Jungfrun, Modern och Haggan; En antropologisk studie om naturens roll, rituell praktik och gudomlig närvaro inom Wicca.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to shed light on the significance of nature in contemporary Wicca. It explores and deepens the understanding of the role nature plays within the nature-based religion of Wicca. It examines and analyzes how practitioners of Wicca perceive and imbue nature, and how they interpret its elements and cycles. The study also considers how these insights are integrated into their religious practices. The main argument of this study is that nature is deeply personal within Wicca, by embodying both the spiritual and the individual, it becomes central to Wiccan identity and cosmology. In order to answer my research questions, I have used analytical concepts such as animism, the anthropology of time, embodiment, and ecospirituality. To gather material for this study, a combination of ethnographic methods has been used. I’ve performed participant observations and in-person interviews with Wiccan practitioners and a coven based in Västra Götaland, Sweden. I’ve also conducted remote interviews via email with Wiccan practitioners based in other parts of Sweden. The study is written in Swedish; some empirical data was collected in English and has not been translated for reasons of transparency.