Career
Claiming that they were "pre-Gardnerian", she asserted that her family had not been Wiccan, and as such she was not a hereditary witch, but that aged sixteen, she, like many other boys and girls who were the same age, were taken to the female "Elders of the village" who taught them about the Craft. Ryall claimed that the Wiccans met in secretive covens and performed the Drawing Down the Moon rite as a part of their faith, as well as celebrating five Sabbats annually, which were termed Lady Day (25 March), Beltane (30 April), the Summer Solstice (21 June), Samhain (31 October) and the Winter Solstice (21 December). Describing the group"s practices, she claimed that they wore robes, which were "mainly brown or black, although for festivals they were usually green" and that they used a cup, a knife, a wand and a dish of salt as their ritual tools.
She also claimed that they wrote nothing down, and as such did not make use of a Book of Shadows.
Professor Ronald Hutton stated that "If Ryall"s claims had concerned just a coven or two, then they might have been more plausible, but to portray a widespread and deeply entrenched folk religion stretches credulity to breaking point.
