Gerald Brousseau Gardner (June 13, 1884 - February 12, 1964; died at age 79), was the creator of Wicca, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, expert in bladed weapons, and occultist. He wrote Wicca's definitive religious text- the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, and he publicized Wicca by writing the books High Magic's Aid (1949), Witchcraft Today (1954), and The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959). He wrote High Magic's Aid under the craft name 'Scire'. He typically referred to the faith as "witchcraft" or "the witch-cult", and its adherents as "the Wica". He got the term "witch-cult" from Margaret Murray's writings.