Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki was born on 11th June 1929, on Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, where she spent her early childhood. She spent the war years as a refugee in the UK, but her family were able to return to Jersey after the war. Her paternal grandmother was in the Craft and had Romany blood, well mixed with some Spanish and German Jew and a spot of Scottish. Both her parents, Leslie and Jessica Ashcroft, were initiates. On the maternal side, her lineage is mainly North Welsh Druidic with craft in the mix. Her maternal grandfather was a member of the Golden Dawn magical order. So Dolores was brought up to work with magic on both sides of the family. In her teens she trained at RADA, then with LAMDA, and finally with Trinity College of Music. She gave up theatre when she married.

Dolores joined the Society of the Inner Light (Dion Fortune’s School) in 1964 and took initiation in 1968. She later worked and trained with the well known and highly-respected author W.E Butler, and with him was a founder member of the internationally-known ‘Servants of the Light School of Occult Science’. Dolores and Gareth Knight are now the only members left from those golden years, when the occult was making its way back into the public eye.

For ten years Butler trained Dolores as a Cosmic Meditator and finally passed the directorship of the school to her in 1976. For almost 50 years she guided the school, making it known and respected worldwide. She retired as Director in June 2018 but has not stopped working. She has over 30 books and two specially-designed Tarot decks to her credit and has lectured all over the world. She is known for her ability to share her knowledge and skill with laughter and a down to earth sense of fun. Her lectures are well-known for being filled with stories and anecdotes. Her whole life has been dedicated to making ‘magic’ an acceptable alternative to the usual traditions. From the very first she made it clear that differences of religions and/or sexual preferences made no difference. This book came about because she couldn’t find any down to earth ‘How to do…’ training books for pagan children.

In 2019, Dolores celebrates her 90th birthday. Far from retiring, she has plans to start up a new school and has a list of books she is planning to write. She has a daughter Tamara, an acupuncturist, who also writes, and a son Carl, a retired barrister with a remarkable gift for illustrations (see the book you are holding). Dolores doesn’t like being called a teacher, preferring to think of herself as a Sharer of Knowledge.