Witchcraft is considered to be one of the oldest religions dating back to Pre-historic times. Its practices were found painted on the walls of caves long before Christianity was established. Witchcraft had all but disappeared until an Englishman by the name of Gerald Gardner revived it in the 1940’s. While on a trip to Asia he became overwhelmed by magic and the worship of the Mother Goddess. In 1939 he was initiated into witchcraft by a woman named Old Dorothy Clutterbuck, the heir to the ancient tradition. When he returned to England he began a coven, and from this coven he wrote

The Goddess and God are invoked through rituals and poetry. The High Priestess, the highest ranking witch, then ‘draw down the moon’; meaning she dances, sings meditates or whatever she can do to open herself up to the divine power. The coven then raises the cone of power. Once this is done the coven then joins hands, sings and dances. When the energy is at its peak, the coven releases the power from the cone and focuses on its speed toward its destination. The raising and releasing of the cone requires a great outpouring of energy. Once the ritual is completed a period of meditation and centering follows. Next, consecrated cake and wine are passed around, man to woman, women to man, until all have received some. Once this has ended, the witches share poetry, discuss minor magic, sing, or play games, whatever is felt appropriate. The ritual is almost over when the last remaining thing to do is to break the circle. The athame is used again to cut across the circle’s circumference. Once this is done, the witches are allowed to leave and resume their normal lives.

Gardner soon became a part of many covens and spiritualist organizations. He was influenced by a man named Aleister Crowley, an earlier occultist who styled himself as “The Great Beast”. Crowley was a part of an occultist group named the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an occult that Gardner would later join. Gardner took the complicated rituals of Witchcraft and made them simpler so that ordinary people could perform them. By the 1950’s people were flocking to Mr. Gardner. In the mid-1960’s several Americans went to England and brought back the teachings of Gerald Gardner thereby forming the modern Witchcraft of today.

The sabbats are open to prospective new members and also for worship, celebration, and socializing. Their meetings may be held in private areas but when sabbats or major festivals come around, they are usually held outdoors. A typical witches meeting will begin with a gathering, or informal reception. Some of these meetings are held “skyclad’ or nude, some are held robed. Some reasons for being naked are that witches feel that being nude increases their contact with the powers of nature, while others believe that it erases class distinction and want to appear before their gods as they were born.

Today modern Witchcraft “is a variety of paganism” (Russell 157). Most witches now worship pagan deities, but this does not make all pagans witches. The term witch has changed meaning also. Now a witch is a pagan who worships gods, and practices a variety of magic. All witches worship nature and feel that their deity is a part of nature. They reject the beliefs of

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