Wiccans

Wicca is a religion influenced by the beliefs and practices of western Europe prior to the spread of Christianity across the continent. Although the exact nature of these beliefs may vary from group to group, most practitioners of Wicca observe rituals that follow the cycles of the seasons and of life, affirm male and female deities who are regarded as equals, and believe in some form of supernatural power (such as magic, sometimes spelled “magick”). Wicca does not require the practitioner to be associated with a group, often called a coven, in order to practice, but rather one can practice as what is often known as a “solitary witch.” Because of this, there are no “official” Wiccan organizations, which makes it difficult to say exactly how many practicing Wiccans there are in Arkansas.

Wicca is associated with the term “modern witchcraft” due to its focus and interpretation of pre-Christian traditions, namely those of nature-based practices that incorporate aspects of pagan rituals. Wicca encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices as compared to other religions. Some Wiccan groups hold a duotheistic belief of the Mother Goddess and the Horned God representing the balance of the feminine and the masculine. A majority of Wiccans hold a moral code summarized as “an it harm none, do what ye will,” which is usually interpreted as a declaration of free will and taking responsibility with an emphasis on minimizing harm to others. Another common Wiccan morality belief is the Law of Threefold Return, which states that whatever a person does, whether good or bad, will return to them threefold. Wicca practitioners observe rituals and seasonal festivals, known as Sabbats, similar to the practices of other religions. A common symbol used in Wicca is the pentacle, a five-pointed star with the center pointing up. The pentacle represents the five elements: Spirit, Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. Many people confuse this symbol of balance with that of the pentagram, used by the Church of Satan, in which the pentacle is inverted with the center pointing down in resemblance of a goat head.

Wicca was started in the United Kingdom in the 1930s–1940s, with Gerald Gardner being the person credited by most for creating (or “reviving”) it. Gardner traveled the world, living in Southeast Asia for a time, and became an amateur folklorist after taking an interest in native cultures and indigenous magic. When he returned from living abroad, Gardner had an interest in the occult. He met Aleister Crowley, a fellow occult practitioner and founder of the religious philosophy Thelema, in the early 1900s. Gardner was initiated into Crowley’s coven, Ordo Templi Orientis, and later was authorized by Crowley to revive the coven’s British chapter. Gardner based much of the Wicca philosophy from Crowley’s own philosophy used in Thelema, focused on nature and old pagan traditions. After Gardner’s death, Wicca changed as it spread. The Gardnerian Wicca, the set of beliefs held by Gardner, split into multiple forms, with the Alexandrian Wicca, created by Alex Sanders, and Dianic Wicca becoming popular.

Wicca did not make an appearance in America until the 1960s when Raymond and Rosemary Buckland, two members of Gerald Gardner’s coven, moved from England to New York and brought their Wiccan beliefs with them. Wicca spread across the country, though it did not meet with acceptance. The 1960s witnessed one of many “Satanic Panics” in America. The increase of New Age religious movements coincided with the mass introduction of LSD and other psychedelic drug use among the younger generations. This combination of hippie culture and New Age practices often led to the association of “satanic rituals” to be applied to any movement that seemed to be occult related. For instance, New Age movements were connected in the popular mind to such events as the murders carried out by the Manson family.

This connection persisted over the coming decades, leading to prejudice against practitioners of Wicca. In 1993, Terry Riley led a march (called the March on Religious Freedom) in Jonesboro (Craighead County) after his occult supply shop, the Magic Moon, was evicted from the property he was renting. In 1994, Riley founded the Southern Delta Church of Wicca in Jonesboro, later moving it to Lake City (Craighead County).

Since the 1990s, Wicca has grown in popularity and recognition as a religion, fueled both by media and practicing covens. Because Wicca does not require a practitioner to be part of a group or to have a physical meeting spot, the number of locations for people to congregate may vary. The most popular method of meeting typically consists of local members gathering on specified days in unofficial locations, such as a field or a member’s house. An internet search can show local covens that meet physically, while specified platforms or private sites allow for communication with others. There are many who also follow Wicca as a solitary practitioner and may converse with others from different covens but do not identify themselves as belonging to a specific coven.

There are a few congregations of Wicca practitioners spread across Arkansas. Tree of Life Wiccan Church is a congregation based in Texarkana (Miller County) that is run from a member’s home. The Northwest Arkansas Witches and Pagans are located in Fayetteville (Washington County), as is the Crystal Rose Coven, which is held at a local community center or home. The Web of Life Pagan Circle is associated with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville (UUFF). There is also an online resource for locating physical and cyber covens around the state called Mandragora Magika.

Along with covens or groups, the popularity of occult or New Age shops has grown. Several such shops (sometimes called metaphysical or spiritualist shops) have opened around the state that sell variations of items associated with magic, including smudge sticks for saging and cleansing; assortments of crystals, gems, and rocks; various herbs or flowers; incense; and candles. A few of these shops include the Magick Cottage Metaphysical Supply Store in Little Rock (Pulaski County), the Dragonfly Cottage in Cabot (Lonoke County), and Enchanted Soul in Eureka Springs (Carroll County).

For additional information:
Artyushenko, Anna. “The Rise of the Occult in 1960s America.” Arcadia, October 9, 2022. Online at https://www.byarcadia.org/post/rise-of-the-occult-in-1960s-america (accessed September 13, 2025).

Heard, Kenneth. “The Witches of East Ark.” Arkansas Times, April 2024, pp. 30–35. Online at https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2024/04/15/here-come-the-witches-how-congregants-in-the-southern-delta-church-of-wicca-found-acceptance (accessed September 13, 2025).

Mandragora Magika. https://www.mandragoramagika.com/arkansas (accessed September 13, 2025).

“March on Fort God: Paganism Emerges in ‘the Bible Belt.’” Whitlock Independent Cinemagraphic Coverage of America, Children of the Circle. Online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW2bdQpzW-Y (accessed September 5, 2025). [See related video in sidebar]

Southern Delta Church of Wicca—ATC. https://www.sdcw-atc.org/ (accessed September 13, 2025).

Web of Life Unitarian Universalists of Fayetteville. https://www.uufayetteville.org/community/groups/web-of-life/ (accessed September 13, 2025).

Mikaela Bailey
University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture