Month: October 2011

Neo-paganism is a complex phenomenon — counterculture, movement, religion and lifestyle are all aspects of what Neo-paganism represents to its adherants. It is also a dynamic phenomenon — Gerald Gardner’s “wicca” began to change and evolve, almost as soon as the concept entered his mind; it continued to do so throughout his career, and Neo-paganism as a whole maintains that pattern of mutating growth today.… Read more

Witchcraft has gone mainstream.

Even though it took the work of thirty years to prepare the way, the public's attitude toward Witchcraft was effectively turned upside down in less than a decade.

This is the Conclusion of Witchcraft Goes Mainstream, by Brooks Alexander

The history of European witchcraft can also be seen in terms of the coming together and breaking up of its individual components. Prior to the middle ages, witchcraft did not exist as such, because it was still in pieces. Its components had not yet abandoned their separate histories and been fully joined.

After the Renaissance, the process reversed itself , and witchcraft ceased to exist as such because it went to pieces. This is chapter 6 of Witchcraft Goes Mainstream by Brooks Alexander.

Despite the public's exposure to Neopagan themes and concepts through the media (or perhaps because of it), there remains widespread confusion about what modern Witchcraft is and where it comes from. In particular there is confusion about how the Witchcraft of today relates to the witchcraft of the Middle Ages.

This is Chapter 5 of Witchcraft Goes Mainstream, by Brooks Alexander.

Teen-oriented media is a kind of youth-culture echo-chamber -- an ideal environment for commercial manipulation. Without any standards other than profits and ratings, the media is "both responding to interest in Witchcraft and creating it, in a rapid feedback loop."

The mid-1990s explosion of Witchcraft in the media can be seen as part of that process, and as a sign of the new (teen) center of gravity in media marketing and entertainment.

This is Chapter 3 of Witchcraft Goes Mainstream, by Brooks Alexander

Bibliography for Witchcraft Goes Mainstream, by Brooks Alexander

The cultural shift that we are undergoing (aka the culture "war") means that Christians will be called upon to explain and exemplify the gospel in new situations, to a new kind of audience, using new communication tools and skills. It also means that an active new "mission field" is not only here among us, it will shortly come looking for you. The day is coming, and probably sooner than you think, when you or someone you know will meet a Witch or some other variety of Neopagan in a social or professional situation.

When that day comes, you will want to be prepared ahead of time with enough information to respond knowledgably and to navigate the encounter with confidence and skill.

For Christians and other cultural conservatives, the Fort Hood Witchcraft flap was a public relations debacle. The anti-Witch crusaders entered the fray with great fanfare and left it looking foolish. Indeed, their campaign failed so completely that every item on their agenda was rejected. Worst of all, the crusaders themselves were widely perceived to be intemperate and uninformed.

It was also a public relations triumph for modern Witchcraft. In effect, the episode put an exclamation point on a decade filled with changes in the way that Witchcraft is seen and understood. It both symbolized and speeded up the process of transformation that was already taking place.

Brooks Alexander is the founder of The Spiritual Couterfeits Project (SCP), an evangelical ministry and think-tank in Berkeley, California that studies new religions and spiritual movements.

An experienced journalist who is educated in law, his personal experience in the occult and his subsequent conversion to Christ give him a unique perspective on current spiritual trends.

Copyright and formatting information for the online version of Witchcraft Goes Mainstream, by Brooks Alexander