If you’re interested in knowing what a Pagan Studies scholar thinks of BuzzFeed’s video “Will Practice Magic with a Real Witch”, stay tuned because you’re just about to find out.

Hello everyone. I’m Angela and welcome back to my channel.

If you’re new here, I’m a postgraduate researcher in the field of religious studies, and I specialize in magic, witchcraft, paganism, shamanism, esotericism, and related currents.

I thought it’d be interesting to share my take, as an academic in the field, on the BuzzFeed video “We’ll Practice Magic with a Real Witch”. Therefore, this is not going to be a reaction from the perspective of a Wiccan or a witch as I want to offer the viewpoint of an academic. I’m aware through video reactions to this video made by the lovely YouTubers Harmony Nice and Hearthwitch, so go check them out if you want to get a practitioner’s perspective.

First of all, I’m actually happy that BuzzFeed took the time and effort to make this video because it stirs up a conversation on Wicca and witchcraft, even with its inaccuracies, it has certainly contributed to raising awareness and prompting a conversation on these religious practices. Even a few of my students have watched this video. And once I played it in one of my classes to bring to the fore some of the key points, that I’m going to address in this video, which led to nice and lively conversations on the topic. Last premise, I’m not going to play the video long but rather give my comments and show on the screen a frame from the related part of the video. So now let’s move on to it, shall we?

I thought it’d be interesting to share my take, as an academic in the field, on the BuzzFeed video “We’ll Practice Magic with a Real Witch”. Therefore, this is not going to be a reaction from the perspective of a Wiccan or a witch as I want to offer the viewpoint of an academic. I’m aware through video reactions to this video made by the lovely YouTubers Harmony Nice and Hearthwitch, so go check them out if you want to get a practitioner’s perspective.

First of all, let’s address the matter of ethnocentrism which, I think, is a core element emerging when analysing this video from a religious studies viewpoint. Ethnocentrism is a term used in social sciences to refer to approaching and understanding a different belief system from the point of view of your own belief system. It is, basically, a biased understanding based on the preconceptions dictated by the standards of the culture, or in this case the religious culture you belong to. The two guys in this video, in my opinion, tend to adopt this kind of approach throughout their experience. Bear in mind this is not a judgement, I’m not saying that they are terrible persons for doing that. To a certain degree, we all do that and even in academia, we have to always be mindful of the hidden biases which might influence our perception of something completely new and entirely other than what we have been exposed to. This might also explain why so many Wiccans and witches, as you can tell by reading the comments to the video, took offence from it and found it disrespectful. In some way, their perception was of two outsiders picking through a religious practice completely new to them and yet approaching it from the point of view of the dominant religious system in their country, accompanied by some stereotypes drawn from movies and TV shows.

As a result, I can identify two types of biases here: a religious bias and a pop-cultural bias. The religious bias is clearly of a Christian nature. This is evidenced by their parlance, like when Curly says, “I believe in miracles” – using Christian terminology while approaching a non-Christian practice. Also, when both Curly and Sarah, after having attended the ritual, say that they were surprised they got to participate in a way that you don’t get you in ‘other religions’….

But you can participate in a way … that you don’t normally get to in other religions…

When I saw that part I thought which religions? The reference to Christian-like religions or, at least, monotheistic ones is freely evident as there are many religions in the world which entail significant participation in rituals and the very fact that they were surprised by that shows a lack of acknowledgement of the wider field of non-Christian and non-monotheistic religious practices. Another element showing the same preconception, or bias, to use the technical term, is the fact that they want to hide their tattoos portraying Christian symbols.

As the French anthropologist Marc Augé stated, in his work “Génie du Paganisme”, monotheisms tend to have an exclusivist approach whilst polytheisms leaned more towards an inclusivist approach. The idea of one God is often accompanied by that of one truth and hence one religion to the exclusion of all others. In polytheisms, however, the presence of multiple gods allows for a more inclusive approach – which is why when the Romans reached Egypt and encountered worshippers of Isis, they didn’t think that Isis was a false goddess but acknowledged her as a new deity who people could have worshipped. So Curly and Sarah thought, of having to hide Christian symbols, even as a mere joke, appears to be rooted in that monotheistic mindset of either/or. The same approach may be the one which led them to overlook the religious elements underpinning the magical practices they were experiencing. For instance, there was little to no mention of how gods and spirits are conceptualized by Wiccans or how and why is magic such an integral part of their religious system.

The second kind of bias is based on pop culture and how witchcraft is depicted in movies and TV shows. You can see this kind of preconception peeking through when they talk about pointy hats and cauldrons at the beginning of the video or when Sarah is surprised that witchcraft entails a lot of work as if she assumed it’d be easier. Or when Curly says,

I’m just hoping that I have a little bit more money in my wallet by the end of the day. You expect that quick a turnaround… Yeah, I believe in miracles.

Conveying the hidden belief that magic works fast. Easy and quick is how TV shows and movies portray magic spells and their physical manifestations after all.

The second theme I saw emerging from this video, and here I choose to interpret it as a well-intentioned strategy, is the portrayal of witchcraft as a harmless endeavour, which is how it comes across with all the overlapping images and sound choices. Like during the grounding meditation at the beginning.

Visualize roots growing from the base of your spine down your legs. Visualize…

And the outré, accompanied by a game-like sound, at the end of the ritual.

And dispelling fear around this topic might be the reason as to why they approach this experience with a light-hearted spirit, which might also be seen as a mockery at times. As I said, I choose to see their kind of approach as driven by good intentions possibly aimed at dispelling the aversion towards witchcraft and those who practice magic. But I also understand those who saw it as disrespectful. Can you imagine how Catholics would react to a video of a mass edited in a similar manner with a buddy Christ and a ‘tada’ sound overlaying the moment of the communion?

What makes me think, and hope, they had good intentions is that they highlighted the ethical code Wiccans abide by, as well as their very choice of practising magic in a Wiccan setting. I also feel like they had the tendency to joke more when there was some element which might have induced fear in outsiders, such as when the store owner shows the figure and phallic candles or when they are just about to start the magical ritual and Curly says he is nervous he might get the ‘church giggles’.These are all choices which convey to outsiders that witches are not the evil-doers a lot of people think they are. Unfortunately, this also delivered the wrong message, that witchcraft and Wicca are the same things. That one equates to the other which is natural, also. Although this might have dispelled some fear surrounding witchcraft to outsiders. Such a way of explaining a religious practice is reductive and simplistic to insiders – offensive even to living magic practitioners, who come across this video. So once again, the bias is quite evident and perhaps, the audience this video was aiming for too.

Last note, all my respect goes to the Priestess and store owner who was interviewed. They clearly did their absolute best to address all their questions and provide some information and insight on these religious practices. I am truly happy that contemporary magic and witchcraft practices are increasingly brought to the fore. And I do hope that they will be tackled with all the respect, depth, and complexity they very much deserve.

So this is it for today’s video. If you liked it, SMASH the like button. Subscribe to the channel. Activate the notification bell so that you won’t miss anything else and stay tuned for all the academic fun.

Bye for now.

REFERENCES

Augé, M. (2008) Génie du paganisme, Paris, Folio.

Rosado, C. (1994) ‘Understanding Cultural Relativism in a Multicultural World (Or Teaching the Concept of Cultural Relativism to Ethnocentric Students)’

Tilley, J. J. (2017) ‘Cultural Relativism’, in The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, American Cancer Society, pp. 1–2