Modern day witchcraft

Lifestyle

Wicca: Modern-day witchcraft, religion or hobby?

Róisín Maguire investigates the world of modern-day witchcraft

According to Wicca Living, Wicca is “a modern, Earth-centered religion with roots in the ancient practices of our shamanic ancestors”. Wiccan’s (the people who practice Wicca) honour the powers of nature through rituals and although Wicca is also classified as a Pagan religion, not all Wiccans identify as Pagans and vice versa. Wicca is very different from other religions as there is no one being or Gods to worship and no holy book unlike the Bible and the Qu’ran. This website also states that “some Wiccans have a pantheistic view of the world, meaning they believe that the same divine source is present in all of nature, while others are more polytheistic, incorporating one or more additional deities from ancient religions into their practice along with the Goddess and God.”

Wicca is associated with magic as some people use it to shape their own lives and they use tools such as crystals, candles, herbs and chants. However, there is one main rule of Wicca, which is to harm no one therefore this magic is only to be used for personal benefit and not to be used against anyone else. It seems like Wicca could be similar to Buddhism as the rules of Buddhism is to harm no one and to live well with nature and the planet you have been given. With Buddhism yoga and meditation could be the equivalent to the magic used in Wicca.

Common types of magic used would be to attract things that people want in their lives such as a new job, for money to come into their lives, for good health, healing and fertility and to simply get rid of bad energy in their life. This type of magic could be referred to as “white magic” as it is positive and used for good whereas “black magic” would be the opposite.

A YouTube video called “How to be a Modern Day Witch” made by OZY, features a woman who said she got into practising wicca as a way of feeling like she has power. “For me as a black woman to say I have power and I can use that power to affect change in the world is intrinsically a political statement.” She said that her first form experiment with wicca was investing in tarot cards. However, not all people are of the opinion that witchcraft can be used for good as people are still being persecuted and killed if they are suspected modern-day witchcraft

It seems like Wicca could be similar to Buddhism as the rules of Buddhism is to harm no one and to live well with nature “

of using magic. This is especially common in parts of Africa where people accuse their own children of being witches which results in them being abandoned or killed in public.

Children accused of witchcraft may be subjected to violent exorcism rituals by African PentecostalCharismatic pastors who mix Christianity with African witchcraft beliefs. Such exorcism may include incarceration, starvation, being made to drink hazardous substances or even being set on fire with gasoline according to the BBC. Albino and disabled children from the age of eight to 14 are most at risk of being accused.

This problem is being addressed however it is still happening, especially since the pastors can make around $250 for each procedure. People in most first world countries however do not need to worry about persecution unless magic is being used to extort people for money. If you think there might be a witch or wiccan in you, then start with simple healing spells and you can then progress to money incantations and tarot card reading.

The prevalence of racism in television dating shows

Aoife O’Brien highlights how prevalent racism is in some popular dating shows I t’s no secret that black women have historically been under represented on screen and their characters have generally lacked the depth and complexity that reflects their real world experiences. Whle television has often been heralded for offering a more diverse portrayal of minority groups than film it has still struggled with a tendency to reinforce stereotypes.

Many believed that the explosion of reality TV, with its portrayal of real people in a natural environment would finally break the glass ceiling of these rigid typecasts.

However, as more and more reality dating shows burst on the scene it turns out that reality isn’t any prettier.

In shows such as Married at First Sight, The Bachelor or Love Island where contestants compete for romantic relationships, black women regularly contend with numerous ugly realities.

Historically many of these shows excluded black women to the extent that Love Island failed to feature a dark-skinned black woman until their fourth season and a class-action racial discrimination lawsuit was taken against ABC’s The Bachelor in 2012 for “the deliberate exclusion of people of colour from the roles of The Bachelor and the Bachelorette.

As a result, their presence can often be treated as a “token” rather than as a real contender in the show.

In the first ‘coupling’ ceremony in every season of Love Island over the past five years a coloured contestant has been the last to be selected. In series two it was Malin, in series three it was Marcel, Samira and Yewande both met the same faith in series four and five. So it unfortunately wasn’t a huge shock when Leanne was also picked last this season. The dismissal of Leanne not only by the male contestants but also by her female co-stars continued right through the first week of the show and piqued the question; ‘is it because of her race?’

When Mike told fellow islander Jess Gale that he liked Leanne more than her she said that she was “shocked at this strong preference.”

While the comment itself does not outwardly appear racist many viewers felt there was underlying racism.

One Twitter user wrote, “I honestly believe that Jess was shocked that Leanne was picked over her because she’s black and thinks she’s superior to her and more beautiful, because she’s white...I can’t see any other explanation.”

Of course, it is possible that there was nothing racist about the comment and Gale merely felt that she had a strong connection with Mike and was shocked that he didn’t feel the same.

Perhaps people were immediately defensive because we were conditioned to be racist for so long as a society and now in an effort to escape our past we convince ourselves that racism exists even where it doesn’t because if we can see it in others then surely it doesn’t exist in ourselves.

If this is the case, then society could be responsible for inflaming a racist environment in situations where it is not already present.

As a result, it might be time for producers on these programmes to start asking themselves if they are doing more harm than good by allowing every subtle suggestion of racism to make it through the editing process.

While people should be held accountable for their words and their actions and the public should not be left oblivious to blatant discrimination of reality stars while filming, editing footage in such a way that we rarely hear a full conversation could mean that instead of raising awareness of racial issues they are merely spreading a more toxic environment than what already exists. Historically many of these shows excluded black women to the extent that Love Island failed to feature a dark-skinned black woman until their fourth season “