History of Wicca hypothesized secret religion. Many Wiccans, particularly those of the early decades, believed that their religion was a continuation of the witch-cult. It was only during the 1980s and 1990s that some Wiccans began to see the idea of the Witch-Cult as a creation myth rather than as historical fact. For instance, in 1998, Wiccan Jenny Gibbons stated that: Another hypothesis that would have major influence on Wicca during its development was the idea of primitive matriarchal religions, which derived from the work of the Swiss lawyer Johann Jakob Bachofen, was popular in Gardner's day, both among academics (e.g., Erich Neumann,
Magical tools in Wicca work magic. The general idea is that the tool directs psychic energies to perform a certain action. In modern day Wicca, there is an encouragement of solitary practice of rituals and study. Covens are still a part of Wicca and related doctrines but there is now insistence that solitary practice is permissible. This has filtered down to lightweight (in the sense of being heavily illustrated, not exactly scholarly and not entirely serious) books being available in the bookstores of any modern town which are marketed as manuals of how to become a Wiccan (or Pagan). The allowance of solitary practice