the Feri tradition in summer 2003. The tradition itself survived, with various publications appearing that discussed the practice of magic from a Feri perspective.


Teachings

Anderson's Feri Wicca tradition theistically revolved around a Goddess, who was named ''Mari'' after the Basque folkloric character. In Feri theology, Mari was accompanied by a male consort, a
Horned God The Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in Wicca and some related forms of Neopaganism. The term ''Horned God'' itself predates Wicca, and is an early 20th-century syncretic term for a horned or antlered anthropomorphic god partl ...
named Krom. Krom was also viewed as a union of two separate entities, the Divine Twins. Cora claimed that the Goddess had created these Twins, "not because she had to have male help, but because in her divine lust she desired them". According to Anderson, the name ''Mari'' meant "mother of water", and he described both Mari and Krom as having been the deity names of "the tiny dark aborigines of Scotland, Ireland, and the ancient British Isles". The God was also referred to as ''
Melek Taus Melek ( hu, Mellek) is a municipality and village in the Nitra District of the south-west of Slovakia, in the Nitra Region The Nitra Region ( sk, Nitriansky kraj, ; hu, Nyitrai kerület) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. It wa ...
''. He stressed the view that these deities were real entities, rather than
Jungian archetypes Jungian archetypes are a concept from psychology that refers to a universal, inherited idea, pattern of thought, or image that is present in the collective unconscious of all human beings. The psychic counterpart of instinct, archetypes are thoug ...
, the latter being a view that had been espoused by other Pagans. Systems of morality in Feri revolved largely around the idea of ''
kala Kala or Kalah may refer to: Religion Hinduism *Kāla, a Sanskrit word meaning ''time'' *Kāla, a Hindu deity of time, destiny, death and destruction closely related to Yama and Shiva. *Kalā, a Sanskrit word meaning ''performing arts'' * Kala Bo, ...
''; Cora stated that this term was borrowed from the
Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...
and that it meant "keep ngoneself clean and bright and free from complexes within and without". Cora stated that the Feri tradition had "a code of honor and sexual morality which is as tough and demanding as the
Bushido is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...
of Japan and of
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
". She added that while Christian missionaries would understand Feri as a "sex cult", "we do not behave like a bunch of slavering mad dogs in heat". Initiation into Feri was a sexual act, and according to Cora "in initiation you literally marry the Goddess, her dual consort and the Gods, whether you are male or female". It involved a male priest giving the female initiate the names of the God and Goddess upon orgasm. If the female initiate was already betrothed to another, or did otherwise not wish to have intercourse with the priest, then a ritual known as the Intentions of the Heart took place. In this, her next sexual act with another person would be considered her initiation. When a female initiated a male, there was a similarly sexual component although according to Cora, "there are some important differences". The Andersons taught that there were three parts of the
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
, with Doyle White believing that they had adopted this belief from those of Hawaii. Cora stated that the first part of the soul inhabited "the etheric body or double", surrounding and penetrating the physical body, extending about 2 cm from human flesh and colored either "a misty blue-gray" or "a lovely electric pink". According to her, the second part of the soul inhabited the aura and extended 8 to 9 inches from the physical body. She believed that the third part of the soul was "the Godself" and lived in the top of the aura, appearing as a blue, white or gold ball of light. The Andersons also expressed a belief in
reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
, believing that the allocation of one's future births were organized by
karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
. They taught that between incarnations, a soul could travel to one of nine etheric globes surrounding the Earth, in which existed "well-defined classes of nature spirits" which included
gnome A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...
s,
sylph A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have be ...
s,
undine Undines (; also ondines) are a category of elemental beings associated with water, stemming from the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Later writers developed the undine into a water nymph in its own right, and it continues to live in modern li ...
s, and
salamanders Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...
. Cora described Feri as the "direct survival of old Stone Age religion", reflecting a trend within the Wiccan community for retaining faith in the
witch-cult hypothesis The witch-cult hypothesis is a discredited theory that states the witch trials of the Early Modern period were an attempt to suppress a pre-Christian, pagan religion that had survived the Christianisation of Europe. According to its proponents, t ...
long after it was academically discredited by historians. The Andersons believed that the Witchcraft religion had emerged in Africa and been spread throughout the world, believing that Feri Wicca was essentially the same as Sami indigenous religion, Voudou, and Santeria. She believed that the ritual tools of "the Craft" were "very much alike throughout the world in both time and place". She listed the ritual tools as an
athame An athame or athamé (, or ) is a ceremonial blade, generally with a black handle. It is the main ritual implement or magical tool among several used in ceremonial magic traditions, and by other neopagans, witchcraft, as well as satanic tradit ...
"to raise or focus power", a binding cord for use in "ritual liberation and unbinding", as well as a
scourge A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather. Etymology The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French ''escorgi ...
"to raise power", although the latter was never used to whip human beings. A chalice is used in rituals, symbolizing "the yoni female receptacle of the life force", with an accompanying stone or wax phallus which is sometimes dipped into the chalice during rituals. A stone or wooden egg "honors the cosmic egg which God held in her womb". Cora stated that in their rituals "power is raised and used in magic operations for the good of our human race, our ecology, or for necessary martial purposes". According to Adler, Anderson had "a very poetic way of looking at the world". Alison Harlow had informed her that Anderson's claims about his origins often changed, with Doyle White commenting that "Anderson believed that the telling of spiritual 'truths' through stories was more important than factual accounts of the past". Anderson described Feri witchcraft as "a devotional science", and his wife called him "an
Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
of the occult". Cora claimed that the couple were "scientists in the truest sense". Adler noted that some of the "hallmarks" of the Feri tradition were its "shamanic practices and sexual mysticism". It only involved one initiation. There is no set book of liturgy in the tradition, with teachings being passed down orally. Practitioner Storm Faerywolf noted that "the Feri tradition is less about specific practices and more about energetic experience".


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External links


Witchvox obituaries



"So, just what is the Feri tradition?" by Niklas Gander




{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Victor 1917 births 2001 deaths American accordionists American modern pagans American occultists Poets from New Mexico American blind people Feri Tradition Modern pagan religious leaders 20th-century occultists People from Union County, New Mexico 20th-century American poets People from Wichita County, Texas Modern pagan poets 20th-century accordionists