G  R  I  M  O  I  R  E 

The History of Witchcraft

Witchcraft is thought to have begun way back in Paleolithic times or about twenty-five thousand years ago. The people of that time were polytheistic and forces of nature were thought to be controlled by the gods.
The most important gods were thought to be the God of Hunting (as the name suggests controlled success within the hunt) and the Goddess of Fertility (controlled fertility of game and the people). Rituals known as sympathetic magic were engaged in as offerings to these two gods to inspire them to act favorably to the people. As time went on, the aforementioned gods would grow more importance, and the others would fade into the background.
Use of different rituals led to a need for the priesthood, as there were some individuals more skilled at getting results than others. These priests and priestesses would serve as advisors to Anglo-Saxon kings. Those in the priesthood were thought to be the intermediaries between god and man.
It is around this time we begin to see the rise of Christianity. We are often taught that masses of people convert practically overnight, however that is not the case. It was common practice to refer to entire countries as Christina when in reality only the ruler was practicing the faith. Attempts were made at mass conversions, but it was near impossible to eradicate the faith people had been following for years. People could be forced to attend churches, but the people developed ways to incorporate their own practices.
In the early days of Chrisitnaity, efforts were made to demonize other religions in order to eliminate them. Pagans were referred to as primitive and as devil-worshippers. Claims were made that those who practiced witchcraft caused famine and attacked the fertility of women and cattle.
In 1486, The Witches’ Hammer (Malleus Maleficarum) would be published giving instruction on how to identify, hunt, and reverse the curses of witches. This book would create a frenzy and for three hundred years suspected witches were persecuted in the name of the book’s authors.
In 1604, King James passed the Witchcraft Act which was then repealed in 1736. It was declared that witchcraft was not real, and anyone who claimed to do witchcraft could be charged with fraud. Naturally, all surviving practitioners took their practices underground. Traditions were passed through covens and via familial lines.
Witchcraft remained a largely underground practice until around 1921 when Dr. Margaret Alice Murray gave witchcraft a more favorable write up in her work The Witch Cult In Western Europe. While not entirely accurate, it served to clear some of the misconceptions put out during the times of persecution.
In 1951, the last laws against witchcraft were repealed which led to Dr. Gerald Brosseau Gardner coming forward with his writings about how witchcraft lived on. He told of how the oral tradition became a written one as religious persecution made intercommunication between covens difficult. This led to rituals being written down in a Book of Shadows that would be passed down and copied over generations. Raymond Buckland would be the American counterpart to Gardener, and would speak his own truth inspiring many other practitioners to come into the light.
Today, practitioners like myself have the privilege to practice and be publicly recognized for our practices.
Source: Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland