The New Witchcraft & Wicca A. Introduction 1. Backgro

Modern-day witchcraft had its rebirth before the resurgence of women's spirituality in the last two decades. There are those who claim that it has a long lineage, extending back centuries, even before the persecution of witches in medieval Europe. The witches of that time were the herbalists, the wise women, the pagans - all those belonging to earth-based religions and practices that resisted the domination of Christianity. This is a big topic. In order to comprehend some of its aspects, the focus in this paper is on the work of Starhawk, one of the most visible and articulate of the new witches.

Beginning with The Spiral Dance (Simos, 1979), Starhawk began to set forth a new vision of witchcraft that was earth-based and political, but not supernatural. Her focus was on reconnecting people to the earth through ritual, song, and process. She emerged from a group of men and women who came out of the 1960s and 1970s political movements with a sense that some foundation was missing for their practice. The hippies, the radicals, even some of the Christians involved

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