'The way of a witch', Richard Lebherz, The News (Frederick), 27 March 1970

The News (Frederick, Maryland), 27 March 1970, page 6, in Richard Lebherz's column 'The World Is A Very Odd Place'. A review of the American edition of June Johns's King of the Witches: The World of Alex Sanders (Coward McCann, $5), alongside a review of Andrew MacKenzie's The Unexplained, which is not transcribed. Lebherz retells Alex's hereditary descent and initiation by his grandmother, her claims about Robin Hood and Joan of Arc, and the three degrees of initiation, and quotes Alex's answers on clairvoyance, who becomes a witch and how to recognise one. Readers wanting to join are given the address 18 Carlow Row, Ringstead, near Wellingborough, Northants. The column closes on June Johns's own introduction: "the witches I met were truly pious." How to cite: Richard Lebherz, 'The way of a witch', The News (Frederick, Maryland), 27 March 1970, p. 6. Alexandrian Witchcraft Timeline & Archive.

By Richard Lebherz The World Is A Very Odd Place [The column reviews two books; only the review of King of the Witches is transcribed.] THE WAY OF A WITCH King of the Witches: The World of Alex Sanders, a biography by June Johns, Coward McCann, $5.00 The very first time that I ever began to consider the serious possibilities that there are such people as witches, came when I went to see the film “Rosemary’s Baby,” Actress Ruth Gordon makes a darn good witch, so it all seemed quite plausible. Agnes Moorehead as Endora on the TV’s “Bewitched” series also made me stop and wonder. Agnes Moorehead always looks like she has just come from some esbat (a small meeting of witches). She even looks like she could cast a spell right out of the TV set and onto you. Now, here comes “King of the Witches,” which is the actual biography of Alex Sanders who lives in England and claims he is a witch. As you probably know, the English believe implicitly in ghosts, especially ones that haunt castles. They have a fervent interest in poltergeists. Quite frequently, you can open up a newspaper in London for instance, and read about the difficulties a certain house is having because of poltergeists mistreating the tenants. An experienced medium has to be called in, of course and, the ghost exorcised by magical incantations. So, it really does not come as a great surprise that there are well over 4,000 witches now practicing in England, itself. Alex Sanders is an authentic witch, meaning he is not a convert, but a descendant from a long line of witches from Wales. His grandmother was a witch. It was she who initiated him into the mysteries and practices of being a witch. It was also his “Gran” who gave him another viewpoint on history. Robin Hood, whom the boy had thought of as simply a leader of merry little men, suddenly turned out to be - you guessed it - a witch. Then there was poor Joan of Arc, who was, as his “Gran” said, “The Witch Queen of France.” She unashamedly declared it by her refusal to wear women’s clothes, preferring those of men and witches. There are actually three orders of witches, in case you might be interested, and want a change. The first grade initiate must learn a certain amount of instructions before he is accepted into a coven (group of witches) through an initiation ceremony. Before you can move into the second order, you must master the techniques of clairvoyance and raising the power. Usually it takes two years to work yourself into the second grade, because clairvoyance and raising the power takes a little time. You have to learn a great deal of information about curses and incantation from the Book of Shadows. A further two years of training is necessary in order to move into the third grade. Only those men and women witches who are about to marry can take this grade and since most witches tend to marry each other, it is from these members that the selection is made for the third order. When asked by the author, Joan Johns, what is the greatest attraction of witchcraft to applicants for membership, Sanders replied. “The ability to see the future.” “But can all witches attain second sight?” she asked him. “Certainly,” came his answer. “It takes time - perhaps six months - before they see their first vision in either a crystal or a bowl of ink, or even with tarot cards. I have never known a witch fail to be clairvoyant within two years.” “What sort of people become witches?” she asks. “Every sort. I have initiated clergymen, housewives, mechanics, doctors, businessmen, farmers, secretaries and teachers.” “Is there any way that non-witches can identify witches?” asks the interviewer. “Witches often wear large silver rings engraved with mystic symbols, and they always take leave of other witches with the words ‘Blessed Be’.” “To whom can would-be witches apply for membership?” “To the witch center,” says the King of Witches, “and to me at the following address: 18 Carlow Row, Ringstead. Near Wellingborough, Northants, England.” “Reared as a non-conformist and then as an Anglican,” says June Johns in an introduction to this book. “I was taught early to fear God. Later in life, when I was exposed to high-powered evangelism. I found that He could be a jolly good fellow when pleased and a thunderer when thwarted. But none of this prepared me for the utter naturalness of the relationship between the witch and his god; it is one of love and understanding. Without artifice or hypocrisy, the witches I met were truly pious.” Blessed be’