What does Wicca really provide? What are some of the promises this religion makes? What should you know? How does it compare to the truth of God’s word?
Lauren presses send.
An incoherent string of emojis rises to the top of the comment section on her Instagram feed. What might appear as an innocent collection of symbols and shapes actually contains a latent meaning. Populating social media platforms like Tumblr, Instagram, and YouTube, these emoji strings represent the language of the rapid spread of online digital Wicca.
The ascent of digital witchcraft and Wicca has coincided with increased availability from internet platforms. Wiccans convene on the internet, amassing followings of young, aspiring witches.
How Has Wicca Grown?
The Gospel Coalition’s Joe Carter has noted that Wicca is the largest subset of the modern witchcraft revival movement, characterized as a “worldview, religion, and practices associated with using rituals that are believed to harness and focus cosmic or psychic energies to bring about some desired change. Modern witchcraft is the largest and most common subset of neo-paganism, a diverse group of religious movements that claim to be derived from historical pagan religions.”
Today, Wicca is aided by the entertainment industry’s infatuation with the supernatural. From Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and to more subtle popularizations like ABC’s Once Upon a Time, the number of shows that glamorize magical practices has increased dramatically.
Wicca’s growing popularity can also be attributed to a rise in the younger generation’s interest in diverse social and natural issues such as climate change, gender equality, and LGBT rights. Wicca seems to offer answers for all these topics.
With so many touchpoints across media, politics, and culture, it’s not surprising that Wicca’s popularity is growing.