Editing Gerald Gardner (section)

==Involvement in Wicca==

===The Rosicrucian Order: 1938–1939===
{{main article|Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship}}
[[File:templeofrosycross.png|right|thumb|upright|''The Temple of the Rose Cross'', [[Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens]], 1618.]]
In Highcliffe, Gardner came across a building describing itself as the "First Rosicrucian Theatre in England".{{Sfn|Heselton|2012a|pp=186–187}} Having an interest in [[Rosicrucianism]], a prominent magico-religious tradition within [[Western esotericism]], Gardner decided to attend one of the plays performed by the group; in August 1939, Gardner took his wife to a theatrical performance based on the life of [[Pythagoras]]. An amateur thespian, she hated the performance, thinking the quality of both actors and script terrible, and she refused to go again.{{sfnm|Bracelin|1960|1p=162|Heselton|2012a|2pp=187–188, 195–196}}

Unperturbed and hoping to learn more of Rosicrucianism, Gardner joined the group in charge of running the theatre, the [[Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship]], and began attending meetings held in their local ''[[ashram]]''. Founded in 1920 by [[George Alexander Sullivan]], the Fellowship had been based upon a blend of Rosicrucianism, [[Theosophy (Boehmian)|Theosophy]], Freemasonry and his own personal innovation, and had moved to Christchurch in 1930.{{sfn|Heselton|2012a|pp=196–198}}

As time went by, Gardner became critical of many of the Rosicrucian Order's practices; Sullivan's followers claimed that he was immortal, having formerly been the famous historical figures [[Pythagoras]], [[Cornelius Agrippa]] and [[Francis Bacon]]. Gardner facetiously asked if he was also the [[Wandering Jew]], much to the annoyance of Sullivan himself. Another belief held by the group that Gardner found amusing was that a lamp hanging from one of the ceilings was the disguised [[holy grail]] of [[Arthurian legend]].{{sfnm|Bracelin|1960|1p=163|Heselton|2012a|2p=198}}

Gardner's dissatisfaction with the group grew, particularly when in 1939, one of the group's leaders sent a letter out to all members in which she stated that war would not come. The very next day, [[World War II|Britain declared war on Germany]], greatly unimpressing the increasingly cynical Gardner.{{Sfn|Bracelin|1960|p=164}}

Alongside Rosicrucianism, Gardner had also been pursuing other interests. In 1939, Gardner joined the [[Folklore Society|Folk-Lore Society]]; his first contribution to its journal ''Folk-Lore'', appeared in the June 1939 issue and described a box of witchcraft relics that he believed had belonged to the 17th century "Witch-Finder General", [[Matthew Hopkins]]. Subsequently, in 1946 he would go on to become a member of the society's governing council, although most other members of the society were wary of him and his academic credentials.{{sfn|Heselton|2012a|pp=192–194, 333–336}}

Gardner would also join the [[Historical Association]], being elected co-president of its Bournemouth and Christchurch branch in June 1944, following which he became a vocal supporter for the construction of a local museum for the Christchurch borough.{{Sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=296–297}} He also involved himself in preparations for the impending war, joining the [[Air Raid Precautions]] (ARP) as a warden, where he soon rose to a position of local seniority, with his own house being assigned as the ARP post.{{Sfn|Heselton|2012a|p=229}} In 1940, following the outbreak of conflict, he also tried to sign up for the [[Local Defence Volunteers]], or "Home Guard", but was turned away because he was already an ARP warden.

He managed to circumvent this restriction by joining his local Home Guard in the capacity as armourer, which was officially classified as technical staff.{{Sfn|Heselton|2012a|pp=229–234}} Gardner took a strong interest in the Home Guard, helping to arm his fellows from his own personal weaponry collection and personally manufacturing [[molotov cocktails]].{{Sfnm|Bracelin|1960|1pp=161–167|Heselton|2012a|2p=235}}

===The New Forest coven: 1939–1944===
{{main article|New Forest coven}}

Although sceptical of the Rosicrucian Order, Gardner got on well with a group of individuals inside the group who were "rather brow-beaten by the others, kept themselves to themselves."{{Sfn|Heselton|2012a|p=198}} Gardner's biographer Philip Heselton theorised that this group consisted of [[Edith Woodford-Grimes]] (1887–1975), Susie Mason, her brother Ernie Mason, and their sister Rosetta Fudge, all of whom had originally come from [[Southampton]] before moving to the area around Highcliffe, where they joined the Order.{{Sfn|Heselton|2012a|p=198}}

According to Gardner, "unlike many of the others [in the Order], [they] had to earn their livings, were cheerful and optimistic and had a real interest in the occult". Gardner became "really very fond of them", remarking that he "would have gone through hell and high water even then for any of them."{{Sfn|Bracelin|1960|p=165}} In particular he grew close to Woodford-Grimes, being invited over to her home to meet her daughter, and the two helped each other with their writing, Woodford-Grimes probably assisting Gardner edit ''A Goddess Arrives'' prior to publication. Gardner would subsequently give her the nickname "Dafo", for which she would become better known.{{Sfn|Heselton|2012a|pp=199–200, 205}}

[[File:Latimers.jpg|thumb|left|The Mill House in Highcliffe, where Gardner was supposedly initiated into the Craft]]
According to Gardner's later account, one night in September 1939, they took him to a large house owned by [[Dorothy Clutterbuck|"Old Dorothy" Clutterbuck]], a wealthy local woman, where he was made to strip naked and taken through an initiation ceremony. Halfway through the ceremony, he heard the word "Wicca (Male)" and "Wicce (Female)", and he recognised it as an [[Old English]] word for "witch".

He was already acquainted with [[Margaret Murray]]'s theory of the [[witch-cult hypothesis|Witch-cult]], and that "I then knew then that which I had thought burnt out hundreds of years ago still survived."{{sfn|Heselton|2012a|pp=207–215}} This group were the [[New Forest coven]], and he portrayed them as one of the few surviving [[coven]]s of an ancient, pre-Christian Witch-Cult religion. Murray's theory of a pagan 'witch-cult' has been discredited. Later research by the likes of Hutton and Heselton has shown that the New Forest coven was probably only formed in the mid-1930s, based upon Murray's discredited theories and works on folk magic.{{sfn|Heselton|2012a|pp=225–228}}

Gardner only ever described one of their rituals in depth, and this was an event that he termed "Operation Cone of Power". According to his own account, it took place in 1940 in a part of the New Forest and was designed to ward off the Nazis from invading Britain by magical means. Gardner wrote that a "Great Circle" was erected at night, with a "great cone of power" – a form of magical energy – being raised and sent to Berlin with the command of "you cannot cross the sea, you cannot cross the sea, you cannot come, you cannot come".{{sfnm|Bracelin|1960|1p=167|Heselton|2012a|2pp=237–251}}

===Bricket Wood and the Origins of Gardnerianism: 1945–1950===
{{main article|Bricket Wood coven}}

Throughout his time in the New Forest, Gardner had regularly travelled to London, keeping his flat at Buckingham Palace Mansions until mid-1939 and regularly visiting the [[Spielplatz]] nudist club there.{{Sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=293–294}} At Spielplatz he befriended [[Ross Nichols]], whom he would later introduce to the Pagan religion of [[Neo-druidism|Druidry]]; Nichols would become enamoured with this faith, eventually founding the [[Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids]].{{Sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=295–296}} However, following the war, Gardner decided to return to London, moving into 47 Ridgemount Gardens, [[Bloomsbury]] in late 1944 or early 1945.{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|p=298}}

Continuing his interest in nudism, in 1945 he purchased a plot of land in Fouracres, a nudist colony near to the village of [[Bricket Wood]] in [[Hertfordshire]] that would soon be renamed Five Acres. As a result, he would become one of the major shareholders at the club, exercising a significant level of power over any administrative decisions and was involved in a recruitment drive to obtain more members.{{Sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=299–309}}

[[File:The Witches' Cottage.JPG|thumb|right|upright|The Witches' Cottage, where Gardner and his Bricket Wood coven performed their rituals]]
[[File:Witches Hut 2006 side view.JPG|thumb|The Witches' Cottage in 2006]]

Between 1936 and 1939, Gardner befriended the Christian mystic [[John Sebastian Marlowe Ward|J.S.M. Ward]], proprietor of the Abbey Folk Park, Britain's oldest open-air museum. One of the exhibits was a 16th-century cottage that Ward had found near to [[Ledbury]], [[Herefordshire]] and had transported to his park, where he exhibited it as a "witch's cottage". Gardner made a deal with Ward exchanging the cottage for Gardner's piece of land near to Famagusta in Cyprus.

The cottage was dismantled, and the parts transported to Bricket Wood, where they were reassembled on Gardner's land at Five Acres. In Midsummer 1947 he held a ceremony in the cottage as a form of housewarming, which Heselton speculated was probably based upon the ceremonial magic rites featured in ''[[The Key of Solomon]]'' grimoire.{{sfnm|Valiente|2007|1p=56|Heselton|2012b|2pp=315–324}}

Furthering his interest in esoteric Christianity, in August 1946 Gardner was ordained as a priest in the [[Ancient British Church]], a fellowship open to anyone who considered themselves a [[monotheism|monotheist]]. Gardner also took an interest in Druidry, joining the [[The Druid Order|Ancient Druid Order]] (ADO) and attending its annual Midsummer rituals at [[Stonehenge]].{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=327–332}}

He also joined the [[Folk-Lore Society]], being elected to their council in 1946, and that same year giving a talk on "Art Magic and Talismans". Nevertheless, many fellows – including [[Katharine Mary Briggs|Katherine Briggs]] – were dismissive of Gardner's ideas and his fraudulent academic credentials.{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=332–338}} In 1946 he also joined the [[Society for Psychical Research]].{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|p=339}}

On May Day 1947, Gardner's friend [[Arnold Crowther]] introduced him to [[Aleister Crowley]], the ceremonial magician who had founded the religion of [[Thelema]] in 1904. Shortly before his death, Crowley elevated Gardner to the IV° of [[Ordo Templi Orientis]] (O.T.O.) and issued a charter decreeing that Gardner could admit people into its Minerval degree. The charter itself was written in Gardner's handwriting and only signed by Crowley.{{sfnm|Bracelin|1960|1p=171|Valiente|2007|2p=57|Heselton|2012b|3pp=341–362}}

From November 1947 to March 1948, Gardner and his wife toured the United States visiting relatives in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], also visiting [[New Orleans]], where Gardner hoped to learn about [[Louisiana Voodoo|Voodoo]].{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=363–366}} During his voyage, Crowley had died, and as a result Gardner considered himself the head of the O.T.O. in Europe, (a position accepted by [[Lady Frieda Harris]]). He met Crowley's successor, [[Karl Germer]], in New York though Gardner would soon lose interest in leading the O.T.O., and in 1951 he was replaced by [[Frederic Mellinger]] as the O.T.O.'s European representative.{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=366–371}}

Gardner hoped to spread Wicca and described some of its practices in a fictional form as ''High Magic's Aid''. Set in the twelfth-century, Gardner included scenes of ceremonial magic based on ''The Key of Solomon''. Published by the [[Atlantis Bookshop]] in July 1949, Gardner's manuscript had been edited into a publishable form by astrologer [[Madeline Montalban]].{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=373–374, 377–399}}

Privately, he had also begun work on a scrapbook known as "Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical", in which he wrote down a number of Wiccan rituals and spells. This would prove to be the prototype for what he later termed a [[Book of Shadows]].{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=375–377}} He also gained some of his first initiates, Barbara and Gilbert Vickers, who were initiated at some point between autumn 1949 and autumn 1950.{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=403–409}}

===Doreen Valiente and the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft: 1950–1957===

Gardner also came into contact with [[Cecil Williamson]], who was intent on opening his own museum devoted to witchcraft; the result would be the [[Museum of Witchcraft|Folk-lore Centre of Superstition and Witchcraft]], opened in [[Castletown, Isle of Man|Castletown]] on the [[Isle of Man]] in 1951. Gardner and his wife moved to the island, where he took up the position of "resident witch".{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=410–442}} On 29 July, the ''[[Sunday Pictorial]]'' published an article about the museum in which Gardner declared "Of course I'm a witch. And I get great fun out of it."<ref name="Andrews-1951">{{cite news |url=https://ae2e239b-0e00-4bec-b154-cc5dce6f5f85.filesusr.com/ugd/4f0e4f_abf1237751904b1a8dc38efe4acd8d51.pdf?index=true |title=Calling All Covens |work=[[Sunday Pictorial]] |first=Allen |last=Andrews |date=29 July 1951}}</ref>

The museum was not a financial success, and the relationship between Gardner and Williamson deteriorated. In 1954, Gardner bought the museum from Williamson, who returned to England to form the rival [[Museum of Witchcraft]], eventually settling it in [[Boscastle]], [[Cornwall]]. Gardner renamed his exhibition the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft and continued running it up until his death.{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=474–478, 480–483}}

He also acquired a flat at 145 Holland Road, near [[Shepherd's Bush]] in West London, but nevertheless fled to warmer climates during the winter, where his asthma would not be so badly affected, for instance spending time in France, Italy, and the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]].{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=450–455, 457, 470–473, 478–480}} From his base in London, he would frequent Atlantis bookshop, thereby encountering a number of other occultists, including [[Austin Osman Spare]] and [[Kenneth Grant (occultist)|Kenneth Grant]], and he also continued his communication with Karl Germer until 1956.{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=505–515}}

In 1952, Gardner had begun to correspond with a young woman named [[Doreen Valiente]]. She eventually requested initiation into the Craft, and though Gardner was hesitant at first, he agreed that they could meet during the winter at the home of Edith Woodford-Grimes. Valiente got on well with both Gardner and Woodford-Grimes and having no objections to either ritual nudity or scourging (which she had read about in a copy of Gardner's novel ''High Magic's Aid'' that he had given to her), she was initiated by Gardner into Wicca on Midsummer 1953.

Valiente went on to join the Bricket Wood Coven. She soon rose to become the High Priestess of the coven and helped Gardner to revise his [[Book of Shadows]], and attempting to cut out most of Crowley's influence.{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=490–494}}

In 1954, Gardner published a non-fiction book, ''[[Witchcraft Today]]'', containing a preface by [[Margaret Murray]], who had published her discredited theory of 'witchcraft' being a surviving pagan religion in her 1921 book, ''The Witch-Cult in Western Europe''. In his book, Gardner not only espoused Murray's theory, but also his theory that a belief in [[fairy|faeries]] in Europe was due to a secretive pygmy race that lived alongside other communities, and that the [[Knights Templar]] had been initiates of the Craft.{{sfn|Heselton|2012b|pp=494–503}}

Alongside this book, Gardner began to increasingly court publicity, going so far as to invite the press to write articles about the religion. Many of these turned out very negatively for the cult; one declared "Witches Devil-Worship in London!", and another accused him of whitewashing witchcraft in his luring of people into covens. Gardner continued courting publicity, despite the negative articles that many tabloids were producing, and believed that only through publicity could more people become interested in witchcraft, so preventing the "Old Religion", as he called it, from dying out.{{sfnm|Valiente|2007|1p=67|Heselton|2012b|2pp=517–520}}

===Later life and death===
In 1960, Gardner's official biography, entitled ''Gerald Gardner: Witch'', was published. It was written by a friend of his, the Sufi mystic [[Idries Shah]], but used the name of one of Gardner's High Priests, [[Jack L. Bracelin]], because Shah was wary about being associated with Witchcraft.{{sfnm|Lamond|2004|1p=19|Bourne|1998|2p=29}} In May of that year, Gardner travelled to [[Buckingham Palace]], where he enjoyed a garden party in recognition of his years of service to the Empire in the Far East. Soon after his trip, Gardner's wife Donna died, and Gardner himself once again began to suffer badly from [[asthma]].

The following year he, along with Shah and Lois Bourne, travelled to the island of [[Mallorca]] to holiday with the poet [[Robert Graves]], whose ''[[The White Goddess]]'' would play a significant part in the burgeoning Wiccan religion. In 1963, Gardner decided to go to [[Lebanon]] over the winter. Whilst returning home on the ''Scottish Prince'' on 12 February 1964, he suffered a fatal heart attack at the breakfast table. He was buried in [[Tunisia]], the ship's next port of call, and his funeral was attended only by the ship's captain.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thewica.co.uk/Gardners%20death.htm |title=Britain's chief witch dies at sea |work=[[News of the World]] |date=23 February 1964 |access-date=29 November 2008 |archive-date=8 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908042334/http://www.thewica.co.uk/Gardners%20death.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was 79 years old.

Though having bequeathed the museum, all his artifacts, and the copyright to his books in his will to one of his High Priestesses, [[Monique Wilson (Wiccan)|Monique Wilson]], she and her husband sold off the artefact collection to the American [[Ripley's Believe It or Not!]] organisation several years later. Ripley's took the collection to America, where it was displayed in two museums before being sold off during the 1980s. Gardner had also left parts of his inheritance to [[Patricia Crowther (Wiccan)|Patricia Crowther]], [[Doreen Valiente]], [[Lois Bourne]] and [[Jack Bracelin]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/g/gardner_gerald_b.html |title=Gardner, Gerald B. (1884–1964) |website=TheMystica.com |first=Alan G. |last=Hefner |date=30 September 2020 |quote=Other beneficiaries of his estate were Patricia C. Crowther and Jack L. Bracelin, who authored an authoritative biography of Gardner, ''Gerald Gardner: Witch'' (1960).}}</ref> the latter inheriting the Fiveacres Nudist Club and taking over as full-time High Priest of the Bricket Wood coven.

Several years after Gardner's death, the Wiccan High Priestess [[Eleanor Bone]] visited North Africa and went looking for Gardner's grave. She discovered that the cemetery he was interred in was to be redeveloped, and so she raised enough money for his body to be moved to another cemetery in [[Tunis]],{{Sfn|Valiente|2007|p=44}} where it currently remains. In 2007, a new plaque was attached to his grave, describing him as being "Father of Modern Wicca. Beloved of the Great Goddess".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thewica.co.uk/gardners-grave |title=Photograph of Gardner's grave |website=TheWica.co.uk}}</ref>