| History of Wicca by Oracle |
| Modern Witchcraft, specifically Wicca, owes much of its origins to Gerald Gardner, as well as Doreen Valiente. In 1939, Gerald Gardner claimed he was initiated into the New Forest coven. At this time Witchcraft was still outlawed. But when the anti-Witchcraft laws in England were repealed, Gerald published his book “Witchcraft Today,” which was the first book to describe the religion of Wicca. Also through his writings the Gardnerian tradition of Wicca was established. Gerald Gardner also had a number of priestesses, including Doreen Valiente and others who helped him in his coven. Doreen Valiente helped Gerald Gardner put a lot of the rituals of the Craft onto paper. She wrote many important pieces of lieterature that is still issued in the Craft today, such as the Witches Rune and the poetic version of the Charge of the Goddess. Later on Gardner and Doreen had a falling out, because she disagreed with him on many things. She left his coven and began her own practice of Witchcraft with another partner. Even though Doreen passed away in September of 1999, she is still a wonderful source of information for Witches today. In the 60’s, Ray Buckland, initiated by Gerald Gardner, brought the Craft over from Europe to America. Also around this time, a man named Ales Sanders developed what is now known as the Alexandrian tradition of Wicca. This is a similar practice to Gardnerian. Alex Sanders, the proclaimed ‘King of the Witches’, claimed to be initiated into the Craft by his grandmother when he was seven. Although unsure about its roots, the Alexandrian practice had been successful and effective. There are still a lot of Alexandrians out there today. In the 70’s, there was a burgeoning interest in the Goddess and magickal/new age practices. At this time many women were discovering the Goddess and claiming Her as their own. These women were vocal, political, and feminist. One of these women was Starhawk-author of the Spiral Dance. She was part of the Faery tradition of Wicca, but broke off, and began to teach and publicize a feminist magickal tradition called Dianic Witchcraft. It is a female oriented form of Witchcraft which places more emphasis on the Goddess, than the God. Some Dianics such as Z Budapest, took Dianic Witchcraft to the extreme where they excluded men or the God in their worship practices. She also wrote, ‘The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries’ for women and men who wanted to practice witchcraft with an emphasis on feminism and women’s mysteries. After this many authors, such as Scott Cunningham, Laurie Cabot, starting writing about Witchcraft and Wicca. |
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