"The Principles of Wiccan Belief"

Reprinted in Drawing Down the Moon in 1979

Neo-Paganism is a term applied to a number of related movements that have attempted to revive ancient polytheistic (belief in more than one god) religions of Europe and the Middle East during the twentieth century. This term is customarily used in place of such words as "pagan" and "witch" because of negative associations with the witch-hunts that took place during the Middle Ages in Europe and during the seventeenth century in New England. Yet many Neo-Paganists call themselves witches, or Wiccans, and they meet in covens (the ancient word for groups of witches). While covens differ in structure and ritual, they share a tendency to worship nature as a way to renew connections between human beings...