Gerald Brousseau Gardner: Wiccan Religion
INTRODUCTION
“It has been said by a thoughtful writer that the subject of witchcraft has hardly received that place which it deserves in the history of opinions.” (Notestein) Contrary to popular belief, Witchcraft is far more than mischief made by Sabrina the Teenage Witch or the hexes and curses made by the unappealing Hocus Pocus Coven. Witchcraft or Wicca, as they are generally used interchangeably, is a branch of paganism, a “Nature based magical religion and practice.” (Moura 39) After the European Witch Trials, those of the Wiccan faith hid themselves from the religious officials ready to burn them at the stake at any time. It was only after occultist and author Gerald Brousseau Gardner stayed with a local Coven that the ancient practices of the Wiccan religion came back to light, hailing him as the Father of Modern Wicca. With many of his carefully crafted novels, most notably Witchcraft Today and The Meaning of Witchcraft, Gardner was able to expand the Wiccan religion to the massive following that it receives today.
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
“Gardner was born in 1884, and spent a great deal of his childhood, and most of his working adult life, overseas.” (Phillips) He was the third son of William and Louise Gardner who lived in Lancashire, England. Because of his asthma and
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In Malaya, under the tutelage of a man named Cornwall, Gardner learned the magical practices of the Malayan people, which further influenced him when he returned to England in 1927 to take care of his ailing father. While there, he looked further into spiritualism and mediumship, being read by several mediums and attending multiple
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