DragonsDomain6

A polytheistic Neo-Pagan nature religion inspired by various pre-Christian western European beliefs, whose central deity is a mother goddess and which includes the use of herbal magic and benign witchcraft.
2. A group or community of believers or followers of this religion.

Wicca is the most popular Neopagan Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism) is a heterogeneous group of religions which claim to be a revival of mainly European Paganism. It is called Neopaganism by academics and many adherents to distinguish it from earlier forms of Paganism, from which it differs in many significant ways. Some adherents detest the term Neopagan, finding it deeply insulting, while some see it as representing what they feel to be a changing, vital nature of Neopaganism.
..... Click the link for more information. religion Religion, sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief.

The nature and content of religionDefining "religion"
Beyond the above, very broad definition of religion, there are a variety of uses and meanings for the word, "religion." Some of the approaches are as follows:

..... Click the link for more information. , originally founded by the British
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, Britain, or less accurately as Great Britain. The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly distinct nations of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland under a single government in London. The greater part of Ireland left the United Kingdom (then formally called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) in 1922, and is today the Republic of Ireland, whilst the north-eastern portion of the island, Northern Ireland, remains part of the United Kingdom.
..... Click the link for more information. civil servant Gerald Gardner Gerald Gardner (1884 - 1964) was a British civil servant, anthropologist, writer, and occultist who published some of the definitive texts for modern Wicca and neopaganism.

Beginning in 1908 he was a rubber planter, first in Borneo and then in Malaya. After 1923 he held civil service posts as a government inspector in Malaya. In 1936, at the age of 52, he retired to England. He published an authoritative text, Keris and other Malay Weapons (1936), based on his field research into southeast Asian weapons and magical practices.
..... Click the link for more information. , probably in the 1930s Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s - 1930s - 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s

Years: 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Events and trendsTechnology
Jet engine invented
Link Trainer invented

Science
Nuclear fission discovered by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann
Pluto, the ninth planet from the Sun, is discovered by Clyde Tombaugh
British biologist Arthur Tansley coins term "ecosystem"

..... Click the link for more information. , although it was first openly revealed in 1951
Years:
1948 1949 1950 - 1951 - 1952 1953 1954
Decades:
1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s
Centuries:
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1951 in art
1951 in aviation
1951 in film
1951 in literature
1951 in music
1951 in radio
1951 in science
1951 in sports
1951 in television
1951 in Canada
..... Click the link for more information. . Since its founding, various related Wiccan traditions have evolved, the original being Gardnerian Wicca Gardnerian Wicca is a path of Wicca named after Gerald Gardner (1884-1964), a British civil servant who studied magic among other things. He knew and worked with many famous occultists, not the least of which was Aleister Crowley (1875-1947). After his retirement Gardner moved to Christchurch near the New Forest on the south coast of England, where he says he met group of people who had preserved
..... Click the link for more information. , which is the name of the tradition that follows the specific beliefs and practices established by Gerald Gardner.

The history of Wicca is a much debated topic. Gardner claimed that the religion was a survival of matriarchal religions of pre-historic Europe

For the band of the same name, see Europe (band).

Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and to the east by the Ural Mountains.

In terms of area, Europe is the world's second smallest continent, with an area of 10,400,000 km² (4,000,000 square miles), making it slightly larger than Australia.
..... Click the link for more information. (see Volva The völva, vala, wala (Old High German), seiðkona, or wicce was a female shaman in Norse mythology, and among the Germanic peoples. They practiced the seid (shamanism), which was regarded as unmanly. Also associated with them were incantations called galdra (see also the A-S quote below).

Examples of völva in Norse literature include the seeress Heidi (alt. Heith) in Voluspa and the witch Groa in the Svipdagsmál. The word witch is the modern form of wicce.
..... Click the link for more information. ), taught to him by a woman named Dorothy Clutterbuck Dorothy Clutterbuck (Jan 19 1880 - Jan 12 1951) , also known as "Old Dorothy," was a well-to-do woman who lived near Christchurch, England, whom Gerald Gardner claimed had initiated him into witchcraft.

Clutterbuck was born in India, the daughter of an army captain. After his retirement, she appears to have moved back to England with with her father and lived with him in the Christchurch area of the New Forest. After his death she continued to live in the same house alone, but at the age of 55 she married Rupert Fordham. To all outward appearence Mrs Fordham was respectable and conservative member of the local community.
..... Click the link for more information. . Many believe he invented it himself, following the thesis of Dr. Margaret Murray Margaret Alice Murray (1863-1963) was an early British twentieth century Egyptologist of considerable international reputation. Her contributions to Egyptology and promoting the study of folklore have stood the test of time, but she is now best known for her theories of a pan-European, Pre-Christian pagan religion. Through these popular ideas she was partially responsible for the creation of Wicca and neopaganism. However, her reputation in academic circles as a witchcraft historian is extremely low because of her proven tendency to distort evidence in pursuit of her theory.
..... Click the link for more information. and sources such as Aradia: Gospel of the Witches by Charles Godfrey Leland, and the practices of Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. Its members are joined together by shared ideals, of both a moral and metaphysical nature, and, in most of its branches, by a common belief in a Supreme Being. Freemasonry is an esoteric art, in that certain aspects of its internal work are not generally revealed to the public. Masons give numerous reasons for this, one of which is that Freemasonry uses an initiatory system of degrees to explore ethical and philosophical issues, and this system is less effective if the observer knows beforehand what will happen. It often calls itself "a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."
..... Click the link for more information. and ceremonial magic Ceremonial magic is a branch of magick inspired largely by Hermeticism and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It includes, but is not limited to, Goetic magick, Enochian Magic, tarot, astrology, grimoire magick and qabalah.

..... Click the link for more information. ; and while Clutterbuck certainly existed, historian Ronald Hutton Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol and is a frequent commentator on British television and radio on his areas of expertise.

Hutton's areas of specialisation include the history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially on the Reformation, Civil Wars, Restoration and Charles II. He has also written books on ancient and medieval paganism and magic, and on the global context of witchcraft beliefs and shamanism.
..... Click the link for more information. concluded that she is unlikely to have been involved in Gardner's Craft activities. There is good evidence, however, that while the ritual side of Wicca is undeniably styled after late Victorian era The Victorian Era of Great Britain is considered the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. It is often defined as the years from 1837 to 1901, when Queen Victoria reigned, though many historians consider the passage of the Reform Act of 1832 to mark the true inception of a new cultural era. The Victorian era was preceded by the Georgian era and came before the Edwardian period.
..... Click the link for more information. occultism, the spiritual side is inspired by the old Pagan faiths, with Buddhist Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit; in Pāli, Siddhattha Gotama), who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan.

Buddhism teaches followers to perform good and wholesome actions, to avoid bad and harmful actions, and to purify and train the mind. The aim of these practices is to awaken the practitioner to the realization of anatta (the absence of a permanent or substantial self) and achieve enlightenment. Enlightenment leads to Nirvana (Sanskrit: "extinguishment").
..... Click the link for more information. and Hindu This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinduism (सनातन धर्म; Sanātana Dharma, roughly Perennial Faith) is generally considered to be the oldest major world religion still practised today and first among Dharma faiths. Hinduism is characterized by a diverse array of belief systems, practices and scriptures. It has its origin in ancient Vedic culture at least as far back as 2000 BC. It is the third largest religion with approximately 1.05 billion followers worldwide, 96% of whom live in the Indian subcontinent.
..... Click the link for more information. influences.

Gardner possibly had access to few traditional Pagan rites and the prevailing theory is that most of his rites were the result of his adapting the works of Aleister Crowley. Note, for example, the similarity between the Wiccan Rede "An it harm none, do what ye will" and Crowley's Thelemic "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law, Love is the law, love under will."

The idea of primitive matriarchal religions, deriving ultimately from studies by Johann Jakob Bachofen, was popular in Gardner's day, both among academics (e.g., Erich Neumann, Margaret Murray) and amateurs such as Robert Graves. Later academics (e.g. Carl Jung and Marija Gimbutas) continued research in this area, and later still Joseph Campbell, Ashley Montagu and others highly esteemed Gimbutas's work on the matrifocal cultures of Old Europe, but since her death her interpretation of the archaeological record has been called into question, and her theories of universal female deity are no longer considered credible in the mainstream. Some academics carry on research in this area (consider the 2003 World Congress on Matriarchal Studies), and many amateurs are enthusiastic about it, but most academics hold serious reservations.

It is important to the understanding of Wicca to realize that while Wicca as we understand it is modern, both the practice of magick and the worship of a Mother Goddess and a God or Horned God are ancient. It would be fair to say Gardner merely took the idea and ran with it. His claims that Wicca was the "Old Religion" are false, and probably has hindered, rather than helped, Wicca gain widespread acceptance.