About the Fellowship

The Fellowship was formed in 1979 by Pete Dawe, Jessica and Mike Langridge, Sue Bennett, and Bob and Vivienne Stewart.

The original purpose was to research and, if possible, continue with, the 16th century Magical activities (or 'actions', as he called them) of Dr John Dee; specifically those experiments in scrying that he conducted with, initially, Barnabus Saul and latterly Edward Kelley, that led to the system now known as Enochian Magic.
But even before the Fellowship took on a formal identity, and with the marked cynicism of two of the founders (Pete Dawe and Mike Langridge), it was agreed to adopt a Witchcraft-type structure and method of working that, in turn, necessitated the acceptance of a Goddess-type 'archetype'.

Over the years, that almost intellectual (although not wholly so) choice has been vindicated countless times, such that the Fellowship is now (and has been for some years) fully confirmed in its commitment to the service of the Goddess.
On the down-side, this tends to impart a somewhat 'religious' flavour to our practises that is not always completely comfortable for the newcomer, particularly if they are already imbued with some form of religious conditioning.

This too was the cause of the transition of the Fellowship from a 'conventional' Magical working group to something more closely resembling a religious Order.
Nowadays we describe ourselves as a "neo-Druidic Order", although the Druidic alignment was not actually recognised by us until the late 90's, when we could no longer ignore the connection.

The name 'Fellowship of the Dragon' (deriving from certain practises of Enochian Magic) was not actually adopted until 1988, the group originally being set up under the name 'Circle of the Luna Light'. Prior to that there were a couple of other name changes and, true to form, there have been a number since.
Each such apparent change in identity has usually marked changes in the make-up of the group, and has often represented the influx of 'new blood', usually also marking a consolidation of all that has passed before, and a breaking of new ground.

However, throughout all of these transitions the rites and practises remain very much the same. Although our rituals and texts are subject to inspired innovation (indeed, it is this that tends to keep them 'alive'), nevertheless much of our material, and our ritual paraphernalia, are those that were employed by the Circle of the Luna Light.

It was recognised in 1991 that all the various 'identities' were in fact not separate entities but the incarnations of one abiding spirit, and so, notwithstanding the subsequent adoption of transient labels, the Fellowship of the Dragon is the overarching tag that identifies this motivating spirit.

The Fellowship is not large. Whilst officially it is an 'open' group, the method whereby it acquires new members, the expected level of commitment, and the very real and tangible effects of its practises, tend to work against a large membership. At no time has the core membership exceeded eight people, and on a number of occasions that has dropped to two.
Being somewhat like a family though, truly committed members never actually leave, they just become 'estranged' (no longer feel it is right for them) or 'distant' (hive off to do their own thing).

What further guards against the 'dilution of principle' that becomes a real hazard in larger groups is that the Fellowship never seeks new members. Membership has always been the result of a spontaneous 'rapport' with a member or with the group itself, or its objectives, that until now has only occurred through personal contact.
In fact, the Fellowship rather cherishes its limited size and somewhat exclusive nature, for thereby are avoided many of the tensions and conflicts that can arise in larger groups.

Although the term "members" is entirely appropriate and correct in its usage in the foregoing paragraphs, we normally tend to refer to such as "participants" rather than members, for the Fellowship is something to participate in rather than be a member of. This is not a trivial distinction but is in fact of fundamental importance if one is to fully comprehend the nature and requirements of the Fellowship.

Following indications and 'omens' of what was to come, in September 2000 the Fellowship launched the web-based Pagan Community, Labyrinth, the initiation of which marked the start of a new phase in the Fellowship's existence. That exercise prompted a major rethink about our future development, and the direction of our activities.