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''Witchcraft Today'' is a non-fiction book written by Gerald Gardner. Published in 1954, ''Witchcraft Today'' recounts Gardner's thoughts on the history and the practices of the witch-cult, and his claim to have met practising Witches in 1930s England. It also deals with his theory that the Knights Templar had practised the religion,〔 In Chapter VI, "How the Little People became Witches, and Concerning the Knights Templar"〕 and that the belief in faeries in ancient, mediaeval and early modern Europe is due to a secretive pygmy race that lived alongside other communities.〔, Chapter V, "The Little People" and Chapter VI, "How the Little People Became Witches, and Concerning the Knights Templar"〕 ''Witchcraft Today'' is one of the foundational texts for the religion of Wicca, along with Gardner's second book on the subject, 1959's ''The Meaning of Witchcraft''. Gerald Gardner in the Foreword to Witchcraft Today: Whilst by the time of writing, Gardner had been initiated into the religion, and had formed his own coven, he did not state this in the book, instead he "posed as a disinterested anthropologist".〔 page 206〕 The introduction to the book was written by Margaret Murray, who had widely supported the witch-cult hypothesis in the 1920s and 1930s through her books ''The Witch-Cult in Western Europe'' and ''The God of the Witches''. In her introduction, she stated that: In the book Gardner also repeats the claim, which had originated with Matilda Joslyn Gage, that 9 million victims were killed in the European witch-hunts."〔, in the image page between pages 80 and 81〕 Current scholarly estimates of the number of people executed for witchcraft during this time period vary between about 40,000 and 100,000. The book contains seven photographs; one depicting the author, another a magician's circle at the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft, a memorial to those killed in the witch hunts, two further images of rooms in the museum, a statue of a horned god, and a painting of a male witch."〔, page of "List of illustrations"〕 ==Publication history== The book was initially published in hardback in November 1954 by Rider and Company, and sold at the price of 15 shillings. It was reprinted in August 1956. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Witchcraft Today」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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