Wicca

==History==
{{Main|History of Wicca}}

===Origins, 1921–1935===
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=Wicca originated in the early decades of the twentieth century among those esoterically inclined Britons who wanted to resurrect the faith of their ancient forebears, and arose to public attention in the 1950s and 1960s, largely due to a small band of dedicated followers who were insistent on presenting their faith to what at times was a very hostile world. From these humble beginnings, this radical religion spread to the United States, where it found a comfortable bedfellow in the form of the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counter-culture]] and came to be championed by those sectors of the [[Women's liberation movement|women's]] and [[gay liberation]] movements which were seeking a spiritual escape from Christian hegemony.|source=— Religious studies scholar Ethan Doyle White{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|p=2}} }}

Wicca was founded in England between 1921 and 1950,{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|p=14}} representing what the historian [[Ronald Hutton]] called "the only full-formed religion which England can be said to have given the world".{{sfnm|1a1=Hutton|1y=2003|1pp=279–230|2a1=Doyle White|2y=2016|2p=14}} Characterised as an "[[invented tradition]]" by scholars,{{sfnm|1a1=Baker|1y=1996|1p=187|2a1=Magliocco|2y=1996|2p=94|3a1=Doyle White|3y=2016|3p=14}} Wicca was created from the patchwork adoption of various older elements, many taken from pre-existing religious and esoteric movements.{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|p=13}} Pearson characterised it as having arisen "from the cultural impulses of the ''[[fin de siècle]]''".{{sfn|Pearson|2002|p=32}}

Wicca took as its basis the [[witch-cult hypothesis]]. This was the idea that [[Witch trials in the early modern period|those persecuted as witches]] in [[early modern Europe]] were actually followers of a surviving [[paganism|pagan]] religion; not [[Satanism|Satanists]] as the persecutors claimed, nor innocent people who confessed under threat of torture, as had long been the historical consensus.{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|p=14}}<ref name="Checkmark Books">{{cite book |last1=Guiley |first1=Rosemary Ellen |author-link1=Rosemary Ellen Guiley |title=The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft |edition=2nd |year=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |location=New York |isbn=0-8160-3849-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwi00guil/page/234 234] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwi00guil/page/234 }}</ref> The 'Father of Wicca', Gerald Gardner, claimed his religion was a survival of this European 'witch-cult'.{{sfn|Buckland|2002|p=96}} The 'witch-cult' theory had been first expressed by the German Professor [[Karl Ernest Jarcke]] in 1828, before being endorsed by German [[Franz Josef Mone]] and then the French historian [[Jules Michelet]].{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|p=15}} In the late 19th century, it was then adopted by two Americans, [[Matilda Joslyn Gage]] and [[Charles Leland]], the latter of whom promoted a variant of it in his 1899 book, ''[[Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches]]''.{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|pp=15–16}} The theory's most notable advocate was the English Egyptologist [[Margaret Murray]], who promoted it in a series of books – most notably 1921's ''The Witch-Cult in Western Europe'' and 1933's ''The God of the Witches''.{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|p=16}}<ref name="Checkmark Books"/> 

Almost all of Murray's peers regarded the witch-cult theory as incorrect and based on poor scholarship. However, Murray was invited to write the entry on "witchcraft" for the 1929 edition of the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', which was reprinted for decades and became so influential that, according to folklorist Jacqueline Simpson, Murray's ideas became "so entrenched in popular culture that they will probably never be uprooted".<ref name=simpson1994>Jacqueline Simpson (1994). Margaret Murray: Who Believed Her, and Why? ''Folklore'', '''105''':1-2: 89-96. {{doi|10.1080/0015587X.1994.9715877}}</ref> Simpson noted that the only contemporary member of the Folklore Society who took Murray's theory seriously was Gerald Gardner, who used it as the basis for Wicca.<ref name=simpson1994/> Murray's books were the sources of many well-known motifs which have often been incorporated into Wicca. The idea that covens should have 13 members was developed by Murray, based on a single witness statement from one of the witch trials, as was her assertion that covens met on the four cross-quarter days.<ref name=simpson1994/> Murray was very interested in ascribing naturalistic or religious ceremonial explanations to some of the more fantastic descriptions found in witch trial testimony. For example, many of the confessions included the idea that Satan was personally present at coven meetings. Murray interpreted this as a witch priest wearing horns and animal skins, and a pair of forked boots to represent his authority or rank. Most mainstream folklorists, on the other hand, have argued that the entire scenario was always fictitious and does not require a naturalistic explanation, but Gardner enthusiastically adopted many of Murray's explanations into his own tradition.<ref name=simpson1994/> The witch-cult theory was "the historical narrative around which Wicca built itself", with the early Wiccans claiming to be the survivors of this ancient pagan religion.{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|pp=16–17}}

The 'witch-cult' theory has since been disproven by further historical research,<ref name="Hutton witch-cult"/> but it is still common for Wiccans to claim solidarity with witch trial victims.{{sfn|Buckland|2002|loc=10: Roots of Modern Wica}} The notion that Wiccan traditions and rituals have survived from ancient times is contested by most recent researchers, who say that Wicca is a 20th-century creation which combines elements of freemasonry and 19th-century occultism.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2001/01/the-scholars-and-the-goddess/5910/ |title=The Scholars and the Goddess |journal=The Atlantic Monthly |first=Charlotte |last=Allen |date=January 2001 |issue=287 |oclc=202832236}}</ref> In his 1999 book ''[[The Triumph of the Moon]]'', English historian [[Ronald Hutton]] researched the Wiccan claim that ancient pagan customs have survived into modern times after being Christianised in medieval times as folk practices. Hutton found that most of the folk customs which are claimed to have pagan roots (such as the [[Maypole]] dance) actually date from the [[Middle Ages]]. He concluded that the idea that medieval revels were pagan in origin is a legacy of the [[Protestant Reformation]].{{sfn|Hutton|1999}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Goddess Unmasked |publisher=Spence |location=Dallas |first=Philip G |last=Davis |year=1998 |isbn=0-9653208-9-8}}</ref> Hutton noted that Wicca predates the modern [[New Age]] movement and also differs markedly in its general philosophy.{{sfn|Hutton|1999}}

Other influences upon early Wicca included various [[Western esotericism|Western esoteric]] traditions and practices, among them [[ceremonial magic]], [[Aleister Crowley]] and his religion of [[Thelema]], [[Freemasonry]], [[Spiritualism (movement)|Spiritualism]], and [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]].{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|pp=17–18}} To a lesser extent, Wicca also drew upon folk magic and the practices of [[cunning folk]].{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|pp=19–20}} It was further influenced both by scholarly works on folkloristics, particularly [[James Frazer]]'s ''[[The Golden Bough]]'', as well as [[romanticism|romanticist]] writings like [[Robert Graves]]' ''[[The White Goddess]]'', and pre-existing modern pagan groups such as the [[Order of Woodcraft Chivalry]] and [[Druidism]].{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|pp=20–22}}

===Early development, 1936–1959===
It was during the 1930s that the first evidence appears for the practice of a neopagan 'Witchcraft' religion<ref name="WiccanRoots">{{cite book |title=Wiccan Roots: Gerald Gardner and the Modern Witchcraft Revival |first=Philip |last=Heselton |author-link=Philip Heselton |publisher=Capall Bann Pub. |location=Freshfields, Chieveley, [[Berkshire]] |date=November 2001 |isbn=1-86163-110-3 |oclc=46955899}} <br /> {{cite book |chapter=Why Does Aleister Crowley Still Matter? |title=Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult |publisher=Disinformation Books |location=New York |editor-first=Richard |editor-last=Metzger |first=Nevill |last=Drury |author-link=Nevill Drury |date=2003 |isbn=0-9713942-7-X |oclc=815051948}}</ref> (what would be recognisable now as Wicca) in England. It seems that several groups around the country, in such places as [[Norfolk]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Dancing With Witches |publisher=Robert Hale |location=London |first=Lois |last=Bourne |page=51 |date=1998 |isbn=0-7090-6223-0 |oclc=39117828}}</ref> [[Cheshire]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration |publisher=Capall Bann |location=Somerset |first=Philip |last=Heselton |page=254 |date=2003 |isbn=1-86163-164-2 |oclc=182799618}}</ref> and the [[New Forest]] had set themselves up after being inspired by Murray's writings about the "Witch-Cult".

The history of Wicca starts with [[Gerald Gardner]] (the "Father of Wicca") in the mid-20th century. Gardner was a retired [[British people|British]] [[civil servant]] and amateur [[anthropologist]], with a broad familiarity in [[paganism]] and [[occultism]]. He claimed to have been [[initiation|initiated]] into a [[New Forest coven|witches' coven]] in [[New Forest District|New Forest]], [[Hampshire]], in the late 1930s. Intent on perpetuating this craft, Gardner founded the [[Bricket Wood coven]] with his wife Donna in the 1940s, after buying the [[Naturist]] Fiveacres Country Club.{{sfn|Hutton|1999|p=289}} Much of the coven's early membership was drawn from the club's members{{sfn|Valiente|1989|p=60}} and its meetings were held within the club grounds.{{sfn|Lamond|2004|pp=30-31}}{{sfn|Valiente|1989|p=56}} Many notable figures of early Wicca were direct initiates of this coven, including [[Edith Woodford-Grimes|Dafo]], [[Doreen Valiente]], [[Jack L. Bracelin|Jack Bracelin]], [[Frederic Lamond (Wiccan)|Frederic Lamond]], [[Dayonis]], [[Eleanor Bone]], and [[Lois Bourne]].

The Witchcraft religion began to grow in 1951, with the repeal of the [[Witchcraft Act 1735]], after which [[Gerald Gardner]] and then others such as [[Charles Cardell]] and [[Cecil Williamson]] began publicising their own versions of the Craft. Gardner and others never used the term "Wicca" as a religious identifier, simply referring to the "witch cult", "witchcraft", and the "Old Religion". However, Gardner did refer to witches as "the Wica".<ref name="WitchcraftToday">{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Gerald B |author-link=Gerald Gardner |title=Witchcraft Today |publisher=Mercury Publishing |location=Lake Toxaway, NC |year=1999 |orig-year=1954 |oclc=44936549 |isbn=0-8065-2593-2}}</ref> During the 1960s, the name of the religion normalised to "Wicca".{{sfn|Hutton|1999|p=vii}} Gardner's tradition, later termed [[Gardnerian Wicca|Gardnerianism]], soon became the dominant form in [[England]] and spread to other parts of the [[British Isles]].

===Adaptation and spread, 1960–present===
[[File:Wiccan event in the US (0).PNG|thumb|Wiccan event in the US]]
Following Gardner's death in 1964, the Craft continued to grow unabated despite sensationalism and negative portrayals in British tabloids, with new traditions being propagated by figures like [[Robert Cochrane (witch)|Robert Cochrane]], [[Sybil Leek]], and most importantly [[Alex Sanders (Wiccan)|Alex Sanders]], whose [[Alexandrian Wicca]], which was predominantly based upon Gardnerian Wicca, albeit with an emphasis placed on [[ceremonial magic]], spread quickly and gained much media attention. Around this time, the term "Wicca" began to be commonly adopted over "Witchcraft" and the faith was exported to countries like [[Australia]] and the [[United States]].{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

During the 1970s, a new generation joined Wicca who had been influenced by the [[counterculture of the 1960s]].{{sfn|Crowley|1998|p=176}} Many brought [[environmentalism|environmentalist]] ideas with them into the movement, as reflected by the formation of groups like the UK-based [[Pagans Against Nukes]].{{sfn|Crowley|1998|p=176}}
In the U.S., [[Victor Henry Anderson|Victor Anderson]], Cora Anderson, and [[Gwydion Pendderwen]] established the [[Feri Tradition]].{{sfn|Pearson|1998|p=38}}

It was in the United States and in Australia that new, home-grown traditions, sometimes based upon earlier, regional folk-magical traditions and often mixed with the basic structure of Gardnerian Wicca, began to develop, including [[Victor Henry Anderson|Victor Anderson]]'s [[Feri Tradition]], [[Joseph Bearwalker Wilson|Joseph Wilson's]] [[1734 Tradition]], [[Aidan A. Kelly|Aidan Kelly]]'s [[New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn]], and eventually [[Zsuzsanna Budapest]]'s [[Dianic Wicca]], each of which emphasised different aspects of the faith.<ref name="NewPagans">{{cite book |title=The New Pagans |first=Hans |last=Holzer |author-link=Hans Holzer |publisher=Doubleday |location=Garden City, NY |year=1972 |oclc=281240}}</ref> It was also around this time that books teaching people how to become Witches themselves without formal initiation or training began to emerge, among them [[Paul Huson]]'s ''[[Mastering Witchcraft]]'' (1970) and ''Lady Sheba's Book of Shadows'' (1971). Similar books continued to be published throughout the 1980s and 1990s, fuelled by the writings of such authors as [[Doreen Valiente]], [[Janet Farrar]], [[Stewart Farrar]], and [[Scott Cunningham]], who popularised the idea of self-initiation into the Craft. Among witches in Canada, anthropologist [[Heather Botting]] (née Harden) of the University of Victoria was the first recognized Wiccan chaplain of a public university.<ref>{{cite web |last=Todd |first=Douglas |url=http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2010/12/16/pagans-celebrate-solstice-with-yule-rituals/ |title=University of Victoria chaplain marks solstice with pagan rituals &#124; Vancouver Sun |publisher=Blogs.vancouversun.com |access-date=2 May 2013 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003002/http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2010/12/16/pagans-celebrate-solstice-with-yule-rituals/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She is the original high priestess of [[Coven Celeste]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aquariantabernaclechurch.org/atc-affiliates-canada |title=ATC Affiliates – Canada |publisher=Aquarian Tabernacle Church |access-date=2 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510122431/http://www.aquariantabernaclechurch.org/atc-affiliates-canada |archive-date=10 May 2013}}</ref>

In the 1990s, amid ever-rising numbers of self-initiates, the popular media began to explore "witchcraft" in fictional films like ''[[The Craft (film)|The Craft]]'' (1996) and television series like ''[[Charmed]]'' (1998–2006), introducing numbers of young people to the idea of religious witchcraft. This growing demographic was soon catered to through the [[Internet]] and by authors like [[Silver RavenWolf]], much to the criticism of traditional Wiccan groups and individuals. In response to the way that Wicca was increasingly portrayed as trendy, eclectic, and influenced by the [[New Age]] movement, many Witches turned to the pre-Gardnerian origins of the Craft, and to the traditions of his rivals like Cardell and Cochrane, describing themselves as following "[[Neopagan witchcraft|traditional witchcraft]]". Groups within this Traditional Witchcraft revival included [[Andrew D. Chumbley|Andrew Chumbley]]'s Cultus Sabbati and the Cornish Ros an Bucca coven.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}