Wicca first became known in 1951, yet Witchcraft and Paganism, from which it sprung (but remember, way back when they were very different. It is true that ancient pagans probably participated in animal sacrifices, etc. although "new" or "neo" pagans no longer participate in this ritualistic behavior, it is a part of history, just as at one time Christians participated in sacrifice), have been around much longer, thousands of generations, perhaps.
Witchcraft was first practiced long ago in many ancient civilizations such as ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Witchcraft became one of the main religions of it's time.
People always seem to wonder, how did religion, any religion, start? People have always wanted to be able to explain everything, why is this stick here? How did we get here? Who made the stars? We couldn't always find an answer for these questions, so, in a manner, we "followed our hearts" and decided to think up possiblilities for why things were the way they were. It just happened it be, many people felt the same way about "Why things were" and so believed the same thing, thereby following others beliefs, or religions, this, I believe, is how religion got started, this is merely my opinion.
So, back to Wicca. As Witchcraft became popular and was widely accepted as a major religion, Christianity was born, at first it didn't have many followers and so, to make more people join the church, believers said that Witchcraft was evil and nasty, so, as Christians slowly took over the "government" of the time (aka kings, queens, and whatever Parlament or advisors they may have had) they gained more control and so put strict laws on Witchcraft, and thus the Burning Times were born.
Many anti-Witchcraft laws were put on the people, those convicted of Witchcraft were banished or killed. Thus many Witches and Pagans went into hiding until everyone thought "Witchcraft was dead", but it wasn't, it was very much a "underground religion", but still very much alive.
Then came Mr. Gerald Gardner, a member of a coven and a British Civil Servant, who, living in Britain under it's law of anti-Witchcraft, which said all Witches be put to death, he brought light to the Wiccan religion. In 1951 Britain repealed this law, which allowed for the free practice of Witchcraft and, then, Wicca. Gerald published his book "Witchcraft Today" in 1954, a major step at the time. He attained great fame and became the ~official~ Witch of Britain. Gerald Gardner's Wiccan path is known as "Gardinarian Wicca", which is now one of the major Wiccan tradition.
Since Gardner's time, many Wiccan books have been released, based anywhere from Witchcraft, magick, spellcrafting, and almost all other parts of Wicca and Witchcraft.
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