1. Philip Peter Ross Nichols was a Cambridge academic and published poet, artist and historian, who founded the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids in 1964.
11 Facts About Ross Nichols
1. 2.
Ross Nichols wrote prolifically on the subjects of Druidism and Celtic mythology.
3.
Ross Nichols revived the interest in Celtic neopaganism and Druidry in the 20th century.
4.
Philip Peter Ross Nichols was born in Norwich, England, and educated at Bloxham School.
5.
Ross Nichols was a vegetarian and naturist, joining Britain's first naturist community, Spielplatz, near St Albans in Hertfordshire, in the 1930s.
6.
In 1939, Ross Nichols became principal of a private college in London, while staying at Spielplatz during time off.
7.
Ross Nichols was hired as assistant editor of The Occult Observer in 1949, by Michael Houghton of the Atlantis Bookshop.
8.
The short-lived publication marked the first time Ross Nichols wrote about Druidism, and introduced the short story "Book of Shadows" that inspired Gardner to adopt the term for Wicca.
9.
Ross Nichols was asked to edit Gardner's seminal work, Witchcraft Today.
10.
Ross Nichols introduced a concern for Celtic mythology and Bardcraft, and the celebration of the full eight seasonal ceremonies in addition to arranging the teachings into three grades, in accordance with classical accounts of the three divisions of the Druids.
11.
Ross Nichols edited and published the 1969 translation of The History and Practice of Magic by Jean-Baptiste Pitois.