I recently revisited a text on Neo-Paganism titled Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler. I wrote a review for the book for a course in American Religion, and as it is the “spooky season,” I thought I’d recreate it into a little guide about modern Paganism.

The term “pagan” calls forth complex and often negative connotations or expectations, though the term simply means pre-Christian, nature-religions. Witchcraft is perhaps the heaviest and most controversial aspect of paganism and is often considered separate from it. Modernly referred to as “the Craft,” modern-day witches are attempting to portray witchcraft as “the Yoga of the West” (Adler), meaning to focus on the aspect of self-realization rather than spell-casting.

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