The Meaning of Witchcraft (Weiser Classics Series)

338 Pages·2022·7.638 MB·English

by  Gerald B. Gardner

Those of us who use the word witch with all of the pride
and fortifi cation that it offers us do so thanks to Gardner’s
lucid, liberating vision.
—Pam Grossman
G
erald Gardner is oft en called the father of modern witchcraft . His life
and works were groundbreaking in opening the door for the modern
revival of Wicca and Neopaganism. Th e Meaning of Witchcraft  (orig-
inally published in 1959) was the fi rst sympathetic book writt en from the
point of view of a practicing witch.
“Th e foundation of magical beliefs,” Gardner wrote, “of which witchcraft
is a form, is that unseen Powers exist, and that by performing the right sort of
ritual, these Powers can be contacted and either forced or persuaded to assist
one in some way. People believed this in the Stone Age, and they believe it,
consciously or not, today. It is now well known that most superstition is, in
fact, a broken-down ritual. Th e meaning of witchcraft is to be found not in
strange religious theories about God and Satan, but in the deepest levels of
the human mind, the collective unconscious, and the earliest developments
of human society.”
Th e Meaning of Witchcraft  is an enduring and invaluable sourcebook for
witches today. Th is Weiser Classics edition includes a new foreword by Pam
Grossman, author of Waking the Witch. In it, Grossman revisits Gardner’s
historical role and mixed legacy in the revival of witchcraft and magic in
modern times.
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884–1964) was instrumental in bringing
the contemporary Pagan religion of Wicca to public att ention, writing some
of its defi nitive religious texts. He introduced a string of High Priestesses into
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The Weiser Classics series off ers essential works from
renowned authors and spiritual teachers, foundational texts,
as well as introductory guides on an array of topics writt en by
contemporary authors. Th e series represents the full range
of subjects and genres that have been part of Weiser’s over
sixty-year-long publishing program—from divination and
magick to alchemy and occult philosophy. Each volume in
the series will whenever possible include new material from its
author or a contributor and other valuable additions
and will be printed and produced using acid-free paper
in a durable paperback binding
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This edition first published in 2022 by Weiser Books, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, llc
With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
Foreword copyright © 2022 by Pam Grossman
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
Red Wheel/Weiser, llc. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Originally published in
the U.K. in 1959 by Aquarian, London. Previously published in 2004 as The Meaning of
Witchcraft by Weiser Books, ISBN: 978-1-57863-309-8.
This new Weiser Classics edition includes a new foreword by Pam Grossman.
ISBN: 978-1-57863-789-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.
Series Editors
Mike Conlon, Production Director, Red Wheel/Weiser Books
Judika Illes, Editor-at-Large, Weiser Books
Peter Turner, Associate Publisher, Weiser Books
Series Design
Kathryn Sky-Peck, Creative Director, Red Wheel/Weiser
Printed in the United States of America
IBI
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Foreword, by Pam Grossman ........................ix
Chapter I. The Witch Cult in Britain ........................... 1
Chapter II. Witches’ Memories and Beliefs .....................19
Chapter III. The Stone Age Origins of Witchcraft ................37
Chapter IV. Some Religious Ideas of Early Britain ...............49
Chapter V. Druidism and the Aryan Celts ......................71
Chapter VI. Witchcraft in Roman and Saxon Times .............85
Chapter VII. Magic Thinking ..................................101
Chapter VIII. Magic Thinking (Continued) .....................117
Chapter IX. Why? ...........................................133
Chapter X. Curious Beliefs about Witches ....................155
Chapter XI. Who Were the Gods of Britain? ...................165
Chapter XII. Signs and Symbols ...............................183
Chapter XIII. The Black Mass ..................................197
Chapter XIV. Some Allegations Examined, Part I ................229
Chapter XV. Some Allegations Examined, Part II ...............245
Chapter XVI. Some Allegations Examined, Part III ..............251
Chapter XVII. The Future .......................................281
Appendix I. The Magical Legend of the Witches ................289
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Appendix II. The Stedingers ...................................291
Appendix III. Significant Dates in the History of the Witch Cult,
with Special Reference to Britain ..................295
Appendix IV. The Forgeries of the Canon Episcopi and the Malleus
Maleficarum .......................................305
Appendix V. ....................................................313
Bibliography .....................................315
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Foreword
T
oday, identifying as a witch is rather in vogue, as evidenced by a
proliferation of stylish occult shops, contemporary grimoires, and
bewitching social media posts. But when The Meaning of Witch-
craft was published in 1959, such developments would have been quite a
shock to its author—although, one presumes, a delightful one. Back then,
proclaiming oneself a witch was so transgressive that most witchcraft prac-
titioners kept their mystical lives secret, lest they be ostracized or perse-
cuted by those who wrongfully associated witches with diabolical doings.
In England, the practice of witchcraft was illegal until 1951. But even with
the law having been changed eight years earlier, this book’s mission was a
tall order, for it attempted to counteract centuries of negative PR against
witches by putting witchcraft in a historical context—and a better light
overall.
The history of witchcraft is a notoriously tricky thing to pin down,
as one must first parse what is meant by terms like “magic” and “witch.”
One must consider that beliefs about witches are always an amalgam of
the imaginary and the factual, because our conception of what a witch is
has largely been conjured from a combination of myth, fear, and fantasy.
Tropes of witches cavorting fiendishly under a full moon and throwing
homicidal hexes were calcified in the Early Modern Period thanks in large
part to Christian paranoia and a nascent printing revolution that rapidly
spread word (and imagery) of this supposed supernatural threat.
The witch hunts of Western Europe and, subsequently, the New
England colonies, were fatal to thousands of innocent people—primarily
women. These victims lost their lives based on a false notion, for there is
no proof that they were involved in any sort of satanic actions, nor would
most of them have ever considered themselves to be witches in any regard,
even secret ones. Up until the 19th century, the word “witch” was a nega-
tive epithet, and to self-identify as one would have been unthinkable.
ix
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