Practitioners of Pagan religions no longer need to go into a forest to find an object for their altars. Commercialization means that sacred objects are available online.
For Wiccans, midsummer, with the maximum hours of sunlight, is the time for celebrating new life.
WitchTok is the subculture of pagans who use TikTok to share spells, learn about mythology and connect with co-religionists.
(northeasternherb, showthe8thhouse, greenwitchmystics/TikTok)
Samhain will be particularly poignant this year for Wiccans who are members or veterans of the US military as they process the end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Most Wiccans in the U.S. practice alone, though they congregate in large gatherings to conduct rituals and learn from one another.
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For members of the minority religion of Wicca and witchcraft – part of contemporary paganism – Halloween is not just a children’s holiday: It is both a celebration and acceptance of death.
An old Canadian law which outlaws magic fraud is about to be eliminated. This print by William Hogarth, ‘Credulity Superstition and Fanaticism,’ from 1762 epitomizes the Enlightenment view that witchcraft and religious fanaticism go hand in hand.
William Hogarth/1762
An antiquated Canadian law against magic and witchcraft is about to be repealed. A close look at its history reveals that it is far less superstitious than it appears.