Paganism

Rising Wiccan Tide: 1.5 Million U.S. Witches Challenge Mainstream Religion

March 3, 2024

Wicca, a minority religion that began in the U.K. during the 1940s, has seen significant growth in the United States since its introduction in the 1960s. With an estimated 1.5 million practitioners identifying as witches, and approximately 800,000 of those adhering to Wicca specifically, this spiritual path continues to attract followers. Its emphasis on celebrating a Goddess alongside a God, lack of formal institutional structure, and focus on ritual and direct spiritual experience rather than belief set it apart from mainstream religions.

Source: https://bnnbreaking.com...

Witch bottles wash ashore in Texas

November 30, 2023

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Researchers and beachcombers are finding “witch bottles” along the Texas Gulf Coast. The bottles are sealed and clearly filled with an assortment of items suggesting their intentions – and to the eyes of Witches, at least, they are clearly the result of some kind of magickal practice.

On November 17, a researcher at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies encountered such a bottle and posted it on Facebook. “Witch bottle!” they wrote. “We find these...

Feeding 4000: Wiccan priest receives federal grant to grow gardens for free food pantry

November 22, 2023

JONESBORO- Ark. – Armed with a $300,000 federal grant to build a community garden and feed the hungry, Southern Delta Church of Wicca priest and Aquarian Tabernacle Church High Summoner Terry Riley is finally being accepted in the Arkansas town where he lives.

It’s taken a long while to gain that acceptance.

Riley received the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production grant from the U.S. Natural Recourses Conservation Service this summer to expand gardens he planted near his Lake City, Ark., home to feed the needy.

Charlotte Professor Explores 400 Years of American Magic With New Podcast

October 24, 2023

As the hot, Southern heat becomes the crisp air that signals the transition of seasons, it’s hard not to think of all the things that go hand-in-hand with fall, otherwise known as spooky season.

While trick-or-treating, hayrides and horror movie marathons are prominent features of October, there’s one theme that underscores it all: magic, witchcraft, sorcery and enchantment.

Magic can mean different things to different people. For many, it’s reserved for those fantastical worlds seen on screen, but for others, it’s not so far removed. For Heather...

As witchcraft becomes a multibillion-dollar business, practitioners’ connection to the natural world is changing

July 26, 2023

Witches, Wiccans and other contemporary Pagans see divinity in trees, streams, plants and animals. Most Pagans view the Earth as the Goddess, with a body that humans must care for, and from which they gain emotional, spiritual and physical sustenance.

Paganism is an umbrella term that includes religions that view their practices as returning to those of pre-Christian societies, in which they believe the Goddess was worshipped along with the gods and the land was seen as sacred. Wicca focuses specifically on the practice of the British Isles.

Witchcraft has also...

SatanCon, poking at religion and government, opens this weekend in Boston

April 25, 2023

The Satanic Temple is celebrating 10 years of existence with its SatanCon convention in Boston this weekend, but it's not what you probably think.

The organization is as much a theater of American satire as it is a place for believers.

The temple, not be confused with the Satanic Church, does not formally deify Satan as the personification of evil, but rather it sees him as a literary character, a necessary rebel, while mocking traditional religion and calling out government’s embrace of institutions like the Catholic Church, co-founder Malcolm Jarry said.

Connecticut group urges state to exonerate witch trial victims over 300 years later

March 1, 2023

It’s been over 300 years since 34 men and women were accused of witchcraft in Connecticut. Now, they may have the chance to be exonerated. KTLA’s sister station WTNH reports.

While the history of witchcraft in Connecticut was difficult to track due to lack of documentation, the accusations led to the first large-scale witch trials in the American colonies, predating the infamous Salem Witch Trials by nearly 30 years.

During a resolution hearing on Wednesday, members of the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project (CWTEP) shared stories of the innocent witch-trial...

Pagan group seeks public understanding

January 9, 2023

A new group that meets at the Tahlequah Public Library offers a safe and supportive place for those practicing paganism.

Brandi Huffman, who organized the meetings, said she and the other attendees just needed a space to connect.

"Witches of all times have had covens, groups, and meetings and things that they do together. I had been wanting to do this for a long time, and it just happened one day," said Huffman. "I needed something. I needed a way to connect with people who felt the same way that I do."

Source:...

The New Bedford Baphomet: City removes pagan art added to holiday display

December 18, 2022

Some New Bedford residents were surprised to see a quirky new addition to the city’s holiday display in Clasky Common Park the morning of Dec. 11.

Where once stood a Frosty the Snowman ice fishing shack, a colorful Baphomet — a gnostic deity recognized by pagans and occultists — was painted on plywood looking over the wooden snowmen skating in front of it. The Baphomet was removed by the end of the day. According to the City of New Bedford, city workers took it down.

“During the past week, an unknown person or persons breached protective fencing installed around a...

Asian faiths try to save swastika symbol corrupted by Hitler

November 27, 2022

Sheetal Deo was shocked when she got a letter from her Queens apartment building’s co-op board calling her Diwali decoration “offensive” and demanding she take it down.

“My decoration said ‘Happy Diwali’ and had a swastika on it,” said Deo, a physician, who was celebrating the Hindu festival of lights.

The equilateral cross with its legs bent at right angles is a millennia-old sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism that represents peace and good fortune, and was also used widely by Indigenous people worldwide in a similar vein.