It seems that my connection with Derek was somewhat ill-starred as I could not save him from hostile forces surrounding him. I still harbour some misgivings particularly with his death that some say is amurder others a tragic drowning The authorities regard his passing as an open verdict. .Perhaps parts of the Wiccan world prefered to not to acknowledge Derek while he was alive but I do hope that now he is at peace we may regard his life as something of a brave experiment, results and failures alike, and a lifetime to that hopefully we may now look upon more favourably. This obituary is controversial to say the least in Wiccan circles but may have saved one of the greatest Wiccans plunging into obscurity and preserved at least some vestige of his life among us. It is more of a tribute to an unknown hero of Wicca. A man who lived by principles that perhaps we cannot understand.
Derek Leo Elliott -Taylor, Head of the Ordine della Nova, was born in London in 1939. He died on February 22nd 2000, in tragic circumstances.
His involvement in witchcraft, which spanned four decades, brought him little public acclaim or recognition, yet he is still one of the most intriguing figures of modern Wicca.
Growing up in Sussex as a young boy along with his twin brother, he attended boarding school before going onto study drama in London. Failing to find his mark in the theatre, he returned to Bexhill, Sussex and began buying and renovating dilapidated properties. Finding success in his new found enterprise, he was a popular local figure, often seen around town, complete with pin stripe suit. His first marriage brought him three sons, but the scholarly, studious Taylor had been marked out for an altogether different life - witchcraft.
After meeting internationally renowned witch, Alex Sanders, in the late 1970’s, his life changed forever. The pair became inseparable. Sanders was immediately impressed by the mystical and prophetic qualities of Taylor and installed him as his personal trance scribe.
Before his death in 1988, Alex Sanders gave a charter to Taylor to establish the Ordine della Nova, a magical Order with a specific remit to prepare for a New Age. In effect, this charter made Derek Taylor commensurate in status to the self-styled witch king himself (Alex Sanders), although he had no interest in publicising himself in that way. The gentle seer much preferred to continue his efforts to understand the deepest workings of the human mind in relative isolation.
A close friend said of him:
"If he saw anyone homeless in the street he would bring them home and cook them a meal...... he was very compassionate to those less fortunate".
Other tributes poured in from former pagan colleagues. Jack Lindwood described him as: