‘It’s always been counter cultural’: Is witchcraft part of an anti-science renaissance?

You can be a scientist and a witch at the same time, although not everyone is convinced that the two are easy bedfellows, writes Naomi Curston. With witchcraft on the rise, that could be a problem

Wiccan priestesses pray around a fire pit during the Imbolc, one of the eight Sabbat festivals, the most important dates in a witch’s calendar (Getty)

Witchcraft “is not based on dogma or a set of beliefs, nor on scriptures or a sacred book revealed by a great man. Witchcraft takes its teachings from nature, and reads inspiration in the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, the flight of birds, the slow growth of trees, and the cycles of the seasons.” 

This is how Starhawk, an author, activist and witch, defined witchcraft in her book The Spiral Dance in 1979. In other words, it’s a broad and flexible nature-based practice, and those who practice witchcraft may both use and honour nature in their spiritual practice.

As you read this, many witches may be gearing up for the new moon (the new moon is a great time to set intentions, as they will grow alongside the waxing moon over the next two weeks), but the way each witch marks this moon phase will be very different. Likewise, different witches have different ways of interpreting the world.