Witchcraft - from persecution to fascination in contemporary society

V svoji diplomski nalogi bom predstavila pojav čarovništva v 16. in 17. stoletju, pri čemer se bom usmerila v družbene aspekte tega pojava in skušala evidentirati razloge, zaradi katerih so bile ženske deležne obtožb čarovništva. Za tem pa se bom podala v sodobni čas, ko se je v Veliki Britaniji pojavilo novo religiozno gibanje wicca, ki predstavlja sodobno obliko čarovništva in se je hitro razširilo po zahodnem svetu. Poskusila bom ugotoviti, v kolikšni meri lahko v današnji zahodni civilizaciji dejansko govorimo o čarovništvu, pri čemer bom izhajala iz primerjave čarovništva zgodnjega novega veka, ki je stereotipno negativno, s sodobnim, ki je usmerjeno v duhovnost, animizem in naravo.In my diploma thesis I shall present the outbreak of witchcraft in 16th and 17th century, in which I shall be focusing on social aspects of this phenomenon while attempting to clarify the reasons for women being accused of witchcraft. After that I shall move into the present time which saw the emergence of a new religious movement Wicca, a contemporary form of witchcraft with its roots in Great Britain, which spread rapidly all over the western world. I shall try to assess how well does talking of witchcraft fit the modern western civilization, and for this purpose I shall compare the stereotypically negative witchcraft of the early modern period with its contemporary counterpart which focuses on spirituality, animism and nature