Wicca

Wicca, sometimes known as the Goddess movement, Goddess spirituality, or the Craft. One scholar has estimated that there are now more than 200,000 adherents of Wicca and related "neopagan" faiths in the United States, the country where neopaganism, like many formal religions, is most flourishing. Wiccans -- who may also call themselves Witches (the capital W is meant to distance them from the word's negative connotations, because Wiccans neither worship Satan nor practise the sort of malicious magic traditionally associated with witches) or just plain pagans (often with a capital P) -- tend to be white, middle-class, highly educated, and they're not just on your TV screen: these days, witches, druids and shamans are coming out of the broom closet and making themselves heard. With the growing interest in all things supernatural, from Harry Potter to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's little wonder that paganism too is growing in numbers - but those riding broomsticks and worshipping Beelzebub need not apply.

The number of pagans in Ireland now tops 3,000 - encompassing such diverse trends as Druidism, Shamanism and white magic. But the largest and most popular of these pagan movements is witchcraft, or as its modern-day followers refer to it, 'wicca'. Due its Celtic origins, Ireland is fast becoming the place to be for wiccans and pagans of all kinds, and with the occult becoming ever more popular amongst angst-ridden teenagers, you could shortly be greeting your co-workers with 'Blessed Be' instead of 'Good Morning'.

Article from The Examiner (with permission)

External links:

False goddess?
The Witches' Voice