Gerald Gardner

The founder of Wicca

A week ago. I made my first trip to a Wiccan store that had recently opened in my city. When I walked in, I was amazed at how many books, games, tarot cards, and other things were available. I ended up buying a book titled The New Witch by Marie D Jones. Also watched a documentary on Wicca And its founder Gerald Gardner. Let me be clear witchcraft has been around for thousands of years in one form or another, but the Wiccan religion was founded in the mid-1950s. 

Gerald Brosseau Gardener was born June 13th, 1884. In Blundellsands, Lancashire, England to an upper-middle-class family. He was the third of four children. He was raised by the family nursemaid named Josephine “Com” McCombie. As a child, Gardener suffered from severe asthma which was made worse by the extreme cold Lancashire winters. fearing for his health his parents paid for Josephine to take young Gerald to warmer climates. 

Josephine took Gerald to Nice, in southern France. After staying for two winters, they went to the Canary Islands, where he began his lifelong interest in weaponry. They would spend most of the next nine years on The Island of Funchal (The Portuguese colony of Madeira). According to Gardner’s first biographer Jack Bracelin, Church Sophine was “very flirtatious, and clearly looked on these trips as mainly manhunts.” 

As a result, Gardner was often left unsupervised and allowed to go out on his own and meet people from different cultures. Gardner never attended school or had a formal education. Nevertheless, Gardner taught himself to read by looking at copies of Strand Magazine. His writing throughout his life reflected his poor education with highly eccentric spelling and grammar.  

Throughout his young life, Gardner worked on Tea and Rubber Plantations in Ceylon, Borneo, and Malaya. He also worked a few jobs in the British civil service. While traveling, Gardner began to study the spiritual practices of the indigenous people he met. His Family's wealth increased due to his father's Investment in the Timber Trade. 

Throughout his teenage years, Gartner continued to travel. Through different parts of Southeast Asia. Despite his youth and lack of education, he was a well-traveled, highly intelligent, young man who loved to read. As he got older, Gardner began to take an interest in the occult, but it would take years before he would become involved in witchcraft. In 1927, Gardner came to visit his father, who was ill with dementia. It was at this time that he began an interest in spiritualism and medianism. According to Jack Bracelin, Gardner became a firm believer after a medium apparently contacted his dead cousin. The very same evening, July 28th, 1927, Gardner met his future wife, Dorothea Francis Rosedale. He would wait a full 24 hours before asking her to marry her, to which she agreed. They would travel around Southeast Asia until the mid-1930s. 

After his father passed away in 1935, Gardner inherited a vast sum of money, allowing him to retire. Although he wanted to stay in Southeast Asia, his wife wanted to return to Britain. Once again, the cold climate began to make him sick. As a result, his doctor recommended he try nudism (interesting Doctor) Gardner began to visit several nudist clubs, some of these people also believed in witchcraft as well. Believing that nudity could cure his ailment, he created the New Forest coven.  

In an interview, Gardner stated that his first experience with witchcraft involved him being blindfolded and lured into a room. He was pushed into a ceremonial circle where he could hear the whispering “Wicca”, which was derived from the Scots-English meaning “wise people”. At this time, he believed in Margaret Murray, an Egyptologist, that the victims of witch hunts were adherents of a pre-Christian Pagan religion that worshipped A horned God that Christians identified as Satan. It's important to note that most Wiccans don't believe in Margaret Murray's theory. This was the beginning of the modern Wiccan religion.  

In 1940, Gardner and his coven went into the Forest intending to produce a “cone of power” to ward off the potential Nazi invasion. According to Gardner, “a great circle was erected at night, with a great cone of power, a form of magical energy, being raised and sent to Berlin with the command You cannot cross the sea, you cannot cross the sea, you cannot come, you cannot come.” Although they bombed Britain, The Nazis never invaded. Gardner and his coven believed it was the result of their spell. Many others believed it was the result of the British Royal Air Force and the Navy. I believe in the latter 

Even though witchcraft was illegal in England at the time, Gardner spent the 1940s studying Paganism., Druidism, and Occultism, as well as witchcraft. In 1946, Gardner joined the ancient Druid order and attended its annual Midsummer rituals at Stonehenge. In 1947 he was introduced to Aleister Crowley, a famous Occultist, Magician, and founder of the religion known as “Thelema”. Before his death, Crowley elevated Gardner to the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.)  

Due to his massive wealth, Gardner and his wife were able to travel around Europe and to the United States, where he continued to promote Wicca. While traveling to the United States from November 1947, to 1948 Gardner visited relatives in Memphis and he went to New Orleans where he studied voodoo. In 1951, Gardner and Cecil Williamson created a witchcraft museum called the Folklore Center of Superstition and Witchcraft, in Castle Town, on the Isle of Man. Gardner took up the position of resident witch. In a July 29^th interview with the Sunday Pictorial, Gardner declared, “Of course, I'm A witch. And I get great fun out of it.” 

In 1952, Gardner met Doreen Valente, who would become a famous Wiccan author herself. Valente joined the brick wood coven, where she became a high priestess. Puente also helped Gardner with his famous Book of Shadows. Valiente also helped Gardener publish Witchcraft Today, a nonfiction that continued to support Margaret Murray's theory. Gardner also put forth a theory that the Knights Templar had also been initiates of witchcraft.  

Throughout the 1950s, Gardner continued to do lots of interviews that gained a lot of publicity. For the Wicca religion. A lot of the publicity wasn't good, however. Up until 1951, the Witchcraft and Vagrancy Act. (1735) Outlawed any form of witchcraft punishable by death. It is not to say that suspected witches were executed in the 20th century, but some were arrested. 

At this time, witchcraft was associated with devil worship. This isn't true now, nor has it ever been. Witches believe in many different gods. None of them is an evil guy with a pitchfork. In one of the many interviews, Gardner was asked about devil worship. He replied “If I were to disclose all the rituals, I think it would be easy to prove that witches are not diabolists.; But the oaths are solemn, and the witches are my friends. I would not want to hurt their feelings. They have secrets which to them are sacred. They have a good reasons for their secrecy.” 

Regardless of the negative publicity, Garner continued Doing interviews. Not everyone in the covens around him agreed with his actions. Some people thought that the wicked movement should be secret and that he was just doing this for his own ego. Good. This was the first time. In the 20th century, someone had publicly admitted to being a witch. He did this on the national news as well as on the BBC. Gardner believed publicity was necessary to help more people become interested in witchcraft. 

In 1960, Gardner's wife, Donna died. At this time, Gardner's asthma was also taking a huge toll on his health. On February 12th, 1964, Gardner suffered A fatal heart attack while returning home from a trip to Lebanon. He was 79. He was buried in Tunisia. It's still years after his death. A Wiccan High priestess named Eleanor Boone had Garner's grave moved to another cemetery in Tunis. Where it? Names Today. In 2007, a new plaque was attached to his grave. It read “father of modern Wicca. Beloved of the Great Goddess.” 

To call Gerald Gardner the father of witchcraft. Would be grossly inaccurate. Good. As I said before, witchcraft has been practiced long before Christianity, Islam or Judaism. Wicca or Wiccanism is an interwoven belief of Paganism (which covers a hell of a lot of different beliefs on its own) Druidism, Occultism, and many others. Today it is believed that Wiccanism has between 100 and 800,000 members, divided into many different covens with their own subset of traditions. 

Not all people who practice witchcraft are Wiccans. Unlike the Abrahamic religions, Wiccanism does not have a Dogmatic need to force its ways on others. Some of the common themes with witchcraft and wiccanism are love for our planet, and a balance between Masculine and Feminine energy. It does have a strong feminist following, probably due to its respect for female deities, as well as not having a long history of oppression towards women. That’s not to say that they don’t have a lot of men as well. Contrary to what Hollywood shows? Male witches are not called warlocks, they’re simply witches. 

A world of Witchcraft is a tolerant world, where all are welcome. Our planet could use more of that.