Deal ‘COMPLED BY (Coristine Jenkins & Tim HARTRIDGE Rosaleen Norton was variously described by the media of her day as a witch, eccentric, decadent, exhibitionist, crank, genius, freak... and she defiantly agreed with her incriminators. However, for her peers in Magick and Wtchcraft, both past and present, she was a “Child of the Shadow”, an Initiate of occult mysteries and lover of the great god Pan. Roie is best remembered though by the general public for her art work, produced in the Bohemian Sydney district of King’s Cross, during the 1950's. It was her art which scandalized the moral Australian public of the time and which subsequently led to her numerous court appearances on charges of “obscenity”. Since her death in 1979, writer Nevill Drury and publisher Wally Glover have released two books dealing extensively with her art and life—the most recent of which is Pan’s Daughter, Collins ‘Australia, 1988, Her unique position in Australianhistory brought Witchcraft beforea sleeping society, unaware toa psychicreality. For Australian witches who are rediscovering Rosaleen Norton, 2ro8 Ge in)Witch of the Cross her at ideals, belo and her brave and forthright stand against authorty—she hasbocomeatruesymbolofwhatitmeans to becaled 8 WITCH. Things of darkness Rosaleen Miriam Norton was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on the 2nd of ‘October 1917, at am. during a violent thunderstorm. Her love ofthe night and things of darkness contned to inluence her throughout here" Nigh is for me the tine hen all my porepions ae ae, ‘oho etn outa faction bs hs tioynerny tus 4 perpetual one. of Contetonwitmy mother, snc persuading ‘neo go to ed oy isk tet ‘ling mein th morning” ‘Aut. Post Jan. 3rd 1957 Roie'sart was produced by sutomatisn— that i, produced automatcally by ‘concealed mot Her fist “drawings wereattheagethrec and hall, titled “Nothing Beasts” and “Flippers: ‘helater resembling hostile ghosts while the Nothing Beats kept these a bay “Aapropas of appoions, various pyc anes Bok spt and betive wt ben einer at of my fe consequently acyl hem unquestionably 1s partof the natura oder of tings” Roie coninsed to have many prychie ‘experiences duringher early ear atthe {ge of five she claimed to have sen the folowing appartions—a lady ina ey dross standing beside herbed avision of ‘house surround by pepper res called “Railway Cottage", whichshelaterocated in Chatswood, (a Sydney suburb) and a specreofashimmering dragon But Rae's RMventures into Witeheraft didnot ‘Commence until at the age of seven, tw fall blue marks appeared on her let ine. The significance of these she attributed to being "the natural sgn of ¢ Wick”. At fourteen, she planned 10 experince everything good, bad and {nditferent and oben Fly expressing this in er own hfe and ar Later, she tealsed other bodily peculanites that ‘marked her ut a8 diferent—a pair of freak muscles frm the armpit to pelvic bone on elther side of her body, a “Darwin's Peak”, 9 rare atavstic formationoftheupperearsjand her claim to possess quasieline vision, that is, sharperand clearer sight in subdued ight ‘han in bright igh. 11924, Role's parents moved from New Zealand to stein the leafy suburb of Linde inSjney, Australia. Hertther was captain inthe Merchant Navy, her mother, a highly strung and emotional housewife. nan inervew given by Role {n1957, reminiscing about her childhood, she said—"T remember it a 2 generally ‘wearisome period of senseless Sibboeths, rangaduls dtsadleorderessing caren ‘hom wae supposed to the and porentl reproach” Roie struck-out, she wanted an independent childhood, so.” she would enjoy meals on the roa top and would ‘Slop in garden tnt. twas ere she foqired a ry pet nightepider who “protected” the front of her tent and evéred any prying relatives. She had a passion for anything grotesque oF Snlmistc developing fascination inthe Study of zoology and entomologytaong. ‘with er instinctive kinship for animals) Thisloveottheaninisicnatureastrongly reflected inherert work For now, dbring ther developmental years she wold lead wild crew of set urchins, who would Dlaguethe neighbourhood. Intiatoninto themembershipofthisfraterity required fone to break imo a howe and recsive 8 branding with sik of baring cane— the mark ofthe devil no doubt! She was 2 natural leader, though her fllowers ‘were of dubious bya [At school she was unpopular and was garded witha minture of disk, eriionand feat. Inan ArelassRoieha produced a drawing ented. “Danse Macabre", depicting every sort of _rotexque horror she could pot pencil ‘Thehendmistess expelled her for being “corrupt influence at chol” and wrote Roicsmotherstating” .shehaladgraced [Natur which would corp the nocrceof ‘ther gilsal col. However, Role went ‘on to study Art atthe Sjney Technical ‘Callegefor two years, underthetutorship of Rayner Hot. She became Austen's first pavement aris, displaying her sills at the bottom of Rowe Street nea Pit Street in Sydney City-—she was earning $190 a day. Later, she modeled forthe reat Norman Lindsay. Although he Sbviously appreciated this slim. and sttractve brmeite with sharp angled features, he entczad her ab an artist, because she would not discipline ere Role's own artwork wat strongly dependant on anatomical realism. Her provocativepaintingsofhal-human hal {himal forme were mre controversial than Norman Lindsay'smdes. Shelve ina world populated with spin beings land astral eniies which manifested in her pintings. Shehada penchant orcas both in er paintings and at home. She ‘belcwedthat they were superorto people because they embodied a spintual sensitivity which waslaingin mankind Inthelate1940sandealy 0’ sRaie moved to live mainly in and around several Ihoutes inthe Kings Cross district wae Tere he became sfectionately known a the bohemian Wilh dy of the Crost. She ‘dented strongly with this image and started wearing more flamboyant clothing; suchas blowing blouses, iid bandana and would be sen ping on tn exotically engraved cgaratte heer. Forthe Christian mores thivall ade wp to an alfront to human decency and ‘counter to orthodox Christian practices ‘The stage was set for an explosive ‘confrontation with the powers tha be {In 1834, the national newspaper Smith's ‘Weekly announced thatithad discovered ‘Australia’s own ‘lan. Poe— Roseeen Norton she was only sixteen. But alter only eight months with Smih'sRoscleen found the atmosphere tobe too dulland sosheresiged. Rojesetto work “ym proparation of holang exbitons of | Net patotings Shehad moved in with her current boyfriend who was living in a | roomatSyneysfiest pub, “the Ship and Mermaid Inn. This was the haunt of | arists, musicians and ofcourse drunks, find it was here Role had er fire forral contact with mystical tings OF the ‘occult. She read Lavi, rovley, Dion Fortuneand various Theosophical writers. She alo read Gerald Gardner's works, ‘he man acknowledged as the Father of Modem Witcher Freedom, Marriage & Art oles first defacto relationship was shor lived and was soon replaced by another, this time a dapper Young man whose ame was Boesford. Roie and Beresford ‘uickiybecameiniatuaed witheachather find decide to got mari. This was in 1934 they were both only seventen and thefollowing year wastheoutbreskof the Second World War. Beresford, ina fit of patti, wentoffto fight, Role wasnot Impressed, and so when he tured she demanded a divorce. ‘A Numerologist had worked out Ries fame chare—"ife nal i uy from he beaten tack. and with her desire to entra the utmost fom fe this certainly Seemed to be her destiny. It would be Alestny at work too which would cross tnd intertwine Roi’ ath with that of « young poet, Gavin Greenees During the war years there were few publications avaliable for artic outlet Sutone such magazine war the Pertinent This was a pocket-sized monthly magazine, a blend of “Peto, fs and oc!” Rosaleen contributed variousworis, the first a peel stay titled The Bogs and a couple of fantasy works depicting {ghosts and elementals. Gavin Greenlecs Fad also contributed some poetry t0 Pertinent, butt wasnt until 1949 thatthe | toro met, inthe same year that Roc held her ‘controversal art exhibition at Mettourne Unversity. Roie wasabi to strong forthe dlcate Melbourntes anc ‘aul quiteastiramongst the ar lovers. ‘Some of her exhibits fstured panthers making frtouslovetoladierand maggots Witch of the Cross crawling out of roting skulls As if the Matbourne populdushad not hadenough, Rolereturedforasecondexhibiontater that yer, leas during the second exhibition held in Melbourne's Rowden White Lib that Gavin Grenlees entered Roe’ ie and wastobecomea permanent part ofit Gavin Greenlee was aged ninetoon, thirteen years oie sjunior but they were epi inlove and totally devoted teach ‘other. Controversy wat ust around the Corner and would test hr love foreach ther ‘The second exibition wae to rn from ‘August to 231949), Onthe second day ‘ofthe exhibition the police descended on the gallery, selzing four of Roie's palntings—Witches’ Sabbet, Lucifer ‘Trp and Induuation. They charged Roiounder te Obscenity Ac! Onthe ed of August Inspector Tennahill- and Desective John Olsen stated that they had ceived a number of compliantsabovt thedrawings, Words usedtodescribe et work were “le and disgusting”, “tak ersuaityruming rit” and “egos shock {oth veagespettor 84 wie ogy Roe was unimpressed she responded by ating, “Obey ebony, the pe ofthe bcholer. This morality expeses {ory ate” The court hearings were held before Stipendiary Magister. Addison, Role’s legal councillor was Mr ALAbrahams who argued in herWitch of the Cross efence—"We he tele fr people with opmal reactions o sex, nok morons, the ‘imarmal and roti The act under ‘ehichthspreeetionislaunched is bas on ‘case heard during Queen Vitor eign 1836...” Rol's case was thrown out of cour. The Magistate dismissed all ‘charges against her and awarded €4/4/- oss against the Police for wasting the ‘ourtstime. Hereafter, would seem the police wereneverfarfromenifingaround Roie's door. The Book {In September 1952 Gavin and Roi, with the suppor of Wally Gloveras publisher, ‘eleasedabookofilusrations and poor Te was a limited edition of 1000 copies. 22 DARK CYCLE ‘The book made an immediate impact Roieeven received annvitation fromthe ‘American Conal fora copy to be bound in bts sin, However, the Post Master (General threatened proseeatonaver what the was claiming to be 8 an indecent pblication-—the offending ate being tan female figures inthe book who ‘weredleplaying pubichar WallyClover ‘wassubpocracdtoattend cour an fine ‘Sphuscontforinladingwolustrations described as “offensive to public sily fend human deceny” Only afer 0 ofthe plates ("The Adversary” and “Fobat” ) ‘wereblackad out war the bookallowed to proceed. By 1957, with many other Complications involved withthe book, Wally Glover war bankrupt. The ‘copyrights othe book were now in the hands of the, Official Receiver in Bankrspecy ‘The GovernmentandPolicestandagainst Roo can be viewed in retrospect as 3 rpresie "stand againat Witches Rowlcen Norton, through tance stats, accessed a pathway dimensions, which for most people, was a completely ‘unknown uncharted and therefore feed domain. “The peycic rity and the ‘aperatural, aveboth been repressed by ‘theChrstian Church/Governmentofthis country (as well as others. Psychic ‘experiences are sanctioned only by those ‘who the Church consdertouched by God {ndhavesafely departedthis world, Roie tras oo visually prominant. She did not Scksowiedge her earthly masters ac ‘ame to believe thatthe cormic beings ‘who contacted herin trance states ented Intheir own right. While in their eas they were master—not the oF the ‘Authors. Like the teaiional shaman ‘or witch under-goinga visionary journey ‘ofthe soul Roie had eiscovered an inner realm of being which was much more profound, much more total, than the vents theeveryday world. Knowledge fof such things i stl looked upon with ‘suspicion eventoday,and was certain taboo subject nthe 1950, The Great God Pan Rote began nov to more openly pase Witheratand gavemany newspaperaad magazine interviews. She tied to bridge the gap between eralfand a voyeuristic and: fearful public by describing her taperences ata formotprychism sinlar toccertain forms of Yogn. But inevitably the would be asked—"IsPan the Den?” Her comments and views on Pan sere quiteunexpected bythe Pressftheday— "Frankly 1 dow’ cave whether anyone else ‘agres withthe (her views). hin hegod ‘nite spit whoa bdy-—or ech of as fan be son in these four dimensions (he Ih eng Tine) te pe a ont ‘2h, therefore na ery eal ea ithe ler tnd god ofthis tword. Perhaps ht shy he tows gen the mame Pe, “Pan” which in Grok means “AI, for he ithe totality of lies, cements and forme of being org ‘norgenicand othr comprising th oathWitch of the Cross ¥ 4 whale: rach a neni bly the lolly of myriad of eel, bacteria, Se, ‘ohick these ie and function; hing tir cum form of “iellience™ and pereption scoring a type.- god isa ny diferent form inn other le and dimensiont fu could manifest simulonousy In any umbeof plcesand shapes those th form Porofhimor ethers without ditrbig ay Plane of his maliple concious ant ‘cities elewhere. Man crane Ihe deol fn hs cum image: genealy at = 2ey convenient scapegoat for his own ‘ortcomings Pan is very significant deity forthe present day; at god of this world he Drotectsandconservesthenaturabeauty Andresourcesatthe environment Hecan be seen alive and at work inthe contciournere of the. ant-pollution Tobbies, such as Friends ofthe Eavth ane new age groupe lke’ The Findhorn Child of the Shadow In mid September 195, Anna Hofimann, a migrant frm New Zealand (and athe times vagrand, madeclaimstothePolice ofhavingattended Dew worhipris with Romicen Norton. Whenaskad what war wolved she described the participants fs wearing black robes and performing 2 Black Mass having sexorgiesand partes, ‘The newspapers wore again alive with epors of Witcher, which only served to reinforced the public image of Roieas {he Wicho the Cros, During Hoffmann’ tral it eventually came to light that she hhad no direct knowledge of her claims, but the damage was dane. Later, nthe same month David Goodman, owner of the Karmir Cae, was charged under the Obscene Publications “Act. He. was