Alex Sanders came to be known as the 'King of the Witches' in the mid-1960s and reigned throughout the late '60s & early '70s, daring to publicly portray the Craft during the Swinging Sixties, Underground Movements, and the Satanic Panic.
In forging the Tradition of Witchcraft that would become his namesake, he was known to fervently study, experiment with, and record gems of occult knowledge only to tear up his writings in mad-scientist fashion casting the remnants asunder or into the fire.
Were it not for his beloved Maxine salvaging the remnants of one such destruction, these pages would not exist to give an insight into the plethora of influences of his teachings, from planets and mythical beasts, to angels and Hindu deities. Very first drafts of spells and rituals survive here, precursors to modern Alexandrian magical practice.
Many - from royalty, the wealthy, and celebrities - to the downtrodden, criminal, and suicidal, crossed the thresholds of Alex and Maxine's covens in both Manchester and later at Clanricarde Gardens, Notting Hill Gate, then a rather rundown part of London frequented by artists, poets and the strange, now gentrified into a sought-after swanky and fashionable area. Every visitor was there to learn.
Indeed, Alex often stated 'we have few secrets and many Mysteries'. It's been said that but for Alex's daring exposure of what was otherwise a guarded and secretive form of Witchcraft, many modern witches would not be following their path today.
Like others from '60s Counter Culture Revolution - the Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix - Alex, the King of the Witches' legacy lives on to this day.
