Misplaced Pages

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Solitary practitioner" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Part of a series on
Witchcraft
Neopagan Wicca Feminist Dianic
By region Africa Asia Europe Goetia Roma Latin America Middle East North America Oceania
Related topics Cunning folk Folk religion Magic Black Grey White Magic and religion Shamanism Witch as an archetype Witch-cult hypothesis Witch hunt in the early modern period
v t e

A solitary witch is one who chooses to practice their spiritual faith in the privacy of their home or other designated space, without the need to participate in a group such as that of a Wiccan coven; although it's not uncommon for solitaries to participate in some communal activities (e.g. Sabbats). Many solitary practitioners are Neo-pagans, who adhere to a diverse group of pagan religions that include various forms of Wicca, Traditional Reconstructionism and Traditional British Witchcraft, among others. About half of all pagans are self-ascribed solitary practitioners.

While formal training is not a necessary component of solitary practice as it is in more organized groups, it is nevertheless a supported recommendation and practitioners can find myriad workshops, seminars and classes, in their local communities and online, that help to provide a more well-rounded approach to their spiritual practice. In most cases books are the primary means of education of the solitary practitioner, along with CDs and instructional videos. Furthermore, the internet has provided for innumerable avenues of personal education in several spiritual faiths, Neo-Pagan or otherwise, making it possible for an individual to learn all they can about a particular path. In addition, that individual may decide to merge the various beliefs, legends and rituals they've researched from differing paths into a diverse, yet coherent whole known as being “Eclectic.”

Decisions for choosing solitary practice over community gatherings are as individual as the practitioners themselves, but a few common reasons are often cited. The reason most often given is that of fear, in that the practitioner is concerned they might be the subject of harassment or abuse, whether physically, emotionally, and/or socially, should the individual publicly express their beliefs, especially when those beliefs are in direct contrast to those of their local community. This mentality is often referred to by those in the Neo-Pagan community by the slang phrase, “still in the broom closet.”

However, another reason is mere personal preference: the individual simply feels more comfortable practicing alone, rather than with others; entering into sacred communion with their deities on a one-to-one basis in private. There have been historically wise women, oracles, shamans and the like, who practised alone and offered essential services to their communities, choosing a select few to inherit their knowledge (most often members of their family or people they were particularly close with). The claim could be made that such exclusivity contributed to the targeting of witches, genuine or not, whose secret arts caused fear and suspicion in the minds of the general public and jealousy in medieval doctors, whose practices were ineffective. (This last statement is inferred from historical premise and opinion and should not be treated as fact).

Solitary practice has been the subject of scrutiny within the Neo-Pagan community by those who feel that the practice is uncommitted, or in some way insincere, especially within the Wiccan community who consider a witch's power to be transferred or bestowed upon an individual by the leading authority of a group, for instance a High Priest or Priestess. Regardless of public opinion, several proponents of solitary practice, such as Doreen Valiente and Raymond Buckland, have advocated and promoted the act of “self-initiation”, a process by which an individual professes in private (usually through a ritual of some kind) their commitment to and worship of a particular deity or pantheon. In this way a practitioner may acquire in their own way a feeling of authenticity, with the added benefit of remaining exclusive, and an extensive amount of self-initiating rituals have been written and published for the general public by popular New Age authors like Silver RavenWolf and the late Scott Cunningham, both of whom having written educational guides for the solitary practitioner..

References

1. Higginbotham, Joyce & River (2002). Paganism : An Introduction To Earth-Centered Religions (8th ed.). Woodbury, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications. pp. 11, 15. ISBN 978-0-7387-0222-3.
2. Higginbotham, Joyce & River (2002). Paganism : An Introduction To Earth-Centered Religions (8th ed.). Woodbury, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7387-0222-3.
3. Higginbotham, Joyce & River (2002). Paganism : An Introduction To Earth-Centered Religions (8th ed.). Woodbury, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7387-0222-3.
4. Green, Marian (2009). A Witch Alone : The Essential Guide For The Solo Practitioner of the Magical Arts. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Pub. Co. Inc. pp. xii. ISBN 978-1-57174-618-4.

Further reading

• Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions by Joyce & River Higginbotham
• The Wiccan Path: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Rae Beth
• White Magic: A Book of Transformation, Spells and Mind Magic by Marian Green
• Solitary Wicca for Life: Complete Guide to Mastering the Craft on Your Own by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
• Self-Initiation for the Solitary Witch: Attaining Higher Spirituality Through a Five-Degree System by Shanddaramon
• Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic by Scott Cunningham

v t e Neopagan witchcraft
History	History of Wicca Etymology of Wicca Wicca and LGBT people Dettmer v. Landon
Traditions	British Traditional Alexandrian Wicca Algard Wicca Blue Star Wicca Central Valley Wicca Chthonioi Alexandrian Wicca Gardnerian Wicca Other 1734 Tradition Celtic Wicca Church and School of Wicca Cochrane's Craft Coven of Atho Dianic Wicca Faery Wicca Feri Georgian Wicca Odyssean Wicca Reclaiming Seax-Wica Stregheria Universal Eclectic Wicca
Notable figures	Gerald Gardner Doreen Valiente Alex Sanders Maxine Sanders Sybil Leek Dafo Margot Adler Victor Anderson Artemis Gavin Bone Lois Bourne Jack Bracelin Raymond Buckland Eddie Buczynski Zsuzsanna Budapest Charles Cardell Ipsita Roy Chakraverti Patricia Crowther Vivianne Crowley Robert Cochrane Scott Cunningham Phyllis Curott Cerridwen Fallingstar Janet Farrar Stewart Farrar Raven Grimassi Gavin Frost Yvonne Frost Philip Heselton Frederic Lamond Rosaleen Norton Silver RavenWolf Starhawk Joseph Wilson
Deities	Triple Goddess Horned God Green Man Spirit of nature Holly King / Oak King Mother goddess
Key concepts	Wicca Wiccan morality Wiccan Rede Rule of Three Wiccan views of divinity Coven Craft name Magic Witchcraft White magic Otherworld The Summerland Reincarnation Karma Skyclad Summoner Watchtower Familiar Animism
Rites and ritual	Drawing down the Moon Great rite Handfasting Wiccaning Fivefold kiss Magic circle Cone of power Herbal medicine Scrying Spellwork / Incantation Banishing Divination Invocation Initiation Rite of passage Eko Eko Azarak Solitary practitioner Spiral dance
Holidays	Wheel of the Year Solstice Equinox Imbolc Ostara Beltane Midsummer Lughnasadh Mabon Samhain Yule Esbat Wild Hunt
Paraphernalia	Magical tools in Wicca Altar Amulet Athame Bell Besom Boline Book of Shadows Candles Cauldron Censer Chalice/Goblet Horn Incense Parchment Pentacle Runes Scourge Statue Talisman Tarot deck Wand Witch's ladder
Literature	Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches The Meaning of Witchcraft The Spiral Dance What Witches Do Witchcraft Today Charge of the Goddess Enchanted Feminism
Related	List of Wiccan organisations Bricket Wood coven New Forest coven Neopagan witchcraft Witch-cult hypothesis Left-hand path and right-hand path Cunning folk in Britain European witchcraft Malleus Maleficarum Granny woman Cunning folk Magical alphabets Runes Theban Hebrew Witching hour Witch hunt Witches' Sabbath Flying ointment Museum of Witchcraft and Magic Witchcraft Research Association

• Wiccan terminology