By Lee Foster
Susan Leybourne is a normal, down to Earth young woman of 31, who lives in a small flat in a suburb of Leeds, in the north of England nothing strange in that. Except that Susan is a Witch, and not just any old Witch, she is the Pagan Chaplain of the University of Leeds, the only Pagan University Chaplain in the world. She was elected by the many Pagan Students at the University's Kabal Society, to act as advisor and councillor, to help them in their spiritual path, and regularly receives thousands of letters and Telephone calls from all over the world, asking for her advice.
'I started to study the Occult as a very young child,' she said ' first with Library books and then buying my own books with all my pocket money, Mum and Dad were horrified at first' she said ' I think they were worried about me getting too deeply involved but they soon got used to seeing me, as a seven or eight year old reading very wordy and academic texts on Ancient Celtic and Druid customs, Shamanism, Witchcraft or Japanese Ancestor worship whatever I could get hold of, and I would go through phases of being really into Shamanism and then I would swing the other way and be really into Egyptian Magic or Qabbala, I'm still a bit like that even now' she laughed in her strong Yorkshire accent.
When asked about some of the things that she has done over the years with Witchcraft, the list is phenomenal. Incredible healings, helping people find success in their careers, win money, move house, exorcise evil spirits, she has even helped people lose weight and locate missing children.
'I had one lady client,' Susan added ' who had been in a wheelchair for over ten years, she had tried everything and seen dozens of alternative healers and specialists, but nothing had worked. She had previously been very religious, but when the Church had also failed her, she thought, why not see a White Witch. I was her last hope, but within six sessions she was
Walking without sticks, quite well, so well in fact, that she had her disability benefit stopped as she was judged to be well again. A young Indian man came to see me when his sister had run
Away from home' Susan continued 'the girl had left her bus pass behind and by feeling the energies on the pass, I was able to locate the missing girl who was hiding at the home of a relative two towns away. I found this quite complicated as the information I was receiving from the Spirits was all in Punjabi, but it lead us directly to the house, once the young man had translated the message into English.'
Susan was quick to point out that Witchcraft is more than just casting Spells, or performing Rituals, 'It is part of the real living religion, of Paganism, which she is a High priestess of. With it's emphasis on the Goddess and God of the Old pre Christian beliefs, it is a religion of peace, which celebrates the sacredness in nature both of the Earth and the Cosmos'. She added that most modern Pagans and Witches go about their daily lives, in the same way as most other modern people, we have normal jobs and normal homes, and contrary to popular belief, we have modern ovens and not Cauldrons!.'
To look around Susan's home, you would find nothing strange or spooky. She has a massive library of Occult, Mystical and religious books, which has helped her become one of the foremost experts in her field, but that's about it, the odd mystical picture and a few candles, but nothing to suggest that this is the home of a High priestess of Witchcraft. She is regularly invited to speak at Universities and colleges around Britain, she has even lectured at the prestigious Oxford Union, on the subject of Witchcraft and Paganism.' That's what I love the most' she enthused, ' giving lectures and talks, so that the truth about Witchcraft can be told, it is a subject, which has been misunderstood especially because of the Churches attitude to older religious systems.
Susan's interest in all things mystical began when, as a three-year-old, she started having strange visions and dreams, which came true. 'I always knew that I was a bit special' she said, 'as I got older, I realised that nobody else was the same as me, I used to do little rituals and spells, which I daren't tell anyone about, it was only when I joined my first coven at the age of nineteen that I finally felt as though I had come home'.
From the age of twenty three, when she became a High priestess she has been running her own Training groups and Covens for other Witches, who want to learn more about the techniques of Witchcraft and the Philosophy and beliefs of Paganism.
'I find that more and more people are wanting to get into Paganism', she said 'especially now as we approach the end of the twentieth century. With its emphasis on Earth Spirituality, Ecology and the Spiritual aspects of nature, Paganism is the ideal faith for the Twenty first century'.
Susan admits to getting lots of private pupils, who prefer to practice Witchcraft alone, without belonging to a Coven.
'When a new Pupil first arrives to see me', Susan says, ' they are often very nervous, often they have a preconceived idea of what a High Priestess or a Witch is going to look like, so when I open the door, in my Jeans and a Sweatshirt, I think they must think, that I'm the Cleaning woman,' she said laughing, 'but they soon get used to me. I sometimes have to be a bit strict with my pupils,' she said ' as Witchcraft is a very serious thing, if you do a ritual in a way which is disrespectful to the Gods, or you start laughing in the Middle of a healing Ceremony, then all your efforts will go to waste, it means that you have lost your focus for a moment, and your spell will not work. In one of my Covens' she added ' I once had a young girl, who would giggle when she was nervous, she couldn't help it, but consequently because of this, whenever she tried to do any Magic for herself it would often fail, but there is no reason to be nervous of the power, as Witchcraft is a totally natural thing the word Witch comes from the old Anglo Saxon word which means to bend, and that is what Witches do, we bend the forces of nature to create positive change in the World'.
Witches and Pagans hold their rites at the New or Full Moon, often both, as well as the eight festival times in the year, which means that Susan is always preparing for the next ritual occasion, this makes her constantly busy seeing Students from the University, her own private pupils and Covens, Teaching courses, travelling up and down the country giving lectures, doing Clairvoyant and Tarot readings, seeing clients for Healing as well as the numerous telephone callers, who ring for advice, besides all this she still insists, that she has a normal life, but can this be really normal?
'What is normal, anyway?' Susan asks, smiling at the absurdity of the question. 'I think it's normal
because I'm used to it, most people reading this will have their own view of what is normal to them, which might be having a nine to five job, taking the dog for a walk and doing the weekly shop on Saturdays.Susan is one of the most well knownWitches in Britain and often appears on Television, Radio and in the press. 'It was weird the day when I was appointed, the first Pagan Chaplain, at a University' she said 'I was in all the newspapers, three Television crews just appeared at my office, all demanding interviews, I arrived home later that day totally exhausted, to find messages on my answer machine, from T.V and Radio stations from as far afield as Japan, New Zealand, South America, and Europe as well as all of the local media. Later that evening, I had a phone call from an old boyfriend telling me that I was being discussed on News at ten and Newsnight.
Some people might wonder why a University would need a Pagan Chaplain, Susan answers 'Well why not, after all when young people go away to University or college, they are suddenly exposed to all kinds of new ideas and interests, and it is likely that some of those new ideas will be Occult . Historically many of Britain's greatest Occultists, first developed their interests while at University, and many parents feel better knowing that if anything should go wrong, or their son or daughter needed advice, I am there for them. just because someone is academically intelligent doesn't always mean that they know about common sense, regarding Rituals' she said. ' personally, I left school with nothing to say I had ever been there', she admits, ' I spent most of my School days at home reading books on the Occult, I had Epilepsy as a Child, so I would often use it as an excuse, I would tell my Mother I didn't feel well, and she would keep me off, so I guess I educated myself, but now when I am invited into Universities, as a guest Lecturer, it makes my Mum and Dad so proud, when I spoke at the Oxford Union, they couldn't believe it, especially when so many who left my school with loads of qualifications are now working as Cleaners or stacking shelves in the local Supermarket she said. A friends daughter who attends the same school that I went to, told me recently that there is a massive photo of me, in all my regalia, hanging in pride of place in the Religious Education room, which shows that Paganism is as valid a faith as any other' .
Susan adds ' I've heard it said, that people of my age those born in
the sixties, are standing at the 'pit face' leading others into a new way
of thinking, and that peoples ideas and beliefs about organised religion
and Spirituality will start to change, as we approach the new Millennium,
although I don't believe that we will all wake up on the morning of the
1st of January in the year 2000, and suddenly all be Telepathic, know who
will win the Grande national or be in touch with Spirit beings from far
off Star systems, but bit by bit, I do believe that people are waking up
to a different way of thinking, and becoming more aware of their Spirituality,
which can't be a bad thing'.