Notable People of February

2/21/1960

Birthday of Patricia Telesco

Patricia “Trish” Telesco is a renowned author with more than sixty books in her name. She considers herself a kitchen witch. She is a strong believer in personal vision, tolerance of other beliefs, and making your life an act of belief and worship. She currently travels, giving lectures and workshops and has appeared on TV segments and ensures that she is publicly recognized for her activism in journals and magazines.

She was born 2/21/1960. She is known as an American author, herbalist, poet, lecturer, Wiccan Priestess, and folk magician. The subjects she writes on include self-help, cookbooks, folklore and global religion. She has been published in such media as Cosmo, Woman’s World, Cat’s Magazine and several neo-pagan publications. 

SHe began her education on Wicca upon her own will but moved on to receive an initiation into the Strega  in Italy. She is a trustee for the Universal Federation of Pagans, she is as member of the Authors Guild, a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and a member of the Wiccan-Pagan Press Alliance. 

2/22/1922

Birthday of Sybil Leek

Born on February 2nd, 1922, Sybil Leek was a hereditary witch, born to a well-to-do family whose involvement in witchcraft dated back to Molly Leigh, an ancestor who passed in 1746 after being accused of witchcraft. There is speculation that the lineage of witchcraft continues into the 12th century witches of southern Ireland. 

SHe was born in Normacot, Staffordshire and grew up in the New FOrest area of Hampshire; a location ingrained with folklore and witchcraft.  Through her family she learned about animals, and the power of herbs. Her father taught her Eastern philosophies while her Russian Grandmother taught her astrology, the psychic arts and divination. There was very little regular schooling for Sybil with the exception of when the family received visits from scholars such as Lawrence of Arabia, H.G. Wells, and Aleister Crowley. 

At 16, Leek met and married a man 24 years her senior; a prominent pianist pianist and music teacher. They spent 2 years together traveling Europe until his death, upon which Leek returned to her grandmother’s home. Her Grandmother then sent her as a replacement of a long distance relative as High Priestess of a French coven based at Gorge de Loup. 

While she returned to England eventually, she spent time with Romany Gypsies for a year to learn more about the forests and folklore and herbs. For a short time she was a High Priestess in the Horsa Coven in New FOrest, a coven that had existed for 700 years. 

She remarried and had two sons who inherited the family’s psychic powers. 

Leek was walking through the woods one day when she got a vision that convinced her that her purpose was to promote the craft. Her reputation as a psychic and astrologer began to climb in the 1950s and attracted the media to the extent where she needed to create decoys to attend secret coven meetings without being followed. 

She moved to the United States where she was contacted by a parapsychologist named Hanz Holzer inviting her to assist him in his investigations of paranormal phenomena. She was later featured on several television and radio programs regarding the subject. She also spent time in Los Angeles and Melbourne, Florida. She traveled the United States, England and Europe  lecturing and promoting the craft. There were several disagreements between Leek and other witches as Leek believed in cursing a person, a practice not often held with in witchcraft and never supported by Wicca. 

Leek passed away at the Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida after a battle with cancer. She was 65 years old and lived in nearby Indialantic, Florida.