Wiccan high priestess celebrating a lunar ritual
High priestess Virginia Powell (left) leading a Wiccan lunar ritual in the temple at the Witch School in Hoopeston, Illinois, October 25, 2006.
Wicca
religion
Wicca, the largest of the modern Pagan, or Neo-Pagan, religions. Its followers, who are called Wiccans, typically identify as witches and draw inspiration largely from the pre-Christian religions of Europe. Influenced by earlier forms of Western esotericism, Wicca publicly emerged in England during the 1950s. At that time most Wiccans were members of initiatory groups called covens, although by the early 21st century most followers were instead operating solitarily. Today the number of Wiccans is probably in the low hundreds of thousands, the majority residing in English-speaking Western countries. Followers often use the pentagram, or five-pointed star, as the main ...(100 of 1552 words)