Raymond Howard
Encyclopedia
Raymond Howard was an English
Witch and an early figure in the history of the neopagan religion of Wicca
. Howard propagated the tradition focused around the Horned God
known as Atho, which had originated with Charles Cardell
.
Howard and his wife had initially been friends of Cardell, but Howard fell out with the Cardells, and soon divorced from his wife. He then moved to Field Dalling
in Norfolk
where he opened an antiques shop though he also had a second home in Cornwall
.
He had in his possession a carved wooden head of the Horned God
, which he called Atho. It was approximately 3 feet tall and was decorated with gold, silver and gemstones. He claimed that it had been given to him by an elderly Romany gypsy called Alicia Franch who had initiated him into the witch cult. It was proved a fake however, when, in July 2008, his son Peter confirmed to researcher Melissa Seims that he had witnessed his father producing the statue. An article in the Eastern Daily Press from March 6 1967, stated that laboratory examination had shown the statue to be carved of English Oak around 2200 years ago, and it also described it thus:
Only a month after the newspaper report, in April 1967, the head was stolen from Howard's shop, and was the only item taken in the robbery. It has never been recovered.
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English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
Witch and an early figure in the history of the neopagan religion of 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."...
. Howard propagated the tradition focused around the Horned God
Horned God
The Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in some European pagan religions. He is often given various names and epithets, and represents the male part of the religion's duotheistic theological system, the other part being the female Triple Goddess. In common Wiccan belief, he is...
known as Atho, which had originated with Charles Cardell
Charles Cardell
Charles Cardell was an English Wiccan who propagated his own tradition of the Craft, which was distinct from that of Gerald Gardner. Cardell's tradition of Wicca was based around a form of the Horned God known as Atho, and worked with a coven that met in the grounds of his estate in Surrey. His...
.
Howard and his wife had initially been friends of Cardell, but Howard fell out with the Cardells, and soon divorced from his wife. He then moved to Field Dalling
Field Dalling
Field Dalling is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, situated about west of Holt and about miles from the coast.The parish also includes the village of Saxlingham, which is east of the village of Field Dalling...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
where he opened an antiques shop though he also had a second home in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
.
Horned God
The Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in some European pagan religions. He is often given various names and epithets, and represents the male part of the religion's duotheistic theological system, the other part being the female Triple Goddess. In common Wiccan belief, he is...
, which he called Atho. It was approximately 3 feet tall and was decorated with gold, silver and gemstones. He claimed that it had been given to him by an elderly Romany gypsy called Alicia Franch who had initiated him into the witch cult. It was proved a fake however, when, in July 2008, his son Peter confirmed to researcher Melissa Seims that he had witnessed his father producing the statue. An article in the Eastern Daily Press from March 6 1967, stated that laboratory examination had shown the statue to be carved of English Oak around 2200 years ago, and it also described it thus:
Only a month after the newspaper report, in April 1967, the head was stolen from Howard's shop, and was the only item taken in the robbery. It has never been recovered.
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