Red and Black Witch Costume

Wicca is a nature-based religion popularized in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. He said that the religion was a modern survival of an old witchcraft religion which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian paganism of Europe. Many Wiccans call themselves Pagans, though the umbrella term Paganism encompasses many faiths that have nothing to do with Wicca or witchcraft. In popular culture observers are usually thought of as witches and warlocks.