Although Gardner had an interest in the occult, he had little opportunity to explore it, other than through the Masonic Lodges that existed in the larger colonial towns. He conducted private research on spiritualism, (about which he was skeptical) when he was on leave in England. After his retirement, he returned to England shortly before the Second World War and began to better explore the Occult and its various facets. It was in this context that he encountered and claimed to have been initiated into a secret group that called themselves the Wica in autumn 1939. He found Witchcraft to be a beautiful, deep, and meaningful religious path. Thereafter, he dedicated his life and resources to preserving and promoting Witchcraft, which he feared was a religion on the verge of extinction. During his retirement, he ran a Museum of Magick and Witchcraft on the Isle of Man.
What is now
known as Wicca is the religious Tradition invented by Gerald Gardner and
his initiates, largely as it was passed on from this alleged coven.
As a tradition which has been visible for only about 50 years, Wicca's roots are those of the
oldest traditions of the current Neo-Pagan revival,
and has a clear and defined history.
Many elements of Gardnerian practice and liturgy are ancestral to other traditions of Witchcraft and Magick, partly through Gardner’s influential books on the Craft. In other words, he was truly an eclectic, taking bits and pieces of many other Pagan traditions and using them to form the tenents of Wicca. Nonetheless [at the time of this writing], Gardnerians are among the most widespread of Wiccan traditions around the world.
A Gardnerian is a person who has had a Gardnerian initiation administered by someone empowered to do so in a line of descent tracing an unbroken lineage of initiations and elevations back to Gerald Gardner, utilizing a particular and consistent body of teaching and liturgy. Unfortunately, Gardner's initiation itself is impossible to prove, confirm or deny, as the elusive Mrs. Clutterbuck who was supposedly the Witch who initiated Gardner, was never found. The only confirmation one can find is that Raymond Buckland also claims to have been initiated by this elusive personality.
Gardnerians have the reputation of being serious and secretive. This is because the "real and true" details of Wiccan practice, like the Mysteries of Antiquity, are protected by Oath, and may not be revealed to non-initiates. Therefore, you will not learn true, Gardnerian Wicca from any book, for in the writing of said book, the author would betray a solemn oath to those Deities he/she holds dear. You will only get someone else's version of it.
A high level of commitment is required and expected of students. Practices common to Gardnerian covens are possessory workings called Drawing Down the Moon (or Sun), studying and preserving the Book of Shadows, and cultivating relationships with Deities sacred to this tradition. Wicca follows a lengthy course of study, involving Magical practice, oaths of secrecy, the memorization of traditional scripts, and more. Successful Wiccan Elders complete three degrees of initiation and elevation, after which they may “hive off” to form independent daughter covens in a continuous lineage. In this way, Gardnerians are preservers of the 50-year-old Wiccan heritage.
To Witches of other traditions, this emphasis on preservation and memorization is sometimes characterized as “stuffy.” In fact, a wide variety of viewpoints exist on many topics among Gardnerians and off-shoot Wiccans alike, and debate and discussion is quite active.
There is no central authority in Gardnerian Witchcraft; each Coven is
autonomous. Therefore, even Gerald Gardner's concoction of Paganism has further
mutated and evolved; each branch of Wicca adding and leaving out their choice of points.
Most Gardnerians, however, view that practice as "traditional," in the context of a large
extended family.
New seekers on the Pagan path are advised to seek traditions and people with whom they feel kinship and trust. Each tradition has a unique quality, and there are many paths of Gerald Gardner's version of Witchcraft, but there are thousands that have nothing at all to do with Wicca. May you find your kin.
Also please remember that when reading books on Wicca, the word Wicca can most times be replaced by the word Magick or Witchcraft and will lend more truth to the passage, as Wicca was based on the Oldest Traditions of Northern Europe.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Crowley, Vivianne: Wicca: The Old Religion In The New Age (1989: The Aquarian Press)Crowther, Patricia: One Witch’s World (1998: Robert Hale)
Gardner, Gerald: Witchcraft Today (1954: Rider, 1982: Magickal Childe)
Gardner, Gerald: The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959: Aquarian Press, 1982: Magickal Childe )
Valiente, Doreen: An ABC of Witchcraft, Past and Present (1973: St. Martin’s Press)
Valiente, Doreen: The Rebirth of Witchcraft (1989: Robert Hale and Phoenix Publishing)
