Dear Diary,
Today has been a tough one. Yet another day of being harassed for practicing witchcraft- this time from my own coworkers. I’ve been experiencing these problems ever since I took a day off to perform a ritual to celebrate the full moon with my coven (Robinson, religioustolerance.org). If it was a Christian coworker taking a day off to celebrate Easter, nobody would’ve bat an eye. After visiting my boss with the problem, I feel like the joke of my workplace. Wicca isn’t taken seriously as a religion, therefore my boss won’t do anything to protect me against the constant teasing (Horsburgh, bbc.com). I don’t even feel secure in my own workplace... and this needs to change.
I want to take initiative to show people that Wicca is serious, and that this is what I believe. I want to show that witches are not just a bunch of crazy, power hungry women, and we’re not worshipping Satan. We're a large group of self empowering men and women who believe in and embrace the beauty of nature as a healing power (Roderick, broadly.vice.com). There is such a stereotype following our religion since the days of the Salem witch trials, and people need to be educated on what Wicca actually is and what witches do. My goal is to become the person to change the way Wicca is perceived in society, and today is only a catalyst for me to be able to achieve that. I’ll write again when I have updates on my situation.
ENDNOTES:
I chose to write a diary entry through the voice of Cordelia, a modern-day witch, to show the discrimination and the struggle that witches still face today. Through her experiences, I used the article on www.religioustolerance.org/wic_prac.htm to show what kinds of things witches practice as their religion. I used information from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-19211852 to let Cordelia speak about the workplace hardships faced due to the fact that many do not consider Wicca a serious religion. I also used information from http://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/xye9zz/the-trials-of-being-a-witch-today to let Cordelia speak more about Wicca, and show it is not only a feminine religion, but a religion for those who find power in nature. The form of a diary entry allowed me to write a personal story, but even though it is personal to Cordelia, it is an experience that others who openly practice Wicca may have to go through.
.
Today has been a tough one. Yet another day of being harassed for practicing witchcraft- this time from my own coworkers. I’ve been experiencing these problems ever since I took a day off to perform a ritual to celebrate the full moon with my coven (Robinson, religioustolerance.org). If it was a Christian coworker taking a day off to celebrate Easter, nobody would’ve bat an eye. After visiting my boss with the problem, I feel like the joke of my workplace. Wicca isn’t taken seriously as a religion, therefore my boss won’t do anything to protect me against the constant teasing (Horsburgh, bbc.com). I don’t even feel secure in my own workplace... and this needs to change.
I want to take initiative to show people that Wicca is serious, and that this is what I believe. I want to show that witches are not just a bunch of crazy, power hungry women, and we’re not worshipping Satan. We're a large group of self empowering men and women who believe in and embrace the beauty of nature as a healing power (Roderick, broadly.vice.com). There is such a stereotype following our religion since the days of the Salem witch trials, and people need to be educated on what Wicca actually is and what witches do. My goal is to become the person to change the way Wicca is perceived in society, and today is only a catalyst for me to be able to achieve that. I’ll write again when I have updates on my situation.
ENDNOTES:
I chose to write a diary entry through the voice of Cordelia, a modern-day witch, to show the discrimination and the struggle that witches still face today. Through her experiences, I used the article on www.religioustolerance.org/wic_prac.htm to show what kinds of things witches practice as their religion. I used information from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-19211852 to let Cordelia speak about the workplace hardships faced due to the fact that many do not consider Wicca a serious religion. I also used information from http://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/xye9zz/the-trials-of-being-a-witch-today to let Cordelia speak more about Wicca, and show it is not only a feminine religion, but a religion for those who find power in nature. The form of a diary entry allowed me to write a personal story, but even though it is personal to Cordelia, it is an experience that others who openly practice Wicca may have to go through.
.