In late twentieth-century America this referred primarily to a postwar religious movement, also known as Wicca, or The Craft. Wicca is said to derive from Anglo-Saxon wicce meaning “wise” or alternatively “to bend,” although its actual provenance is unknown. Modern witches worship both male and female deities, often represented by the Horned God and the Triple Goddess (Maiden, Mother and Crone). Major holidays occur at regular points in the year: February 2 (Imbolc); Spring Equinox; May 1 (Beltane); Summer Solstice; August 2 (Lammas or Lughnasa); October 31 (Samhain); and Winter Solstice. In addition, many witches also celebrate the new and full moons.

Modern witchcraft is a nature religion in the sense that all nature is considered to be sacred.

Wicca developed in Great Britain in the 1950s, and its earliest practitioners claimed its beliefs and rituals were the survivals of pre-Christian agricultural religions of Northern and Western Europe. While in Britain, Wicca has developed as a predominantly nativist movement maintaining an emphasis on its British cultural roots, in the US its growth since the 1970s has been strongly influenced by left-wing social movements, environmentalism and feminism. In the 1970s the traditional image of the witch as a marginalized yet wise and powerful figure was “reclaimed” by feminists. Furthermore, a religion which emphasized a female deity and had women in positions of power was naturally attractive to feminists. This combination of religion and politics gave rise to a feminist witchcraft, which by the 1980s and 1990s was becoming incorporated into the wider “Goddess Movement.” As modern witchcraft becomes more high profile in the United States, more witches are working to ensure that their practices and beliefs are accepted as valid religious expression. Organizations such as the Witches Anti Discrimination League have been founded to ensure that witches receive full freedom of religious expression under United States Law. Salem, Massachusetts, where the infamous witch trials of 1692 took place during which twenty people were executed, is now home to a thriving community of modern witches.