In the 1930's people became interested in the old ways once more and Glastobury became a sanctury for those that wished to get in touch with their own roots. But it wasn't until 1951 that the rules of persecuting a witch was dropped out in the law.
It was around the 1950's that a man named Gerald Gardner established his own coven and wrote his first book on Witchcraft called 'Witchcraft Today' in 1954.
Gerald Gardner was born an heredity witch in Liverpool, June 13th, 1884. His family was of Scottish decent and an ancestor of his called Grissell Gardner was burnt at the stake as a witch in 1610.
Before World War II, Gardner met some people in England who introduced him to witchcraft in the new forest region. In 1939 Gardner was initiated into a coven of witches by a high priestess called Old Dorothy Clutterbuck.
In 1951 after the law against witchcraft was dropped, he formed his own coven called the Gardnerian coven. At this time on the Isle of Man there was a museum of magic and Witchcraft which had been established by Cecil Williamson and housed in a 400 yera old craft farmhouse. Gardner brought this museum.
In 1953, Gardner initiated Doreen Valiante into his coven, she had been practicing magic since she was 13. Gardner and Valiante worked together creating the Gardnerian Book of Shadows between 1954 and 1957, which is the foundation of modern wicca practices and ethics.
Gardner felt that one of his missions in life was to attarct younger people to the Craft, unfortunately for him, he died before he could see fully what he managed to achieve. Thanks to Gardner and Doreen Valiante for her contributions to the Gardenerian B.O.S the wiccan religion has grown in popularity over the years and still continues to do so, across the world.
Sources used from:
Various resources, books, multemedia encyclopedias and History of Witchcraft by Nancy- great internet site.
