"King of All Witches" Plans Occult Center

Grandiose titles are quite common in the world of esotericism, and the one claimed by the subject of this story from England is no exception. Lynius Shadee, a 66-year-old English man who also claims the title of Magus, is currently in the process of setting up an occult center in the city of Bristol. Whether or not any other witches accept Shadee as their King appears to be a rather debatable question, as I've never heard of him here in the States and I think I even remember a completely different individual, also from England, who claimed a similar office - or maybe even the same one. Still, the idea of a serious occult center is a good one, especially if it will be as focused on experimental work as Shadee's statements imply.

Mr Shadee, who has previously tried to open a centre in Cambridge and also tried to stand to become the city's next MP, said that his centre would be different to pagan centres because it would be "much more heavily involved".

He said: "We don't preach, we prove. For instance, if sceptics out there wanted to see a materialisation – a ghost – we would go and show them that. It is all about channelling nature's energy. We believe in life after death, that the body dies but the soul and mind continue."

He has chosen Bristol because of the universities and because it is a "prime area" and a "junction spot" in the UK. "There are lots of free-thinkers in Bristol who I think are open to what we are saying," he said.

Normally I wouldn't give a would-be "Witch King" much thought. I don't think of myself as a witch and I've never been involved in Wicca or any other witchcraft-related tradition. However, Shadee's final reported statement does give me pause if he's serious.

"Witchcraft is only a word," he said. "There is nothing wrong with witchcraft. Every single religion that is practised is a form of witchcraft."

While I agree that there's nothing wrong with witchcraft as a practice, does the rest of the quote mean Shadee really does think of himself not only as my king, but as king of everyone else? If so, that's some serious hubris there - maybe even enough to be dangerous. So far I don't know enough to say whether this occult center is part of some "witch cult" that will venerate Shadee as its leader, or if he's just another eccentric occultist and everything is on the up and up. I'll be watching for future stories on the center's progress, because I hope it can develop into what this article makes it sound like - one more step along the path to developing more advanced ritual technology through experimentation and research.

Let's just hope that "Magus" title doesn't mean Shadee plans on declaring himself King of the Golden Dawn. With all the recent bickering on the Internet, the Golden Dawn tradition has enough to deal with as it is.