Witch Crafting: A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic

Product Information

As Western ethnographers spread out across the globe trying to make sense of the practices of other people, they unconsciously carried with them ethnocentric assumptions about magic and religion.

If we widen perspective to include conspiracy-theory-driven moral panics, then one can argue that the practice of witch hunting is just as close to home for people in the West as it ever was, for example in attacks on trans* adults and kids, drag artists, non-heteronormative families, and LGBTQ+ communities more broadly. These 4 or 5-star reviews represent the opinions of the individuals who posted them and do not reflect the views of Etsy. This book analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. I do, however, capitalize Witch and Pagan when referring to current practitioners, in recognition of the legitimacy of their religious movements, just as I would with terms like Buddhist, Muslim, or Christian.Because the label of witchcraft has been used to demonize colonized people and their practices, Witchcraft was approached as a deeply inappropriate term for religions belonging to BIPOC communities, especially Yoruba-inspired traditions such as Vodou, Candomble, and Santeria, and Indigenous traditions like curandera. Early anthropologists juxtaposed magic and religion, accidentally suggesting magic to their contemporary audiences as an attractive alternative not only to traditionally oppressive religious institutions but to oppressive social structures in general.

As new religious movements have grown, the relationship between anthropology and magic has further entwined, with scholars, including me, conducting ethnographic work with Witches and other Pagans. Ivory’s experience and expertise emphasize that words like magic and witchcraft change moral meaning as they move across social contexts. As I was outlining these power dynamics in a lecture for my “Witchcraft, Magic, and the Occult” course, a student furrowed her brow and raised her hand.This book analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries.