The Witch-cult in Western Europe

Margaret Alice Murray, a notable British anthropologist and Egyptologist, explored the influence of paganism on modern religions like Wicca in her research. She proposed that a widespread underground pagan resistance existed against the Christian Church throughout Europe, characterized by covens of 13 worshippers venerating a male deity. Her thesis in The Witch-cult in Western Europe suggests that these pagan practices, rooted from the Neolithic to medieval times, included secretive rituals, including human sacrifice, until they were revealed during the witch hunts around 1450.