Wicca is rising in the UK, with proof of its rise in popularity shown in the census results for England and Wales 2021 (Guardian 2022). There is some ambiguity but it is generally seen as part of modern paganism (sometimes referred to as contemporary paganism or neopaganism). There is a British Traditional Wicca (BTW), which is a marriage of modern paganism and 20th century hermetic orders (Wiki).
Wicca, as a religion has adherents called witches whatever gender, although witches are not always Wiccan. Wicca and Witchcraft are part of the larger contemporary pagan movement, including druids and others who base their practices on pre-Christian religions and cultures. Wicca is not based on a religious structure and institutions such as you find in religions such as Christianity. Instead it focuses on the individual and their relationship with spirituality.
Ritual plays an important part of the practitioners’ celebrations of the seasons of nature. Changes in the season reflect in the lives of those adhering to Wiccan practice.
For example, Wiccans celebrate fertility of the earth and its people in the Spring celebration of the Beltane. Rituals celebrate the season and seek to put the witch in touch with the divine. Far from the negative connotations linked with witches and witchcraft, Wiccans have one overriding rule, “Harm none and do as you will,”.
With no central religious text, Wiccans mainly practice alone although they come together to conduct rituals, learn about magical and spiritual practices from one another, often as part of large gatherings. These gatherings take place at sites that have spiritual significance and at times of celebration of seasonal markers. At these events they can enter magical spaces where they can embrace divinity more fully.
Wiccan practice gives freedom to witches to pursue their spiritual self and find harmony with nature and the natural ebbs and flows of life. Witches following the Wiccan ways seek to be at one with the universe and find solace in the changing seasons and the natural progression of life.