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Doreen Edith Dominy Valiente (b. 4 January, 1922 in Mitcham, South London, England - d. 1 September, 1999 in Brighton, England) was a member of an early Wicca coven, led by Gerald Gardner.^[1]

Life

Born Doreen Dominy, the daughter of Christian parents, the young Doreen was convinced from an early age that she possessed the power to use magic.[1] Valientehttp://www.doreenvaliente.com/images/copyrightimages/Casimero-Valiente.jpg was the name of Doreen's second husband, whom she married in 1944.

Wicca

Shortly after Gardner made public his claims to have been initiated into a surviving witch cult, he was joined by Valiente in 1952, who collaborated with him in the creation of rituals. Valiente became Gardner's High Priestess in 1953 and wrote a number of poems for the use of Wiccans, including a rewritten version of [[[Charge of the Goddess]]][2] and also helped formulate the Wiccan Rede (Guiley p348). However Gardner's increasing desire for publicity caused conflict with Valiente. When she attempted to control him he suddenly produced the Wiccan Laws in 1957 which she could not accept, breaking from Gardner to create her own coven and eventually joining Robert Cochrane's coven after Gardner's death (Valiente 1989).

Writing

In the '70s she published a series of books [3] and gradually became one of the most well respected and influential leaders of Wicca meriting an entry in the Dictionary of National Biography. She was active in her promotion of modern witchcraft and neo-paganism, being particularly keen to emphasise that the movement was not related to Satanism, but did not seek publicity for its own sake. She was a notable figure in supporting the development of the Pagan Federation. Faced with challenges from sceptics Valiente attempted, with some success, to provide evidence for Gardner's claims concerning his initiation, notably by identifying Dorothy Clutterbuck in 1980, the old witch who was supposed to have performed Gardner's initiation, in an essay published in Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar.

Dr Leo Ruickbie examines her life and contribution to Wicca in his Witchcraft Out of the Shadows. According to Dr Ruickbie, Valiente was the 'Mother of Modern Witchcraft', playing a crucial role in re-writing much of Gardner's original ritual material, an assessment supported by Ronald Hutton.

Bibliography

1962: Where Witchcraft Lives
1973: An ABC of Witchcraft
1975: Natural Magic
1978: Witchcraft for Tomorrow
1989: The Rebirth of Witchcraft

References

^ Valiente, Doreen. [An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present (1994) London: Robert Hale. ISBN 0-7090-5350-9]http://www.doreenvaliente.com/doreenvalientebooks.html

External links

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[1] Valiente, Doreen. [An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present (1994) London: Robert Hale. ISBN 0-7090-5350-9]http://www.doreenvaliente.com/doreenvalientebooks.html

[1]

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 '''Doreen Edith Dominy Valiente''' (b. 4 January, [[1922]] in [[Mitcham]], [[South London]], [[England]] - d. 1 September, [[1999]] in [[Brighton]], [[England]]) was a member of an early [[Wicca]] coven, led by [[Gerald Gardner]].<ref>[[Doreen Valiente|Valiente, Doreen]]. ''[An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present'' (1994) London: Robert Hale. ISBN 0-7090-5350-9]http://www.doreenvaliente.com/doreenvalientebooks.html</ref>
 ==Life==
-Born Doreen Dominy, the daughter of Christian parents, the young Doreen was convinced from an early age that she possessed the power to use [[magic (paranormal)|magic]].[http://www.doreenvaliente.com/main/biography/Teen%20Witch/index.htm] [Valiente] was the name of Doreen's second husband, whom she married in 1944.
+Born Doreen Dominy, the daughter of Christian parents, the young Doreen was convinced from an early age that she possessed the power to use [[magic (paranormal)|magic]].[http://www.doreenvaliente.com/main/biography/Teen%20Witch/index.htm] [[Valiente]]http://www.doreenvaliente.com/images/copyrightimages/Casimero-Valiente.jpg was the name of Doreen's second husband, whom she married in 1944.
 ==Wicca==
-Shortly after Gardner made public his claims to have been initiated into a surviving [[witch]] cult, he was joined by Valiente in 1952, who collaborated with him in the creation of rituals. Valiente became Gardner's High Priestess in 1953 and wrote a number of poems for the use of Wiccans, including a rewritten version of [[Charge of the Goddess]] and also helped formulate the [[Wiccan Rede]] (Guiley p348). However Gardner's increasing desire for publicity caused conflict with Valiente. When she attempted to control him he suddenly produced the [[Wiccan Laws]] in 1957 which she could not accept, breaking from Gardner to create her own coven and eventually joining [[Roy_Bowers |Robert Cochrane]]'s coven after Gardner's death (Valiente 1989).
+Shortly after Gardner made public his claims to have been initiated into a surviving [[witch]] cult, he was joined by Valiente in 1952, who collaborated with him in the creation of rituals. Valiente became Gardner's High Priestess in 1953 and wrote a number of poems for the use of Wiccans, including a rewritten version of [[[Charge of the Goddess]]][http://www.doreenvaliente.com/main/chargeofthegoddess/index.html] and also helped formulate the [[Wiccan Rede]] (Guiley p348). However Gardner's increasing desire for publicity caused conflict with Valiente. When she attempted to control him he suddenly produced the [[Wiccan Laws]] in 1957 which she could not accept, breaking from Gardner to create her own coven and eventually joining [[Roy_Bowers |Robert Cochrane]]'s coven after Gardner's death (Valiente 1989).
 ===Writing===
-In the '70s she published a series of books and gradually became one of the most well respected and influential leaders of [[Wicca]] meriting an entry in the [[Dictionary of National Biography]]. She was active in her promotion of modern witchcraft and [[neo-paganism]], being particularly keen to emphasise that the movement was not related to [[Satanism]], but did not seek publicity for its own sake. She was a notable figure in supporting the  development of the [[Pagan Federation]]. Faced with challenges from sceptics Valiente attempted, with some success, to provide evidence for Gardner's claims concerning his initiation, notably by identifying [[Dorothy Clutterbuck]] in [[1980]], the old witch who was supposed to have performed Gardner's initiation, in an essay published in ''[[Eight Sabbats for Witches]]'' by [[Janet Farrar|Janet]] and [[Stewart Farrar]].
+In the '70s she published a [[series of books]] [http://www.doreenvaliente.com/doreenvalientebooks.html] and gradually became one of the most well respected and influential leaders of [[Wicca]] meriting an entry in the [[Dictionary of National Biography]]. She was active in her promotion of modern witchcraft and [[neo-paganism]], being particularly keen to emphasise that the movement was not related to [[Satanism]], but did not seek publicity for its own sake. She was a notable figure in supporting the  development of the [[Pagan Federation]]. Faced with challenges from sceptics Valiente attempted, with some success, to provide evidence for Gardner's claims concerning his initiation, notably by identifying [[Dorothy Clutterbuck]] in [[1980]], the old witch who was supposed to have performed Gardner's initiation, in an essay published in ''[[Eight Sabbats for Witches]]'' by [[Janet Farrar|Janet]] and [[Stewart Farrar]].
 Dr [[Leo Ruickbie]] examines her life and contribution to Wicca in his ''Witchcraft Out of the Shadows''. According to Dr Ruickbie, Valiente was the 'Mother of Modern Witchcraft', playing a crucial role in re-writing much of Gardner's original ritual material, an assessment supported by [[Ronald Hutton]].
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 == External links ==
 *[http://www.doreenvaliente.com Doreen Valiente.com]
+*[http://www.doreenvaliente.com/main/biography/index.htm Biography]
 *[http://www.thewica.co.uk/Elders.htm The Wica - Information on Doreen Valiente and other Craft Elders.]
 *[http://www.controverscial.com/Doreen%20Valiente.htm Doreen Valiente biography]