organized around a belief in the mother, or earth, goddess (Plaskow and Christ, 1979).
Starhawk noted that not all of witches shared her political perspective (Simos, 1982). There are several different branches of Wicca, including Dianic Wicca, which excludes men from its practice. The oldest branch of Wicca, with roots in Europe, is not particularly political at all. However, the new witchcraft is primarily the American model, with its two branches - the Dianic and the more inclusive branch that Starhawk represents, which includes both men and women in its rites.
The new witchcraft, like the old, preserves some of the symbols. Members are still organized in covens, preferably of 13 people. They still use the pentacle, in some instances, and some of the classic formulations for drawing the circle and calling in the powers. They might use the athame, a symbolic knife for witchcraft rituals. However, the focus is on connecting people with the land and with the cycle of the seasons (Simos, 1979).
It is also on changing the processes and systems in this country. For example, Starhawk talked about one ritual at the Pentagon, in which people encircled the building and surrounded it with a ribbon. The intent was to magically change the mindset and process of functioning of the people within the Pentagon. In another instance, Starhawk and her group created a ritual at the blockade of the Diablo nuclear power plant, which was designed to create a group bond. This group bond, then, was expected to change the process by which the people protested
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