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Initially, the study Some Observations on European Witchcraft was a communication presented by Mircea Eliade during the "John Nuveen Symposium" organized by the University of Chicago in 1974. A revised version of the text was published a year later in the volume History of Religion. At the beginning of his observations, the mythologist expresses his surprise at the astonishing popularity of witchcraft in modern Western culture. However, the contemporary interest in witchcraft has some peculiarities, being related to "the vogue of occultism and the esoteric-from astrology and pseudo spiritualist movements to Hermetism, alchemy, Zen, Yoga, Tantrism and other Eastern gnoses and techniques". The historian of religions is also fascinated by recent interpretations "related to the origin and evolution of Western witchcraft", especially the issue of witch persecution in the 16th and 17th centuries. In this sense, very well documented, Eliade refers to the studies by researchers like H.R. Trevor-Roper, J.B. Russell and Keith Thomas. They can demonstrate the importance of the debated issue within contemporary historiography. In essence, Mircea Eliade's attention is focused on two controversial aspects: "(1) the "origins" of Western witchcraft, that is, the question of the possible connection with pre-Christian beliefs and rituals; and (2) the so-called witches' orgies which, from the time witchcraft was equated with heresy, were at the center of accusations". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]