The world’s fascination with witchcraft is a tale as old as time. From legends and folklore to newer incarnations in film and television like Bewitched, Charmed, Hocus Pocus, The Craft, Practical Magic, Harry Potter and more, audiences never seem to tire of the evolving landscape of modern witchcraft. And in this case, life seems to be mirroring art.
The number of people who practice Wiccan or pagan religious rituals has increased dramatically over the last few decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Religious Identification Survey, between 2001 and 2008, the number of Wiccans increased from 134,000 to 342,000, while the number of pagans increased from 140,000 to 340,000.
A 2014 Pew Research Center report suggested that 0.3 percent of the U.S. adult population identified as either Wiccan or pagan. A similar 2017 survey from the Pew Research Center examining New Age beliefs also found that 60 percent of adult Americans believe in one or more of the following: psychics, astrology, the presence of spiritual energy in inanimate objects (like mountains or trees) or reincarnation.