Maxine Sanders (born Arline Maxine Morris; 30 December 1946[citation needed], in Cheshire) is a key figure in the development of modern pagan witchcraft and Wicca and, along with her late husband, Alex Sanders, the co-founder of Alexandrian Wicca.

[2] Maxine's memoir gives a very different account, describing her experiences of witchcraft as already having been initiated at the age of 15 into a magical lodge in rituals performed in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England.

The subsequent report in a local newspaper published recognisable photographs of her and she was thus "outed" as a witch without her permission.

Maxine's unconventional spiritual path led to strife with her mother, who she was reconciled with close before her death.

In 1967, they moved to London where they lived and practised witchcraft in a basement flat in Notting Hill Gate, attracting much publicity and initiating many would-be priests and priestesses.

There Maxine became a "fanatical gardener"[7] while she and Alex set up a second coven and started to train people locally.

Members of the Temple of the Mother also trained in the art of healing and became well respected for it and other charitable works in the community.