Sybil Leek

Sybil Leek was born on 22 February 1917 in the village of Normacot in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England to a comfortable, middle-class family. She claimed to have been descended from the historical Molly Leigh, who had been accused during the witch hunts. In her book The Complete Art of Witchcraft, pg 21, she calls this 800 year family beneficial relationship with 'our ancient Celtic form of Witchcraft' and occultism. At the age of 16 she married her music teacher, though he died two years later, whereupon Leek returned to live with her grandmother, quitting the Witchcraft research association. She later stayed with an acquaintance in Lyndhurst, in the New Forest, and claimed to have spent some of the following years living amongst the New Forest gypsies. When she was 20, Sybil returned to her family, who had now moved to the edge of the New Forest. She opened three antique shops; one in Ringwood, one in Somerset, and one in the New Forest village of Burley. She soon moved to Burley herself, into a house behind the shop Lawfords of Burley.

Her eccentric habits as a self-described witch soon resulted in problems. Media interest grew, and Sybil became tired of the attention from news reporters and tourists. Chris Packham, in a BBC article about her, quoted a contemporary saying, "people either thought she was a bit of a joke or a fraud." Although the village itself benefited from the extra tourism and visitors, some were unhappy with the extra traffic and noise. Her landlord eventually refused to renew her lease, prompting Leek to move away from the area and emigrate to the United States of America.[1]

Strong in the defence of her beliefs, Leek sometimes differed and even quarrelled with other witches. She disapproved of nudity in rituals, a requirement in some reconstructed traditions, and was strongly against the use of drugs, but she was at odds with most other witches in that she did believe in cursing. She also claimed to have had an out-of-body experience.

Her student Christine Jones stated that Leek "mixed truths with untruths liberally, causing great harm as she went."[4]

She died of cancer on 26 October 1982 at the Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida.

• Bramshaw, Vikki. Craft of the Wise: A Practical Guide to Paganism & Witchcraft. ISBN 1-84694-232-2.
• Jones, Christine (2010). Sybil Leek: Out of the Shadows. ISBN 978-0-9827263-6-5.
• The Raveness. Molly, Sybil and Crowley a popular poem from her book Lavinia : Volume one. (2006) ISBN 978-1-5023139-6-6.
• Leek, Sybil, Diary of a Witch (Prentice-Hall, 1968).

• Sybil Leek Memorial Page
• Lovestarz.com article on Sybil Leek
• BBC article on Sybil Leek
• controverscial.com article on Sybil Leek
• A Biographical Sketch of a Friend & Acquaintance of Aleister Crowley