A friend reminds me that yesterday was the anniversary of the death of English witch Sybil Leek. She was in many ways the original “Media Witch” as she was featured in many magazines, newspaper articles and on television and radio shows in the 1960s. BBC commentators dubbed her “Britain’s Most Famous Witch.” She had a pet jackdaw named Mr. Hotfoot Jackson, and was an eccentric but intelligent and wise spokeswoman for the craft. She loved to pose for photos, sometimes dressed as a typical English lady and sometimes in witchy black finery.
She was a noted and prolific author also; I own her books Diary of a Witch, The Complete Art of Witchcraft (both highly recommended for their insider view of the pagan/witchcraft movement of the time), Sybil Leek’s Astrological Guide to Successful Everyday Living, and a later book she wrote with her husband Stephen called A Ring of Magic Islands, that is a photographic, historical and folkloric tour of the smaller outer islands of Great Britain.
She moved to the United States in her later years, befriended many American witches throughout the country. I met an astrologer who knew her back in the day, when they were both living in Arizona, and he spoke highly of her kindness). She died in Melbourne, Florida in 1982.
The Witching Hour 