Theological Matters 3

As I said in another blog, we live in a country run by the people for people. Ignoring how incorrect the phrase is, realize that Witches are no different. In fact, Witches have been politically involved for while now. Although not in the time when the Magna Carta was written, they have been involved in modern politics in the US either as a discriminated group, as a symbol, or using magic. First, is a distinction of terms. A Witch is someone that practices witchcraft, a type of magic.

A Witch can belong to a coven, practice her arts privately, or both. Within the witchcraft community, there are pagan religions that utilize Witchcraft, and so some Witches can be of these religions. The most prominent of these religions in the US is Wicca. The religion came to the US during the 2nd wave of feminism, since it had two equal deities to be worshipped, a male and female.

There’ve been many legal battles having to with Wicca as a religion. One such example is the 1985 case Dettmer v. Landon where a prisoner wanted to practice Wicca but wasn’t allowed the following items: a white robe, candles, a timer, a wand, a statute, and sulfur to burn. The prison refused so Dettmer and his high priest suggested compromises like a cloak without a hood, a wooden statuette, and burning salt instead of sulfur. When the prison again refused, Dettmer took them to court and won. Another legal victory was won for Wicca in 2007 when the military recognized the pentacle(five-pointed star) as a valid religious symbol. Many fallen soldiers were now allowed to have the pentacle on their graves, they weren’t allowed to before. However, the political involvement of Witches does not end in litigation for religious freedom.

The witch has also been used as a feminist symbol for protest. It’s also believed that Wicca was adopted around the time of Feminism’s second wave, due to the equal worship of two deities, representing the sexes. However, there were some Wiccan covens that focused more, or entirely, on the female and that is known as Dianic Wicca. During the ‘60s the witch became a symbol for a feminist group focused on financial and marital equality, parts of the movement were socialist but as a whole it was anti-capitalism. That movement was known as W.I.T.C.H.(Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell), and they “gathered to curse Wall Street bankers, beauty pageants, and the Playboy Club.”(McGill 2016). On Halloween 1968, a group of women dressed as Witches(black hats and all) stood at Wall Street and hexed it, the next day the stock market fell 13 points. They also once released 100 white mice in a crowd, at Madison Square Garden. Not all the members were practicing witchcraft, some were, and the witch was just a symbol. Actual examples of Witches practicing witchcraft for their political means happened in 2017 and 2018. In all instances, the bookstore Catland, which I mentioned in a previous blog, was involved. In 2017 they held gatherings to hex then President Donald Trump, and in 2018 they held a gathering to hex Bret Kavanaugh. The BBC link below has the video of their ritual, originally posted on Facebook. In the ritual the head Witch read Psalms 109, the reasoning was that since the Bible was one of the only books that people had in their homes, its portions were appropriated by Witches for their rituals. Some of the lines include: “Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.”As the number of Witches grows in the U.S. there will be more political involvement in them. Maybe in some years, there will be a Witch congressman.

BBC News. “New York Witches Place Hex on Brett Kavanaugh.” BBC News, 21 Oct. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45928212.

“Dettmer v. Landon, 617 F. Supp. 592 (E.D. Va. 1985).” Justia Law, https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/617/592/2246829/

McGill, Mary. “Wicked W.I.T.C.H: The 60s Feminist Protestors Who Hexed Patriarchy.” VICE, 28 Oct. 2016, www.vice.com/en/article/43gd8p/wicked-witch-60s-feminist-protestors-hexed-patriarchy.

NBC Universal. “Wiccan Symbol OK on Military Headstones.” NBC News, 23 Apr. 2007, www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18274639.