https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/12/08/modrn-day-witchcraft/
>At a time when participation in traditional religions is declining among Americans, the practice of witchcraft is said to be on the rise.
>CBS2’s Ali Bauman went inside the secret world of modern-day witches to explore why so many say they’re falling under its spell.
>“I am the high priestess,” Lisa Stewart said.
>“To be a witch is incredibly relevant in today’s society,” Anton Stewart explained.
>Nestled in the heart of the Hudson Valley is the Church of the Eternal Circle, the only legally recognized Wiccan Church in the state of New York.
>“We follow the tradition of the craft of the wise — witchcraft — and we are witches,” Stewart said.
>For the first time, members invited CBS2 to attend their services.
>“The time is right,” Lisa said.
>Stewart and her husband Anton are the founders of the church.
>“There are definitely more of us than you think,” she said.
>It’s estimated that as many as a million people identify as being a witch in the U.S. with 20 percent of that population said to be in New York.
>“We have professionals of all kinds,” Lisa said.
>Including a librarian, a computer scientist, a nurse, and a homemaker or two.
>“Very normal people are part of this religion,” Dr. Davis Sprague said.
>In addition to practicing witchcraft, Dr. Davis Sprague — a former Methodist — is a practitioner of internal medicine.
>Joe Laudati, a sculptor, converted from Catholicism.
>“Keep an open mind,” he suggested.
>Unlike its pop-culture portrayal, members say witchcraft is actually grounded in love and spirituality.
>“The green skin came from the fact that women who claimed to be witches were abused and their faces were bruised,” Lisa said.
>They say magic is simply the belief that you can make anything happen.
>“It’s kind of like prayer,” Lisa explained.
>There is no devil worship, only a love for the goddess of creation and inspiration along with the antlered god of all things wild and free they say.
>But what about the broom?
>“It’s for sweeping your circle, and clearing the energy,” Lisa said.
>A somber celebration marked the start of winter. Known as the night of souls, it’s when witches honor their ancestors.
>“When I tell people that I’m a witch, I’m met sometimes with abject horror,” Anton said.
>They say it’s a misconception based on old myths that the modern day witches want to dispel.
>“It’s really a beautiful way of life,” Lisa said.
>With a strong belief in what goes around comes around, Wiccans say there’s never a need for black magic.
Jesus Christ, what's happening to our country? This pagan shit was fringe stuff that only black metal rejects followed, now it's becoming more mainstream. Last thing I need is to deal with Atheists AND Pagans.