Hi, JayDee,
Thanks for the reply, but I think this thread is where we are supposed to ask questions for the Witch, Priestess, and Cauldron radio show to reply to. ("Post your witchcraft questions here and you will receive replies on the next available "Ask A WItch" episode of "The Witch, The Priestess, and The Cauldron.") I was hoping they would come here, read my question and answer it on the next "Ask a Witch" episode that they do. My question is not about the cost of goods or the desirability of privacy, but really about the social changes in Pagan covens, circles, groves, and communities that may have resulted in more and more uninitiated Solitary Pagans reading books and watching You Tube videos.
I found the article I mentioned. I hope it is OK to put the URL here. It is "As witchcraft becomes a multibillion-dollar business, practitioners’ connection to the natural world is changing" by Helen A. Berger, Affiliated Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University, published July 26, 2023 --
https://theconversation.com/as-witchcra ... ing-209677
Berger's entire article is thoughtful, but these short excerpts give the heart of the matter:
"Groups called covens were the norm when I began my research, but as my own research shows, most Pagans now are solitary practitioners. ... Sociologist Douglas Ezzy was one of the first scholars of contemporary Paganism to write about this ... His articles in the early 2000s describe how knowledge – once shared at no cost in covens – became something to be bought in the form of a book. With this change in practice, the social bonds and obligations that came with the exchange of knowledge also came to an end."
To clarify, here are some further questions I hope that Miss Elvyra and Deborah Voith discuss on the next "Ask a Witch" radio show:
1. Do you agree with the premise of Helen Berger's article that claimed that the Pagan social culture that flourished in the last half of the 20th century is being lost due to the growing Solitary movement?
2. Do you think that coven-style Paganism was a "culture fad" of 20th century generations and is now seen as "old fashioned" compared to Solitary Paganism?
3. Are there certain regions or states, or communities, such as urban versus rural, that have more coven style Pagans versus Solitaries?
4. Is the rise in Solitary Paganism due to publication of "Witch Books" as the author Douglas Ezzy mentioned?
5. Could the rise in Solitary Paganism also be due to the isolation brought on by the rise of the Internet starting in the 1990s?
6. Do you think that the COVID pandemic in 2020 could have been a factor in the rise of Solitary Paganism, or did the rise in Solitaries begin before COVID?
7. Do you think that religious anti-Pagans in small towns are making it difficult for Pagans to participate in public covens, circles, or groves as found in religions like Wicca or Traditional Witchcraft, and that this makes Solitary Witchcraft seem "safer" for the young, or is that mostly fear-mongering?
8. Do you think that Americans in general have slowly turned away from all religions, and Paganism is no different than Christianity or New Age in this lessening of membership?
These are questions that many of us have, and I hope you will speak on them.
