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CUCKOOS
IN THE LAPWING'S NEST
It is probably
wise to state, in case anybody should think otherwise, that the 1734 Tradition
and the Clan of Tubal Cain are not linked in any way organizationally.
They are distinct and autonomous, although they are related in terms of
their lore through the work of Robert Cochrane. The current text and the
letter from Ronald Hutton have been put on the 1734 website as a courtesy
to the Maid and Magister of the Clan of Tubal Cain, who do not have a website
of their own, and in friendship at a time when they found themselves under
attack.
The aggressors,
one Carol Jones and "Magister Blackthorn" had made their attacks under
the guise of being an authentic branch of the Clan, while attempting to
undermine the real Maid and Magister, Shani Oates and Robin the Dart. The
reality of these people's claims have already been clearly stated by me
in a posting on the Crooked Paths forums, the following is a lightly edited
version of that posting:
"I have attempted
to make the following as factual, as impartial and as balanced as possible.
I apologize if I seem less than impartial in my actual writing, I will
not hide the fact that I have found myself on one side of an argument,
although this was not entirely of my choosing. I can only say that this
is an attempt at honest reporting. The same facts have been passed on to
Peter Paddon by Mike Howard. As some people who read and contribute to
these forums regularly will know, I have been a participant in the discussions
regarding the recent podcast by Carol Stuart Jones and "Blackthorn" in
which they claimed leadership of a branch of the Clan of Tubal-Cain and
then went on to make claims against Shani Oates who had previously been
known as the only Maid of the Clan in Britain. (Whether or not the Finnans
can claim to be a separate CTC is disputed by Ms Oates, a matter that I
can not comment on as I have not seen the evidence either way).
I decided, as
one does, to see what I could find out about these people as I was rather
surprised I'd never heard of either of them and, after asking a few friends
received an unexpected public response from "Blackthorn" which seemed to
me odd in its vehemence. By this time I had approached Shani Oates and
asked her for her version of the situation. I had expected it to differ
from the other versions, but a difference of degree rather than of kind.
The difference was, however, almost total. Briefly, they were as follows:
1. Carol Jones
had never been Maid of the Clan of Tubal-Cain
2. She HAD been
a member and therefore had Clan knowledge
3. Carol Jones
had been made outcast from the Clan in 2005.
4. It was true
that Jones had been the Gardnerian High Priestess, who had initiated Shani
and Robin the Dart into the Gardnerian Craft, but she had not initiated
contact with Evan John Jones and she had only met him briefly, she had
never known him. EJJ's comment on her had been that she was trouble and
that they should get rid of her as soon as possible.
5. Shani Oates
had contacted EJJ through Mike Howard of The Cauldron magazine, not through
Carol Jones.
What was obvious
was that I was not looking at slightly different versions of the truth,
with the actual truth getting squeezed in the middle, but somebody was
quite definitely lying. Shani had offered to show me evidence of her claims
if I were to visit Derbyshire, something that was not immediately possible,
so I had no real evidence at that point. Consequently, I felt that at this
stage I could not share this with most people, certainly not publicly.
I did come to hear of some strange rumours, but at first I had no proper
evidence one way or another. However I then received a letter from Mike
Howard which I shall quote:
"Evan John Jones'
wife has told me that she has never heard of this Carol Jones. She also
tells me that the only members of the Gardnerian coven in Derbyshire who
visited them in Brighton were Shani and her husband and that John eventually
passed to them the 'knife and the cup'.
Therefore the
only legitimate Maid and Magister of the Clan of Tubal Cain as chosen and
appointed by Evan John Jones and Robert Cochrane's widow are Shani Oates
and her husband. This confirms a conversation I had with John when I visited
him during the research for the books on Cochrane. I had forwarded on Shani's
introductory letter to him after she read his articles in TC and he told
me that she was 'the chosen one' and the person he wanted to be the maid
of CTC after he died."
(Letter from
Mike Howard to Stuart Inman dated 2nd July)
This is backed
up by two texts published in The Cauldron. The first, in TC 107, is an
interview with Evan John Jones in which he states that it was he that passed
on the succession to Shani Oates and in which he gives unequivocal approval
of her and the way that she had run and developed the Clan. I quote: "When
I first met Shani instinct told me that she was the one who could run with
Tubal Cain, something I'd not felt with others I'd considered. To date
I have seen nothing to make me change my mind…"
The second is
very interesting in that it could be said to be from the other side in
this affair. In TC 109 (2003) there is a letter from one CJ who states
that she was the Gardnerian High Priestess who initiated the current magister
of the Clan of Tubal Cain into the Gardnerian Craft and that he had subsequently
and reciprocally brought her into his family. While there are no names
of living members of the Clan mentioned in the letter, the Magister in
2003 was Robin the Dart and he could only initiate 'CJ' if he had previously
been initiated and installed as Magister by the Maid, which is to say,
Shani Oates. Under the circumstances I do not think there can be any doubt
who CJ is. To quote again: "As the Gardnerian high priestess who had the
honour of bringing the present magister of the Clan of Tubal Cain into
the Gardnerian Craft… (this quote to identify her clearly)…the present
magister, a man of extraordinary humility and quiet depth, who welcomed
me into his family in turn."
It should be apparent
that CJ could only be brought into the Clan if the magister had already
been made magister and that could only be done by the Maid who in turn
would have to have been installed by Evan John Jones. Thus it is quite
clear that the evidence presented by this letter directly contradicts Carol
Jones' current claims.
I can only conclude
that from this evidence the whole of the claims made by Carol Jones and
Blackthorn is a tissue of lies and malicious to boot as it was not only
an attempt to create a spurious legitimacy for themselves, but to defame
Shani Oates in the process. I make no claims against either the Finnans
or Peter Paddon in this affair as I have no evidence on their knowledge
or motives and must therefore make the assumption of innocence as should
anybody else who does not have the facts."
I would like to
point out that even if Jones and her henchmen were genuine; their tactics
of accusing Shani Oates of betraying secrets were utterly wrong and stupid.
Something that is supposed to be kept secret can not be defended by public
pronouncements. I'll make my point by two movie analogies.
The first is
from Fightclub where the rules are given as:
"Rule One: you
do not talk about Fightclub
Rule Two: you
DO NOT talk about Fightclub"
The second example
is from Monty Python's Life of Brian. In one scene a priest, played by
John Cleese, is arranging the stoning of a man for the crime of blasphemy.
He cries out "I only said Jehovah" and gets rocks chucked at him. In the
ensuing conversation between him and the priest, the priest also says Jehovah
and also gets stoned. The point of this example is that in attempting to
paint Shani Oates as an oath breaker they gave examples of where they claimed
secrets were given. In doing so, especially by quoting such passages, if
indeed secrets had been given away, then they too would have betrayed the
same secrets. In fact, for anybody who cares to read the original articles
(see Shani Oates: The Three Rites on the Cauldron website: http://www.the-cauldron.org.uk/threerites.htm)
it is apparent that in fact Shani is indicating where she can go no further
without speaking of what is held to be sub rosa.
A brief text by
Magister Robin the Dart states:
"In light of
the accompanying statement we formally suggest that all the silly, childish
and damaging behaviour instigated by an expelled member of Clan Tubal Cain
now cease."
Robin the Dart
- Magister of Clan Tubal Cain.
My own experience
has shown Jones and her gang to be aggressive, unscrupulous and dishonest,
happy to employ any number of mind games, intimidation and falsehood. They
are petty crooks seeking power and masquerading as Clan leaders to gain
it. They should be treated with contempt and given a wide berth.
Stuart Inman
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