Witches of History: Robert Cochrane

There are as many different ways to practice magick as there are drops in the ocean. Yet one depiction of modern Wicca seems to rise above all the rest. When most people think of what Wiccan practice looks like, they would probably conjure images of hooded figures gathered in a circle out in nature reciting incantations.

Indeed, that is actually pretty close to how many covens practice their craft. But where did that tradition come from, and how did it become the norm? For this, we will take a trip back to the magickal revival of the 1960s and introduce you to Robert Cochrane, commonly known as the “father of traditional witchcraft.”

Not much is known about Robert Cochrane’s early life. He was born Roy Bowers to a family of eight children in 1961 in West London. He would later claim that he grew up in a slum, but family members would refute that statement, saying that he lived in a well-respected middle-class neighborhood. In his early twenties, he would attend art school, which sparked his desire to live a more bohemian lifestyle. After attending a lecture on psychical research, his interest in the occult began.

In the 1950s, after serving jail time for abandoning his post in the army, he met and married his wife, Jane. They would go on to have a son, and the three of them lived in a council-run estate in Berkshire. That is where he would meet others who also had an interest in the occult, and Cochrane's first coven was born. The coven would not last long, but it firmly placed Cochrane in the world of witchcraft, where he was eager to prove himself. Possibly because of this desire, Cochrane had a weakness for embellishing or altogether lying about certain aspects of his life.

He claimed he was the descendant of an unbroken chain of ancient pagan witches that extended back to the 17th century. However, as before, family members would come out and deny the claim, including Cochrane's own wife, Jane. It is impossible to know if there was any truth to his story, but many of his followers insist that he was not lying. Regardless, it is clear that Cochrane was prone to making himself sound more intriguing and enigmatic than he might have actually been. You might even wonder why people still revere and respect him and his teachings today.

For that, we need to discuss just why Cochrane's craft was so appealing to Wiccans all over the world.

Before Cochrane's contributions, the most prominent and well-known branch of Wicca was called Gardnerianism, after its founder Gerald Gardner.

The term Gardnerian was actually coined by Cochrane as a way to insult Gardner's followers. The term stuck (although stripped of the insulting aspect). Cochrane despised Gardner's school of Wicca, deeming it only suitable for “barbarians.” He mainly took issue with the place of nudity in ritual and scourging (self-flagellation). He also believed that Gardner was too focused on mindless rituals and ignored the mystical search for inner knowledge.

Cochrane preferred his ceremonies to take place in nature, fully clothed in hooded robes. And so, he founded his second coven called The Clan of Tubal Cain. While both covens used ritual tools, they did not use the same ones. Cochrane's coven utilized a cup, a staff known as a stang, a ritual knife, a stone to sharpen the knife, and a ritual cord worn by the members.

Another difference was that, unlike Gardner, Cochrane did not use a book of shadows in his rituals. He preferred to work from a more traditional way of practicing the art, which was full of spontaneity and intuition. Some described his method as shamanistic as he appeared to channel something from deep within the void during his practice.

The Clan of Tubal Cain popularized the divine trinity of maiden, mother, and crone as it was at the heart of their worship. They also revered a horned god, and Fate was often represented as Hekate. The god and goddess were associated with fire, lower magicks, craft, fertility, and death. Cochrane's approach attracted more would-be-Wiccans than Gardner's as it was more accessible to the majority of interested persons.

It was less reliant on ceremony and ritual, which opened it up to personal intuition. It could be practiced anywhere once one understands its foundations.

Many considered it “magick for the masses,” and it quickly grew in notoriety.

In 1964, after becoming friends with Cochrane, Doreen Valiente was initiated into the Clan of Tubal Cain after leaving Gardner's Bricket Wood coven, where she was High Priestess.

She was drawn to Cochrane's tradition as she appreciated the emphasis on nature and intuition. She also appreciated how Cochrane avoided publicity, unlike Gardner, who was a magnet for it.

All was well for a couple of years until Valiente finally grew tired of Cochrane's vitriolic hatred for Gardner, something that had only grown worse with time. One night in 1966, Cochrane called for a “Night of the Long Knives,” which was a ritual to bring about ruin on the Gardnerians.

That was the last straw for Valiente, who rose up immediately and told Cochrane that she was fed up with listening to all his senseless malice and that if a “Night of the Long Knives” was what his sick little soul craved, he could get on with it, but he could get on with it alone because she had better things to do. Valiente left and never returned to the Clan of Tubal Cain.

That incident would mark a major downfall for Cochrane and the coven.

Not long after Valiente left, he would commit open adultery with a coven member, bringing his wife Jane to file for divorce and leave the coven. After she left, the coven fell apart, and various members would go on to create their own branches and interpretations of Cochrane's teachings.

Things did not get better for Cochrane, and, sadly, he chose to end his life on Midsummer Eve by ingesting a mixture of poisons. He died nine days later in the hospital. The suicide note he left behind said he wanted to end his life while “still of sound mind.”

One can only wonder if his actions towards the end of his life were a response to a terminal or degenerative diagnosis.

As with many disbanded covens, the teachings do not die but are instead reborn through new interpretations. While the core of the Clan of Tubal Cain could never be what it was without Cochrane, parts of it have survived to this day through the groups that keep it alive.

A group called “The Regency” was formed by a couple of ex-Tubal Cain members to preserve Cochrane's teachings. It disbanded in 1978, but a website has been created to preserve its memory. There was also an American named Joseph Wilson who founded the 1734 Tradition based on Cochrane's teachings. Another Cochrane-inspired tradition is Roebuck, which focuses on the inner mysteries of the godhead.

As for the Clan of Tubal Cain, it is still technically in operation. However, it is split into two groups that don't necessarily agree on the proper teaching. Their practices are not very similar to the original Cochrane tradition.

Robert Cochrane was an eccentric witch whose legacy would inspire future witches for generations to come. Even the many people who disagreed with him still held him in high regard. Doreen Valiente said that Cochrane was “a remarkable man,” asserting that “he had something which could be termed magickal power, charisma, or what you will. He may have been devious, but he was no charlatan.”

John of Monmouth purported that Cochrane was "the man behind, what is now called, 'Traditional Witchcraft .'" Historian Ethan Doyle White said that Cochrane bequeathed "an ever-expanding legacy," noting that by the 21st century, he had become an "almost tutelary figure" within the Traditional Witchcraft movement, and warrants the title of "Father of Traditional Witchcraft" more than any other occultist.

Jonathan Tapsell said that Cochrane was "an unsung giant of modern Wicca" due to the fact that he "gave inspiration to those who came later to escape the narrow confines of Gardner's philosophy." And Doyle White asserted that Cochrane had been "without doubt the most influential" of Gardner's rivals in the mid-20th century Wiccan movement.

Cochrane brought the practice of Wicca back to nature and helped people rediscover the inner power that lies within us all. He is remembered as the father of traditional witchcraft because he worked so hard to create a practice that would be accessible to all.

Skill level was not as important as intention and intuition, which opened the world of witchcraft up to novices and curious minds everywhere. Because of him, we have a foundation for modern Wicca, and for that, we owe a debt of gratitude.