History of Wicca

Since the word Wicca first started being used more recently I'll describe the history of the Craft starting from when Gerald Gardner first took it public after England changed it laws regarding Witchcraft in 1951. In 1954 Gardner published his first book Witchcraft Today, essentially going public about his religion. This work was followed by a later work called The Meaning of Witchcraft which he published in 1960 (This is the text where he first uses the term Wicca). Gardner, claiming to have been initiated by Dorthy Clutterbuck, as confirmed by one of his first initiates Doreen Valiente who claimed to have seen her birth certificate. It is said that Gardner met Dorothy Clutterbuck upon joining the newly opened Roscrucian Theater in Christchuch in 1938. Some people involved with the Craft, who chose not to believe him and his initiates' claim that he was made a member of the New Forest Coven in 1939 by Dafo (Dorothy Clutterbuck), say he invented the whole initiation himself to seem a part of the ancient Tradition of Witchcraft. Gardner was reported to have been 55 at the time of his initiation in 1939. It is said also that Gardner was given his degree and charter to the OTO (Ordo Templi Orientis), by Aleister Crowley; this indicates that a great deal of what Gardner shares has come from this temple and directly from Crowley. Gardner was 70 years old when he first published a book on the subject of Witchcraft; so regardless of the validity of his initiation his books are filled with a lifetime of experience and that alone seems reason enough to consider them as valuable in contextual worth with regards to Wicca. Gardner is reported to have died at the age of 80 in 1964. Rites of Wicca, as well as poetry and other written and practiced forms of worship in Wicca, definitely stem from such organizations as The Golden Dawn, Rosecrucians, the OTO, etc. For example the casting of a circle as described by Gardner comes directly from the Golden Dawn, as do the elements and colors associated with the Quarters. These similarities could just be common to both Wicca and The Golden Dawn, but since it is found that both Gardner and Valiente state their findings to be from the Golden Dawn, it's most probable that Wicca gets its construct from this type of Magick. Gardner claimed that the New Forest Methods were very fragmentary so he had to go with the Golden Dawn, OTO ways in his public works. Freemasonry is said to have also had something to do with the way Gardner constructed his texts on Witchcraft; seeing as how both himself and Old Dorothy Clutterbuck were both Masons. This means that the greater part of what Gardner initially made public as Witchraft, and eventually in 1960 began to call Wicca, is founded upon freemasonry and Ceremonial Magic. In the later years of Gardners' Coven he had a High Priestess by the name of Monique Wilson, who in 1964 or 1965 initiated Raymond Buckland. Monique along with Campbell Wilson are the infamous heirs who sold all of Gardners magickal tools to Ripleys in the United States after his death, and many followers and fans of Gardner, get upset at the mention of them; in fact it is reported that they were shunned and made outcasts of The Craft. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time of Ray Bucklands initiation he, along with his wife Rosemary went on to be very influential in the founding & spreading of Wicca in America, and in particularly the United States. Besides Raymond Buckland, other famous people stemming from the initiations done by Gerald Gardner include: Patricia Crowther, Eleanor Bone, & Alex Sanders. Outside of the Gardnerian tradition were notables such as Robert Cochrane, and Sybil Leek whom contributed greatly to the Craft. In the 1960's such traditions as Feri, Cochranes' own 1734, and Dianic Wicca took root in America and began to spread the popularity of the Craft to the world at large.

Resources:
- History of Wicca in England 1939 - Present Day @ http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/wiccahst.txt - Basic Wicca: The Basics, Resources Page @ http://www.mistresskalpanasrealm.com/mod/resource/view.php?id=1506 - Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wicca