So, I’ve found a place to put my morning rants. This morning I a came across an article in the Langley Advance entitled “Witch hunters are still with us,” by Matthew Claxton. Of course, the title grabbed my interest so I figured I would have a quick read. The author was clearly attempting to explain that the act of modern day scapegoating and witch hunting still exist, but his opening to the article was a bit, shall we say, unnerving. While the author did a great job of pointing out that premodern and modern day witch hunts are caused by ignorance, superstition, and fear, the article is incredibly misleading when it comes to depicting the practitioners of witchcraft today. At the outset I knew the article would be problematical since it starts with the author’s idea of humor:
“Witches are handy to have around. They’re useful in plays about doomed Scottish kings, they can change the weather if it’s boring you, and they know lots of interesting demons. They also float, so if you’re on a sinking ship, lash two or three together and use them as a makeshift raft.”
Now, I have a really good sense of humor and I can take things pretty lightly when I need too, and maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a bit of dark or sarcastic humor. Perhaps I’m irritated because it is due to silly statements like the one shared above, that misconceptions about Wiccans still run rampant in society today. Yes, a joke is a joke, but some jokes are in very poor taste. Still, I think it’s the next section of the article that really began to strike a nerve:
“No one believes in witches anymore. There are a bunch of charming eccentrics who are more likely to call themselves Wiccans or Goddess worshippers, but they very seldom wear pointy hats.”
First of all, stating that “no one” believes in witches anymore is tad amount to making a huge, generalized sweeping statement about what people believe. How does the author know that no one believes in witches anymore? Has there been a worldwide survey conducted that I don’t know about? It seems like a very small world view, if you ask me. It’s nice that the author points out that there are Goddess Worshippers and Wiccans, but what’s the point in doing so if we, as witches, don’t exist? To identify us as “charming eccentrics” of course. Really? “Charming eccentrics?”
Let’s define eccentric here; to be eccentric a person has to be “deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice,” and the term suggests that an eccentric person is “irregular, erratic, peculiar, or odd.” The term eccentric also suggests that a person has an “unusual, peculiar, or odd personality, set of beliefs, or behavior pattern.”
So, with a matter of a few words, Wiccans have been identified as people that are odd or that have odd beliefs and behaviors. My question is; what’s so odd about our behaviors? What is it about our belief system that can be deemed eccentric or unusual? To suggest that Wiccans and Goddess Worshippers are charming eccentrics is to infer that our religious system is not something that should be taken seriously or that anyone that identifies themselves as a Wiccan is simply behaving erratically. At least we are “charming,” which suggests that members of society can easily tolerate our eccentricities, even if we are “so unusual.”
So what is it that makes Wiccans and Goddess worshippers eccentric? Is it because we have rituals that honor the divine in all creatures, people, and beings? Is it the fact that we revere the earth and we try to live our lives in balance? Is it because our temples are in our hearts and the earth is our sacred temple? Is it our belief in a divine feminine force that balances the masculine divine? Is it our belief in the power of the mind, in the power of words, in the power of human intent, and esoteric understandings? Are our “charming eccentricities,” derived from something more mundane than that?
Why is it that the word Wicca conjures up the notion of being eccentric, bizarre, or that a Wiccan is someone that stands on the fringe of society? George P. Hansen, in his book, The Trickster and the Paranormal, explains this notion as marginality. Because Wiccans live a lifestyle that includes the attempt to walk in the mundane world and the esoteric world, we are viewed as liminal beings. Admittedly our lifestyle is very different, and this automatically forces us into a position where we are wrongfully stereotyped and perceived; there must be something wrong with us if we don’t conform to society’s view of what’s normal. I, for one, have taken a long look at what society, as a whole, feels is normal, and I am very glad I don’t easily slip into the category of what it is to be normal.
Oh well. If being a Wiccan has to make me a charming eccentric, I’ll wear the badge proudly. Maybe I’ll make a T-shirt that says: “Ask me why I’m a charming eccentric.” Then I’ll make up a few t-shirts for my kids that say “I’m with the ‘charming eccentric,” with a little arrow on it so the shirt can point in my direction. Then I can tell everyone who asks me: “I am a very proud Wiccan, a witch; you know, the type of person no one believes in anymore.” Oh, and by the way, I’ll be wearing my “little pointy hat,” my conical hat, when I say it. At least I won’t be viewed as insipidly boring.
Perhaps I’ll start a whole line of “Charming Eccentric” products so that all Wiccans can get in on the deal. We can get bumper stickers that say: “Watch out, charming eccentric behind the wheel,” or we can make up “Charming Eccentric” key chains, pendants, posters, and pentacles. That way, we’ll be easier to identify when we are out and about in public. That way, maybe we can get people to believe in the reality of witches again since “no one believes in witches anymore.”
You can view the article in the Langley Advance here.
