History of Wicca "Witches Devil-Worship in London!". He also published a second non-fiction book on the subject, "The Meaning of Witchcraft", in 1959, as well as running the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft on the Isle of Man up until his death in 1964. Gardner referred to members of his tradition as "the Wica", although he called the religion itself "Witchcraft", and never used the term "Wicca" in the sense as it is now known. The ritual format of Wicca shows the influence of late Victorian era occultism (even co-founder Doreen Valiente admitted seeing influence from Aleister Crowley), and there is very little
Wicca practice of magic, though it is not always necessary. Scholars of religious studies classify Wicca as a new religious movement, and more specifically as a form of modern Paganism. Cited as the largest, best known, most influential, and most extensively academically studied form of Paganism, within the movement it has been identified as sitting on the former end of the eclectic to reconstructionist spectrum. Several academics have also categorised Wicca as a form of nature religion, a term that is also embraced by many of the faith's practitioners. However, given that Wicca also incorporates the practice of magic, several scholars