The origins of Wicca are surrounded in mystery. Already obscured by the sands of time or swirls of mist lie the origins of Wicca. Gerald Gardner , the father of Modern Witchcraft , retired from working in the Far East and retired near New Forest. It was here that he linked up with a local group whom he called witches.His book maintained that the witch cult had been kept alive for generation being practiced in the shadow.<br /><br />Recent research by the likes of Ronald Hutton and others have found that the ancient witch cult might not be that ancient at all but rather what was witnessed was the birth of a new religion based on ancient principals. The debate is not dying out. If one were to ask author Philip Heselton is this a new religion or the remnants of a dying witch cult. His answer would be yes and yes.<br /><br />The author in this work goes back to the origins of the New Forest coven which initiated Gerald Gardner. It must be noted that Gerald met these witches at a Rosicrucian meeting and they were off my themselves. The author looks at all the members of this “Coven” he gives a biography of who they were and their spiritual interests. ‘Dafo “ or Edith Grimes Woodford was most likely the one who had the most active role in initiating Gardner to the craft. She was his main contact. They may have been lovers. She taught drama and speaking. She may have used her talents in the birth of the new religion. Dorothy Clutterbuck Fordham made her fortune by falsely marrying a married man with a mentally ill wife. After he dies she inherits two houses which she she lets out to various groups. She has written poems about nature themes that may have made their way into the craft. The Mason family was involved with photography. Their spiritual interests would include psychic ability and involvement with Co Masonry. Katherine Oldham wrote many books with fairy themes along with other magical elements. Perhaps the witches of them was Rosalind Sabine. She was involved with magic, Rosicrucianism and divination . She may have been the witch queen or high priestess.<br /><br />This group may or may not have been a coven but they were a ground that met together and perhaps not all met at the same time. Some may have believed they were witches and others not. It would seem that there were groups of people practicing ancient witchcraft traditions or there were bit and pieces lying around that could be formulated into a tradition. No less each of these spiritual seekers brought something to the table in all their backgrounds included Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Ceremonial Magic and interest in psychic ability and diviniation. All this was brought together to form an old/new religion of tradition.
