Lord Athanor 1956 – 2012

Word has come to us that John Monogue, better known to many modern Pagans as Lord Athanor, passed into the Summerlands on February 13th. Athanor co-founded the Unicorn Tradition of Wicca with Lady Galadriel after receiving initiations in a Family Tradition from Lady Rhea. The Unicorn Tradition went on to become a successful and multi-generational tradition that still thrives today, its initiates spreading far beyond its Southern origins, with many serving important roles within organizations like the Covenant of the Goddess (COG) and the Lady Liberty League. Athanor was beloved as a wise, kind, and generous man, who helped many through his years of service.

“While it is a sad time for those who knew and loved him, is with joy, love, and light that we celebrate the wonder and magick filled life. It is with gratitude that we remember one who touched the lives of many, many people through his storytelling, kindness, humor, wisdom, and bountiful spirit.” – Lady Arden

“He had an excellent sense of humor and had the wonderful gift of making people smile. He was the best hugger I have ever met. He will be sorely missed by the Atlanta Pagan Community at large, as he contribued a great deal to the education of all who sought knowledge.” – LunaW

Adrian Hawkins (aka Ash), the son of Lord Athanor and Lady Galadriel, who has become a thoughtful voice within the larger Pagan community in his own right, is cataloging his parent’s large collection of occult, Pagan, and metaphysical books to ultimately serve as a lasting legacy of their collective contributions to modern Paganism.

“Over the years,  many valiant attempts were made to record the contents  the library. My dad liked to joke that we broke several librarians in attempts to do so We do not even exactly how many books the library contains.  The library grew over the years, and grew, and grew to the size it is today.  Our best guess is that the library contains around a few thousand books on the occult with the main focus of the library being on subjects relevant to Paganism and Wicca in particular. Now that my father has passed into the Summerlands, stewardship of this library has past to the next generation. Another individual and myself  have taken on the responsibility to take care of the Library that my parents spent their lives collecting.

I have begun the task of cataloging the contents of the library. So far I have made it through three bookshelves, with about seventeen left to go.  However, our dreams do not stop there.  Once we have cataloged all of the books in the library we will be opening a by mail pagan lending library (Due to the nature of some of the books they will only be available in person). We hope to have a physical location where Pagans may come and study the various subjects of the craft for a weekend or longer  in person as well. We hope to continue to expand (and READ!) the collection as our lifetimes go on, and one day leave this legacy and resource for the next generation.  Our hope and dream is to build this into the largest Pagan lending library in the South East or even North America.”

Tentative plans for a public memorial service are currently underway, scheduled for Sunday, February 19th, from 2-5pm at Angora Hall in the Clarkston Community Center, Georgia. Any changes to this plan should be posted at PNC-Georgia.

“Very sad to hear of the passing of Lord Athanor, founding HP of the Unicorn Tradition. With his passing, all the founding elders of what could arguably be the two most influential traditions in Atlanta have passed. The originators are headed for rest, reunion and rebirth, and the tradition’s destinies are firmly in the grasp of the next generation. While each passing is sad, the loss of Lord Athanor seems to place a mantle of responsibility not only on the current leaders, but also little peons like myself. I never met Lord Athanor, but through the stories I have heard and interactions with his students and family, I am aware he was an incredible man and a great asset to our community. My thoughts are with his family and tradition.” – Star Foster

On a personal note, while I’ve never met Lord Athanor, I have met members of the Unicorn Tradition, and they have each impressed me with their intelligence, dedication, and sense of purpose. It is to the credit of Lord Athanor that the tradition he helped co-found is so healthy and vibrant today. May he take his rest in the Summerlands, and return to us again.