ASK CORDELIA
Q: As a man interested in witchcraft, am I able to start practicing? Or is Wicca more for women?
A: Of course! Anyone can be a witch, regardless of gender, age, social status, etc. Witchcraft has a reputation due to its history in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many people believe only women can be witches because of the history of witchcraft, but the witch hunts during these times seem to be more of a hunt for women who stood out in a partriarchal society and exhibited “witchy symptoms” such as being old, single, and not having children (Natrella, binghamton.edu).
A: Of course! Anyone can be a witch, regardless of gender, age, social status, etc. Witchcraft has a reputation due to its history in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many people believe only women can be witches because of the history of witchcraft, but the witch hunts during these times seem to be more of a hunt for women who stood out in a partriarchal society and exhibited “witchy symptoms” such as being old, single, and not having children (Natrella, binghamton.edu).
Q: What exactly do witches do? Do you have powers and perform spells?
A: Wicca is practiced differently by many, since it is not really an organized religion, and the highest organization is the coven, which is pretty small (Robinson, religioustolerance.org). As witches, we do not claim to be magical and cast evil spells on people, but rather we have an attraction to nature and perform rituals for different natural events or life events. Witchcraft is healing, using and mixing items from nature to perform rituals. These rituals celebrate full or new moons, seasonal changes, or we can make up our own rituals to perform for certain life events. We embrace life, individuality, and sexuality.
A: Wicca is practiced differently by many, since it is not really an organized religion, and the highest organization is the coven, which is pretty small (Robinson, religioustolerance.org). As witches, we do not claim to be magical and cast evil spells on people, but rather we have an attraction to nature and perform rituals for different natural events or life events. Witchcraft is healing, using and mixing items from nature to perform rituals. These rituals celebrate full or new moons, seasonal changes, or we can make up our own rituals to perform for certain life events. We embrace life, individuality, and sexuality.
ENDNOTES:
Using an advice column as one of the genres was a way for me to put information into this project directly, while giving advice and explaining the information. I used an essay from Binghamton.edu on gender and witchcraft to show that although the history behind witchcraft is mostly dealing with women, it isn’t only a feminine religion. I also used the website religioustolerance.org to put information about the organization of witchcraft and how people practice it.
Using an advice column as one of the genres was a way for me to put information into this project directly, while giving advice and explaining the information. I used an essay from Binghamton.edu on gender and witchcraft to show that although the history behind witchcraft is mostly dealing with women, it isn’t only a feminine religion. I also used the website religioustolerance.org to put information about the organization of witchcraft and how people practice it.