3/31/04

 

This morning a great lady of the Gardnerian Tradition left us for the Summer Country.  Donna Cole Schultz, Lady Morda, passed from this earthly incarnation following resurgence and complications of her three year fight with internal cancer.  Her husband, Robert, called me around 5:30 with the news...my last hive-off, Robin C., soon after that.  From that point on, the Wiccan/Pagan hotline never stopped; I’m touched that so many wanted to make sure I would be made aware, as most knew I was getting regular updates on her condition.  Now I feel, as one of Donna’s eldest “children”, I should share with you, her fellow Gardnerians.

 

Donna was in every sense, my spiritual mother, my God(ess)mother, if you will, my Initiator and Queen, and the Lady who was responsible for my entry into and life in the Craft.  I met Donna in 1969, with her HP, Herman Enderle.  Their outer court system during this time was the Chicago Pagan Way, and was mentioned in Hans Holzer’s book, THE NEW PAGANS, which I’d just bought.  I don’t even remember when I finally finished the book, because as soon as I saw “Chicago” with their names I went right to the phone book!  I spoke to Herman, was invited to a lecture they were sponsering at the local Buddhist Temple on the Yaqui Deer Dancers of Mexico, attended with high hopes, introduced myself (to people I knew I’d known before!) and dove right into the sea I was meant to swim! 

 

I was dedicated and subsequently initiated into the Pagan Way by them and remained active with it for several years, although by 1971 I had moved into the inner court as well, and was initiated into Donna’s Gardnerian coven, along with her new consort and husband Robert, Dave N., Phil M., Nova, and another man whose name escapes me at the moment.  We six, plus Donna and Herman, formed a new core group which worked closely for some time.  Ginny B. was initiated later, but wasn’t with us long, as she and Dave were inheriting more active leadership roles in Pagan Way, (later called Temple Uranus; they later formed the Covenant of Gaia); likewise, Richard C. was initiated but didn’t stay with us long; he had joined Pagan Way with me originally to be trained as the progenitor of what was loosely called Pagan Way South; he went on to form his own Pagan/Wiccan group and pass on  Herman and Donna’s teachings to many who became leaders of other southside groups.  Christa H.K.L. stayed with Pagan Way under Donna and Herman till she formed her own group; she later became an Unitarian minister as well.  Two prior initiates into the coven (it was just the Coven in those days; later, when Robert became Donna’s HP she named it Temple of the Sacred Stones, then Coven of the Sacred Stones), Toni M.W. and Norm K., had been very active with Donna and Herman before my initiation; as far as I know they were never elevated by Donna beyond 2nd, but became more active in other groups connected with the Chicago branch of the OTO and other Hermetic groups.

 

 After I hived off, I know Jan F. was brought through 3rd and hived off when she moved to California.  For a long time after that, Donna brought nobody to 3rd, because she didn’t want her family to leave her!  She wasn’t of the get-a-lot-hived-off mentality - she liked to keep a solid core group with her on a permanent basis.  Even today, many of the people in her Coven have been with her for a very long time.  Actually, Jan F. may have been the last person she brought to 3rd in the Gardnerian Tradition, because she became so put off with the politics and attitudes that some Gards exhibited that she openly announced she would be running an eclectic group from then on.  I’m not aware of anyone in her group from that point on who might have reached 3rd, or, indeed, if she was still using a 3 degree system, or if she even used the Gardnerian Rites.   I lost touch with her exact membership, elevations and so forth because I was so heavily involved with my first Coven, Nova, later renamed Our Lady of the River, and still later SkyFireSong., which have all been Gardnerian.  Since I moved to Florida, I have formed Kozmic Dark Mater, also Gardnerian.  I was Gythja of Northern Way in the Norse Pagan Tradition for many years with my very good friend, Ed A. as my Gothi, as well, so I was pretty busy.

 

  Essentially, Donna and Herman, later Donna and Robert, became the parents or grandparents of most of the major Chicagoland group leaders during that Renaissance of learning during the early  ‘70s.  Many have claimed lineage from Donna who were never initiates of the Gardnerian Coven, but were initiates of the Pagan Way, so there has been confusion sometimes.  My own initiates I’ve brought to 3rds and subsequent hive-offs for Donna’s line include Dori S.M,  Karen E., Rowena K. with Richard K., Joyce F. with Anthony F., Gail B.G. with Ric G., Craig B., Josh B., Heather C. with Robin C.  Some of these grandchildren of hers have since left the Tradition; others are very active, and raising Donna’s greatgrandchildren!  In fact, during the last two years, my last hive-off, Robin C. and his new HPS, Gabriella, from California, became very close with Donna after I left.  They entertained Grandmom Donna on many occasions, performed their Gardnerian Circles with her present, and brought her out of her self-imposed absence from our trad  Robin told me she was so happy to be in Circle with them, “just like in the old days” ; I am so very happy she came back to the Tradition, albeit on her own, with one of my hive-offs!  Before her death, Donna gave an extended copy of her old BOS to Robin and Gabriella with a lot of names and dates at the back that I’ve never seen.  I hope to make a copy of that material, with their permission, when I go to Chicago.

 

I was Momma Donna’s devoted daughter through three years and degrees, “growing up”.  I received my 3rd elevation in late August of 1974, just after she brought Robert to 3rd.  I remember vividly how nervous Robert was...I was not only his first 3rd elevation with her, but I was seven and a half months pregnant with my elder daughter Robin!  (Incidentally, Robert and I were elevated to 2nd by Donna and Herman; Herman then  began taking more sabbaticals after that time, being involved with other groups and projects.  The other four of our original six never got that far.  So Robert became Donna’s acting HP until 3rd.)

 

I remained  active with Donna for several years following my 3rd; I was content to stay with Mom till the right HP came along to hive off.  During that time, I had another daughter, Bonnie,  who like her sister, was in more circles before birth than many people have ever stood in, was nursed in Circle, was raised amidst my coven sisters and brothers, and always thought of Donna as their mom/grandmom/auntie as well!  During all those years, before I finally hived off, Donna not only brought us up as good Gardnerians, but allowed her expertise, other training in different traditions, and her vast knowledge and interests in so many related areas to guide us and teach us in those, as well.  She was the most pure Gardnerian I have yet to meet in her depth and knowledge, yet the most non-lineage interested!  She knew who she was, what she was, and what she could acheive!

 

During the years I worked with her, we celebrated many holidays and pantheons in addition to those of our Gardnerian Tradition; she was not afraid to work eclecticly, or dive into another unrelated area such as Voudoun (which she was trained in extensively in Haiti).  We experimented, we enlarged upon, we expanded our sights as only the best Witches can, being bound only by our imaginations.  When we performed our Gardnerian Rites, they were exact; when we were doing other works, we drew upon our (and Gardner’s) Hermetic, Kabbalistic and Ceremonial backgrounds, our African, Oriental and Norse training, or any other area we wanted to research and/or employ!  As I said, she was a reservoir and a font of energy, knowledge and abilities as a wonderful teacher and leader.  She gave me more than I ever dreamed I could learn or could become.  For this, she was often dubbed a radical.  Isolationist Gardnerians who knew no better spoke of her as if she were an outlander, when, from what I’ve seen, she was truer than any of them.

 

Donna was initiated and elevated to 2nd in England by Madge (Fiona) Worthington and Arthur Egelen, out of Rae B. - I don’t know what years.  Her first husband, Henry Cole, (“the Hen”), was also an initiate of Fiona’s.  I don’t know when Henry and Donna went their separate ways.  Lois B. was “a good friend, and coven sister”, not her initiator.   Ed F. (S.) was the HP instead of Arthur at her 3rd elevation.  When she began teaching and training back in Chicago, Judy K. (Theos) invited her and Ed F. to come to New York and have their 3rds re-confirmed, as it were, so everyone on this side of the Atlantic, would be of similar lineage, as I understand it.  As Donna was going to New York anyway, she bought herself a ticket (She wanted it made very clear that she paid her own way, thank you very much!), agreed to re-rite, and did so with them.  This all happened shortly before I was initiated.

 

  You’ll notice the use of mundane first names throughout here; that’s how Donna introduced us and others all the time!  It wasn’t till years later that I connected the sweet little lady from NY named Judy,  who visited our“dedicants circle” one night shortly before Donna’s trip prior to our initiations, as Theos.  I just knew I was impressed that her Long Island coven had their children working in another room in a children’s circle, doing healings on patients such as a friend’s racehorse!  I have never met Phoenix, to my knowledge.  I can’t remember when Donna told me her Craft name of Morda; although we each took a name, or were given one, at each rite, we mostly called each other by our mundane names, even in Circle!  I “grew up” so-to-speak knowing others as well as Ray B, Judy H., Allison H., Richard and Tamarra J., Margot A., and so many others, but as friends, not by Craft names associated with them.  That’s just the way it was back then.  Other witch-and-famous leaders such as Janet and Stewart F. I was privileged to meet at the Heartland Pagan Festival in Kansas! There were many Pagan festivals which abounded during the seventies and eighties such as Wic-Can Fest, Heartland, COSE-COG, COG, Pan Pagan, Starwood, Circle and many others.  Donna’s  presence was nearly always there, as well.

 

Finally, when my own initiates were clamoring for their pedigrees so they could go visiting other Gards, I took one of my  hive-offs, Josh, with me to dinner with Robert and Donna one night and showed her some of the vastly misinformed and some downright ridiculous information I’d gotten via the internet and published books concerning what her lineage supposedly was...could she please give me the lowdown, so I could get everyone else off my back!  Donna read over the material I’d pulled together and other people’s chat stuff. She was, by turns, highly amused, angry, disgusted, and finally resigned.  She gave me the recitation I’ve shared with you, but made it very clear these lineage wars were “petty”, “bullshit”, and certain people needed to “get a life”.  She cleared up what was decidedly not true, and denied even knowing , let alone working with a few of those claiming to be her initiates.  The point she made, again, was that people get focused on the insignificant or trivial.  If they’re Gardnerian, do they go to the trouble to handcopy theBOS material, (as I was taught, and make my initiates do!), use the initiation and elevation Rites as written, perform the esbats and sabbats, and get results with their magickal work?  If so, what difference if everyone doesn’t have a comma in the same place in a sentence?  Are they sincere in their religious beliefs as Gardner intended, and does their magick work?  Then the rest is academic only.  She was right.

 

During the last few years, I didn’t get to see Mom and Dad as often as I’d have liked...committee meetings, festival hosting duties, individual coven work, mundane lives, politics and whatnot all got in the way.  But all the wonderful times over the years, even near the end, that I did spend in her company, or on the phone, or through my “children” having “grandmom” over for rituals make me realize she’s never been far from me.  She shaped my life, and the lives of so many others for the betterment of the Wiccan community, the mundane world and all of the Lady’s great planet.  She had her moments, and her stubborn points; she could be very political; she had one of the greatest marriages I’ve ever seen; she was known and loved, and if not loved, at least acknowledged in her own right.  She was not only a Wiccan, but a true Witch.  (She’s the only Witch I’ve ever seen actually stop a rainstorm in midstride, at her command/request, at a festival in Michigan.  She routinely called visible entities into Circle for our instruction that other practitioners only play at drawing.  She got results!)   She was my friend, my mentor and my Gardnerian Mom, and I shall miss her, but find happiness in knowing she is no longer languishing in the extreme weakness of  disease.  Besides, she hasn’t gone far...Robert tells me that since her passing, she’s taken to turning on the lights and overhead ceiling fan in her room!  Doesn’t surprise me in the least - she always was a strong presence, and a determined lady!

 

I feel like I’ve already written an installment on the great American novel and yet barely scratched the surface.  I’m going to eulogize her at her Memorial Service, being held in Chicago on May 15th - her birthday!  If any of you reading this want information on where it’s being held and how to get there, please let me know.  But for those like many of you out there, who might not be able to attend in person, I wanted to share some of the tidbits I recall regarding the lady I’ve been so proud to call family.  I’d be happy to share any other tidbits anyone wants to know in honor of Donna.  She and I used to kid each other for years that we should sit down together and write the Pagan/Wiccan history of the greater Chicagoland area, before we got too senile, or died!  Well, there you go...it happens to us all.  Just write or call or email me; I’d love to talk to any and all; there’s so much more to share.  Thanks for reading the ramblings of Morda’s eldest daughter in our Tradition...till I hear from you, Love and Brightest Blessings,   Bonnie, aka Lady Nimue.

 

[email protected]; [email protected]; Bonnie Luchs at 239-267-2033.