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 Wiccans do not claim to know how magic works, merely believing that it does because they have observed it to be so. Some spell it "magick", a variation coined by the influential occultist Aleister Crowley, though this spelling is more commonly associated with Crowley's religion of Thelema than with Wicca. During ritual practices, which are often staged in a sacred circle, Wiccans cast spells or "workings" intended to bring about real changes in the physical world. Common Wiccan spells include those used for healing, for protection, fertility, or to banish negative influences. Many early Wiccans, such as Alex Sanders, Sybil