Wicca

History, Belief, and Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft

The past century has borne witness to a growing interest in the belief systems of ancient Europe. By far the largest and best known of these Paganisms has been Wicca, a new religious movement that can now count hundreds of thousands of adherents worldwide. Wicca was first presented as the survival of an ancient pre-Christian Witch-Cult, whose participants assembled in covens to venerate their Horned God and Mother Goddess, to celebrate seasonal festivities, and to cast spells by the light of the full moon. Spreading to North America, where it diversified under the impact of environmentalism, feminism, and the 1960s counter-culture, Wicca came to be presented as a Goddess-centered nature religion. Today, Wicca is a maturing religious movement replete with its own distinct worldview, unique culture, and internal divisions. This book represents the first published academic introduction to be exclusively devoted to this fascinating faith, exploring how this Witches’ Craft developed, what its participants believe and practice, and what the Wiccan community actually looks like.