The return to pre-Christian Western nature religions & return to the worship of the divine female figurehead.
Neo-Pagans, (some call themselves simply pagans), are both independent & autonomous. Some belong to groups and organizations, while others practice as solitaries.

"They believe in choosing their own paths and beliefs"

Like the term "witch", and "pagan" came to have unsavory connotations in history.

When the Christian Church worked to eradicate heretics & dissenters in Middle Age Europe, "pagan" became a derogatory term.

Neo-pagan practices are designed to bring worshipers closer to the Divine Force of nature.
They view the Christian God as remote, because he is inaccessible and intangible.
Pagans seek harmony with the spiritual rhythms of nature.

Witches are those who follow the Wiccan Religion.

The girls were said to be "afflicted," or possessed.

In their fits of hysteria, they "cried out" the names of the witches who were supposedly tormenting them.

Those who were "cried out against" were then accused of practicing witchcraft and consorting with the devil.

Hallucinations affiliated with the afflicted can be traced to "ergot poisoning," found in the bacteria of contaminated flour used to bake bread.