Navigating the Crooked Path: Andrew D. Chumbley and the Sabbatic Craft

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, the Anglo-American esoteric milieu has borne witness to the growth of a broad occult current known as “Traditional Witchcraft”. Those positioning themselves under this banner are members of a disparate array of magico-religious traditions, from forms of modern Paganism and Wicca to those operating within a Luciferian theology. Among the most prominent Traditional Craft groups is the Cultus Sabbati, a group established in the early 1990s by the English occultist Andrew D. Chumbley (1967–2004). Chumbley’s writings presented a unique and innovative form of modern religious witchcraft to the world’s esoteric milieu that deviated significantly from the better-known Wicca. While comparatively little academic research has been conducted into Chumbley and his Sabbatic tradition, this chapter seeks to rectify this by representing the first scholarly exploration of his life, based on an examination of his writings and the recollections of those who knew him.