In an attempt to link modern day witchcraft practitioners with the persecuted of the past, anthropologist and folklorist Margaret Alice printed in 1921, the women and men persecuted throughout the witch trials period were, in fact, participating in an ancient fertility cult, the magic and rituals they carried out part of a long and revered tradition. After the times of persecution, the remaining witch community went underground, lying low to avoid further troubles. It never entirely died out, however, with members of the cult continuing to practice in secret before emerging, reborn, in the modern day guise of Wicca.
