A Wicca Center in Thailand

On By Chas S. Clifton
The Ace of Cups coffee bar and occult-supply shop (Daily Mail).

There is a long tradition of metaphysical bookstores and occult-supply shops serving as the public face of Pagan groups. “Owner Wine Kongsorn said he opened the café in a bid to unite the community of Wiccans in Bangkok.”

And exactly how is “Wiccan” defined in Bangkok? The source is the (UK) Daily Mail, which is not known for careful reporting on new religious movements. Sounds like a great research opportunity for someone in Pagan studies.

But the Ace of Cups also serves cappucino, so I’m in.

Just more evidence that Ronald Hutton was right in labeling Wicca the first world religion to spring from England.

5 thoughts on “A Wicca Center in Thailand”

  1. How interesting. I could be wrong, but I’d have thought that this Thai Wiccan community probably emerged under the influence of the same sources that sparked the Teen Wiccan movement in the West during the late 1990s/2000s. Certainly, a number of years ago there were media reports of a Hong Kong coven consisting of teenagers who had learned their Craft largely through literary soucres, and I was once acquainted with a young Filipino Crafter who had done the same (and who was also greatly influenced by popular media like Charmed). Studying the growth of Wicca in Asia is definitely a worthy subject, but it will take someone who is well acquainted with the continent and its new expressions of religiosity to do it well. Still, I really hope that it gets done!

    1. Ethan, one of my first questions would be whether this Wicca is totally a transplant from the Anglosphere or if it makes any connection with local traditions.

    1. Heather, do you suppose the hypothetical Daily Mail stringer in Thailand saw your piece (while searching for story ideas) and proposed it to someone in London? Such things have happened. Look at the identical photo.

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