Religious Freedom at Home

An Exploration into Neopagan Communities

Lucas Harsche and Fred Nunnelley investigate the College of William and Mary’s pagan and neopagan communities. Hear from pagan students and alumni and learn more about paganism on campus and in the local area — what it entails, the challenges practitioners face, and the best ways to learn more about the movement.

REBECCA KLINGER // FLAT HAT MAGAZINE

In Newport News, there is a certain store indicative of an emerging trend among Generation Z; indeed, a trend unlike anything that has been witnessed before. As more and more young people are growing disillusioned — for better or for worse — with organised religion, many are moving towards a new belief system which contrasts sharply to familiar dogma and creeds. Within shops like The Magickal Attic, there are plenty of options for those wishing to explore the umbrella of non-organizational belief systems known variably as paganism and neo-paganism, among other appellations.. Walking in, one is immediately struck by the enormous crystals on display in the center, as well as the paintings, dream-catchers, and candles which line the purple walls. On wooden tables and shelves are stones, wands, incense, and books dedicated to witchcraft and paganism — but that is not all; the store features so much more.

The Magickal Attic is owned by Melissa Kepley ’05, a Certified Clinical Transpersonal Hypnotherapist. Kepley opened Magickal Attic on the advice of a colleague who said they needed a new location “on the other side of the water.” 

Kepley explained the services her shop provides.

“I do readings — and there is very much a neuroscience background to the readings,” Kepley said.“I am a licensed minister in the state of Virginia, so I also am a pastoral counselor. I also do one-on-one student tutorials— we have a lot of beginners who come to the shop,” Kepley said. 

It is important to distinguish Kepley’s shop, The Magickal Attic, as well as paganism in general, from the New Age belief system best encapsulated in stores like Stick, Stone & Bone on Richmond Road in Williamsburg. And while Melissa Kepley, due to her popular store, may be one of the first pagans (in her case, New England witchcraft practitioner) who comes to mind when considering the alumni community, she is by no means the only alum who practices, past or present.

While many people use terms like “pagan” or “neopagan” to identify themselves and their religious practices, these terms refer less to any one organisation or set of beliefs but rather function as catch-alls for a host of modern religions that fall outside of more mainstream and established religions. Two individual neopagans could, hypothetically, have nothing in common with each other in terms of practices or beliefs and still both identify themselves as neopagans under the umbrella term. This open-endedness can make discussion of paganism difficult, as generalizations across the entirety of the community are few and far between. Whereas some individuals may identify and practice with organised groups, others have formed their personal religious identity from the ground up, borrowing from any number of sources, all while adding new elements that are uniquely their own. Some seek to revive the specifics of old religions; others build their practices from entirely secular, humanistic perspectives. Because of this diversity, details and specifics can vary wildly — an open mind is essential when discussing and considering contemporary paganism. 

At the College itself, finding groups of individuals who consider themselves somewhere along the lines of these faiths can be rather difficult. For one, the eclectic and often highly personalised nature of practices and beliefs of members of this community generally make the formation of any sort of cohesive group challenging. One student, Laila Kennedy ’23, described the extant group not as an organised religious community in the same way that a church or student-run club might be but more of a loosely affiliated group of individual practitioners. 

“I have not seen any kind of central authority to it as an organisation,” Kennedy said. “By nature, this makes finding new members a slow, natural process, as people bring in similarly minded friends and acquaintances. The lack of any central authority or leadership also prevents the group from becoming a registered student organisation or anything of the like. However, as many people who identify themselves as pagan or neo-pagan may prefer to keep their religious beliefs private, this obscurity can make it easier for them to feel comfortable being able to practice with others in a group setting.”

This decentralised structure and personal nature seem to be part of what has been drawing people to pagan faiths in recent years. This decentralisation also allows for a far greater adaptability, allowing individuals to build their own practices and beliefs, rather than strictly conforming to the teachings of any particular religious figure. Even within more organised types of pagan faiths, there is often still ample room for individual interpretation and exploration in ways typically not found in mainstream religions.

REBECCA KLINGER // FLAT HAT MAGAZINE

Social media also is drawing young people to pagan faiths. . Many platforms have provided places for people to find others that may share their beliefs or hold similar ones. This feeling of community can help prevent those just beginning their personal exploration of pagan faiths from feeling completely isolated or peerless, allowing them to learn and grow. While many welcome the spread of awareness and acceptance made possible by social media, some have noted an accompanying rise in misinformation Discrimination against those who practice paganism, Wicca, New Age, and the like is nonetheless on the decline . This seems to be both a result of not only a more tolerant youth — Kennedy observed that “People tend to be accepting, albeit a little bit confused by it” — but also the increasing apathy toward organised religion among young people. However, such acceptance does not always come from acceptance of belief alone, as Kennedy noted.

“There’s a bit of trendiness to paganism among Gen Z, although I think sometimes people tend to be a bit more tokenizing of it,” Kennedy explained.

Unfortunately, dedication to freedom of religion is not always the case among members of our College community. For instance, when the College hosted Selena Fox ’71, a Wiccan priestess, to speak to a government class about persecution of pagans, many students wished to silence her.

Discrimination and outright hostility toward non-organised religions can particularly be found in older generations, as Kepley can sadly attest. A few years ago, Kepley was invited to engage in an open dialogue with a local church in Hampton concerning her beliefs; on the surface, it seemed to be a promising opportunity.

“I was thinking just the good of people — maybe people were changing their minds,” Kepley explained. “That young minister came in very open-minded. I thought he was trying to adapt, trying to say, ‘There are other philosophies out here, and let’s learn about other philosophies so our people understand it.’ So I thought maybe he brought some people who were interested in other possibilities.”

After a brief pause, Kepley confirmed what many might suspect happened next: “I was attacked for my beliefs. I thought that this was a young, open-minded minister. Nope. I got blindsided, and my husband had to shut him down, quickly.”

However, the night was not entirely lost. 

“When the meeting ended, I found a couple of ladies sitting at the table, and one came up to me and said, ‘You know, I went to a psychic a while ago, and now everything they said came true!’” Kepley recounted. “‘It came about,’ I said. ‘It’s a real thing.’ So that was kind of comforting. But if I had not had my husband there — and I don’t want to sound, you know, inferior — but I was just gobstruck, completely, because I bought into this guy thinking he was open-minded. He was there to take me down.”

Kennedy and Kepley have some pointers to steer newcomers in the right direction.Curiously, both guides emphatically agreed on what sources not to use in beginning a journey into pagan religions.

“TikTok and Tumblr are not very good resources!” Kennedy exclaimed. “Usually, it’s teenagers who have just started out.” 

Likewise, Kepley observed that many recent calls made regarding Moldavite (a long-established crystal) to her store seem to originate from a common source: “Tiktok videos, as I roll my eyes.” 

GAVIN AQUIN // FLAT HAT MAGAZINE

Counterintuitively, in this increasingly digital age, the best way to learn more about paganism is the old-fashioned way.

“From experience, read everything you can get your hands on, and don’t buy one bit of it,” Kepley suggested. “Read what anybody has to say, listen to what anybody has to say, but stay within yourself. It’s all about your connection to what is higher to you, and it is going to vary person to person.” 

Kennedy agreed: “Start with books.”

In keeping with the individualistic nature of pagan traditions,even Kennedy and Kepley slightly disagreed on the best sources to trust. Kennedy, for instance, suggested newcomers “find a reputable source who has been practicing for decades” On the other hand, Kepley suggested that letting go of preconceived notions about relative expertise allows newcomers to best judge for themselves what resonates with them and gives them the option to choose and discard practices as they see fit.

“Think for yourself, learn for yourself, feel for yourself, experience for yourself, and take it from your point of view,” Kepley elucidated.

This may be the core tenet surrounding this new phenomenon, and as our society continues to increasingly foster individuality and tolerance, maybe this is something, regardless of religious beliefs, that everyone can appreciate and learn from paganism.