Open Letter

August 21, 1991

Open Letter to
Aidan Kelly &
Llewellyn Publications

I am writing to address the material Aidan Kelly wrote in his book "Crafting the Art of Magic," published by Llewellyn Press. This material is on pages 21 and 22, and is largely incorrect. It was used without consulting me.

I don't consider myself the founder of the "fairy" tradition, but I am a Grand Master and a fairy chief. I am the founder of the chapter of my faith on the West Coast of the United States.

If Aidan Kelly had consulted me directly, he could have avoided repeating the stupid drivel of those who have only a shallow grasp of their alleged research.

I was initiated in 1926, not 1932, by a priestess from Africa. The names of the members of Harpy Coven were not to be made public. The name of our coven should have revealed to Mr. Kelly something of the nature of our religion and practice: Harpy is a Greek word for a kind of feminine nature spirit that appears like a bird with a woman's head and a woman's arms and hands for its legs and feet. The name means "snatcher."

The statement that the coven did not worship the Goddess is a complete falsehood, and other statements are also completely false.

The worship of the Goddess was the very heart of our religion and magic. Lilith was one of the names used in our ritual worship of the Lady. Her name is derived from Lilitu, meaning a storm or tornado. We did not think of her as merely the Goddess, but as God Herself.

We worshipped the Consort of the Goddess. We did not worship him because it was necessary but because she brought him forth out of her divine lust. Our worship of him was an act of love. 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. The name Setan (the vowels pronounced as in Italian) is one of his names but has nothing to do with the Christians' name of their fallen angel: It means soul fire. He is the same God as Ja or El.

The statement that "the coven was quite eclectic, mixing Huna with folk magic" is incorrect for the following reasons:

I am a Kahuna. This is a fact of my racial heritage, personal experience and training. The word Kahuna means "the secret," and is the same in the fairy tradition and the Polynesian religion and magic. Although we were willing to learn new things, we already had a definite and coherent body of knowledge and tradition of our own.

So we were not mainly eclectic. The fairy tradition has much in common with Voudon and Santeria.

Our celebrations of the Sabat, moons and other rituals, and seasonal observations were much the same as in other traditions. We were ritualistic and devotional, and we were concerned with theology, worship and ethics. Our simple meal of bread and wine occurred only after completing the work and worship in the circle. Ashe.

It is not my purpose to lift up self righteous skirts and kick Satanist, but for reasons I believe to be quite obvious I resent the way Aidan Kelly links me with Satanism. I could care less what a religion calls their God, so long as they adhere to constructive and ethical beliefs and practices. Ashe (Ax'e).

I intend to send copies of this letter to various craft and pagan individuals and publications.

Victor H. Anderson
San Leandro, CA