Anderson met Cora Ann Cremeans in
Bend, Oregon, in 1944; they married three days later, on May 3, claiming that they had encountered each other before in the
astral realm. Born in
Nyota, Alabama, in January 1915, Cora had been exposed to folk magical practices from childhood; reputedly, her Irish grandfather was a "root doctor" who was known among locals as the "
druid". The Andersons claimed that one of their first acts after their marriage was the erection of an
altar. The following year, a son was born, and they named him Victor Elon, with the latter being the Hebrew word for
oak; Cora claimed that she had received the name in a dream. After the birth, a ritual was held to dedicate the infant to the Goddess. In 1948, the family moved to
Niles, California, later that year purchasing a home in
San Leandro. There, Anderson became a member of the Alameda Lodge of the
Fraternal Order of Eagles, and he subsequently remained so for forty years. Victor earned his living as a musician, playing the
accordion at events, while Cora worked as a hospital cook. It has been claimed that Anderson could speak Hawaiian, Spanish, Creole, Greek, Italian, and Gothic. In the mid-1950s Victor and Cora read
Witchcraft Today, a 1954 book by English Wiccan
Gerald Gardner, with Cora claiming that Victor corresponded with Gardner for a time. The Pagan studies scholar
Chas S. Clifton has suggested that the Andersons used Gardner's work as a "style guide" for the development of their own tradition of modern Pagan witchcraft. Similarly, Kelly stated that the Andersons' tradition "began to more and more resemble that of the Gardnerians" as the couple learned more about the latter, adopting elements from it. Anderson was in correspondence with the Italian-American Wiccan
Leo Martello, who encouraged Anderson to found his own coven. Circa 1960, the Andersons founded a coven, naming it Mahaelani, after the Hawaiian word for the full moon. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Andersons initiated a number of individuals into the coven. One of these was
Gwydion Pendderwen, a friend of their son who shared their interest in
the esoteric. Pendderwen contributed to the development of what came to be known as the Feri tradition, with some members of the lineage viewing him as its co-founder. Pendderwen noted that he had first met the family when, aged thirteen, he got into a fight with Victor Elon, although the two later became friends. Pendderwen was particularly influenced by
Welsh mythology, and on a visit to Britain he spent time with the
Alexandrian Wiccans
Alex Sanders and
Stewart Farrar, subsequently introducing various Alexandrian elements into Feri Wicca. In the early 1970s, the Andersons established a new coven with Pendderwen and his initiate,
Alison Harlow. After Pendderwen married, his wife also joined this coven, although it disbanded in 1974.
Anderson's teaching Over the next four decades, the Andersons would initiate between twenty-five and thirty people into their tradition. Anderson has been described as one of the "founding teachers" and the "seminal voice" of the Feri tradition, although – according to Feri initiate Storm Faerywolf – he preferred to refer to himself as "Grand Master and a fairy chief". The original word that the Andersons used for their tradition was
Vicia, "pronounced as in Italian." She added that "the name Fairy became accidentally attached to our tradition because Victor so often mentioned that word in speaking of nature spirits and Celtic magic". Early initiates alternately spelled the name of the tradition as
Fairy,
Faery, or
Faerie, although Anderson began using the spelling
Feri during the 1990s to differentiate it from other witchcraft traditions of the same name; not all practitioners followed his example. Cora claimed that
Feri was the word's original spelling, adding that it meant "the things of magic". Anderson also referred to his form of Wicca as the
Pictish tradition. In their writing, the Andersons mixed terminology adopted from Huna,
Gardnerian Wicca, and Voodoo, believing that all reflected the same underlying magico-religious tradition. It drew heavily upon the
huna system developed by
Max Freedom Long. According to one Feri initiate, Corvia Blackthorn: :"The Andersons' teaching method was very informal. There were no classes in an academic sense, only conversations and the occasional ritual, usually followed by a home-cooked meal. Discussions with Victor were non-linear and overflowing with information. Someone once aptly remarked that talking to Victor was like to trying to drink from a fire hose. Often the connecting threads and underlying patterns in the information didn't become apparent until later on. There was also a non-verbal component to Victor's teaching. He was a true shaman, and had the ability to shift the consciousness of his students on a level well below the surface of conversation." According to Kelly: :"Studying with Victor presented some unusual problems. He demanded as much respect as any working-class grandfather might. One could ask for clarification, but to even hint that one disagreed with him, or worse yet, to contradict him, would result in an immediate and permanent order to leave. One was tempted to ask such forbidden questions because Victor lived in mythic time and was totally uninterested in other people's concepts of logic or consistency ... Another student told me that when Victor read a new book and believed it was true, then he considered it to have always been true and would rethink his history accordingly." According to one initiate, Jim Schuette, Anderson was "a taskmaster. He took pride in testing his students." One of those initiated into the Anderson's Feri tradition was
Starhawk, who incorporated ideas from the Feri tradition when creating
Reclaiming. She also included aspects from it in her 1979 book,
The Spiral Dance, including mention of the Iron and Pearl Pentagram and the three souls, all of which originated within Feri Wicca. Another prominent initiate was Gabriel Carillo (Caradoc ap Cador), who in the late 1970s developed a written body of Feri teachings, and began offering paid classes in the tradition in the 1980s, generating the Bloodrose lineage; doing so generated controversy among Feri initiates, with critics believing that it was morally wrong to charge for teaching.
Poetry and final years In 1970 Anderson privately published
Thorns of the Blood Rose, which contained poems that he had authored over the previous 25 years. He stated that "every poem is a love letter to the Goddess". Money to publish the book had come from Cora's savings, with sales barely covering the costs of publication, so a second printing was not possible at that time. In 1975, this book received the Clover International Poetry Competition Award, and in 1980 it was republished by Pendderwen, who also put some of Anderson's poems to music for his own 1975 album,
Songs for the Old Religion. Anderson also contributed work to Pagan magazines like
Witch Eye,
Green Egg, and
Nemeton. Anderson had assembled a group of poems to be published as a second book, released posthumously as ''Lilith's Garden'' in 2005. To honor her fiftieth wedding anniversary, in 1994 Cora authored a book titled
Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition, deeming it a tribute to her husband. It has been termed "the definitive written work on Feri thealogy and thought". In 1998, Cora had a stroke and was left largely bedridden by its effects. At the time of his death, he was still running a coven, which was known as Nostos or Blue Circle. He died at his home on September 20, 2001. He was survived by his wife, son, and various grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Cora then appointed a woman named Anaar, or April Niino, to be the new Grandmaster of the Feri tradition in summer 2003. The tradition itself survived, with various publications appearing that discussed the practice of magic from a Feri perspective. ==Teachings==