Alex Sanders, (1926 – 1988) born as Orrell Alexander Carter, known in the 60s & 70s as the ‘King of the Witches‘ he possessed tremendous magnetism; a beacon of attraction. While his knowledge of the art magical was extensive, he had no compunction about expropriating from the comparatively few authors that were in publication at the time to get his point across. He was influenced by the likes of Franz Bardon; Éliphas Lévi; Dion Fortune, to name a few; and unscrupulously incorporated their works into his teaching whilst often neglecting to credit them.

Variously described as an inspiring teacher and guide to those who were seekers of the inner way, he was equally considered controversial, even notorious. Wit, humour, infamy, and fearlessness of public exposure – he embraced them all. Criticism and judgment aside, it can be said that many a witch of the day acquired a firm foundation for the continuation of their magical work, and many of their descended witches of today consciously or not, owe a measure of their ability to choose whether to be open about their being or to remain in the shadows – to Alex.

There is anecdotal oral lore about how in the late 60s Alex diverted the attention of a group of tabloid reporters who were seeking to expose several school teachers who were training as witches in Manchester, away from them by promising the hounding press hoard a better story of resurrecting a corpse before the cameras. The teachers were spared the loss of their jobs and reputation in favour of a Swiss Roll recipe incanted backwards thus bringing a ‘corpse’ back to life, which had the desired effect of scaring the frightened reporters and sparing the teachers.

An antic perhaps considered corny by today’s standards, Alex’s protective intent then in response to the public mood of the time still holds true today, namely, that ‘we [witches] are only one bigot away from persecution.’