#  Scott Cunningham and Solitary Paganism 

 





April 28, 2025

 

 

[Helen A. Berger](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/people/helen-berger)

*Edited by* [*Aaron Michael Ullrey*](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/people/aaron-michael-ullrey)*.*

*The following Research Reflection, by* [*Helen Berger*](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/people/helen-berger)*, Postdoctoral Fellow, is part of an ongoing series spotlighting spotlighting the academic study of religions.*

With the publication of *Wicca: A Guide to Solitary Practice* in 1989 (Llewellyn Publications), Scott Cunningham became a major influence on contemporary Pagans, and their solitary and eclectic practices, especially Wiccans. Scholars have failed to recognize his significance. Chas Clifton’s *Her Hidden Children* (AltaMira Press, 2005) chronicles contemporary Paganism in the United States but does not mention Cunningham. Although he died in 1993, Cunningham’s books sell well to this day, and he still inspires people to explore magical practices and eclectic spirituality.

   ![Book cover, Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner, Scott Cunningham](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-04/Cunningham%20Guide%20Solitary%20Cover%201988%20%281%29.jpg?itok=ZVUdNKWA) 

 

Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (1988) Llewellyn Publication, St. Paul, Mn. Cover from the first edition of the book that helped to spread solitary and eclectic Paganism.Contemporary Paganism is a loosely organized group of religions that includes Wicca. Pagan religious paths include overlapping elements: drawing on ancient traditions, viewing the Earth as sacred, celebrating yearly ritual cycles connected to seasons, worshipping Goddess(es) exclusively or in addition to God(s), and practicing magic. There are no central Pagan organizations. Umbrella organizations, like EarthSpirit Community, offer retreats, enact public-facing rituals, and disseminate newsletters. Some groups, like Circle Sanctuary, provide land for ritual, community events, and Pagan burial sites.

Wicca came to the United States from the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Each person initiated into Wicca was sworn to secrecy. It was presented as an ancient religion with secret magic and ritual knowledge only to be passed in small groups called covens and only to be transmitted to the initiates’ own students. Wicca expanded in the United States after the 1960s. Feminists were drawn to the female face of the divine in Wicca, and environmentalists were drawn to a religion celebrating the natural world. Llewellyn, an occult press in Minnesota, distributed books worldwide by Wiccan authors, especially Cunningham’s.

Raymond Buckland, who eventually became close friends with Cunningham, is credited with bringing Wicca to the United States from the United Kingdom in the twentieth century and sharing its secrets. Cunningham’s books were more popular, so they spread Wiccan secrets more widely and openly than Buckland’s. This was not without personal risk. Though never physically harmed, Cunningham received death threats after publishing *Wicca: A Guide to Solitary Practice*, which disseminated secret teachings and rituals, including instructions on how to initiate yourself into Wicca. Cunningham made Wicca accessible and practicable. His prior work on herbs for magic and healing was not controversial.

Prior to his death at the age of 33 from an AIDS-related illness, Cunningham wrote 33 books on the practice of Wicca and about magical practices and the use of crystals, candles, and herbs. Prolific, he also wrote novels and articles in occult journals. Cunningham’s first book, specifically about Wicca, remains his most popular and influential. *Wicca: A Guide to Solitary Practice* sets out Wiccan basics: magic, creating and using an altar and ritual tools, and aspects of the God and Goddess. The seasonal celebrations he shares in that book—with step-by-step ritual descriptions for each holiday, including the eight sabbats honoring the beginning and height of each season and the esabats honoring moon cycles—are mainstream Wiccan today. His self-initiation ritual made it possible to be initiated outside the coven structure.

   ![Book cover, Helen Berger Solitary 2019](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-04/Helen%20Berger%20Solitary%202019%20Cover%20%281%29.jpg?itok=RsVotsVJ) 

 

Helen A Berger, *Solitary Pagans: Contemporary Witches, Wiccans and Others Who Practice Alone 2019*. University of South Carolina Press. Columbia, SC. The first book to explore the growing phenomenon of solitary practice among contemporary Pagans. Cover art by Fran FormanIn my book *Solitary Pagans: Contemporary Witches Wiccans and others who Practice Alone* (University of South Carolina Press, 2019), I document a massive increase in the number of solitary practitioners since 1990. Currently, three-quarters of Pagans self-define as solitary practitioners, and that percentage is higher for Pagans under 25 years of age. Cunningham’s books made an individualized form of Wicca possible, as did the dissemination of Wiccan lore and practice on the internet after his death. He argued that self-initiation and solitary rituals are no less spiritually or magically powerful than those performed in covens. This was revolutionary.

Throughout his writings, Cunningham advocates for individuals to innovate: “A three-thousand-year-old incantation of Inanna isn’t necessarily more powerful or effective than one improvised during a private rite. The person practicing it determines its success.” In this way, Cunningham legitimated and spread eclectic and novel practices. While he relied upon received Wiccan rituals, the hallmark of Cunningham’s work is that he inspires Wiccans to create their own rituals and practices.

Cunningham’s writing and his genius were to create, advocate for, and describe the lived religion of Wiccans and other contemporary Pagans. *Living Wicca: A Further guide for the Solitary Practitioner* (Llewellyn Publications, 1993), Cunningham’s second book about solitary practice, balances tradition and innovation. He advocates for people creating their own traditions. He also cautioned that without consistency, Wicca would disappear, but he never set out a method for Wiccans to find that balance of tradition and innovation.

As with many lived religions, Wiccan practice and spiritual engagement do not appear disturbed by contradictions between tradition and innovation. Rather than doctrine, Wicca emphasizes ritual and achieving ecstatic states to experience the divine. Practical innovations that achieve these ends, traditional or innovative, are embraced by most Wiccans, demonstrating Scott Cunningham’s enduring relevance.



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Researcher Reflections ](/topic-tags/researcher-reflection)