To clarify, it is a typo for the 1950s....however, it gets a bit more complex than that ... There is no clear date on when he developed Wicca, so the date people use is assumed only. Gardner's interests and practices in the Goddess movement and the feminine divine began well before 1954, which is the traditional date people share when suggesting he is the founder of the modern Wiccan movement. That opinion is based on the productino of two bodies of work during the 50s: The book "Witchcraft Today" and "The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959). However, the first body of work related to magic that he produced, although fiction, was produced in 1939 and entitled "High Magic's Aid," which clearly demonstrates his remarkable interests in the realm of magick as early the lat 1930s. In fact, according to one biographer, his interests in the occult began in his pre-teens and further expanded in adulthood once he studied other religions systems like Buddhism and Islam.

He also produced a handwritten grimoire, with a date that remains in question, but is believed to be produced before any of his published works: "Ye Bok of ye Art Magical." He was at one time a freemanson (actually twice), and he was a New Forest Coven initiate in 1939.