A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States

Kudos to the author for writing a book that is aimed at an academic audience but not extremely stilted. She addresses the problem that any religion faces as it emerges from loosely structured, autonomous groups and individuals in the "catacombs" to a more established institution. The absence of brick-and-mortar places is one of the things highlighted by the author, and she usefully explores the desire of many Wiccan parents to provide visible continuity for their children and other people coming to the Craft. Ms. Berger also notes the cultural changes that bear upon Wicca and its practitioners; a good example is the sexual freedom that characterized the festivals (in particular) and other venues for Wiccan networking in the 60s and early 70s. Now, with the full emergence of AIDS and the pandemic of herpes, older Wiccans are more circumspect, not only because more are bonded in relatively monogamous ways, but also because they have children towards whom they feel rightly protective. "Do not as I did, because it may hurt you," is a valid sentiment in current times. All in all, it's a good real-life exploration of how Wicca has changed as an emerging religion and culture, and the challenges it faces in the future.

Helen Berger is probably one of the leading investigators in trying to get a sense of the numbers and ideological places Pagans and Witches in the U.S. are going. While her book "Voices From The Pagan Census" is designed to display mostly raw survey data with little interpretation, this work handles most of her interpretive analysis of this movement. A note of warning--although the title includes "Neo-Paganism," there is very little here not of Witchen or Wiccan tradtion. Those looking for cross-tradition discussion will be disappointed. Her book, thankfully, is centered around questions of family and tradition continuity through children, and how the influence of multi-generational change will affect the communities at hand. Her own major influence is Anthony Giddens, who holds that "postmodern fracturing" is the logical outgrowth of modernity, rather than a new era. Likewise, the subject or self has in no way evaporated, but rather remains symbolically negotiated and mediated between public and private experiences. As globalization lifts and floats institutions above their historically grounded practices and origins, so Wicca, as a religion of its time, asserts a similar possible universality, and this accounts for the way it draws both on individual experience and large, competing traditions of formerly indigenous knowledge as valid ways of practice. Offering a background in census numbers, the concept of magic, Gerald Gardner, and other common Witchcraft parameters, Berger first focuses on the concept of the "magical self," a Promethean space attuned to the mysticism both of specific theurgical rituals and the mysticism of everyday life. Gods/Goddesses are viewed multivalently, and personal transformations, (often in terms of gender roles and expectations) are a predominant concern in ritual. Berger then moves outward, to examine "The Coven," and the space of (post)modern friendships and fluid relations that develop. Secrecy, the Learning of Witch practices, and the similarity to family and kinship structures is discussed. Again moving outward, Berger examines covens and groups in relations to the larger concept of community. Drawing on Shane Phelan's concepts of lesbian community, Berger argues a similar process takes place--insulation from hostility, visibility, persona construction, and political launching pad for interacting with the wider world. While large conflicts exist, Berger posits the commonality of a magical "shared life world" and a collective memory that helps to construct a usable past and promising future, one that is envisioned especially at festivals. Perhaps most fascinating and unique is Berger's attention to children and the routininzation that accompanies multigenerational development. While some families affiliate themselves with institutions such as Unitarian Universalism for social cover, others question bringing in children at all. As most parents were raised a different religion, many do not want to inflict tha

Though this may be a scholarly work on Wicca, the average reader will be pleasantly surprised. Ms. Berger's prose is accessible, and her view of Wicca and neopaganism is balanced. As a physician and ethnographer interested in biomedical and alternative healing traditions, I found Berger's work fascinating and enlightening.

A Community of Witches helped me to see how Witchcraft/Neo-Paganism/etc. has evolved and is growing through the eyes of a researcher - one who has not completely become a part the religion, yet has experienced it and watched people grow from the inside. I really enjoyed Helen's observations and connections to the concerns of parents bringing children into Wicca, and pointing out the ideas of a fluid community based on common interests. This book helped me to realize some of the many elements that are changing within this growing religion, and to think about where it fits together in my life. Thank YOU Helen for the wonderful thoughts!

"One of the finest sociological studies of American Wicca ever published. It is unlikely to be superseded. Its author is to be commended for maintaining a high degree of theoretical sophistication while remaining accessible to the average reader." Stephen D. Glazier (University of Nebraska) in Review of Religious Research, volume 40, number 4 (June 1999), p. 380.