Abstract
Wicca is a neopagan religious movement that gained popularity in the mid-20th century. One of its characteristics is a lack of commitment to dogma. This lack of dogma creates an individualized practice that allows people to able to bring in their own identities and personalities into their practice to make it most suited for themselves. This individualism creates an endless possibility for people to practice the religion. This research is, therefore, meant to understand the importance of individualism within Wicca and how practitioners use individualized beliefs to bring their identities and personalities into their practice. Utilizing ethnographic interviewing with some participant observation, this research explores questions such as: how individualism is utilized at the individual and collective level, what aspects of their personal identities practitioners bring into Wicca, and how are these identities reflected into their beliefs. This project was completed throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021 and involved ten participants from Western North Carolina.
How to Cite
McDermott, M., (2022) “Casting Your Own Spell: The Role of Individualism in Wiccan Beliefs”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 35(1).
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