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Coming Home or Drifting Away – Magical Practice in the 21 st Century Ways of adopting heterodox beliefs and religious worldviews

This article examines the process-related dynamics of becoming a magical practitioner and an adherent of a Neopagan group respectively. It analyzes the relation of the thesis of Interpretive Drift (Luhrmann) and the concept of Coming Home Experience, which both have a large impact on academic discussion, and which are often seen as mutually contradictory. Using empirical data from two German interview studies with contemporary magicians and German heathen (Ásatrú) groups respectively, the article shows that the two dynamics can form complementary elements of the process. In addition to this, it emphasizes the importance of personal extraordinary experiences containing strong subjective evidence which mostly are neglected in this regard. Taking these individual biographical aspects into account as well as different personal motivations, an immense variety of approaches to alternative worldviews might become possible. Thus, we come to the conclusion that simple generalizations in characterizing the ‘pathway to magical beliefs and practices’ are misleading.