The Wonderful World of Wicca Before there was more than a rudimentary written language, there was a belief "in a multitude of gods" (Buckland 1). These spirits were connected to the world around us and given physical representations, most often as animals, but also parts of the natural terrain, such as streams and the wind blowing through the trees. The origins of Wicca have been traced as far back as 25,000 years ago to the Paleolithic era by the late Dr. Margaret Murray (Buckland 1). A popular and widely published NeoPagan, Starhawk, is quoted in Dennis Carpenter’s Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft as saying "the Goddess religion is unimaginably old" (48). Of course, most people are at least vaguely aware that Wicca, or Witchcraft, was nearly destroyed as a religion by persecution of individuals suspected, rightly or wrongly, of being a witch during what is commonly referred to among Wiccans as the "Burning Times." The Salem witch trials come to mind as the most infamous era in witchcraft. It was during these years that witchcraft went into hiding. Until this time, Witchcraft was "a purely oral tradition. It was not until the persecutions, …with the loss of intercommunication, that anything was put into writing" (Buckland 7).Laws against Witchcraft existed until England, in 1951, repealed the last laws against it. Then, in 1954, Dr. Gerald Gardner proclaimed himself a Witch with this statement in his book Witchcraft Today: "Witchcraft was a religion and in fact it still is. I know, because I am a Witch myself" (Buckland 6). Gardner soon learned of many other witches practicing underground throughout Europe.Today, Wicca, although not widely accepted, is not feared and hated as it once was. In fact, Peter A. Clayton remarks that "Paganism . . . is making a comeback [through the media bringing it to our attention]" (par 1), and Charles Colson reinforces Clayton with the statement that "Given the nature o...
