Culture

Column: Pop Culture Witchcraft and the Queer Shadow

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Pagan Perspectives

Today’s column comes to us from Storm Faerywolf, whose column covers the intersection of Paganism and queer identities. Storm is a professional author, experienced teacher, visionary poet, and practicing warlock, and is author of “Betwixt & Between” and “Forbidden Mysteries of Faery Witchcraft.” He lives with his two loving partners in the San Francisco Bay area and travels internationally teaching the magical arts. For more, visit faerywolf.com. The Wild Hunt always welcomes submissions for the weekend section.

Culture

Trendy magic: witchcraft tops pop culture charts … again.

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TWH – As autumn approaches, it is not surprising that the number of mainstream articles referring to Witches and Witchcraft are increasing. Many of the recently published articles are touting that Witchcraft is “trending,” to use a social media term, or in old-school language, Witchcraft popularity is on the rise or “all the rage.” And in textspeak: WitchcraftFTW. #witches
For the bulk of the American public, the brief and unexamined suggestion that the nation’s Witch population is significantly increasing might be enough of a “sound bite” to tantalize and, in some cases, even scare. However, for those people who have long identified as Witches or the like, the flippant mention of Witchcraft in a seasonal article is not enough to satisfy.

Culture

A Look at Pop Culture Magick

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In the myriad Pagan books that have been published over the years, there are ample descriptions of how to perform magick within various religious or non-religious systems, what tools to use, what precautions to take and what imagery to invoke. However, very few of these books offer any direction on using Pink Floyd in meditation or Howard Shore’s “Ride of the Rohirrim” in ritual. And, there might be even fewer practitioners who would suggest calling on Batman for spiritual protection or Princess Luna for inspiration. In fact, the very idea typically causes laughter and, in some cases, disdain. However, the reality is that there are many people who practice, or employ in some form, what is termed pop culture magick.

Culture

Guest Post: Katy Perry, Dark Horse, and Bigger Fish

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[The following is a guest post from Michelle Mueller. Michelle Mueller is a doctoral student researching polyamory in Pagan communities. She has integrated women’s and gender studies throughout her study of religion, and thinks it’s never a bad idea to think about representations of women in the media, as well as messages about queer culture and Pagans.]

As many of us in the Bay Area (and beyond) reintegrate into the “mundane world” after PantheaCon, it feels timely to turn an eye towards images of Witchcraft in pop culture. Some Wiccans were upset about Katy Perry’s performance of “Dark Horse” at the Grammys three weeks ago, during which she invoked theatrical imagery to refer to “the Burning Times.” In her grand finale, she attached herself to a broom (basically stripper pole style); the pyrotechnics produced a blazing fire around her, a reference to witch-burning.
I missed the Grammys but my good friend, Assembly of the Sacred Wheel member, Shelly Graves brought the performance to my attention with a Facebook post the next morning, “Did anyone just see that performance by katy perry?