Rosaleen Norton, Kings Cross, Sydney, 21 June 1943, by Ivan, for PIX Magazine, State Library of New South Wales
Born
2 October 1917
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died
5 December 1979 (aged 62)
Sydney, Australia
Nationality
Australian
Other names
Thorn, The Witch of Kings Cross
Occupation(s)
Witch; Artist
Rosaleen Miriam Norton (2 October 1917 – 5 December 1979),[1] who used the name of "Thorn", was an Australian artist and occultist, in the latter capacity adhering to a form of pantheistic / Neopagan Witchcraft largely devoted to the Greek god Pan. She lived much of her later life in the bohemian area of Kings Cross, Sydney, leading her to be termed the "Witch of Kings Cross" in some of the tabloids,[2] and from where she led her own coven of witches.
Her paintings, which have been compared to those of British occult artist Austin Osman Spare,[3] often depicted images of supernatural entities such as pagan gods and demons, sometimes involved in sexual acts. These caused particular controversy in Australia during the 1940s and '50s, when the country "was both socially and politically conservative" with Christianity as the dominant faith and at a time when the government "promoted a harsh stance on censorship."[2] For this reason the authorities dealt with her work harshly, with the police removing some of her work from exhibitions, confiscating books that contained her images, and attempting to prosecute her for public obscenity on a number of occasions.
According to her later biographer, Nevill Drury, "Norton's esoteric beliefs, cosmology and visionary art are all closely intertwined – and reflect her unique approach to the magical universe." She was inspired by "the 'night' side of magic", emphasising darkness and studying the qlippoth, alongside forms of sex magic which she had learned from the writings of English occultist Aleister Crowley.[4]
^Drury, Nevill. "Norton, Rosaleen Miriam (1917–1979)". Cultural Advice. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Rosaleen Miriam Norton (2 October 1917 – 5 December 1979), who used the name of "Thorn", was an Australian artist and occultist, in the latter capacity...
1960), British businesswoman, artist and disability rights campaigner RosaleenNorton (1917–1979), New Zealand-born Australian artist and occultist Deffenbacher...
chilly round on the links. It was famously the favourite drink of RosaleenNorton who preferred it with the addition of dry ginger ale. Liquor portal...
composing the Gardnerian ritual liturgy, and the Australian witch RosaleenNorton was also heavily influenced by Crowley's ideas. More widely, Crowley...
occultist and second wife of Scientologist founder L. Ron Hubbard. RosaleenNorton (1917–1979), self-proclaimed Australian witch Genesis P-Orridge (1950–2020)...
2008 for a dissertation on the visionary art and magical beliefs of RosaleenNorton. In 1970, Drury was an English teacher at West Wyalong High School...
Tait (1878–1939): artist James Northfield (1887–1973): graphic artist RosaleenNorton (1917–1979): painter, occultist Naata Nungurrayi (born 1932): artist...
Cameron exhibited parallels with the Australian artist and occultist RosaleenNorton, both in terms of her physical appearance and the similarities between...
the likes of Bob Clay-Egerton, Robert Cochrane, Charles Cardell, and RosaleenNorton. The prominent Wiccan Doreen Valiente eagerly searched for what she...
McIntyre Marie McMahon Guy Maestri Reg Mombassa Arthur Murch Susan Norrie RosaleenNorton Robert Owen Margaret Olley John Olsen Roslyn Oxley Mike Parr Ron Robertson-Swann...
movie with Rod Taylor among the stars. 1955 – Public outcry against RosaleenNorton, the "Witch of Kings Cross", for alleged Satanism. 1956 ATN Channel...
ISBN 1-869928-18-0. Drury, Nevill (1993). Pan's Daughter: The Magical World of RosaleenNorton. Mandrake. ISBN 1-869928-31-8. Fries, Jan (1993). Helrunar: A Manual...
composer Sir Eugene Goossens (1893–1962), whose career was ruined by the RosaleenNorton affair, lived in Hillingdon. Composer Henry Jackman was born in Hillingdon...
English nobleman Gioachino Rossini: Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra RosaleenNorton, so-called "Witch of Kings Cross", Sydney occultist Drew Crawford:...
artists including Syd Miller, Joe Jonsson, Emile Mercier, Virgil Reilly, RosaleenNorton, Marie 'Mollie' Horseman and Joan Morrison, as well as giving great...
classical literature (typical of associates such as Norman Lindsay, RosaleenNorton and Hugh McCrae) and is characteristically ornamental in style." Poems...
(born 1953) painter, video artist Bess Norriss (1878–1939), artist RosaleenNorton (1917–1979), painter, occultist Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi (born 1967)...
Denis Rogers, politician, mayor of Hamilton (1959–68) 2 October – RosaleenNorton, artist, occultist 17 October Martin Donnelly, cricketer, rugby union...
from 1946 to 1982, in Malton, North Yorkshire, England (d. 2021); RosaleenNorton, New Zealand-Australian occultist, proponent of witchcraft and wiccanism...
Global Information