Witchcraft in the Ancient World
Where did witchcraft originate?
Witchcraft has no single origin. Practices modern witches draw on, such as charms, herbal healing, divination and invoking deities, appear in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, and in the folk traditions of almost every culture.
In these societies, magic was often woven into religion and medicine. Priests and priestesses performed rites for healing, fertility and protection. Harmful magic was feared and sometimes punished, but helpful magic was a normal part of life.
From Healer to Heretic
As Christianity became dominant in Europe, older pagan customs were absorbed, tolerated or condemned. In the fifteenth century, theologians began describing witches as members of a diabolical sect. The Malleus Maleficarum, a witch hunting manual written by the Dominican inquisitor Heinrich Kramer in 1486, helped spread that idea.
Between roughly 1450 and 1750, tens of thousands of people were executed for witchcraft, most of them women. Meanwhile, ordinary folk magic carried on quietly through cunning folk, healers and family traditions of herb lore and charms.
The Modern Revival Timeline
| Year | Moment |
|---|---|
| 1921 | Margaret Murray argues the witches of the trials were a surviving pagan cult. Historians later rejected her theory, but it inspired the revival. |
| 1951 | England repeals the Witchcraft Act of 1735. |
| 1954 | Gerald Gardner publishes Witchcraft Today, and Gardnerian Wicca spreads. |
| 1950s and 1960s | Doreen Valiente shapes much of Wicca's liturgy; Alexandrian Wicca follows. |
| 1970s | Feminist and Goddess centred witchcraft grows; The Spiral Dance appears in 1979. |
| 1988 | Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner makes self initiation mainstream. |
| 2000s to today | The internet and social media make witchcraft open, eclectic and global. |
Witchcraft in Australia
Australian witches face a challenge their northern counterparts do not: the seasons are reversed. Many practitioners here turn the Wheel of the Year to match the Southern Hemisphere, celebrating Samhain in late April or early May and Beltane around the end of October. Read our guide to the Wheel of the Year for both hemispheres.
The Witch Today
Modern witchcraft is diverse. Some witches follow Wicca; many more are eclectic or solitary, building practice from herbalism, tarot, astrology, moon work, deity devotion or green witchcraft. For many it is about self empowerment, connection to nature and reclaiming a word once used to harm.
Witchcraft, Wicca and paganism
Wicca is one specific religion within modern paganism. Witchcraft is a practice that people of many beliefs follow, and not every witch is Wiccan or pagan. See paganism and witchcraft for the differences.
Witchcraft History Questions Answered
Who started modern witchcraft?
Gerald Gardner is usually credited with founding modern Wicca after publishing Witchcraft Today in 1954. Doreen Valiente, Alex and Maxine Sanders and many others shaped it further.
What was the Malleus Maleficarum?
It was a fifteenth century treatise by Heinrich Kramer that described witches as a threat to Christianity and set out how to identify and prosecute them. It was widely reprinted during the witch hunts.
Is witchcraft a religion?
Witchcraft itself is a practice. Wicca is a religion that includes witchcraft, but many witches are not religious at all, and others combine witchcraft with different beliefs.
Begin or Deepen Your Practice
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