Thanks to everyone for their insights.
Anyone who takes a university-level course in Old English
is exposed to Caedmon's Hymn, which is probably the most
famous literary piece to use the term.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A6dmon>
I would bet that Caedmon put the term into the mind
of whoever might have put the paper into Gardner's book.
Think of it -- California Witches incorporating the work
of a divinely inspired (or so he believed) 7th-century
Yorkshire cowherd who became a Christian monk.
Isn't religion fascinating?
Chas
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