Basically, any website or book will usually give you about the same info about our religion's history. This information was borrowed without permission from Occult Research. It's an awsome site, and I highly reccomend it. If I ever get the time, I'll write my own history info.

The history as documented by Kevin Baker.

The history of Wicca is under much debate in the Wiccan community. Some people say that it dates back to as early as the stone age. Others say that it's origins are much more recent. The problem with the history of Wicca is that there has been much perse cution throughout the years, making it very hard to keep accurate records. The more recent history can be confirmed, but the problem lies in the ancient history.

Archaeologist have found drawings in caves from the stone age that would suggest that Wicca, or witchcraft, dates back that far, but it's hard to be certain. In the earliest age of man writing was nonexistent and the drawings found are hard to interpret. It's believed that even in the stone age there was some concept of a higher being and there were various forms of worship. Some scholars say that the drawings found were the beginnings of what is know as Wicca today. Others feel that the connection is too weak to make a judgment like that. Evidence has been found to support that there was some form of Wicca in early C.E.

Artifacts have been found from the first few centuries that suggest there were witches back then. Some of these things include decorated knives, mixing bowls and jewelry. The Christian church was also more tolerant of witchcraft in early C.E.. People who were found to be practitioners only had to repent with no real threat of harm. Then in the late 13th century the view of magic began to change.

The belief that magic was a form of evil that came from the devil himself grew in the late 13th century. People who practiced witchcraft were viewed as being bonded with Satan and evil. This began what most Wiccans refer to as "The Burning Times" . The In quisition was founded and many witches were put to death. The numbers vary depending on what source they come from, but the lowest estimates are well into the thousands. The witch-hunts ended by the 18th century, the last outbreak being the Salem witch tr ials. In Salem, Massachusetts twenty people, supposedly witches, were put to death after an outbreak of hysteria cause by several young girls we said they were bewitched.

Wicca had a low following in the time that followed, up until the mid 20th century. In the mid 20th century there was a rebirth of witchcraft, referred to today as the Neo-Pagan movement. Several writers drew great attention to Wicca and its beliefs. The most famous of these writers was Gerald Gardner who wrote "Witchcraft Today" in 1954 and began to revitalize the Wiccan movement. Today Wicca thrives and has a large following.