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Isaac Bonewits (1949  - )

Written and compiled by George Knowles

Isaac Bonewits is one of the more influential and colourful figures in the present day American Pagan movement.  Pagan, Priest, Author, Scholar, Bard, Activist and leader in contemporary Paganism, Bonewits has dedicated his life to reviving Druidry as a religion protecting Mother Nature and all her children.

Philip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was born on the 1^st October 1949, in Royal Oak, Michigan.  He was the forth of five children (three girls and two boys) and spent much of his early childhood living in Ferndale, a suburb of Detroit.  His mother was a devout Roman Catholic, from whom he acquired an appreciation for religion.  His father was a convert from Presbyterianism to Catholicism, and instilled in his son a healthy dose of skepticism.  In 1961, the family moved to San Clemente in California.

It was here at the age of just 12 years, that Bonewits was first exposed to magic and mysticism.  He met a young Creole woman from New Orleans who practiced Voodoo.  The success of her spells and the accuracy of her divinations so impressed him; he became fascinated with the power of the mind.  He began an extensive study of magic and parapsychology, this he varied by reading science fiction, which often contains elements of magical and psychic themes.

At school, in his second semester of the ninth grade, Bonewits decided he wanted to become a Catholic priest and entered a Catholic seminary.  He soon changed his mind and returned to public school where he graduated a year early.  He then spent a year in Junior College gaining foreign-language credits, before enrolling for study at the University of California in Berkeley, in 1966.  At the same time after an intense study of the structure of ritual through books, and observing rituals performed in various churches, Bonewits began practicing magic and devising his own rituals.

As chance would have it, his roommate at Berkeley was Robert Larsen, a Druid, and alumni of Carleton College where the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) had been founded in 1963.  Larson interested Bonewits in Druidism and he was initiated into the RDNA.  Together they established a grove in Berkeley, and in 1969, Bonewits was ordained as a Druid priest.  Unlike other groves of the RDNA, the grove at Berkeley was shaped as a contemporary neo-Pagan religion, which other members of the RDNA considered an order of philosophy.  The order flourished however, and this and other neo-Pagan groves became part of a new branch of Druidry called the New Reformed Druids of North America (NRDNA).

It was during his time at Berkeley, that Bonewits spent about eight months as a member of the Church of Satan, an adventure he says, which began as a bit of a laugh.   The campus at Berkeley features a place where evangelists from various persuasions gather to lecture anyone willing to stop and listen.  As a bit of fun, Bonewits showed up one day and performed a satirical lecture as a Devils evangelist.  The lecture proved so successful, he was asked to repeat it a number of times.  A lady representing Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, then approached him.  Bonewits began to attended their churches meetings and improved some of their rituals, but soon left after personality conflicts with LaVay himself.  He also found that the membership of the Church was largely made up of middle-class conservatives who were more ‘rightwing and racist’ than Satanist, and that didn’t suit him.

During his time at University, Berkeley’s individual group-study program allowed Bonewits to create his own degree course.  He graduated in 1970 becoming the first, and to the present day, the last person ever to graduate from a Western University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Magic and Thaumaturgy.  Publicity about his degree so embarrassed the University administrators, that Magic, Witchcraft and Sorcery was banned from the individual group-studies program.  The publicity his degree generated also led to a book contract, and in 1971 Bonewits wrote and had published his first book on Magic, Ritual and Psychic Abilities, it was called ‘Real Magic’.  The book was an immediate success, being revised and updated in 1979, and reissued in 1989.

In 1973, Bonewits met his first wife, a lady called Rusty.  Together they moved to Minneapolis where they were married.  For the next 18 months, Bonewits was employed as editor of Carl Llewellyn Weschcke’s most popular neo-Pagan publication ‘Gnostica’, until his scholarly approach and tone alienated him from many of its readers.

Through 1974-75, Bonewits remained in Minneapolis, where he established a Druids grove called the 'Schismatic Druids of North America', a schism of the RDNA.  He also joined a number of Jewish Pagan friends and created the 'Hasidic Druids of North America'.  This existed briefly in St Louis, where its membership overlapped with that of the Church of all Worlds.  He also wrote, edited and self-published the ‘Druids Chronicles (Evolved)’.  This was a compendium of the history, theology, rituals and customs of all the Reformed Druid movements operating at that time, including the ones he had created himself.

During this same period, Bonewits founded the 'Aquarian Anti-Defamation League (AADL)', a civil liberties and public relations organization aimed at benefiting members of minority belief systems, such as the:  Rosicrucian, Theosophists, Pagans, Witches, Occultists, Astrologers and others.  As president of the AADL, Bonewits devoted much of his own income and unemployment insurance to funding it.  The AADL managed to score a number of small victories defending people in court.  One such was restoring an evicted astrologer back to her apartment, after a neighbor told her landlord that her astrology classes were a guise for ‘black magic séances’.  In 1976, Bonewits divorced his wife Rusty and returned to Berkeley, shortly after which, the AADL disintegrated.

Back in Berkeley, Bonewits rejoined the NRDNA grove and was elected Archdruid.  In 1978, he established the ‘Druids Chronicler’ as a national Druid publication (later known as the Pentalpha Journal), but he was forced to leave the organization after attempts to make the grove at Berkeley more neo-Pagan.  This led to clashes with other long-term members.  The Pentalpha Journal soon after folded.

In 1979, Bonewits married for a second time to a lady called Selene, but the relationship ended in 1982.  During the early 80’s, Bonewits had met Sally Eaton (later to become his third wife), with whom he became involved in the California revival of the 'Ordo Templi Orientis (see Aleister Crowley)'.  In 1983, he was initiated into the New Reformed Order of the Golden Dawn (see S.L. MacGregor-Mathers).  That same year in 1983, Bonewits married Sally Eaton.  Sally was the actress who created the role of the hippie Witch in the Broadway hit musical 'Hair'.  Together they moved to New York City.

Up until this time Bonewits had worked mainly as a freelance journalist, and earned a sporadic living from writing and editing.  After moving to New York with Sally, Bonewits started a new career in computer technology.  He took up a position as a technical writer for a computer firm in Manhattan.  However it didn’t last long, he soon left the firm over an ethical matter.  He then set himself up as a self-employed computer consultant for small businesses.

It was also in 1983 that Bonewits met up with Shennain Bell, a fellow Pagan, and discussed the idea of setting up a new Pagan Druidic organization, but with no ties to the ancient Druids or the RDNA.  It became known as 'Àr nDraiocht Féin', (Irish Gaelic for ‘Our Own Druidism’) or ADF.  Bonewits became Archdruid and Bell the Vice-Archdruid of this new religious order.  Between them with the help of others, they strived to make the newly formed ADF into the largest most successful neo-Pagan Druid organization in North America, which included legal standing and tax-exempt status throughout the United States.  However the ADF grew more slowly than Bonewits had envisioned.  A clergy-training program was initiated, but it lacked a seminary facility.

In 1986, Bonewits and Sally Eaton parted company, and in November of 1987 he moved to Nyack, New York with his intended forth wife Deborah Lipp.  Deborah was a Gardnerian Wiccan high priestess and together they ran a ‘Pagan Way’ group in New York and New Jersey.  After their move to Njack, Bonewits continued to work as a computer consultant, and after they were married in 1990, they were blessed and gifted with a newborn son, Arthur.

Their elation was short lived however.  That same year Bonewits began showing the debilitating symptoms of Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome, thought to have been brought on by contaminated L-teyptophane tablets.  On the first of January 1996, Bonewits was forced to resign from his post as Archdruid of the ADF, but he retains the lifelong title of Archdruid Emeritus (Emeritus is Latin for someone who has retired from an official position, but retains their title on an honorary basis).  He was also forced to stop working as a computer consultant, and rely for an income on his writing abilities.  His life and his family’s life started to deteriorate.

Bonewits is a prolific writer, not only of books, he has also written numerous interesting and illuminating articles and essays on Druidry, Magic and Paganism.  Many of these can be accessed from his website for a small fee.  I would urge anyone reading this article, to help out one of our pre-eminent leaders, one who’s unselfish dedication has paved a way on the path for many new seekers.  By visiting his website and purchasing or making a small donation, hopefully we can give him something back, and help to sustain him in his hour of need.

I have no doubt; we shall see a return of Philip Emmons Isaac Bonewits, once he has overcome his present difficulties.

Bonewits own website can be accessed at http://www.neopagan.net.  Please pay him a visit, you will not be disapointed.

Sources

To be posted later.

First published on the 30^th January 2007, 18:22:06 © George Knowles

Best Wishes and Blessed Be.