It is said that Witchcraft, as a religion, dates back to Paleolithic times, when people were nomadic and success of the hunt meant success of the tribe. In cave paintings 1000's of years old, archeologists have speculated that people worshiped a "God of the Hunt" and a "Goddess of Fertility."

This dual deity can be seen as far back as  28,000 B.C.E. according to Aoumiel  in Dancing Shadows and are called  Shiva and Shakti,  the God and Goddess of the Dravidic Indus Valley, and of modern Hinduism. It is her belief that many of the neo-pagan beliefs stem from this very old God and Goddess archetype.  The Dravidians felt that the two deities were two sides of the same being, and realized that they were just different representations of the All, although Christianity later saw this as a polytheistic religion, it truly was a monotheistic one.

Given this belief, Shiva and Shakti were often shown as one being - Ardhanari (where "androgyne"comes from,Greek for andro-"man" and gyne-"woman") in statues.  Ardhanari was always depicted with the right have male, and the left half, female.  This is the origin of the modern Wicca altar where the God is represented on the right, and the Goddess n the left.

This early religion spread from its origin across the Middle East and Europe with   the names of the deities changing as it evolved and had bits of the beliefs of the people whom it encountered added on, but the concept of a Goddess and God equal in status remained for 1,000's of years.

By 5,000 B.C.E, Dravidians, had beliefs that addressed the creation of the world in 7 days, they had a Tree of Life, had ritual bathing and practiced baptism.

Thousands of years later, when Christianity came to Europe, conversion was slow. The Royalty converted first. People living in villages converted next, or would worship openly the Christian faith, but still maintain some of the traditions of the "old ways."

The last to convert were dwellers in rural areas, the "Pagans" and the "Heathens." Many of these people kept to the old ways.

Before the "Burning Times" Churches were erected on sacred sites of the Old Religion. The names of festivals were changed, but the dates were kept. Thus Imbolc, a Celtic fire festival, which celebrates the coming of Spring on February 2nd, became Candlemass, which celebrates the purification of the Virgin by lighting candles.

During the times of persecution the Church took the God of the Old Religion and turned him into the Christian Devil. Remember, the Old God was the "God of the Hunt" and many times was depicted as a stag, or a man wearing Horns.

This forced the religion underground, and the only written history tends to be told by non Wiccans. This tended to be from two sources. First the Christians - The Monks collected many of the myths and legends of Ireland, for example, translating them and copying them down. Unfortunately, the legends were changed in many instances, adding a moral or "Christian" theme. The second was the conquerors - such as the Romans about the Druids of Free Gaul when they conquered them in 52 BC.

Some families kept the Old Religion alive, passing it down from mother or father to daughter or son. It wasn't until 1951, when the Witchcraft laws of England were repealed that it began to surface in earnest again.

At this point, the History of Wicca or Witchcraft diverges.

Many site the revival starting with Margaret Murrary's publication of "Witch-Cult in Western Europe" in 1921. She felt that witchcraft appears to be the ancient religion of Western Europe, and could be traced to "pre-Christian times."

The next milestone was the publication of "Witchcraft Today" and "The Meaning of Witchcraft" by Gerald Gardner in 1954. He claimed to have been initiated into a tradition that had fragments of the Old Religion that had been passed down for generations. He gathered these fragments, turned them into a cohesive whole, and published them before they were lost. Whether or not these fragments were authentic is a matter of much debate, but his books brought a lot of people "out of the broom closet" and showed that it was safe again to at least publish books on Witchcraft.

Since then, the craft has grown and evolved. During the 1970's, Z. Budapest, a hereditary Witch from Hungary began training many woman in the feminist traditions of Wicca. In 1979, Margot Adler published Drawing Down The Moon" and Starhawk published The Spiral Dance. Both of these books provided framework for this evolving religion, and Adler's book particularly was hailed by many as one of the most comprehensive studies of modern paganism. Starhawks book provided practical instructions in "reclaiming the ancient religion of the Great Goddess."

Other authors followed, Scott Cunningham who wrote dozens of books before his death in 1993. In the bookstore I frequent here in Hawaii, there are dozens of authors to choose from for Wiccan information.

Today, Wicca is alive and well. You can find Wiccans with Web Sites, like this one, on the Internet, studying in covens all over the world, practicing alone in their home or kitchen. Some are actively involved in protecting the Earth. Some dress in black, many don't. Some quietly practice, others, like Laurie Cabot the "Self-Proclaimed Witch of Salem" are "out in the open."

Regardless, we all follow a very simple rede...

An it Harm None, Do What Thou Wilt.

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