aleister crowly: As part of the process of developing self knowledge, Crowley advocated the practice of Magick. This he defined as 'the science and art of causing change in conformity with will.' The history of magick is the history of human beings. Many of the things that are now labelled 'culture' began as experiments in ritual and magick viz. drama, music, art, dance, philosophy and poetry etc., etc. Magick has played a role in many key moments of our history, for example during the fourteenth century, it was the philosophy of the Renaissance. In our own time, many modern art movements have been driven by magical ideas, for instance, the first abstract painting was made by the Theosophist Kandinsky. Magick is a valuable and reputable activity to undertake.
http://www.compulink.co.uk/~mandrake/crowley.htm
anton levay: He should be self explanatory...
gardner: Witchcraft Today proved to be the first nonfiction book on Wicca ever published, and its author, Gerald Gardner, is debatably the first to ever practice Wicca in a recognizably modern form. Since that book, Wicca has flourished and spread to over 66 countries and a number of languages beyond English.
http://www.geraldgardner.com/index/main.shtml