Witchcraft – Whence and Wither?

[icymist]

The growth in the practice of Witchcraft has been substantial, since the 1950’s when the last Witchcraft Act of 1735 was repealed in England. It is estimated that there are approximately 40,000 “Pagans” in England and Wales (UK Census, 2001), with over 7,000 of these mainly white, middle-class, and significantly female, respondents identifying themselves as ‘Wiccan’.

I have just returned from the inaugural conference of ESSWE, the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism, held in Tubingen, Germany, to be asked by the New Statesman online team to write this introduction to Witchcraft. It appears that the religion is now recognised in both Academic circles and in the Media, an acknowledgement of its status in post-modern society.

In popular culture, on television I can watch repeats of the witchcraft-based popular films, Charmed, Bewitched, or the series Buffy the Vampire-Slayer, featuring the Wiccan heroine, Willow, or even Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

At a more dedicated level, at the ESSWE conference, an academic gave a presentation on the three-year Priestess Training Program offered by the Glastonbury Goddess Temple.

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