Gerald Gardner and the Creation of Wicca

A concise, cohesive, and highly original account of Gerald Gardner and the genesis of Wicca, as a paganised witchcraft.

John Callow (Author)

9781009713870, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 October 2025

82 pages
23.5 x 16 x 1 cm, 0.26 kg

Gerald Gardner (1884–1964) provided the central inspiration for Wicca, as a modern, revived, form of Pagan witchcraft. As such, his cultural and religious significance has grown exponentially over the 60 years since his death. 'A Rough Magic' re-evaluates the sources of Gardner's inspiration, redefines his early life within the context of colonial Malaya and the opium trade, and emphasises his vision and ability in fashioning an entirely new synthesis of magical beliefs drawn from both Eastern and Western traditions. In so doing, he stripped away the demonic elements of witchcraft and emphasised Wicca as a creative, mutable and undogmatic nature religion, serving as both fertility cult and a unique source of personal empowerment, that was capable of transforming the world.

1. The fool's journey: Gerald Gardner & the historians
2. Temperance: the magic of the tribe
3. The magician: studies in Praxis
4. The Sun & the Moon: fashioning Wicca & writing witchcraft
5. The tower: witchcraft on the Isle of man
6. The high priestess: feminising the New 'Old' Religion
7. The world: the achievement of modern paganism
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Religion: general [HRA]