Dafo is the "magical name" (an occultist's pseudonym) for an otherwise anonymous woman that researchers such as Ronald Hutton and Philip Heselton have come to view as an important contributer to the development of Gardnerian Witchcraft, and therefore Wicca. She has been variously identified as Gerald Gardner's "magical working partner", "High Priestess", and teacher. While it is not clear to what extent she was involved in occultism before meeting Gardner, or even what her precise relationship to Gardner or the first coven he was involved with was, Gardner repeatedly cited her as an authority on witchcraft to those that he intoduced to the religion. A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to their legal name (whereas an allonym is the name of another actual person assumed by one person in authorship of a work of art; e. ... Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol and is an occasional commentator on British television and radio on his areas of expertise. ... A Neo-Pagan pentagram: a symbol used by many Wiccans. ... Gerald Brosseau Gardner (June 13, 1884 - February 13, 1964) was a British civil servant, amateur anthropologist, writer, and occultist who published some of the definitive texts for modern Wicca, which he was instrumental in founding. ... The term witchcraft (and witch) is a controversial one with a complicated history. ...

Gardner, discussing the publication of his two books on witchcraft, mentions that he felt obliged to have the permission of the witches he knew to do so. It is now widely assumed that this was a reference to 'Dafo', who appears to have been a great deal more publicity-shy than Gardner was. 'Dafo' was still involved with Gardner's group by the time that Doreen Valiente met Gardner, as Valiente repors meeting her. 'Dafo' eventually broke with Gardner over the issue of publicity, after Gardner began discussing his coven freely and inviting the media to witchcraft rituals. This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... Doreen Valiente (1922 - 1999) was a co-creator of Wicca, together with Gerald Gardner. ... Coven or covan was originally a late medieval Scots word (c1500) meaning a gathering of any kind according to the Oxford English Dictionary. ...

In spite of a great deal of speculation on the identity of 'Dafo' (sometimes conflating her with Dorothy Clutterbuck), and the claims of some to have identified her (or to have always known), there remains reasonable doubt as to who 'Dafo' might have been. Perhaps the most convincing, and certainly the most detailed, argument was put forth by Philip Heselton in his Wiccan Roots (Capall Bann, 2000), asserting that she was a woman named Edith Woodford-Grimes. Dorothy Clutterbuck (January 19, 1880–January 12, 1951) , also known as Old Dorothy, was a well-to-do woman who lived near Christchurch, England, whom Gerald Gardner claimed had initiated him into witchcraft. ...