A Very Brief Background to Modern Wicca

By Boudica

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Wicca was started by "Ol' Gerald" back in the late1930s or early 1940s.  Gerald Gardner was a world traveler, and had seen many different spiritualities and religions.   Coming back to England, he put together a new kind of religion, building his tradition on what was already in place in England... witchcraft.   He added to that some of what he had experienced in his travels and put in additional materials that he got from Golden Dawn, Freemasonry and OTO material from Aleister Crowley.  I am not going to debate who provided what; it is not necessary to do that.   Know only that there was a lot of adapting going on.  Much of that material was re-written by many of Gardner's HPSs, giving it a softer appeal and a more Goddess form to the material.

After all the books were written, and all the paperwork was done and all the wheels were set into motion, the practice became known as British Traditional Witchcraft (BTW). Not Wicca. Wici, wicci, wica, wicca   (various spellings) is either an Anglo Saxon word or an OE word (depending on what dictionary or who you speak to) that means witch.  Ol' Gerald used that word to describe his practitioners. The English do use the word interchangeably for what they are called, and yes, they do use the word wicca for witch.

When the practice was brought here to the states, the word "Wicca" caught on as a descriptive word for the practice.  Raymond Buckland brought over his version, Seax Wicca, we have some Gardnarian and some Alexandrian and some other traditions all making their way to the States.

Enter the Frosts. Gavin had the right idea. If it is a religion, it should be registered as a religion.  Gavin was making his own religion. If you look past his sorcery courses, his form of "wicca" is no where near anything the English were practicing.  BUT, and this is the big but here, he was the one who thought of registering it.  He applied to the IRS for a 501c3 for his version of "Wicca".  And he got it.  See, the word "Wicca" was a popular word at that time for the practices.   Here in the US, we can copyright or register whatever we want. It then becomes "ours".  This is what happened.  The Frosts registered it, and the IRS gave it to them.  It was granted.  It became: if you wanted to register a Church of Wicca, you had to be affiliated with the Frosts.

All the brew hahahaha aside, this is how the American version got to be called Wicca, which has evolved in a completely different path than the BTW.  

Up to this point, the practice is limited to small, exclusive groups. The linage is pure, passed on by fully accredited members. Private club, only if you know someone can you play.

This was the first "WitchWar" - over the name. Nasty, nasty, all over. Took a plethora of lawyers to sort that one out, while Gavin sat and held high court handing out affiliations only to those who played up to him.

It got straightened out.  Dr. Leo Martello is a name some may recognize as one of the major movers and shakers who moved a few mountains to get this all straightened out. There were others and you will forgive me if I do not put all the names here.  But they got it worked out, got the restrictions removed and we have a very different beastie than the English do when it comes to Wicca. Wiccan became a generic term, covering all forms of the practice here; a Spirituality overlaid on a magical practice

We also have the US declaration of Wicca Independence, in 1974, the "American Council of Witches and the 13 Principles of Witchcraft".   This started out as a publicity stunt for a well known publishing house and ended up in Playboy Magazine (July 1974). Attendance at this particular "Witchfest" did include many well known writers and group leaders.   This was the point at which American Wicca took an official turn away from its British roots and becomes a religion unto itself.  While the Principles today are no more than a footnote, there are many who, at that time, considered it worth noting.

The magical practices here in the US are varied. It became popular to include whatever magical practices were at hand to be put into the mix. We venture now past the English Craft and start including native and African practices, Island practices, American folk magic, pow-wow magic and more.  We have many practitioners who now take Wicca to be a spirituality overlaid on a magical practice.

Scott Cunningham then took it one step further. Again, to this point, we have organizations. But, lets face it... most of us are not interested in organizations.  Because the spirituality part puts us into direct connection with our Gods and Goddesses. Wicca has no "go between". Doreen Valiente realized this. She spoke of it in her books. She also spoke of how one day everyone should be allowed access to the old Gods, not just the few.

Cunningham ran with that. Out of the covens and into Solitary Practice. Wicca changes again. It evolved into another form. No church needed, no structure required. We can learn to practice the spirituality on our own. Simple magic, personal spirituality.

It continues to evolve. Slowly. Many of us are members of small local grass roots communities of pagans who have different spiritual beliefs, but meet together for common worship. Very open, very tolerant and very unifying. Good for a community, better for us as a society.

This is a brief look at how Wicca came into practice.  There are more stories.   There are the he said/she said materials out there.  There are folks who will disagree with what I have here, saying its too simple, not enough explanation, not true, etc. etc. etc.   Sorry, I'm not into writing a book, much of the he said/she said is so much junk and I am looking at the KISS principle here.  What do we REALLY need to know, vs. all the other stuff – the drama, the gossip, the petty arguments and ego trips.   This is the basics.  Anyone wanting further info can talk to some of the people who were there, or find a few choice books that may, or may not, tell you all about how it came to be.   This is how I remember it, and how many folks I have spoken with over the years will tell you – basically – how it went.  I've left out the rest simply because it's not important.   Wicca is…