Gwydion Pendderwen
Encyclopedia
Thomas deLong better known as Gwydion Pendderwen, was an American
musician
, writer
, poet
, conservationist
and witch.
Pendderwen became a student and "craft-son" to Victor Anderson and Cora Anderson, learned the Feri Tradition
of witchcraft from them, and helped popularize it in the Neopagan community. In addition to being credited with naming the tradition (originally spelled "Faerie"), he wrote many poems and liturgical materials for the tradition, as well as initiating many others into the tradition. His "descendants" have come to be known as the Watchmaker line of Feri.
He was a co-founder of two other organizations with Alison Harlow. One was 'Nemeton' (Welsh for "sacred grove") a Neopagan networking group. Nemeton quickly spread opening regional offices all across the United States, forming a huge networking organization that played an important key role in the early growth of Pagan and Wicca
n networking in America. in 1977 Oberon Zell
, Morning Glory
and Alison Harlow co-founded the "Holy Order of Mother Earth" (HOME) as a monastic sanctuary dedicated to nature. Other pagans soon began to arrive and join them, amongst them: Anodea Judith
, Eldri Littlewolf and Anna Korn. They formed a pagan-based magical working group representing many differing traditions, including: Feri, Dianic, British Traditional, the New and Reformed Druids of North America (NRDNA), Celtic/Shamanic Wicca, Church of All Worlds
(CAW), Strega
and elements of ceremonial magic
. Later in 1978 Nemeton merged with the Church of All Worlds and became its publishing arm.
The other was 'Forever Forests', an ecological mission dedicated to healing the planet through reforestation and other methods of addressing ecological issues. They held annual tree planting festivals on the land at Annwfn; since then tens of thousands of trees such as Cedar, Pine
, Douglas Fir and Redwood have been planted all over Northern California.
After being recognized for his music at a celebration in Wales
in 1976, Pendderwen returned to California
, quit his job with the Internal Revenue Service
, and purchased a plot of the Greenfield Ranch in Mendocino County
. Naming his parcel Annwfn after the Welsh underworld
, he later gift-deeded the property to the Church of All Worlds
with which he had long been involved.
Gwydion Pendderwen died in a car accident in November 1982.
community; the songbook included many songs which became classics within the community, and the two albums have since been collected as a two-CD set titled The Music of Gwydion, available from Serpentine Music. Gwydion also served for a time as a court bard
to the West Kingdom of the Society for Creative Anachronism
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
and witch.
Pendderwen became a student and "craft-son" to Victor Anderson and Cora Anderson, learned the Feri Tradition
Feri Tradition
The Feri Tradition is an initiatory tradition of modern traditional witchcraft. It is an ecstatic, rather than a fertility, tradition stemming from the experience of Cora and Victor Anderson...
of witchcraft from them, and helped popularize it in the Neopagan community. In addition to being credited with naming the tradition (originally spelled "Faerie"), he wrote many poems and liturgical materials for the tradition, as well as initiating many others into the tradition. His "descendants" have come to be known as the Watchmaker line of Feri.
He was a co-founder of two other organizations with Alison Harlow. One was 'Nemeton' (Welsh for "sacred grove") a Neopagan networking group. Nemeton quickly spread opening regional offices all across the United States, forming a huge networking organization that played an important key role in the early growth of Pagan and Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n networking in America. in 1977 Oberon Zell
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart is a co-founder of the Church of All Worlds, as well as a writer and speaker on the subject of Neopaganism. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri in 1965...
, Morning Glory
Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart
Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart is a Neopagan poet, author, lecturer, and priestess. She is of Irish and Choctaw Indian ancestry.-Early Life:...
and Alison Harlow co-founded the "Holy Order of Mother Earth" (HOME) as a monastic sanctuary dedicated to nature. Other pagans soon began to arrive and join them, amongst them: Anodea Judith
Anodea Judith
Anodea Judith is an American author, therapist, public speaker and expert on the Chakra system, bodymind , somatic therapy, and Yoga...
, Eldri Littlewolf and Anna Korn. They formed a pagan-based magical working group representing many differing traditions, including: Feri, Dianic, British Traditional, the New and Reformed Druids of North America (NRDNA), Celtic/Shamanic Wicca, Church of All Worlds
Church of All Worlds
The Church of All Worlds is a neopagan religious group whose stated mission is to evolve a network of information, mythology, and experience that provides a context and stimulus for reawakening Gaia and reuniting her children through tribal community dedicated to responsible stewardship and...
(CAW), Strega
Stregheria
Stregheria is a form of ethnic Italian form of Wicca originating in the United States, popularized by Raven Grimassi since the 1980s. Stregheria is sometimes referred to as La Vecchia Religione The word stregheria is an archaic Italian word for "witchcraft", the modern Italian word being...
and elements of ceremonial magic
Ceremonial magic
Ceremonial magic, also referred to as high magic and as learned magic, is a broad term used in the context of Hermeticism or Western esotericism to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex rituals of magic. It is named as such because the works included are characterized by...
. Later in 1978 Nemeton merged with the Church of All Worlds and became its publishing arm.
The other was 'Forever Forests', an ecological mission dedicated to healing the planet through reforestation and other methods of addressing ecological issues. They held annual tree planting festivals on the land at Annwfn; since then tens of thousands of trees such as Cedar, Pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
, Douglas Fir and Redwood have been planted all over Northern California.
After being recognized for his music at a celebration in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in 1976, Pendderwen returned to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, quit his job with the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, and purchased a plot of the Greenfield Ranch in Mendocino County
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
. Naming his parcel Annwfn after the Welsh underworld
Annwn
Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. It later became Christianised and identified with the land of souls that had departed...
, he later gift-deeded the property to the Church of All Worlds
Church of All Worlds
The Church of All Worlds is a neopagan religious group whose stated mission is to evolve a network of information, mythology, and experience that provides a context and stimulus for reawakening Gaia and reuniting her children through tribal community dedicated to responsible stewardship and...
with which he had long been involved.
Gwydion Pendderwen died in a car accident in November 1982.
Music
Pendderwen released his first album, Songs for the Old Religion, in 1975, followed by a book of his music and lyrics titled Wheel of the Year in 1979. His second album, The Fäerie Shaman, was released in 1982. Both albums and the songbook were well-received by the PaganNeopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
community; the songbook included many songs which became classics within the community, and the two albums have since been collected as a two-CD set titled The Music of Gwydion, available from Serpentine Music. Gwydion also served for a time as a court bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
to the West Kingdom of the Society for Creative Anachronism
Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...
.
Discography
- Songs for the Old Religion - Nemeton (1975)
- The Fäerie Shaman - Nemeton (1982)
- The Music of Gwydion - Serpentine Music (1991)