Origins of the McFarland Dianic Tradition, Originating with Mark Roberts and Morgan McFarland and the Faerie Faith Tradition, First Called Hyperborean and Created By Mark Roberts.
There are many different stories of the origins of the McFarland Dianic Tradition and the subsequent Faerie Faith Tradition. This is the history as I know it, without the embellishments which attempt to legitimize those origins.
In the late 60’s or early 70’s Mark Roberts, claiming to already be an initiated witch and priest, met Johnny Keany. His description of this meeting:
“The Fates placed Ms. McFarland and me together at an academic SMU function. The woman then known as Johnny Keany, seemed to be the best example of the sort of High Priestess figurehead that was needed – charismatic, feminist and quality public speaker. For Johnny, I offered what she wanted: advanced WICCAN teaching; and a chance to move her feminist agenda to higher levels. At the point of giving her the name the Craft knows her by, Johnny had no WICCAN training. She had grown up as daughter of the Dean of the Anglican Seminary in Manila. Then, she was an electrical engineer student at Rice and then, directly to a marriage, which spawned her extreme feminist views. When I met her, she was a local spokesperson for her own group of Feminists. To be specific, there was NO family Tradition, Southern Witchcraft Coven, or anything related to Wicca prior to our meeting (and I have the hostess of that party to verify that at that meeting, she was only a feminist, seeking to meet her first witch.”
They became a couple and out of that relationship the (Old) Dallas Dianic Tradition was born. Mark, with his previous training in Wicca as a priest, initiated Johnny Keany, now known as Morgan McFarland. Mark’s background was more of the Gardnerian type of Wicca and his new partner, his High Priestess, was a feminist and needed something “softer” and less male oriented. He created rites and rituals based on the teachings on the Ogham that we find today in the White Goddess by Robert Graves. He claims that this material was given to him while he was living in England by a woman named Margaret Lumley Brown. That may well be true, but after extensive research by several people, there is no evidence of the validity of this information. He added an initiation pretty much straight out of Gardnerian witchcraft which is the only part of the Tradition that resembles Gardnerian witchcraft. A high priestess within the Apple Branch, was at one time, a member of the original coven of Mark and Morgan and has testified that she knows Mark wrote the lunar rituals himself for the woman he loved. She was there. Morgan wrote a beautiful poem (A Dianic Creation Myth) and this poem was expanded and forms what we now used with the rites.. Mark claimed to have initiated Morgan, but since he lied about many other things, I don’t know if that is true or not. All I know is that they worked together to create the Dallas Dianic Tradition.
During their time together several high priestesses were hived and so the Tradition was birthed and started to spread throughout the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and beyond. The tradition was then, and still is, a mixed-gender Dianic tradition welcoming both women and men, but fully matrilineal in that only high priestesses can initiate and whose names appear in the lineage. There is, however, the right of a High Priest to initiate when he needs to invoke the “burning times” rule. This is because in the original “Coven Laws” a man was prohibited from taking the blood of a woman and also from “striking” her which would, of course, prevent scourging and taking blood, both parts of the Initiation Rite.
This article which describes the tradition well appeared on a website owned by a woman named Spiderwoman:
“It was the late 1960’s, and revolution was in the air. The Vietnam police action was beginning to be recognized by a few to be a tragic mistake. Young men were being asked to occupy and kill the citizens of that small country for the sake of a paranoid, patriarchal world vision. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement were becoming a major force, and the Women’s Movement was building toward the passage of an Equal Rights Amendment in congress. There was hope. There was a sense of urgency and despair.
In 1974, Z Budapest founded (she later claimed 1971), together with three friends, the Susan B. Anthony coven, and a year later she was arrested for reading Tarot cards. Her Tradition was called Dianic, to emphasize a Goddess and Woman- oriented, life-affirming path. She wrote _The Feminist Book of Lights and Shadows_ to make available to everyone what she was thinking and feeling about her religion. She dared to be considered a criminal in her practice of religion, and one of the first to publicly reclaim the word “witch” as her own.
At about the same time, Morgan McFarland founded her own tradition. Inspired by a reference in Margaret Alice Murray’s book, _The Witch Cult in Western Europe_, to the ancient European nature-religion as a “Dianic” cult, Morgan called her tradition “Dianic”. Morgan was well aware of Z Budapest and admired her courage. It was the desire to affirm a spiritual base to Feminism that guided Morgan and Mark Roberts to make available to a growing number of seekers a series of lessons and guided developmental exercises. Their coven grew into many covens in the Dallas area, with correspondence courses being sent through the mail as well.
Margot Adler, in her book, Drawing Down the Moon, a basic primer of Pagan paths, mentions them as having one of the most organized systems of teaching in the US. By the 1980’s there were Priestesses training new Priestesses and groups experimenting with combinations of ideas that reached for the edge of imagination. There was no dogmatic practice, no requirement of belief beyond the Rede and the Law of Three. There was a basic ritual framework, a systematic presentation of Moon Mysteries, Solar Mysteries and Initiation required. Spreading like the limbs of a tree, the Dianic Tradition maintains this framework of excellent ritual observance, and an ample space for innovation and exploration that makes us unique. If an Initiate travels to a distant city and experiences a Dianic ritual observance there will be a familiarity and possibly enlightening new addition, and a sense of belonging.
The core belief that distinguishes Dianic Tradition from other Pagan paths is a focus upon the Immortal Goddess in Her threefold aspects of Maiden, Mother and Crone. Her Son and Consort is the Mortal principle that exists in relation to the Goddess in a beloved and quickening gentleness. The patriarchal obsession with who is on top, who decides for the others, has no place in it. In our Dianic Path, male persons are welcomed members of many covens, yet there is a need to release the common “take charge” attitude that is often expected of men in our culture. In ritual matters, the High Priestess, as the representative of the Goddess, rules supreme. The High Priest, as the representative of Her Son and Consort, functions to assist, protect, and serve the coven. Outside the ritual circle, all coveners are equal and most group decisions are made on a consensual basis. There is sometimes a sense of frustration if one cannot directly influence the decisions of others. Women will sometimes sense this as well. How can the allowance of personal innovation and consensual decision making be described or taught if we do not release our instinctual control of others, based upon the belief that we are powerless? We must give up something in order to give space for something new, opening our hands to let drop whatever binds us and accepting the unlimited energy within us.
Insistence upon an “equal standard” for masculine and feminine principles displays unfamiliarity with Dianic ritual observances.” ~ 1997 Haezl ~
Mark and Morgan were not destined to be together forever, and their relationship ended sometime in the middle 70’s. Having given these rites and passages to Morgan, Mark set out to create yet another tradition for himself. He used the same material and created the Hyperborean Tradition. The tradition is set up almost in the same way, but he removed any elements similar to Gardnerian witchcraft claiming it was more authentic, and true to what he was given. The rituals are more nature based with more emphasis on the healing properties of the trees. He again initiated the first high priestess of this tradition, Rhea-Shekmet, birth name Connie Blake. I have a letter from her dating this event around 1975. It is not clear how many high priestesses hived there in Dallas before Mark moved to Atlanta, Georgia. I personally only know of one other, Judy Prueitt, but I do not know if she even practices now. Since this writing, one other has been initiated into Faerie Faith who is also a McFarland High Priestess and has the right to initiate in both. She has recently hived other women in Faerie Faith.
After moving to Atlanrta, Mark met Pat (Zook) Davis. I was able to learn later, that she was a veterinarian in Atlanta. He took his Hyperborean Mysteries and worked with Pat (Epona). In this time together the Faerie Faith Tradition was born. Pat died in 2016 and a woman by the name of Linda Kerr who lives in Eastern Alabama, is the matriarch of the tradition. When I met her in 2007, she told me that the rituals remain pretty much the same today as first given to them by Mark Roberts. They have added Huna to their teachings and trainings, but the rituals have remained pure to the origins.
At some point in time, photo-copies of the lunar rites of the Hyperborean Tradition were distributed to a couple of high priestesses of the Dallas Dianic Tradition and these rites were integrated into their own. I have no idea who all had them, nor was I aware they even existed until I too, was gifted with copies sometime around 1995. I never shared these rites with anyone except my own initiates, nor did I reveal where my copies came from until much later when I was a high priestess of the Faerie Faith Tradition with all rights to do so; where I got them, however, remains private. I loved them and added them to my own, creating rituals that incorporated both traditions. The rituals I received did contain both lunar and solar rites but contained no specific initiation rite. When I inquired about that I was told that there was no specific rite in the original Hyperborean, that each was created uniquely for each initiate. At one point in our friendship, Mark Roberts gifted me with copies of his Faerie Faith Book of Shadows as well as his original Dallas (Old) Dianic Tradition Book of Shadows.
I met Mark Roberts in 1997 when a huge war was brewing against him within the Dallas Dianic community. He was very upset that they were using his rites within an oath bound tradition without his permission. He saw that taking his rites as photo-copies and placing them within an “oath-bound” tradition was unacceptable. His way of invalidating their use of those “stolen” rites was to make public the very material they locked within oaths. Hence, they were published on a website for all to share. I was the web-designer of that website, done at the request of Mark Roberts. The war escalated! At one point I even received a death threat ordering me to remove the website.
All of this culminated with a decision by several of the then “presiding” Dallas Dianic High Priestesses to rename their tradition to “McFarland Dianic” and to sever all ties with Mark Roberts. This occurred in February 1999. This was done without the knowledge of many of us. We were not included in any of these changes, did not vote on them, nor did we vote on giving power to these women to take any such action. They also rewrote our 39 Coven Laws and basically said “like it or leave.”
I want all to know that the McFarland Tradition and the Faerie Faith tradition are two separate traditions. I resigned as a Dallas Dianic to create the Apple Branch. I hived three women as high priestesses, prior to that date. All three of those women remain on the Family Tree of the McFarland Dianic Tradition as they had acceoted the name change. They may, with all respect, call themselves high priestesses in the McFarland Tradition. However, they are not high priestesses of the Faerie Faith Tradition, since at the time of their hiving, I did not have the right to hive them in that tradition. Any hived from me after 2001 do not have the right to call themselves McFarland. If they call themselves McFarland and Faerie Faith (with two exceptions), that is simply not true. They were told, and agreed, that they would not be able to claim lineage in the McFarland Tradition. Sadly, there are those who lie. I have never understood the need to lie about origins to create legitimacy. Mark did it, Morgan did it, and so too, do those before and after.
There will be those who will attempt to dispute what is written here. It is the truth as I know it and as was shared with me.
Modern Wicca is a modern construct. There is no need for a new tradition to make attempts to validate origins by making up fancy stories. Where it came from is of no consequence in the long run – the only thing that matters is that it works! Ours is a beautiful tradition of Mysteries that have been given to us and those of us who practice the Mysteries know that they provide a beautiful foundation upon which to develop who we are. They help us to become one with the beautiful world our Goddess continues to create with us.
We are a new tradition drawing upon the same material as those I have described above. We call ourselves Faerie Faith. We do claim lineage from those traditions but we cannot validate any of the published histories and certainly do not wish to perpetuate their stories. The material our initiates receive comes from both and includes our own additions or deletions. We have no need to create a history other than our own.
With love and blessings,
Bendis, Fierce Huntress of the Two Spears
High Priestess and Faerie Queen
Founder of the Apple Branch
It has recently come to my attention that someone has actively attempted to discredit me. Sadly, this is quite common coming from women who do not understand the concept of power with rather that power over and find that they need to bully to achieve their own power. Following are two documents. One is from Mark Roberts and the other one I wrote explaining why I resigned from the Od Dianic Tradition rather than be called McFarland.
Document from Mark
When I returned to Dallas from an extended stay in England, I discovered that many more were using the Faerie Faith Rites than had been originally included within the Hyperborean Tradition. It would seem that the photocopy machine had replaced my personal sharings of the Faerie Faith.
This did not overly bother me, for my charge had been only to share the
Faerie Faith to all who would properly respect such. Many added their
own personal touches to this effort. High Priestess Epona, researched and added local trees to the Mysteries that only involved English trees. This is a most worthy example of keeping a spiritual practice alive as its
path travels both time and geography. On the other hand, I was troubled
as I saw others stack up extended lists of rules – where the original
sharing in Avalon contained none. More so, many of the rules were quite
alien to the essence of the Faerie Faith Initiation.
At this point in time, with the inspiration and assistance of Morgan-of-
Avalon, and Kerridwen, we began to prepare a Sacred sharing space, so
that the Faerie Faith could be shared to all, in its pure form, including
the initiation. It should be fully understood, that no ill intent was
behind Morgan-of-Avalon’s selection of her name – it came at a most magical moment, and had no intention of overlapping Ms. McFarland’s name.
Morgan-of-Avalon and I shared a vision of a Sacred Circle where all
could gather to learn and share spiritual knowledge, free of dogma
and rules. A spiritual space to share a spiritual path – a vision
that still lives within Morgan’s Circle of Avalon. More so, with her
decades of life-training upon a spiritual path, Morgan was able to
assist me in preparing the Second Level of Faerie Faith Mysteries, which
uses the gem-Kindred for sharing additional Mysteries of the Moons, and the metal-kindred, for sharing the Solar level of Mysteries. (There is
a third level – that moves the Mysteries to a special level of merging
the High Self to Sacred Symbols that shall be shared from Avalon next
year.
From my years spent in England at the beginning of the 90s, more so,
with my many return visits to Avalon (Glastonbury), I had accumulated
the essential information of the second level of Mysteries, and had
offered to share that information with Selket, but she declined.
As Avalon began, a series of magical events occurred that underlined
the validity of Morgan’s space as High Priestess – when she invoked
the rebirthing essence of Avalon (on December the 18th), she called
in the magic of the protective Mists of Avalon – and surrounding our
space, a mist began, that within hours covered the whole of the
Metroplex for two days (an event so unusual, it was referenced on
all of the local news programs).
The value of a protective mist was soon to be perceived, for we were
surrounded by those that cared not for a Sacred space that shared freely
of the Faerie Faith.
Then, we learned that those who saw only negatives in our sharing, had
planed to make the Solar Mysteries as a separate training for women
only. The Faerie Faith is very open to the concept of all-women covens;
however, to purposely set half of the first level of Mysteries apart
from all male participants went against every essence of the Faerie Faith. Frankly, this seemed a bit of an awkward rule, since those Solar Mysteries that were to be never seen by a male had been shared to them, directly, or indirectly, by this male steward of the Mysteries.
Seeing that the Faerie Faith had become so apart from the original
essence that I had shared, we chose to level the sharing space. To
offer to all, the spiritual path that I had been charged to share.
A collective of High Priestesses of the Faerie Faith (including, Eartha,
one of the original, Hyperborean Priestesses) were given the
Sacred Labour of preparing the pages beyond. The greatest credit
for the beauty and sensitivity of this Sacred Space goes to Bendis.
Some may frown at the concept of sharing Mysteries within a Web Site
in Cyber-space, may I remind those, that previously, I had, myself
seen their sacred books, which were photocopies from my hand written
book of Faerie Faith Mysteries. And I consider this Web Site as a far
more Sacred Sharing than any photocopies of my handwriting, complete
with misspellings.
These pages include only the materials that all have copies of,
be they sourced from photocopies or directly from me.
For those who appreciate the sharing within these pages of the first
level of the Mysteries, within the Metroplex there are three Covens,
three High Priestesses, they may come to, to receive the original Faerie
Faith initiation, as well as the second level of the Mysteries. They
are Morgan, Kerridwen and Bendis. (There are other High Priestesses
beyond the Metroplex of Dallas/Ft. Worth, who have the same materials
to share, however, until I receive their acceptance to be so named,
they will remain apart.)
Recently, there have been several detractors to the Faerie Faith who
offer a unique two-fold argument. They contend that I did not receive
the initial sharing from Margaret Lumley-Brown, that I had written all
of the materials myself. At the same time, they contend that I, the
writer of such, have no right to publicly share my own writings. The
twisted logic of that argument needs no answer. And, having recently
made contact with the writers of a book on Margaret Lumley Brown (in
Bath, a nearby town to Glastonbury/Avalon) I will but let the words,
in their soon to be published book, put an end to such foolishness.
For all else, we offer freely, as it was freely shared with me in Avalon,
the Faerie Faith. May it serve to assist your spiritual path – and know
that there is more available, one just has to request that you may be
available to study, with Morgan-of-Avalon, Kerridwen, or Bendis.
For those who so honour the photocopies of my book, and argue as to my role as the Steward of the First Level of Mysteries…. Let it be known
that as of Samhain of 1999, within a Sacred ritual, within the Circle
presided over by the High Priestess, Kerridwen, and High Priest, Emry
I shall retire as Steward of the First Level of the Mysteries – by
handing over, within Sacred Rite, my book of Faerie Faith Mysteries to
Morgan-of-Avalon. The final writing within that book, shall be to place
her as the future Steward of all rituals and Rites within.
May She smile upon Morgan’s Stewardship.
Mark Roberts
Boreas
Merlin-of-Avalon
Excerpt from a lineage document from Deanne/Bendis
Through the years a group of women practicing the Dianic Tradition in Dallas (which did not include the women practicing in other parts of that area) formed what they called a council for the purpose of having tea once a month. The women came from the old “ritzy” part of Dallas. Renda pretty much was their leader and when I met her she told me that they were looking into rewriting the “coven laws.” I did not pay a lot of attention but I did think it was a good idea. It never occurred to me they would take it upon themselves to do it and not ask the other high priestesses. In 1999 they put out a letter which was their way of disowning their founder – the man who invoked the Burning Times rule and initiated Morgan and began what they practiced.
However, in that letter it was very clear that if you did not agree to their “take over” and agree to follow their rules – which #39 said you were no longer autonomous but subject to their decisions – you could leave with their blessings. And they changed the name to McFarland. I took advantage of that opportunity and departed!”