Divine Circle of The Sacred Grove ***SCAM**
                            Office of the Preceptor
                P.O. Box 66311, Seattle, WA, U.S.A. 98166

          THE FOLLOWING IS FOR PUBLICATION;

          To the Pagan Community:
                In July of 1991, ADF sent out a Druid Alert about an
          organization called the Divine Circle of the Sacred Grove. ADF
          began investigating this group because they were using ADF
          letterhead, membership forms, advertising copy, and other
          materials with their names substituted for ours. Prior to raising
          any public issues, ADF's Preceptor, Domi O'Brien called the group
          and talked to their Scribe, Kal Mannis. Mr. Mannis told her that
          if she had questions, she could come to a public meeting on July
          2nd, 1991, in Seattle, and ask them there.
                Domi, Bwca, Erynn and members of 4 other Traditions and
          organizations attended their talk. We noted with increasing
          amazement their claims and their views of the interrelationship
          of Druidism and Wicca, and after they mentioned Isaac Bonewits,
          Domi challenged some of their staements, as the ADF Preceptor.
          The DCSG literature going back to 1988 was examined, along with
          other staements which have been made to us or others. Janette
          Laverna Garcia a/k/a Gordon a/k/a Copeland, born 2/9/1942,
          Houston TX,; Richard Norman Ian Garcia a/k/a Gordon a/k/a
          Copeland, born 8/12/1940, Prescott, AZ; Jerry Eugene Everett
          Wayne Reamer a/k/a Prophet, born 8/12/1948, Pottstown, PA; Kalman
          Mannis, Nancy Brown, Brenda Matarazzo, David Trippey, Donovan
          Cotton; Dr. Jay Tibbles, Mary Ernst, and others affiliated with
          their group were examined for legitamate mundane and magickal
          credentials. The only person whose credentials we were able to
          verify was Dr. Jay Tibbles.
                Janette's claims, as given in her various peices of
          literature, and as made to us, or to persons whose credentials we
          were able to verify, include: Hereditary Witch and Druid; Pipe
          Carrier for the Lumbee, the Sioux, the Cherokee, and the Chumash;
          member of the MotherGrove and Board of Directors of the ADF, as
          well as group marriage to the entire ADF Board of Directors;
          membership and 3rd Circle status in the British Circle of the
          Universal Bond; training by Ross Nichols, 3rd Degree Celtic and
          Egyptian Priestess; 3rd Degree Alexandrian Priestess, New York,
          1973; 3rd Degree Gardinarian Priestess, New York, 1965;
          incorporation of her organization in 14 states; training by
          Rhuddlwm Gawr, and training by Grandmaster Eli (Barney Taylor, of
          the Druidic Craft of the Wise), marriage to Eli, as well as being
          both Eli's daughter and graddaughter. She has also claimed to be
          a registereed nurse, a cosmetologist; a paralegal; a professional
          writer of romance novels, and a Vietnam Veteran. Ms. Copeland (?)
          claims that she has 10,000 people on her mailing list, groves all
          over the United States, and that she was born in London during
          the Blitz, although she has alos claimed that she was born in
          Houston TX. Ms Garcia (?) claims that her father, a U.S. Army
          Major on Eisenhower's staff during WW II (not, by the way,
          Grandmaster Eli), and her mother, a nurse now resident in
          Atlanta, were both members of the Circle of the Universal Bond.
          She claims that she was raised by a Cherokee grandfather. She
          claims to have been teaching Wicca, which she says is a
          simplified version of Druidism for the masses, since 1954, when
          she was 12 years old.


                                           1508
          

                Ms Gordon(?) took Lady Sabrin's course from Our Lady of
          Enchanment in 1987 and 1988, giving totally different information
          about herself then she gives now. According to Lady Sabrina,
          Janette has been selling Sabrina's courses as her own ever since.
          We have examined lessons from Janette's and Sabrina's courses,
          and they are indeed substantially identical, except that Sabrina
          can spell.
                Janette joined ADF in 1987, giving yet another set of data
          about herself, claiming no leadership positions, newsletters, or
          other affiliations. A check of the material on her application
          shows it to be substantially false.
                In checking Janette's claims, we contacted the Secretary of
          state, and Board of Nursing Registrations in the 14 states in
          which she claimed incorporation. Her organization is incorporated
          only in Washington and California. She is not listed as a
          registered nurse anywhere we checked. She and her group were
          offering BA's, MA's, and PhD's in Washington State until directed
          to cease and desist by the Higher Education Coordinating Board.
          They later obtained a religious exemption by saying that they
          were offering degrees only in Divinity and Theology. Former
          mebers of their organization state that most of their claims in
          their catalog as to available courses and faculty credentials are
          false.
                In examining their other claims we contacted over two
          hundred persons and groups in this country and abroad in an
          effort to authenticate their initiations and organizational
          affiliations.
                No one we contacted verified any of the DCSG's claims. All
          stated that they had never trained or initiated any known
          officers or members of the DCSG. Most had never even heard of
          them. Furthur, former members of her organization have mentioned
          paying thousands of dollars for courses, and additional thousands
          paid out on "tithes" -- 10% of their annual income to support the
          work of the Order of Melchizadek (demanded in the middle of their
          initiation or elevation rituals). We have also been contacted by
          Social Serrvices, Education, Law Enforcement and other
          authorities for other information about DCSG, and/or its members.
                ADF and some other Pagan groups and organziations are
          cooperating fully with these investigations, and have made it
          clear to the investigators that we do not regard these people as
          legitamate members of the Pagan community, since none of their
          alleged training and initiations can be verified, and may have
          been directly disproven. As Pagans, whatever our path, we can
          ill-afford to remain silent while groups knowingly steal and sell
          courses written by others, claiming training ties to the most
          senior and respected members of our community that they do not
          have, and engage in questionable behaviour presenting themselves
          as our kin, elders, and representatives to the world at large.

          Domi O'Brien            T. Bwca           Erynn Darkstar
          DTG Priestess           Elder, NECTW      Greenleaf Coven
          CWO Priestess                             Inis Glas
          Preceptor/Vice ArchDruid, ADF


                                           1509
          

          By: Domi O
          To: Lewis Stead
          Re: Details, please.

          Lady Sabrina was initiated by Bob Moshier and Dorothy Trion in
          Tuscon Arizona in 1978, according to what she says. She was in
          Danville, California for a
          while, near San Franscisco; and was in COG (I have not checked
          this); she then studied with Gavin and Yvonne in New Bern for 1 and
          a half years; then moved to Billerica, Mass; then to Hudson, NH;
          then Nashua, NH. I was in Epping, NH when a Gardnerian friend and
          fellow NH College administrator, Gerry Reilly, introduced me to
          Sabrina. Since I am Daughters of the Triple Goddess and Celtic
          Wiccan Order trained, Gerry's brand of witchcraft and Sabrina's
          struck me equally weird.

          I talked to Gavin and Yvonne last week; they feel Sabrina has
          borrowed heavily from them but they don't have an issue with it and
          they don't consider their organisation and hers to be connected.
          In 1987 Geraldine Gumm aka Gerri Garcia aka Queen Druid aka Laura
          Copeland aka Janette Gordon aka Janette Copeland aka Laverna Gordon
          aka Laverna Copeland aka Gerry Garcia aka Gerri Gunn aka Gerri Teah
          Garcia aka Jerry Leah Garcia took Sabrina's course; in winter of
          1989 she began advertising a coorespondence course in Wicca, which
          according to Sabrina is Sabrina's. I've looked at them; they are
          very much alike.  The Frosts and Sabrina both teach non-mainstream
          Wicca and charged for Craft when no one was doing that. I have
          heard far more negative things about some far more mainstream
          figures; both the Frosts and Sabrina are very public and really
          seem to have nothing to hide.  What they teach isn't my Craft, but
          I will defend their right to practice their version and teach it
          as they see fit. Or did you mean something else ?
          Domi of ADF

          By: Domi O
          To: Corwynt
          Re: ADF letter

          Indeed it is from us. Since then, we have gotten "Janette's" arrest
          and conviction records from New Mexico and word from a usually
          reliable source that her real name may be Geraldine Gumm, and real
          date of birth may be 2-9-40. I am also informed by a law
          enforcement source that she has other records in several states.
          These range from child neglect to unlawful touching of dead bodies
          to kidnapping.

          Her group was investigated in 1975 in Arizona for dead bodies and
          missing persons, moved a bit over a hundred miles as the crow
          flies, and she and her husband were arrested in New Mexico in 1978.
          The children involved were returned to their parents, two being
          kept in social service custody while it was determined to whom they
          belonged, and two members of the group were "deprogramed" by Ted
          Patrick. She was calling herself "Queen Druid" then and initiating
          folks as "WI" or "witch one". I have a lovely pile of court papers
          and newspaper clippings I will gladly share with anyone who'd like
          to send me $4 for photocopying and postage...
          Domi O'Brien 
          Box 66311
          Seattle, WA 98166


                                           1510