History

The purpose of this article is to inform initiates and non-initiates alike of the history of Traditional British Witchcraft. Traditional British Witchcraft is not the same as British Traditional Witchcraft and initiates and seekers should not interpret them as such. Much research has been done to ensure that anyone who reads this article has the most accurate information available regarding our Tradition.

The birth of Traditional British Witchcraft, began with George Browne (1818-1872), a male Witch (referred to as a Master at that time) who claimed hereditary descent from Agnes Browne, which was persecuted for the act of bewitchment of Master Avery and his sister and was hanged at the gallows of Abington in Northampton, England on July 22, 1612. According to Tradition, George Browne was a very quiet and secretive man living and working as a laborer in the farm of his family in Maidstone, Kent, England; the place of his birth. George Browne was considered an Adept in the Art of Witchcraft, which is probable one of the reason for his secrecy, since England had passed the Anti-Witchcraft Act, a law stating that any individual practicing or considered practicing Witchcraft would be prosecuted and hung. George Browne kept this part of his life a secret until he passed his knowledge of Witchcraft to his daughter, Mary Catherine Browne (1854-1916), which was born in Dundalk, Louth, Ireland on October 16, 1854.

Mary Browne was very close to her father, helping him as much as she could with the activities of daily life since the absence of his wife, the mother of Mary Browne. George Browne, seeing how loyal his daughter was toward the family, decided to share his beliefs and practices with her in order to keep the knowledge of the family alive. The connection that Mary Browne had with nature, in her daily life, lead her to a greater understanding of the beliefs and practices of her family that had been established through the generations. Mary Browne would continue to acknowledge and practice these beliefs according to the tradition of her family, but according to Tradition she had no children or heir to pass this knowledge to and decided to pass this knowledge to an individual who was not part of the immediate family. Mary Browne shared this knowledge with Charles Smith and would continue to do so until her death on Beltane (May 1), 1916.

Charles Smith (1880-1970) who was born on January 28, 1880 in Ventor, Isle of Wight, England was the first person that Mary Browne entrusted with the teachings and practices of her family. Charles Smith was knowledgeable in the occult practices of ancient England and of the Golden Dawn and was one of the factors that lead him to be chosen by Mary Browne. Charles Smith combined his knowledge of the Golden Dawn with the teachings of Traditional Witchcraft, as passed down to him by Mary Browne, to establish a complete system that is known by initiates outside England as Traditional British Witchcraft. Charles Smith lived a long and prosperous life, living until the age of 90, until his death in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England in 1970, the place where the persecution and execution of Agnes Browne had taken place by hanging in 1612.


Letter Written to Elizabeth Pomponios from Charles Smith. It reads:

"January 21, 1956

Dearest Elizabeth,

I was glad to hear that you and your husband will be traveling to England to visit. It will be such a honour to meet you and Gilbert after so many years of us writing to one another. I look forward to seeing the both of you and to share with you and Gilbert the knowledge that I have attained. I pray that the knowledge of the Browne Family that I will share with you both will remain and will blossom into Light within this World of Darkness. Mary and George would have wanted it that way.

I was sorry to hear that your mother has fallen ill. What I know of her from your letters is that she seems to be a great woman. May the strength of the Old Ones be with her.

With great concern,
Charles Smith (Signed)"



Elizabeth Louise Pomponios (1926-2003), was born Elizabeth Louise McCormick in Lake Township (Huron County), Michigan on October 26, 1926. Elizabeth Pomponios was the first American to be initiated by Charles Smith and to establish the first Traditional British Coven, the Coven of the Mystical Cauldron, in North America. The Coven of the Mystical Cauldron was established and located in Athens, Georgia, the place where Elizabeth Louise and Gilbert Albert Pomponios decided to live when they moved from Michigan. The Coven of the Mystical Cauldron remained an active Coven for twenty-one years until it was disbanded in 2003. Elizabeth Pomponios remained the active High Priestess of the Coven of the Mystical Cauldron since it establishment, considering her age and health, until Imbolc of 2001 when she decide to move with her husband to Oak Forest (Cook County), Illinois. The reason that Elizabeth Pomponios remained the High Priestess for so many years is because none of the Elders wanted the responsibility of operating and maintaining the Coven, except for Sara Owens, the deputy of Elizabeth Pomponios. It was Sara Owens that Elizabeth Pomponios entrusted with the responsibility of initiation and elevation of those within the Coven of the Mystical Cauldron. Elizabeth Louise Pomponios (February 7, 2003) and Gilbert Andrew Pomponios (March 4, 2003) both died in Oak Forest, Illinois and were cremated.

Traditional British Witchcraft, is the terms used by initiates in North America to denote the tradition into which they were initiated and adhere by according to the beliefs and practices of that tradition. However, the terms “The Craft”, and “Traditional Witchcraft” have been used to denote the tradition of Traditional British Witchcraft, and all these terms are interchangeable within the tradition. The reasoning behind the terms “Traditional British Witchcraft, is to specify that we are a tradition based on lineage, the origin of our establishment, and the beliefs and practices that our tradition adheres. Traditional British Witchcraft is an initiatory, oath bound, and mysterious tradition, which establishes it as a secretive tradition within Witchcraft, or the Craft. Initiates begin their training within the Outer Court and when considered admissible, were accepted into the Inner Court of the Tradition. The Outer Court was established, according to Traditional British Witchcraft, to evaluate and train initiates without positioning the tradition or Book of Shadows in jeopardy. The Inner Court was established of admissible Elders containing the inner secrets of the tradition. These arrangements lead to two copies of the Book of Shadows, one for training, which was openly shared among initiates of the Outer Court of the Tradition, and one authentic (complete) and secretive, obtained by the initiates of the Inner Court of the Tradition.

This concludes the article on the History of Traditional British Witchcraft, commonly referred to as Traditional British Wica. I hope that this article leads the reader to some insight into our Tradition.