Paper short abstract:

Many contemporary Pagan and Wiccan artists choose to use wands as a tool in their religious rituals. This study examines the attributes of the wands, the characteristics of their creators and their reception among the viewers who comment on the creation.

Paper long abstract:

Many contemporary Pagan and Wiccan artists choose to use wands as a tool in their religious rituals. This study examines the attributes of the wands, the characteristics of their creators and their reception among the viewers who comment on the creation.

Social networks allow users to create profiles, upload content and share with other users (Miah, 2011). Creating wands can be considered as a leisure activity which fits the definition of serious leisure: The person who participates in the leisure activity as a hobbyist experiences it as interesting, as fulfilling and as one that can be turned into a career in the future (Stebbins, 2009).

The research method used in this study was content analysis of the 16 hobbyist artists: examine the attributes of the wands by using the artists' explanations on the artwork, the pictures of the wands and the viewers' comments. Most of the artists are female and live in the USA.

According to the findings of this study, almost all artists are either Pagan or Wiccan and are dealing with witchcraft. The artists put a lot of effort in the creation of the wands and try to improve their skills.

Conclusions of this study are that the creation process of the wands is meaningful to the artist and that creativity fills an important role in construction of their religious identity. This activity fits into the frame of serious leisure as the artists get opportunity to turn their hobby into a career by following requests from their viewers.