Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: ba@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (B.A. Davis-Howe)
Subject: Re: FAQ: Origins of Witchcraft; Crowley and Gardner?
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 22:47:52 GMT

This is my best analysis, but I'm not omniscient.

Wicca was invented by Gerald Gardner (and possibly some other folks),
probably around fall equinox 1939.  The seed of inspiration for this
invention was Margaret Murray's books, _The Witch Cult in Western
Europe_ and _God of the Witches_.  Originally, GBGs Wicca was focussed
on a male God of Death, etc., per Murray.  However, GBG also had a
strong inclination toward a Goddess figure (maybe he found a Goddess
easier to relate to?) so he created a duo-theistic symbolism, using
some of the sexual imagery he had learned from being ninth degree
OTO.  (Actually, he got the degrees by buying an OTO charter and a
copy of the rituals from Crowley during Crowley's last year.)  The
other source GBG used for the rituals was the _Greater Key of
Solomon_, which he used for the basic circle casting, though he
gradually paganised the language.

In 1953, GBG initiated Doreen Valiente, who soon began rewriting
substantial parts of the Book of Shadows.  She was influenced by
Robert Graves' _The White Goddess_, and that became the fundamental
theology of Wicca for a few decades.  As far as I can tell, it is
still the fundamental theology for all of Gardnerian Wicca (including
the Alexandrians).  Valiente, who had read some of Crowley's published
work, intentionally replaced the parts of the BoS that were taken from
Crowley.  (Well, most of them...there are still a couple quotes she
left in place.)

Please note that this analysis is grossly the same as Kelly's in
_Crafting the Art of Magic_, but without the histrionics about
scourging.  However, I'm not just accepting Kelly's analysis.  This is
also based on Valiente's own statements about her role as well as some
reading of Crowley, Murray, the _Oxford English Dictionary_, etc.