Hey there, I absolutely adore your vlog, but as a Gardnerian desiccant, I can tell you that Gardner cannot be said to have "invented Wicca," thus one cannot say that he is it's "founding father." At most one could say that he is the son who inherited and adapted what came to be "Wicca" (a term I dislike, and which was imposed upon us by the publishing industry. After all, recent evidence has confirmed that Gardner really was initiated into a pre-existing Coven in the New Forest with legitimate hereditary fam. trad. ties and practices that are still a part of the Craft today--these weren't an "invention" of Gardner. So, when one says that Gardner is the "founding father of Wicca" is underscores the lie we have been taught to accept that Gardner invented the existence of the New Forest Coven, which isn't true. Even historian Ronald Hutton confessed in his book, "Witches, Druids and King Arthur" that not only was he unable to prove Wicca's modernity; but, he was so consumed with proving his own theory, that when he was researching "Triumph of the Moon" he discovered and intentionally ignored evidence of religions and rituals from antiquity that had direct, historic ties to the Craft because....it literally would have disproved him. Hutton foolishly declares that Gardner invented "Operation Cone of Power" to make his "new religion" seem more patriotic. Hutton is clearly ignoring how popular magick was during the war years on either side of the English Channel! Not only would it have been very unusual if it HADN'T occurred, the date of OCP is well established on Lammas in 1940, and the Moon at that time was mere hours from being a Dark Moon and it was in the sign of Cancer. Those witches couldn't have hoped for a more opportune time to have defended Britain's shores. It's extremely unlikely that Gardner consulted an ephemeris before inventing the story to ensure that it was "magically sound." It would also have to occur on a Sabbath, and during the war years, which is simply too coincidental to be an invention of Gardner! Granted, it's circumstantial evidence, but Hutton has mad arguments based on less! Indeed, Hutton ignored this evidence at his own peril...and Ego! BTW if you haven't read the Great Philip Heselton's books, I strongly recommend them!
My dream bookshop to visit! Thank you so much for a lovely video. ❤ Subscribed straight away.
Ash thank you so much! deffo worth a visit :)
A lovely video 🥰🥰🥰
Thank you so much!
Hey there, I absolutely adore your vlog, but as a Gardnerian desiccant, I can tell you that Gardner cannot be said to have "invented Wicca," thus one cannot say that he is it's "founding father." At most one could say that he is the son who inherited and adapted what came to be "Wicca" (a term I dislike, and which was imposed upon us by the publishing industry. After all, recent evidence has confirmed that Gardner really was initiated into a pre-existing Coven in the New Forest with legitimate hereditary fam. trad. ties and practices that are still a part of the Craft today--these weren't an "invention" of Gardner. So, when one says that Gardner is the "founding father of Wicca" is underscores the lie we have been taught to accept that Gardner invented the existence of the New Forest Coven, which isn't true. Even historian Ronald Hutton confessed in his book, "Witches, Druids and King Arthur" that not only was he unable to prove Wicca's modernity; but, he was so consumed with proving his own theory, that when he was researching "Triumph of the Moon" he discovered and intentionally ignored evidence of religions and rituals from antiquity that had direct, historic ties to the Craft because....it literally would have disproved him.
Hutton foolishly declares that Gardner invented "Operation Cone of Power" to make his "new religion" seem more patriotic. Hutton is clearly ignoring how popular magick was during the war years on either side of the English Channel! Not only would it have been very unusual if it HADN'T occurred, the date of OCP is well established on Lammas in 1940, and the Moon at that time was mere hours from being a Dark Moon and it was in the sign of Cancer. Those witches couldn't have hoped for a more opportune time to have defended Britain's shores. It's extremely unlikely that Gardner consulted an ephemeris before inventing the story to ensure that it was "magically sound." It would also have to occur on a Sabbath, and during the war years, which is simply too coincidental to be an invention of Gardner! Granted, it's circumstantial evidence, but Hutton has mad arguments based on less! Indeed, Hutton ignored this evidence at his own peril...and Ego!
BTW if you haven't read the Great Philip Heselton's books, I strongly recommend them!