The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic: Toward a New History of British Wicca

Abstract:This article examines primary sources including newspaper reports, local council minutes, letters, interviews, and personal diaries, to demonstrate how the collections and locations of the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic contributed greatly to the establishment of modern British witchcraft, better known as Wicca. The article argues that Wicca was strongly influenced by the activities of Cecil Williamson, the Museum's founder, who shared with Gerald Gardner a conviction that traditional witchcraft, rooted in antiquity, continued to be practiced in modern post-war Britain. They were both influenced by Margaret Murray, but evidence suggests that it was her focus upon the organization of a cult of witchcraft that appealed particularly to Gardner, whilst Williamson was more interested in what Murray described as Operative Witchcraft.