Agency and Affiliation in Traditional Witchcraft

Traditional Witchcraft is a Neopagan movement distinct from the more well-known Gardnerian Wicca, although both arose out of the occult and witchcraft scene in the 1950's United Kingdom. Practitioners investigate their family and ethnic roots and incorporate a variety of folk traditions into their personal practice. They work closely with the plants, landscape, and seasons of their specific geographical location. The movement encourages embodied personal growth through the practice of practical magic.

Dr Steven Muir will focus on two features of Traditional Witchcraft: self-agency and affiliation with spirits. 

Practitioners work with a high degree of self-agency and a strong sense of their innate worth. They undertake creative and symbiotic partnerships with deities, spirits and elemental forces rather than simply worshipping them (a conventional theistic model) or dominating them (a model from ancient magic). Traditional Witchcraft is a modern, egalitarian and life-affirming new religious movement.

The rise of popular internet use in the mid 1990's contributed to the growth of this movement. The do-it-yourself spirit, individualism, and self-autonomy in Traditional Witchcraft are appealing to Millennials and Gen Z's.