FACT: Laurie Cabot has been a guest on both "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and on Phil Donahue's talk show in the late 1980s.

Captain Marvel / Shazam: Captain Marvel is the alter ego of Billy Batson, a youth who works as a radio news reporter and was chosen to be a champion of good by the wizard Shazam. Whenever Billy speaks the wizard's name, he is instantly struck by a magic lightning bolt that transforms him into an adult superhero empowered with the abilities of six legendary figures; the wisdom of Solomon; the strength of Hercules; the stamina of Atlas; the power of Zeus; the courage of Achilles; and the speed of Mercury.

FACT: Several friends and family members, most notably Marvel Family cohorts, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr., can share Billy's power and become "Marvels" themselves.

Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman is a fictional DC Comics superheroine co-created by William Moulton Marston and his, wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston. Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (Dec. 1941). She is among the first — and most famous — comic book superheroines, and is written as a founding member of the Justice League.

In most adaptations, Wonder Woman is Princess Diana of the Amazon warrior tribe, based on Greek mythology, "Diana" being the Roman name for the Greek goddess, Artemis, on whom the character is based. The Amazon ambassador to the larger world, Diana was awarded several gifts by the Olympian gods, including the Lasso of Truth (created from the Golden Girdle of Gaea) and indestructible bracelets / gauntlets (formed from the shield, Aegis). For several years she was described in the splash page of each story, as "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Mercury, and stronger than Hercules."

FACT: In addition to comic books, the character was featured in the popular 1975 to 1979 television adaptation starring Lynda Carter, as well as the Super Friends and Justice League animated series. Plans for a motion picture adaptation are also underway.

Jafar: Jafar is an evil schemer and the former Grand Vizier of the Sultan of Agrabah. Despite his magical aspirations, Jafar is actually incapable of performing any supernatural feats during the majority of Aladdin. He is shown to be scholarly and learned in arcane lore, his secret chamber filled with strange devices and stacks of tomes, and, as such, he operates more on the level of an alchemist throughout the film’s duration than an actual magician.

Maleficent: Maleficent is considered the classic Disney villain: imposing, serious, gothic, terrifying, and lacking any of the occasional goofiness seen in some later Disney villains (when she does resort to humor it is in a dry tone); this has frequently led to her being considered the most effective of Disney's many "evil" characters. Despite her unusual green complexion, she possesses a dark beauty, acting in a charming coaxing fashion with her servants before smiting them, aided by her seductive sultry voice. An almost archetypal personification of evil, she is responsible for "all misfortune that befalls King Stefan's kingdom." Maleficent also possesses a range of magical powers and artifacts, which allow her to, for example, use the crystal ball on her staff to taunt Prince Philip with images of a bleak future. She can also casts spells, such as inflicting Aurora with a curse of death (weakened to a curse of sleep by the good fairy, Merryweather), creating thunderstorms, sending frosts, projecting lightning, teleporting, and changing shape. Some of Maleficent's forms in the film were that of a spinning wheel, a will o' the wisp, and a dragon. Maleficent was often surrounded by eerie green flames. In the final battle she cries, “Now shall you deal with me, O Prince, and all the powers of Hell!”, implying that she had phenomenal powers of evil at her disposal, even providing viewers with a demonstration by subsequently transforming into a tremendous black-and-purple dragon. She was slain by the sword of Prince Philip, after one final enchantment from Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather drove it directly into her heart. She fell to the ground, with nothing left of her, but her cloak with the sword still in it.

Snow White's Evil Queen: The Queen possessed dark powers and knowledge, including the ability to summon wind and lightning, and a magical mirror with which she could look upon whatever she wished. The Magic Mirror showed a haunted, smoky face which replied to the Queen's requests. She regularly asked the Mirror who was the fairest in the land ("Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"), and the Mirror always replied that she was. However, one day, the Mirror told her that there was a new fairest woman in the land, her stepdaughter, Snow White.

FACT: Chagrined and furious, the Queen goes down into the dungeon laboratory and mixes a potion that turns her into a hag, an old peddler woman. Her beauty is shrouded in ugliness; a true image of twisted evil. It is quite ironic that she, so obsessed with her own beauty, is willing to forsake it, to destroy competition to it.

Ursula: Ursula is a villainess who first appeared in the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She was voiced by Pat Carroll in the film, its subsequent TV series and the Kingdom Hearts video games. She is a sea witch who "helps" poor unfortunate people while achieving her own goals. From her waist up, she has the body of an overweight purple-skinned, white-haired female human (modeled after drag performer Divine), and from the waist down she has the tentacles of a black squid.
Ursula the Sea-witch was once a senior member of the court of King Triton, the king of the underwater city of Atlantica. She was originally supposed to be his sister, but the scene mentioning that was deleted, and it is now considered only semi-canon. For her obsession with Dark Magic and treachery against the kingdom, Ursula was banished, and retreated to a secret lair on the outsides of the city with her two moray eel minions, Flotsam and Jetsam. For many years, she watched over the city waiting for her chance to seek revenge on Triton and gain the crown of Atlantica, becoming Queen of the Oceans.

FACT: In "The Little Mermaid" TV series, her kind was referred to as Octopians.

FACT: Gardner was married once to a woman named Donna who remained his loyal companion for 33 years during which she never took part in the craft or his activities within it. Gardner was devastated by her passing and began to suffer once more his childhood affliction of asthma.

He was educated in standard secondary modern state schools and had a particular propensity for music, art and history. He left school as soon as he could, sadly passing (against the advise of teachers) the opportunity of further collage education. His main concern at the time was independence and freedom from the clutches of state control..

After leaving school, hespent a few years educating myself in manly pursuits, before settling for a career in the Army at age 20. George spent the next 11 years in the armed forces working as a musician playing cornet, trumpet and the euphonium. As a civilian, he has worked mainly as a licensee and manager of pubs, clubs and hotels. In 1989, he set up my own business as a driving instructor and operated his own driving Sshool, before returning to the license trade due to the recession in 1993.

Fed up with the fickle nature of the general public, he quit the license trade several ears ago, and moved into security, which allowed him the solitude and time to concentrate on his new interests, writing and witchcraft. His interests in writing started shortly after buying his first computer, and while researching an article for his website, became fascinated by the subjects of paganism and witchcraft. In 2001, he left his security job and returned to the hotel industry. He now works as a night auditor for a courtyard branded hotel of the international chain, Marriott International Hotel.

George Knowles doesn't follow any particular craft or tradition, but works quietly from home as an Eclectic Solitary practitioner.

FACT: Much of the history found on this page, can be attributed to the research and writing found on George Knowles' website: Controverscial.com. Share wisdom, but give credit.

Dr. Strange : Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe, responsible for defending it from mystic threats. He is a master of the mystic arts, using his abilities to battle evil magicians and other supernatural villains. He is also often consulted by other superheroes on supernatural matters.

The Scarlet Witch: The Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a mutant with the power to warp reality and "cast" hexes. Although Wanda began her career as a super-villainess, she reformed and became a superheroine early in her history. She is the fraternal twin sister of Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff); the twins are the children of Magneto and his late wife Magda. Magda fled from Magneto before either learned that she was pregnant.

FACT: More than once, the Scarlet Witch has demostrated a loss of control over her powers, and her unconscious mind has warped the reality around her to disasterous effects.

Storm: Storm (Ororo Munroe) is a best known as a prominent leader of the X-Men. Storm has the mutant power to control all forms of naturally occurring weather and can fly at high speeds. She is consistently depicted as a member of various X-Men battalions and often as the team’s leader from 1980 until 2006, when she marries the Black Panther. She is the reigning queen of the fictional nation of Wakanda, a title held by that marriage. She was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, and first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975), becoming one of the first and most favorite black comic book heroines.

S.L. MacGregor Mathers was a prominent occult scholar, author and a leader of the occult revival in the late 1880’s. He had a life-long fascination with magic, mysticism and Celtic symbolism that led him to hold high office in the S.R.I.A. (Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia). He, together with Dr. William Wynn Westcott and Dr. William Woodman was a co-founder of the influential secret occult order known as The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

FACT: While constructing the new Order’s rituals, Mathers incorporated his belief that women as well as men should be allowed to join. Most societies at that time were men only, and that woman should be allowed into an Order, much less on an equal basis with men, was an unheard of precedent.

Walter Mercado, sometimes referred to simply as "Walter", is a flamboyant Puerto Rican astrologer who has become a personal astrologer for many celebrities. He is currently a regular contributor to Univisión's television magazine show Primer Impacto with a daily horoscope reading. The Latino psychic has a solid reputation as an authority in astrology charts and horoscopes. Most of his fame comes thanks to his astrology TV shows which started in Puerto Rico, and then later jumped to a wider Latin American market years later.

FACT: As a youngster in his homeland, Puerto Rico, he was named Walter of Miracles, “the child who could see into people’s pasts and futures, who knew the causes of their illnesses and the way to their cures.” But now, seated on a throne, psychic Walter Mercado speaks with a grand divo tone and gestures as if he's prophesying the armageddon, though all he's really doing is reading horoscopes.

FACT: Walter Mercado is the only celebrity to featured on all three Azodnem.com Spotlight pages: GLBTs in the Spotlight, Latins in the Spotlight, and Pagans in the Spotlight.

George Pickingill was a legend in his own time, a feared “cunning man” by local residents, and a sought after witch and magician by those in occult circles. Old George, as he became known, was a hereditary witch and claimed he could trace his ancestry back for centuries, to the time of “Julia, The Witch of Brandon”, who had lived in a village north of Thetford, Norfolk. As legend would have it, Julia was hired to make magical chants for the troops of Harewood the Wake, inspiring them into battle against the Normans. The Normans, in retaliation set fire to her village and burned her at the stake in 1071. Since that time each generation of the Pickingill family has served as priests in the Old Religion. 

George, like his father was a humble farm worker, yet all who knew him held him in awe. Many of the local village folk were afraid of him and his mysterious magical abilities. This was probably due to the simple ignorance, fear and superstition that still pervaded witchcraft in those times. In occult circles, he was highly regarded, being consulted by people from all over the country, Europe and the United States.   

FACT: Over the course of his life, George established a total of nine hereditary covens. These were located in Norfolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Sussex, and Hampshire. In many ways, George was a zealot, for when he started a new coven; he would insist that its leaders produce evidence indicating he or she came from hereditary witch lineage.

Her many titles include the bestselling Solitary Witch, Teen Witch, To Ride A Silver Broomstick, To Stir A Magick Cauldron, To Light A Sacred Flame, American Folk Magick, Angels: Companions in Magick, Silver’s Spells for Prosperity, Silver's Spells for Protection, Silver's Spells for Love, Halloween, and the Witches’ Night Out teen fiction series. Her new book Hedge Witch is forthcoming from Llewellyn in September 2008.

Francis Israel Regardie was an occultist, author and one time secretary to the legendary Aleister Crowley. As an adept of the now defunct secret order known as The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, he became infamous among the occultists of his day for breaking his oath of secrecy and publishing the order’s complete rituals in his book, The Golden Dawn. Today this book is a classic best seller and has been revised and re-issued several times. Overshadowed by his association with Crowley, much of his work has been left unappreciated by those outside of the realms of high magic and occultism.

FACT: One of Regardie’s primary objectives throughout his career had been to preserve the teachings of The Golden Dawn, but he had also set himself another task. As an adept of The Golden Dawn, he felt it was down to him to bring a valid branch of the initiatory lineage of the order to America.

Elaine Silver has a voice you'll never forget. It has been described as stunningly clear and fine, magnificent, rich and supple. She sings a cappella or accompanies herself on guitar and banjo, and has performed in concerts for hundreds of thousands of folks throughout North America and Europe. Elaine, generally regarded as New Jersey's folk music queen, a role she confirmed in a captivating and stylistically far-reaching performance, is the recipient of the Garden State Music Award for Outstanding Folk Performer. She has appeared in concert with Arlo Guthrie, Doc Watson, Tom Paxton, Suzanne Vega, Jorma Kaukonen, Tom Chapin and many more of the folk world's brightest stars. Elaine often teams up with author Alan Cohen, as musical accompanist for his workshops and special events, and worked with Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, and don Miguel Ruiz.

Elaine has combined her beautiful voice and spirit with metaphysical teachings to produce a unique and healing synergy. She is a performance artist who writes songs with a deep faith in the power of love, a social conscience, a unique empathy for the innocence of childhood and a great respect for Mother Nature.

Her highly acclaimed recordings, Faerie Goddess, Divine Favorites, The Lady of the Lake, as well as her most recent offering, I Choose Love continue to receive rave reviews while touching the hearts and minds of her listeners. She creatively speaks to the child and adult in all of us as she blends top folk and New Age fusion. Elaine proves herself as a songwriter and is a soulful and captivating talent who is not to be missed.

Pamela Colman-Smith, affectionally known as Pixie, was a little known artist, illustrator and writer, and while most of her work has been regulated to obscurity, her lasting legacy was the design and illustration of the 20th century’s most popular and best selling tarot deck, The Original Rider-Waite Tarot Deck (1909). The deck was commissioned under the direction of author and writer, Arthur Edward Waite. 

Pamela Colman-Smith was a women who didn’t seek notoriety, nor did she seek fame, all she wanted was to be recognized for her talents as an artist. She never married.  She had no known heirs or family except for the elderly long time female friend and companion who had shared her life for the past 40 years. When she died on the 18th of September 1951, Pamela was penniless and her life’s work obscure. There was no funeral procession to honour her life, and no memorial service to evaluate the impact her work would have upon future generations. Her gravesite, if one exists, remains unknown. 

She died disappointed that her paintings and writings had failed to achieve success, yet she never stopped believing in herself. After her demise, all of her personal effects were sold at auction: her books, manuscripts, prayer books, paintings, drawings, furniture, and even her personal letters were sold to satisfy her debts. Despite her last wishes, her long time companion was deprived of any inheritance and everything went to strangers who wouldn’t appreciate what they had.

FACT: Except for a few art exhibitions during her early career, which were met with a small amount of success, much of her life’s work has disappeared. Pamela Colman-Smith would have been forgotten, except for the seventy-eight tarot card paintings known as The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck.  She would no doubt be amazed to know, that today through that tarot deck, her work reaches out and touches the hearts and emotions of millions of people.

After his death, controversy ensued when the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) refused to imprint a Wiccan pentacle on his grave, to the dismay of his widow, Roberta Stewart. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and its National Cemetery Administration prohibit graphics on government-furnished headstones or markers other than those they have approved as "emblems of belief", and Wicca, at the time was not recognized for use in its cemeteries.

Roberta Stewart commented "...remember that all freedoms are worth fighting for". At an alternative memorial service with Wiccan clergy (the official VA cemetery did not allow them to be present), Roberta Stewart placed a blue wreath with a white pentacle on his gravestone, which was blank aside for the typical name and dates of birth and death.

On May 27, 2006, the Associated Press reported, "Over the years, families have used religious symbols such as the Jewish Star of David, the Christian cross and the Islamic crescent and star to honor their loved ones on headstones and markers. For Sgt. Patrick Stewart's family, the symbol of choice was also from his religion: the Wiccan pentacle. But of all the symbols and faiths recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Wicca and its emblem, a circle around a five-pointed star, are not among them." According to federal guidelines, only approved religious symbols — of which there are 38 — can be placed on government headstones or memorial plaques.

The Rev. Selena Fox, senior minister of the Wiccan Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin, is among those who have been pushing the federal government to adopt the emblem. Fox said "Veterans Affairs has been considering such requests for nearly nine years with no decision. While this stonewalling continues, families of soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice are still waiting for equal rights."

John W. Whitehead, President of the Rutherford Institute, wrote in his June 5, 2006, editorial on Christianity Today's website, "Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian base, the Framers of the Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just Christians. In other words, the only way that freedom can prevail for Christians, is for Christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others."

On September 13, 2006, the Attorney General of the state of Nevada opined that the state government had jurisdiction over state veterans' cemeteries, including the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery where Stewart was buried. State officials said they would authorize the use of the plaque with the Wiccan symbol. It was installed over the weekend of November 18-19, 2006.

FACT: On April 23, 2007, the VA added the pentacle to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on VA-issued headstones, markers, and plaques.

Doreen Valiente (January 4, 1922 in Mitcham, South London, England - September 1, 1999 in Brighton, England) was a member of an early Wicca coven, led by Gerald Gardner. 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. Valiente was the name of Doreen's second husband.

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. 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.

FACT: 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.

Arthur Edward Waite, while born in America, is better known as an English mystic, occultist and prolific writer on Masonic and esoteric subjects. A member of the famous occult order, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Waite has had published a number of important books on esoteric matters.

A prolific writer of over seventy books, lectures, rituals and contributions to many journals and magazines, Waite’s lasting legacy is not through his writing, but through his creation of The Rider Waite Tarot Deck. In 1909, as head of the reconstructed Isis-Urania Temple of the Golden Dawn, Waite had just completed his book The Key to the Tarot and needed someone to illustrate it.  One of his members was an accomplished artist, Pamela Colman Smith, and he commissioned and directed her in the design of a beautiful set of cards. The main innovation being the illustration of all cards, not just the Major Arcana but the Minor cards too, and in such a way as to be pictorially suggestive of their divinatory meanings. He also made popular the spread known as the Celtic Cross, which was then taught in the first order of The Golden Dawn.