Most Wiccans practice alone and are free to develop their own unique practice. Wiccans have one overriding rule, “Harm none and do as you will,” and no single religious text that they draw beliefs from. The rituals are constructed to not only celebrate the season but to put the participant in direct contact with the divine. For example, at Beltane – which takes place May 1, at the height of spring – Wiccans celebrate fertility in both the Earth and in people’s lives. Each ritual encourages participants to celebrate the changes the seasons bring to nature and to reflect on how those changes are mirrored in their own lives. Adherents refer to themselves as practitioners, not believers.Ī yearly cycle of rituals, known as sabbats, celebrate the beginning and height of each of the four seasons of the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, Wicca lacks a formal institutional structure such as a church and puts more emphasis on ritual and direct spiritual experience than belief.

The religion differentiates itself from more mainstream religions, such as Christianity, by celebrating a Goddess as well as a God.

The increasing numbers that have been witnessed in surveys and the growth of groups, such as those on TikTok, suggest that the religion is continuing to grow. Based on my most recent survey data, approximately 800,000 Americans are Wiccans. It is estimated that there could be around 1.5 million witches in the U.S.Īs I am aware from my own research of more than 30 years, however, not all witches consider themselves Wiccans. All these spiritual paths, as pagans refer to them, base their practices on pre-Christian religions and cultures.Įver since Wicca arrived in the United States in the 1960s, it has been growing – sometimes by leaps and bounds, and other times more slowly.

Wicca and Witchcraft are part of the larger contemporary pagan movement, which includes druids and heathens among others. Wicca, an alternative minority religion whose adherents, regardless of gender, call themselves witches, began in the U.K. It has even led The New York Times to ask: “When did everyone become a witch?” Wicca and witchcraft are popping up in pop culture these days, from teenage witches on TikTok to a Marvel comic superhero called Wiccan. Berger is a r esident Scholar at Brandeis University's Women's Studies Research Center. This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

Wicca practitioner