Lectures casts spell on history of witches
Brittney Slovak
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Features
"Sabrina the Teenage Witch" fans would have been disappointed this Wednesday as a lecture dismissed media interpretations of witchcraft, paganism and the religion of Wicca. Professor Helen Berger, a sociology professor at West Chester University, spoke to a group of students in the Rowan Hall auditorium regarding teenage witches and how the religion relates to feminism.
Paganism and Wicca, an Earth-based religion that began in the 1930s, have about a half million followers in the United States. The two practices allow for a person to celebrate the changes in nature and the changes in a person's life, was described in detail to the crowd.
"Death is seen as a part of life," said Berger, adding in reference to Nature, "She changes everything she touches and everything she touches changes."
Wicca itself is influenced by Eastern religions such as Hinduism, as seen in the worshipping of female goddesses and the emphasis on ritual.
Berger, who began her research on witches in 1986, wrote and edited four books on the topic of witches including working recently with Dr. Douglas Ezzy for her most recent publication "Teenage Witches: Magical Youth and the Search for the Self."
For the book, Ezzy and Berger interviewed 30 people between the ages of 17 and 23 from the United States, Australia, and England. Each of the teenagers interviewed had been practicing Wicca or witchcraft for at least a year, therefore the people had a basic knowledge about the religion. The study, as stressed by Berger, was a qualitative study and did not use random sampling.
Most people who entered the religion according to Berger began exploring it with other people. The witchcraft and the idea of magic portrayed in the media usually attracted people to Wicca. Shows such as "Charmed" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" made witchcraft and magic appealing to young people, sparking an interest in Wicca.
"When they learned they couldn't turn your boyfriend into a toad, they dropped out … It's really a spiritual practice," said Berger.
Paganism and Wicca, an Earth-based religion that began in the 1930s, have about a half million followers in the United States. The two practices allow for a person to celebrate the changes in nature and the changes in a person's life, was described in detail to the crowd.
"Death is seen as a part of life," said Berger, adding in reference to Nature, "She changes everything she touches and everything she touches changes."
Wicca itself is influenced by Eastern religions such as Hinduism, as seen in the worshipping of female goddesses and the emphasis on ritual.
Berger, who began her research on witches in 1986, wrote and edited four books on the topic of witches including working recently with Dr. Douglas Ezzy for her most recent publication "Teenage Witches: Magical Youth and the Search for the Self."
For the book, Ezzy and Berger interviewed 30 people between the ages of 17 and 23 from the United States, Australia, and England. Each of the teenagers interviewed had been practicing Wicca or witchcraft for at least a year, therefore the people had a basic knowledge about the religion. The study, as stressed by Berger, was a qualitative study and did not use random sampling.
Most people who entered the religion according to Berger began exploring it with other people. The witchcraft and the idea of magic portrayed in the media usually attracted people to Wicca. Shows such as "Charmed" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" made witchcraft and magic appealing to young people, sparking an interest in Wicca.
"When they learned they couldn't turn your boyfriend into a toad, they dropped out … It's really a spiritual practice," said Berger.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
lunasolara
posted 3/28/08 @ 9:11 AM EST
Wiccans DO honor both god and goddess. The goddesses tend to get the most attention from us, as the divine masculine gets overplayed by the Abrahamic traditions that most of us were raised with, but that in no way belittles the importance of the god in the balance. (Continued…)
cynthia
posted 7/16/08 @ 3:32 PM EST
I'd like to say that Witchcraft is very erroneiously represented by the organizations who claim to teach it as a religion in a historical context.
The term "Witchcraft" is an erroneous translation of the Greek term "Pharmakiah" in the Bible, which means "Pharmaceuticals" - where the term "witchcraft exists in the Bible, the more correct term "Pharmacist" should be used, understanding that some people create drugs to harm others; creating helpful drugs is not what the passages mean. (Continued…)
Post a Comment