A solitary witch is one who chooses to practice their spiritual faith in the privacy of their home or other designated space, without the need to participate in a group such as that of a Wiccan
coven
A coven () is a group or gathering of witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promot ...
; although it’s not uncommon for solitaries to participate in some communal activities (e.g.
Sabbats
The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern pagans, consisting of the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. While names for each festival vary among dive ...
). Many solitary practitioners are
Neo-pagans, who adhere to a diverse group of pagan religions that include various forms of
Wicca
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...
,
Traditional Reconstructionism and
Traditional British Witchcraft, among others. About half of all pagans are self-ascribed solitary practitioners.
While formal training is not a necessary component of solitary practice as it is in more organized groups, it is nevertheless a supported recommendation and practitioners can find myriad workshops, seminars and classes, in their local communities and online, that help to provide a more well-rounded approach to their spiritual practice. In most cases books are the primary means of education of the solitary practitioner, along with CDs and instructional videos. Furthermore, the internet has provided for innumerable avenues of personal education in several spiritual faiths,
Neo-Pagan
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
or otherwise, making it possible for an individual to learn all they can about a particular path. In addition, that individual may decide to merge the various beliefs, legends and rituals they’ve researched from differing paths into a diverse, yet coherent whole known as being “Eclectic.”
Decisions for choosing solitary practice over community gatherings are as individual as the practitioners themselves, but a few common reasons are often cited. The reason most often given is that of fear, in that the practitioner is concerned they might be the subject of hara