However, as the cosmetics giant Sephora recently found out, mysticism and its more formal manifestation, witch culture, are not topics to be taken lightly. The kit was clearly aimed at dabblers in witchcraft, rather than those who actually practice it, which was perhaps part of the miscalculation.
Data on the existing population of self-identified practicing witches suggests that a robust—and growing—witch community exists. Though the data is sparse, what we do know is that the practice of witchcraft has seen major growth in recent decades. As the witch aesthetic has risen, so has the number of people who identify as witches. The best source of data on the number of witches in the US comes from assessments of the Wicca population.
Not all people who practice witchcraft consider themselves Wicca, but the religion makes up a significant subset, as Alden Wicker noted for Quartz in Wicca is a largely Western religious movement that dates back to the midth century in the US and UK. According to the site wicca. While the US government does not regularly collect detailed religious data, because of concerns that it may violate the separation of church and state, several organizations have tried to fill the data gap.
From to , Trinity College in Connecticut ran three large, detailed religion surveys. Those have shown that Wicca grew tremendously over this period. Rituals in Wicca often include holidays centered around phases of the moon; solar equinoxes and solstices; elements such as fire, water, earth and air; and initiation ceremonies. The rituals of modern Wiccan practice can be traced to famed first-wave feminist, Egyptologist, anthropologist and folklorist Margaret Murray.
Gardner, considered the founder of Wicca, was born in , north of Liverpool in England. He was initiated into the group in In Gardner bought land in the village of Brickett Wood to establish a center for folkloric study, that would serve as headquarters for a coven of his own. Gardner died of a heart attack in while onboard a ship off the North African coast.
He was buried in Tunis. Gardner met famed occultist Aleister Crowley in The two men had similar ideas. Crowley had, in , proposed the idea of forming a new religion that would pull from old pagan traditions worshipping the earth, celebrating equinoxes and solstices and other hallmarks of nature-based worship.
Written in the s and s, initiates were required to make their own copy by hand. Future Wiccan leader Doreen Valiente met Gardner in when she contacted him following an article in Illustrated magazine that presented to their readers the reality of covens and their practices in a context of normal, educated people.
Valiente would become a prominent Wiccan advocate and scholar. Buckland became a vigorous promoter of Wicca in the United States and in the s, moved to New Hampshire and developed Seax-Wica, which invoked Anglo-Saxon mythology into Wiccan practice.
Sybil Leek was a popularizer of Wicca in America. Claiming to be a hereditary witch, Leek became involved with the New Forest coven in the late s, continuing her practice through several covens in England before moving to the United States and settling in Los Angeles.
Leek transformed her Wiccan practice into celebrity status centered around astrology, writing numerous books and a regular column in Ladies Home Journal. Known as a publicity seeker, he catapulted to fame following an autobiography and a film in , Legend of the Witches. Sanders attracted a younger generation of followers, and the lurid stories about him are considered to have had the effect of popularizing Wicca as an alternate lifestyle in the s.
The s saw the American version of Wicca transform from the magic-based pagan discipline claiming British heritage to a natured-based spiritual movement, with heavy tones of environmentalism and feminism. In turn, this influenced the religion in England. In Wiccan activist Z. Budapest started the Susan B.
Anthony coven, which practiced Dianic Wicca, a form of matriarchal lunar worship. Budapest wrote the Feminist Book of Shadows. In , Wicca was recognized as an official religion in the United States through the court case Dettmer v. MP calls for pardon for witches. Secret life of modern-day witches. Witch is religious leaflet target. Image source, Doreen Valiente Foundation. Gerald Gardner worked to ensure the survival of Wiccan culture, gaining worldwide attention.
Image source, Winkworth Highcliffe. Image source, John Belham-Payne. Gerald Gardner's book of shadows - containing his rituals - was given to High Priestess Doreen Valiente. Unreliable witch? Related Topics. Published 13 June Published 10 June Published 20 August
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