Sawt Falasteen - UK pagans have spring in their step as equinox approaches

The equinox on Thursday is a chance for followers of the nature-revering faith to rejoice, not least because their number has swelled to more than 74,000.

The rise reported in the most recent census captured the attention of AFP photographer Oli Scarff, who has worked for more than a year to produce a series of portraits exploring the resurgence of paganism in modern Britain.

AFP caught up with his subjects -- from spiritual healers to suited civil servants -- as they prepared to mark the start of astronomical spring, a celebration of growth in the pagan calendar.

- Sarah Kerr, witch and pagan leader -

"It's really heartening to see more people finding paganism," said Sarah Kerr, a 45-year-old witch and healer who heads the Pagan Federation advocacy group.

In the 2011 census, 57,000 people described themselves as pagan in England and Wales. By 2021, the number had risen by almost a third to 74,000 -- and that's without counting 13,000 wiccans and 8,000 shamans.

Kerr said people in 21st-century Britain were increasingly turning to paganism in search of "connection with the natural world", a core value shared by pagans, who follow a diverse collection of spiritual traditions and often believe in magic and multiple gods.

The modern pagan revival in the UK gained popularity in the second half of the 20th century but many practitioners trace their beliefs back to ancient Britain.

For many years pagans have reported facing mockery and discrimination, but the census numbers suggest people are becoming more comfortable describing themselves as pagan.

Kerr, who plans to join a ritual in Derbyshire this week, said the equinox was an opportunity for pagans to celebrate "evidence of life coming back".

"It's lovely," she said.

- Jonathan Woolley, druid civil servant -

Jonathan Woolley first encountered druids in the Asterix comic books as a child, and decided to become one at 21, when he learned that modern druids were still practising at Stonehenge in southwest England.

Woolley, 36, was wearing a suit when he posed for his photo in central London.

It's a "common misconception" that pagans have to be "strange people", he said.

"It's just like any other faith," he said, adding that pagans work in "all sorts of different professions".

Woolley said working for the government's environment department meant he could focus on service to nature -- a key pillar of druid belief.

He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and will spend the equinox in the countryside.

The rising number of pagans in Britain has made him feel "inspired, excited and really hopeful".

He said it showed paganism was a "profound contemporary spirituality rather than something fringe".

- Angela Barker, TikTok witch -

Angela Barker, a 46-year-old witch from Mansfield in northern England, plans to see in the equinox with a fire ritual and a cleansing herbal concoction.

"I always have a pot simmering on the hob," she told AFP.

Barker said she followed a form of witchcraft passed down in her family for generations.

She welcomed a surge in interest in witchcraft online -- but worries some TikTok "Witchfluencers" are cutting corners on traditional teachings.

She said she has started her own account and hopes to stop young witches from being "misguided".

Barker also reads Tarot cards, sells crystals and writes about paganism.

"I'm a busy lady," she said.

Her wife Claudine is pagan too, and works as a musician.

- Raegan Shanti, witch and dance teacher -

Witch and dance teacher Raegan Shanti, 37, plans to spend the equinox in the garden at home in Bedfordshire, central England.

She grew up in a Hindu family and turned to paganism as a teenager, noticing parallels between the two belief systems.

She welcomed the increase in people identifying as pagan.

"It's great that more people understand paganism now," she said.

"We've faced discrimination since the '90s... there was bullying, and people wouldn't take me seriously. I know people who've been fired from their jobs."

"Now we don't have to hide," she said. "The more diverse, the better."

- Andrew Brennand, druid and schoolteacher -

Andrew Brennand, 52, is a druid and schoolteacher in Lancaster, northern England. He will celebrate the equinox with his grove, the term for a group of druids.

"A herbalist has cooked up an unconventional ceremony around chocolate this year," he said.

When Brennand became a pagan in the 1990s, he said it felt "like coming home". The emphasis on nature appealed to him, as well as the importance of serving the community.

Now, he is glad paganism is gaining popularity -- and pupils in his religious education classes are interested too.

"It's validating to hear you're not quite as odd as you were 20 years ago," he said.

His 19-year-old daughter is also a druid. She moved home recently but Brennand is proud she's taken her faith with her.

"She's joined a grove of her own now," he said.

Q.Najjar--SF-PST