Monique Marie Mauricette Wilson (née Arnoux) also known as Lady Olwen was a prominent Witch and member of Wicca founder Gerald Gardner's inner circle.
Early life
Wilson was born Monique Marie Mauricette Arnoux in Haiphong, Vietnam in 1923 (or possibly 1928) to French parents.[1] Her father was an officer in the French navy.[2] As a child, she met Wicca founder Gerald Gardner while he was working as a British customs official. The two became close, with Wilson referring to him throughout her life as "Uncle Gerald".[2] In 1939, Wilson's father was killed, and she and her mother fled with other refugees to Hong Kong. There, Wilson would meet her husband, Campbell "Scotty" Wilson, a bomber pilot for the RAF.[3]
Involvement with Wicca
She became known as Britain's "new "Queen of the Witches."[4][5] In the 1960s, the Wilsons (now living as pea farmers in Scotland) developed an interest in Wicca. Monique Wilson wrote to her old friend "Uncle Gerald", asking for guidance in establishing a Wiccan presence in Scotland.[2][6] Gardner referred them to his friend Charles Clark, who initiated the Wilsons and their young daughter into Wicca and gave Wilson the craft name "Lady Olwen".[7] By 1961, the Wilsons had founded their own coven in Perth.[3] She became a high priestess of covens in Scotland.[4] Shortly before his death in 1964, Gerald Gardner named Monique Wilson his heir, bestowing most of his estate and the entire contents of his Museum of Witchcraft and Magic upon her.[8][9] She and her husband placed the collection on public exhibition at the 17th century "Witches' Mill" on the Isle of Man near the village of Castletown.[10] In 1973, Wilson sold the Museum and its contents (10,000 items) to Ripley's Believe It or Not!, facing much criticism from the Wiccan community for her perceived betrayal.[3]
Later life
After the backlash from her sale of Gardner's collection, Wilson distanced herself from the Wiccan community. She died in 1982, followed by her husband in the 1990s. Their daughter, Yvette, renounced her association with Witchcraft and the Wicca beliefs and actively avoids discussing her mother's life.[3]
References
- ^ LeBlanc, John (26 Oct 1967). "Even Witches are Business in the Isle of Man". The Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ a b c "Famous Witches - Monique Wilson (1923 - 1982)". 9 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
- ^ a b c d Davis, Morgan. "Monique Wilson & The Gardner Estate" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-02-16.
- ^ a b Musel, Robert (12 Apr 1964). "British Witches Now: Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble, Toward Respectability". The South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ "Will Makes Scott Mother Witch Queen". The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware). March 6, 1964. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ Rabinovitch, Shelley (2004). The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism. Citadel Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780806524078. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ "Housewife is Queen of Witches". Detroit Free Press. March 7, 1964. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ Truzzi, Marcello (1972). "The Occult Revival as Popular Culture: Some Random Observations on the Old and the Nouveau Witch". The Sociological Quarterly. 13 (1): 25. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1972.tb02101.x. JSTOR 4105818.
- ^ "Museum to open: Witchcraft, magic exhibit". The Argus (Fremont, California). July 6, 1973. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ "Witches' Mill Relics in S.F. (San Francisco)". The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland). 16 Aug 1973. Retrieved 14 July 2019.