Gerald Gardner

Infobox Person
name = Gerald Brousseau Gardner


caption = Father of the Wicca
birth_date = June 13 1884
birth_place = Crosby, Lancashire, England
dead = dead
death_date = Death date and age|1964|2|12|1884|6|13
death_place = at sea, returning from Lebanon
occupation = Tea planter; rubber planter; customs officer; Wiccan Priest
spouse = Donna Gardner née Rosedale
parents = William Robert Gardner; ??? Gardner
children =

Gerald Brousseau Gardner (June 13 1884 - February 12 1964) was an English civil servant, amateur anthropologist, writer, and occultist who published some of the definitive texts for Wicca, which he was instrumental in founding.

Early life

Gardner was born at The Glen, The Serpentine, Blundellsands, near Liverpool, England to a well-off family who had in their service Josephine "Com" McCombie, an Irish nursemaid [ [http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/g/gardner_gerald_b.html Themystica.com: "Gardner, Gerald B."] ] . The family business was Joseph Gardner & Sons, the Empire's oldest and largest importer of hardwood. Gardner had been suffering asthma at the time, bearing the illness from a young age, and his nursemaid had offered to take him to the warmer climates of the Continent. They both eventually settled in Asia, where Gardner stayed for a large portion of his young-adult life.

Career

Beginning in 1908 he was a rubber planter, first in Borneo and then in Malaya. After 1923 he held civil service posts as a government inspector in Malaya. In 1936, at the age of 52, he retired to England. He published an authoritative text, "Keris and other Malay Weapons" (1936) [Gardner, Gerald. "Keris and other Malay weapons" (1936) Singapore: Progressive Publishing Company] , based on his field research into southeast Asian weapons and magical practices. Apparently on medical advice, he took up naturism.

Occult interest

Retiring to England in 1936 he and his wife Donna soon moved from London to Highcliffe, just south of the New Forest, Hampshire.cite book |last=Heselton |first=Philip |authorlink=Philip Heselton |year=2003 |title=Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration: An Investigation Into the Sources of Gardnerian Witchcraft |location=Milverton, Somerset |publisher=Capall Bann Publishing |id=ISBN 186163-1642] Here he pursued his interests in the occult and naturism. Those who knew him within the modern witchcraft movement recalled how he was a firm believer in the therapeutic benefits of sunbathing. [Valiente, Doreen (1989). "Rebirth of Withcraft". Phoenix Publishing. ISBN 0-919345-39-5]

Gardner became a member of the Folklore Society in 1939cite book |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |year=2001 |title=The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft |publisher=Oxford University Press |id=ISBN 0-19-285449-6] . His first contribution to its journal 'Folklore', appeared in the June 1939 issue and describes a box of witchcraft relics. Later, in 1946, he became a member of the society's councilcite book |last=Heselton |first=Philip |authorlink=Philip Heselton |year=2000 |title=Wiccan Roots: Gerald Gardner and the Modern Witchcraft Revival |location=Chieveley, Berkshire |publisher=Capall Bann Publishing |id=ISBN 186163-110-3] . He seemed to be anxious to achieve academic acceptance, and for a period claimed to have doctoral degrees from the Universities of Singapore and Toulouse. Doreen Valiente has shown this not to be the case [Valiente, Doreen. "The Rebirth of Witchcraft" (1989) Custer, WA: Phoenix. pp 41-2.] .

While cycling around Christchurch, Gardner discovered the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship, where he took part in theatre productions. It was at this theatre that Gardner claims he first met members of the New Forest coven, who initiated him into a surviving tradition of English witchcraft. It has been suggested that Gardner may also have been introduced to Co-Freemasonry through this theatre; Mabel Besant Scott, the one-time head of the British Federation of Co-Freemasonry, was a prominent member of the theatre, and several of the members that have been proposed as members of the New Forest coven were also very active in Co-Freemasonry.

Gardner published two works of fiction, "A Goddess Arrives" (1939) and "High Magic's Aid" (1949) under the pen name of Scire. These were followed by two books, "Witchcraft Today" (1954) which was edited by Ross Nichols and "The Meaning of Witchcraft" (1959), in which Gardner described the tradition of witchcraft he had been initiated into. He claimed that "High Magic's Aid" had been an attempt to portray the tradition under the guise of fiction, without revealing oath-bound material, but that following the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in 1951 he had received permission from others in the coven to discuss the tradition more openly in the two non-fiction books.

Personal life and death

Gardner was married once. His wife Donna remained his loyal companion for 33 years during which she never took part in the craft or his activities within it. Gardner was devastated by her passing and began to suffer once more his childhood affliction of asthma. In 1964, after suffering a heart attack, Gardner died at sea on a ship returning from Lebanon. He was buried on the shore of Tunisia.

Wicca

" (1954) London: Rider]

Bibliography

*1936: "Keris and Other Malay Weapons"
*1939: "A Goddess Arrives" (fiction)
*1949: "High Magic's Aid" (fiction)
*1954: "Witchcraft Today"
*1959: "The Meaning of Witchcraft"

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.geraldgardner.com/ GeraldGardner.com] an online reference resource
* [http://www.thewica.co.uk/Gerald%20Gardner.htm Historical documents and media reports about Gardner.]
* [http://www.controverscial.com/Gerald%20Brosseau%20Gardner.htm Biography at Controverscial.com]
* [http://paganwiccan.about.com/cs/authors/a/aagardner.htm Biography at About.com]