How did Wicca begin? Gerald B. Gardner (1884-1964), a British civil servant and amateur archaeologist, is credited with founding contemporary witchcraft. Having learned magic in Southern Asia, he became involved in the occult upon his return to England in 1939. He met influential witches at a Theosophical group, but evidence suggests he combined Asian magic with Western texts to invent a new religion with worship of the Mother Goddess at its vortex. His ritual, and an offshoot version fashioned by breakaway initiate Alexander Sanders, spread across North America in the 1960s.
Who are major figures behind Wicca? Sybil Leek came to the United States from England in 1966 and established independent covens in Ohio and Massachusetts. Self-described pagans eager to avoid the "witch" designation but equally devoted to the Great Mother Goddess were Fred Adams, Donna Cole, and Ed Fitch, soon dubbed "neopagans." They designed new rituals, and by 1980 a hodgepodge of Wiccan and neopagan groups had emerged. The largest Witchcraft-Pagan organization is the Church of Circle Wicca, based in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, and founded in 1975 by Selena Fox and Jim Alan. Sources: • J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America (Garland Publishing Inc., 1986)
When did Wicca Begin ?
Who are major figures Behind Wicca ?