The Children of Artemis is a UK-based

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

membership organisation that organises Witchfests; regular

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 was ...

n and witchcraft themed festivals and conferences, periodically held in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. They publish the magazine ''Witchcraft & Wicca''.

History

The Children of Artemis (CoA) first started out as a

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

group. The CoA continued as a small group until 1995, when it was transformed into a public membership organisation. Initially it grew slowly until around 1999–2000, and then with the established of CoA's website, magazine and events, CoA quickly became

market leader Market dominance describes when a firm can control markets. A dominant firm possesses the power to affect competition and influence market price. A firms' dominance is a measure of the power of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative to c ...

Structure

CoA is staffed almost entirely by

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

, who are given responsibility for their areas of expertise, which includes Witchfests, the magazine, the website, and all other areas of the organisation. It has no

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

, no

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

s, and as there are no political positions, it holds no

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

. It is a

religious organisation Religious activities generally need some infrastructure to be conducted. For this reason, there generally exist religion-supporting organizations, which are some form of organization that manages: * the upkeep of places of worship, such as ...

dedicated to Wicca and Witchcraft.

Community activities

The core Children of Artemis team helped the

Pagan Federation The Pagan Federation is a Neopaganism in the United Kingdom, UK-based voluntary organisation, founded as the Pagan Front, that provides information and counters misconceptions about Neopaganism. It was formed in 1971, and campaigns for the relig ...

organise their conferences in 1997 and 1998. This period lasted two years, during which CoA did not develop as its resources were being fully utilised helping the other organisation. The PF president took personal control of the conference in 1999, this allowed CoA to focus back onto its own development. The first Witchfest event came three years later in November 2002. The

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 promote ...

finding service was ceased in 2003, as there were not enough Covens accepting trainees. To attempt to address this lack of opportunity, CoA has ru
"''Wicca Introduced''"
courses twice a year, and now funds a few Open Rituals. Children of Artemis was one of the founding members of the Pagan Symposium, a group of Pagan and Heathen Organisations that actively co-operate on a variety of issues and projects. Children of Artemis also hosts the Pagan Symposium's website for the community. CoA sponsors and helps organise a variety of independent community events, recent examples includeDoreen Valliente Foundation Gerald Gardner Blue paque unveiling, Pagan Pride Nottigham, Pagan Pride South, Pagan Symposium web site, sponsored events are shown here http://witchfest.net/?s=&event-category%5B%5D=20

Criticism

According to some members of both the Pagan and non-Pagan communities, CoA's attempts to mass market itself has not made it popular with several other pagan and Wicca or Witchcraft organisations.

Aesthetic considerations

Critics of the CoA have raised concerns about the image that their magazine puts across: the magazine "''Witchcraft & Wicca''" is glossier than most of the publications produced by pagan groups in the UK, and appears to be aimed at a younger

target audience A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to said intended audience. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined ...

, and features large quantities of crushed velvet and similar "spooky" dress. It is argued that this has a detrimental effect on the public perception of

Paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...

, detracting from its status as an accepted religion, and promoting it as a

lifestyle choice Lifestyle is the interests, opinions, behaviours, and behavioural orientations of an individual, group, or culture. The term was introduced by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in his 1929 book, ''The Case of Miss R.'', with the meaning of "a per ...

References

External links

Children of ArtemisWitchfest Events
Wicca in the United Kingdom Modern pagan organisations based in the United Kingdom Modern pagan organizations established in 1995 Wiccan organisations