Isaac Bonewits

October 1, 1949 – August 12, 2010

The emergence of the Pagan Era can be traced to a handful of dedicated scholarly leaders who explored the writings of the past with a critical mind, and brought to life that which was genuine and true.  The House of Danu mourns the loss of such a leader, Isaac Bonewits, who passed on August 12, 2010.  We celebrate his life and inspiration.
Born in Royal Oak, Michigan on October 1, 1949, Isaac began his exploration of Pagan culture at the age of 16, joining the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA).  In 1970 he received a BA in Magic & Thaumaturgy at the University of California, Berkeley, being the first and last person to do so.  Six years later, Isaac founded the New Reformed Druids of North American (NRDNA), but this was just the start of his efforts to create a modern, scholarly based, manifestation of Druidism.  In 1983 he founded ArnDraiocht Fein (ADF), meaning ‘Our Own Druidry’ in Gaelic, that has become a corner stone of the Druid Diaspora that has evolved in the West. http://www.adf.org/about/leaders/isaac-bonewits/guestbook/gbook.php

His path spanned the Pagan world as he became a Druid within the United Ancient Order of Druids, High Priest of both the Gardnerian and N.R.O.O.G.D. traditions of Wicca, an initiate of Santeria, and the Calphate Line of the Orde Templi Orientis.  Three years ago, he joined the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS).

At the age of 20, he first shared his scholarship with the publication of Real Magic, followed by Authentic Thaumaturgy, Witchcraft, Neopagan Rites, and The Pagan Man.  He also published numerous articles, lectures, and was an accomplished bard who has recorded several albums. Many Druid orders called upon Isaac’s scholarship, and he was the focus of several training podcasts for the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (O.B.O.D.).
 
After four marriages, Isaac had the good fortune to become handfasted to CUUPS co-founder, tarot expert, writer, and Wiccan Priestess, Phaedra Heyman Bonewits, on July 23, 2004. Isaac Bonewits was generous, witty, and gregarious, with a tendency to be outrageous. 

In 2009, only a few weeks before being diagnosed with colon cancer, he traveled to California to present workshops at the first Gorsedd of the House of Danu. His participation sealed the Gorsedd as a legendary event as Druid scholars and leaders from most Druid traditions in the West gathered together for the first time.  Particularly exciting were the discussions between Isaac and fellow scholar, John Michael Greer, Archdruid of AODA, about the process of Druid Magic, saving us years of study. 

We entered the Gorsedd through the spiral of our Avalon Portal to the ambient sound of Isaac playing the harp.  This will remain my most powerful memory of Isaac, playing the harp as we summoned the powers of the four directions and transferring our energy to the crystal talon embedded in the center of the Dragon Cross at the inner chamber of the spiral.  We knew we were home with our people.

The life of Isaac Bonewits is a like a stone hitting the pond of our consciousness that will ripple for generations.

The AIR will carry his name.
The FIRE will hold his warmth.
The WATER will keep his life force.
The EARTH will house his substance.
The SPIRIT will keep him as one,
until he returns.

What is remembered lives.