HEX AND THE CITY Neo-Pagan Witchcraft and the Urban Imaginary in Berlin

Abstract

The paper focuses on neo-pagan witches in Berlin and the role of the urban context in forming their identity and a new religion. The interplay between the city and a specific spiritual practice and thinking becomes particularly obvious in moments of public representations and space making. Following this idea, the article’s ethnographic focus lies on the Pope’s visit to Berlin in 2011 and the public protest neo-pagan witches organized in the heart of Berlin-Kreuzberg. The analysis reveals how religious imaginations and experiences were recast and how the urban imaginary of Berlin came into play and was thus reproduced.