The Solitary Wiccan

Do what thou wilt, harm none. That strong quote is one of the standing stones of the Wicca religion, called the Wiccan Rede. Embrace everything you like and want, but do not harm anyone or anything in the process.

Wicca as a religion embraces a solitary aspect, among others, which makes it accessible to every single individual on the planet in a second.

You do not need anything fancy. You do not need to go to a gathering or a sacred space. You do not need to be around other people.

Your mind and will, sprinkled with some knowledge and research, can be enough to make you a practitioner of the Wiccan religion, and to call yourself a Solitary Wiccan!

What is Wicca?

Simply put, Wicca is a modern neopagan religion. It’s predominantly a Western movement and a part of the occultist stream. The practitioners of Wicca are called Wiccans and they can be found in small groups called covens and/or alone, in their solitary practice.

To complicate things a bit, Wicca can be described as a witchy and shamanic religion. It seeks to get to a deeper state of mind and through chanting, meditation, concentration, visualization, music, dance, rituals, and invocations.

Wicca recognizes the deity as dual. It reveres both the Goddess and the God. They are both equal, warm, loving, and not distant to us. We communicate with them at our altars and in our daily life.

Like other pagan religions, Wicca is very nature centered. Photo by Ame Vanorio

How Can You Practice Wicca?

 As mentioned, you can join an existing group of Wiccans called a coven, or, you can choose to become a solitary practitioner.

Based on my personal experience and research, I have constructed some pros and cons on both paths to help you understand.

My Personal Experience

As a young Rodnovery Pagan, my native religion lacked the solitary aspect that would enable me to practice it alone in the comfort of my own home. That is when I discovered Wicca as a religion and all of the majestic solitary practice it has to offer.

Rituals and practice of Rodnovery require you to be outside, and in a community, which is hard for a pagan like myself that doesn’t have a group of like-minded pagans close by. Wicca, and its solitary practice aspect, opened a whole new world for me and my pagan path.

After years of research and reading many articles and books, I’ve become knowledgeable in the Wiccan way and capable to apply and adopt all the knowledge I gained to make Rodnovery a part of it and to start my solitary practice.

Nothing happened overnight, or after reading one book, everything took time.

One of the classics and a personal favorite!

After being both a part of a small coven and being a solitary practitioner, I can say that the latter suits me best. The ability to forge my path and to organize my own time and practice were far greater than being in a community. Some of the coven ideals of religion didn’t suit me, but with solitary practice, they do not have to as I can make my own.

How Do You Become A Solitary Wiccan?

In modern times, this can’t get easier! Between numerous internet websites and your public library, you will find many resources. When you dip the tip of your toes into it and feel all the magical powers of being a Solitary Wiccan you will just want to learn more and more and expand your knowledge and faith.

Wicca as a religion is very broad and anyone can find their place in it. From worshiping the deities to crystal and meditation work, divination, dreamwork, creating an altar, keeping a Book of Shadows, cooking, gardening, energy work. This is just a glimpse of examples of what you can find there.

For the beginner, I’d recommend the author Scott Cunningham and his books called “Wicca - a guide for the solitary practitioner” and “Living Wicca - a further guide for the solitary practitioner”. The names of books explain themselves, after reading them both I opened the whole Wiccan world to myself!

Book of Shadows from 1950, on display at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, Cornwall. Photo by Ethan Doyle White.

What Type Of Practice Can A Solitary Wiccan Do?

This is the most common question for the ones that want to know what they can do. The real answer is - anything! Whatever comes to your mind, you can do it. But, I will give you some pretty common examples:

Set Up an Altar

An altar, or a shrine, either indoors or outdoors is a prerequisite for worship. It is a dedicated permanent place in your home that you will keep sacred only for Wiccan worship, a place of power and magic.

Usually, Wiccan altars are divided into three equal parts with items and tools, where the left part represents the Goddess, the right part represents the God and the middle part represents both.

Read our article on setting up an altar.

Keep a Book of Shadows

There is no one Book of Shadows like there is only one Bible. There are countless, with both strong and weak points. It’s not a sacred writ, nor does it consist of revealed writings, rather it’s there to spark your imagination.

Each Wiccan can keep their own Book of Shadows and write in it as they want, constructing their pagan path in it that they will follow.

Meditation

This is simply one of the more common practices in the Wiccan religion. It’s a practice where the Wiccan uses various techniques to focus their mind on some particular thought, object or activity and then they train their awareness and attention to achieve mental clarity and an emotionally calm and stable state.

Take Away

Being a solitary Wiccan is totally doable. Set up your altar and set aside some time each day to work on your craft.

Check out our Calendar to find pagan holidays you can celebrate.

Author, Marko, is a young pagan from Southeastern Europe, specializing his pagan path in his Native Faith called Rodnovery and dwelling into Wiccan solitary practices. Years of research and practice, from a very young age when curiosity blooms, gave Marko a good level of expertise on the topic of the Rodnovery religion.