Hundreds of thousands of people practice Wicca and other forms of modern Pagan spirituality in America today, and journalist Catherine Edwards Sanders wanted to understand why such belief systems are rapidly attracting followers. When a routine magazine assignment led her to realize that her stereotype of Wiccans as eccentric spiritual outsiders was embarrassingly misinformed, her curiosity compelled her to understand the Wiccan mystique. With the support of a journalism fellowship, Sanders spent a year interviewing neo-Pagans and witches and found that the lure of this emerging spirituality was not the occult, but rather a search for meaning in an increasingly fragmented and materialistic culture. .

"A Shaw book."

Salem : what is Wicca? -- Tired of sitting in pews : why Wicca? -- Harry Potter and other common questions : why now? -- "Just the idea of a goddess ..." : women and Wicca -- Does God really love women? : the search for dignity -- "It's malleable" : Wicca and teens -- Seeking authentic spirituality : Wicca and college students -- Changing from within : Wicca in the church -- For love of the earth : the need for creation care -- Quenching the soul thirst.