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Sybil Leek (néeFawcett; 22 February 1917 – 26 October 1982) was an Englishwitch,astrologer,occult author and self-proclaimedpsychic. She wrote many books on occult andesoteric subjects, and was dubbed "Britain's most famous witch" by theBBC.^[1]

Sybil Leek was born on 22 February 1917 in the village ofNormacot inStoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England to a comfortable, middle-class family. She claimed to have been descended from the historicalMolly Leigh, who had been accused during thewitch hunts. In her bookThe Complete Art of Witchcraft, pg 21, she calls this 800 year family beneficial relationship with 'our ancient Celtic form of Witchcraft' and occultism. At the age of 16 she married her music teacher, though he died two years later, whereupon Leek returned to live with her grandmother, quitting the Witchcraft research association. She later stayed with an acquaintance inLyndhurst, in theNew Forest, and claimed to have spent some of the following years living amongst the New Forest gypsies. When she was 20, Sybil returned to her family, who had now moved to the edge of the New Forest. She opened threeantique shops; one inRingwood, one inSomerset, and one in the New Forest village ofBurley. She soon moved to Burley herself, into a house behind the shop Lawfords of Burley.

Her eccentric habits as a self-described witch soon resulted in problems. Media interest grew, and Sybil became tired of the attention fromnews reporters and tourists.Chris Packham, in aBBC article about her, quoted a contemporary saying, "people either thought she was a bit of a joke or a fraud." Although the village itself benefited from the extra tourism and visitors, some were unhappy with the extra traffic and noise. Herlandlord eventually refused to renew her lease, prompting Leek to move away from the area and emigrate to the United States of America.^[1]

When Leek moved to America, she became an astrologer, describing astrology as her "first love".^[2] In April 1964, an American publishing house wanted Sybil to speak about her new bookA Shop in the High Street, and she was invited to appear onTo Tell the Truth, a TV programme in theStates; her appearance occurred on 13 April 1964.^[3] She took the opportunity to go, and flew to New York City, where she gave many interviews. While in New York, she was contacted byHans Holzer, aparapsychologist, who invited her to join him investigating hauntings and psychic phenomena. They went on to do numerous TV and radio programmes on the subject. She would later move to Los Angeles, where she metIsrael Regardie, an authority onKabbalah andritual magic.

Sybil Leek was strong in the defence of her beliefs, and sometimes differed with, and even quarrelled with, other witches. She disapproved of nudity in rituals, which is a requirement in Gardnerian Wicca, and she was strongly against the use of drugs, and she contrasted with most other witches in that she did believe incursing. She also claimed to have had anout-of-body experience.

Her student Christine Jones stated that Leek "mixed truths with untruths liberally, causing great harm as she went".^[4]

She died of cancer on 26 October 1982 at the Holmes Regional Medical Center inMelbourne, Florida.

• Bramshaw, Vikki.Craft of the Wise: A Practical Guide to Paganism & Witchcraft.ISBN 1-84694-232-2.
• Jones, Christine (2010).Sybil Leek: Out of the Shadows.ISBN 978-0-9827263-6-5.
• The Raveness.Molly, Sybil and Crowley a popular poem from her bookLavinia : Volume one. (2006)ISBN 978-1-5023139-6-6.
• Leek, Sybil,Diary of a Witch (Prentice-Hall, 1968).

• Sybil Leek Memorial Page
• Lovestarz.com article on Sybil LeekArchived 16 April 2006 at theWayback Machine
• BBC article on Sybil Leek
• controverscial.com article on Sybil Leek
• A Biographical Sketch of a Friend & Acquaintance of Aleister CrowleyArchived 28 September 2007 at theWayback Machine

• 1917 births
• 1982 deaths
• English astrologers
• 20th-century British astrologers
• English occult writers
• People from Longton, Staffordshire
• English psychics
• New Forest folklore
• Deaths from cancer in Florida
• Women mystics
• Writers from Staffordshire

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