Published in 1954, Witchcraft Today recounts Gardner's thoughts on the history and practices of the theoretical 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,[1] and that the belief in faeries in ancient, mediaeval and early modern Europe is due to a secretive pygmy race that lived alongside humans.

Gerald Gardner in the foreword to Witchcraft Today:I have been told by witches in England: "Write and tell people we are not perverts.

"[4] 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.

He remarked that Gardner had probably intended to provide a history of the 'witch-cult' from the Stone Age to the present which made reference to related religious movements, such as those of the druids, Knights Templar and ancient Egyptians.