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Neopaganism is a very diverse collection of beliefs. It has been said that there are as many Neopagan belief systems as there are Neopagans. However, while Neopagans do establish their own personal belief system, they also share some common precepts, although the younger generation of Neopagans especially can be highly resistant to such profiling. Common themes include the reverence for nature or active ecology, Goddess (or Horned God) veneration, use of ancient mythologies, the belief in " magick," and often the belief in reincarnation.
The late 19th century saw a renewal of interest in various forms of Western occultism, particularly in England. During this period several occultist societies were formed such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis. Several prominent writers and artists were involved in these organizations, including William Butler Yeats, Arthur Edward Waite, and Aleister Crowley.
Along with these occult organizations, there were other social phenomena such as the interest in mediumThe word medium has a number of uses: The most common meaning of the word medium is an average or mean in a range of sizes or conditions. Usually, the term is used when there are only a few different sizes in the range, rather than many. For example, itemship, which suggest that interest in magicMagic (also called magick to distinguish it from stage magic) is a supposed way of influencing the world through supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. This article provides an overview of specific magical traditions and practices. It also discusses and other supernatural beliefs were at an all time high in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Some evidence suggests that returning colonials and missionaries brought ideas from native traditions home to Britain. In particular the anthropologist Sir James George Frazer's The Golden BoughThe Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a broad comparative cultural study of mythology and religion by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (1854-1941). Aimed at a broad literate audience raised on tales as told in Bulfinch's Age of (1900) was influential.
In the 1920sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 Events and trends Technology John Logie Baird invents the first working t Margaret MurrayMargaret Alice Murray ( 1863- 1963) was an early British twentieth century Egyptologist of considerable international reputation. Her contributions to Egyptology and promoting the study of folklore have stood the test of time, but she is now best known fo theorized that a witchcraft religion existed underground and in secret, and had survived through the religious persecutions and InquisitionsThe Inquisition was an office of the Roman Catholic Church charged with suppressing heresy. Their actions and interactions with the local governments are subjects of considerable historical enquiry. Origin The Inquisition was a permanent institution in th of the medieval Church. Most historians reject Murray's theory, while accepting some parts of it. Although there were undoubtedly still some pockets of Pagan worship, it is highly unlikely to have existed on as wide a scale as Murray proposed. This generated interest reflected in novels by Mitchison ("The Corn King and the Spring Queen") and covens were created along Murrayite lines.
It is likely that this general atmosphere created the circumstances which were necessary for the rise of Wicca. At the very least, it was fertile ground for its introduction.
In the 1940s Gerald Gardner claimed to have been initiated into a New Forest coven led by Dorothy Clutterbuck, an ex-colonial woman returned from India. Gardner had already written about Malay native customs and now wrote books about Wicca. The term "Wicca" is still used to refer to the traditions of Neopaganism that adhere closely to Gardner's teachings, or direct offshoots such as the teachings of Alex Sanders .
In the USA today Wicca is sometimes (mis)used loosely to equate with any form of Neopaganism; while Wicca is by far the largest form of Neopaganism in the US, it is nonetheless a subset of the larger Neopagan movement. This error is common among outsiders and newcomers, less so among those who've been involved with the Neopagan community for significant amounts of time. British based Neopaganism, on the other hand, used to use the term 'Wicca' much more narrowly, as Gardnerian or Alexandrian Wicca; also, a third generation of Wicca descended from Gardnerian is now flourishing, notably Seax-Wica.
However, in Britain today, the term is used in a widespread way if predominantly for the Celtic path. Indeed, Wicca in Britain is now so widespread that the two forms of Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca have been submerged in a wave of modern offshoots, much of it from the United States. Much of this was inspired directly or indirectly by the publication of The Tree by Raymond Buckland, detailing the tradition of Seax-Wica; prior to this, Wicca had been unpublished and secret in nature. After it, people started creating new orders on their own, to the lasting irritation of the Gardnerians.
Wicca has been arguably the most well organised and influential form of Neopaganism until the mid '80s, perhaps justifying a tendency by some Wiccans to claim for themselves the priesthood of the Neopagan community. Other Neopagan traditions do not see it so. This is sometimes a flashpoint for considerable argument.