Witchcraft and Politics

Hello everyone. Paganism is being tied to politics again and again lately, and there has been some debate about witchcraft and politics. Although everyone is entitled to their opinion, I believe informed opinions are the ones that weigh the most, so I wanted to add my grain of sand to the conversation.

"Witchcraft is about balance, living in peace, authentically. (...) But there are times when you need to fight for those things". Image by Edward Lich from Pixabay.

Short version: witchcraft is political, it has always been, and it will always be. End of the discussion.

Why? Because politics dictate what we can and must do, whether we are witches or not, and so our actions are political. Being part of a society demands we follow a set of rules, so our actions are political again. Furthermore, our identity is a political statement. Are you a person of color? Are you queer? Are you neurodivergent? An immigrant? A single parent? A survivor of abuse? All those words carry political connotations. Being a witch is no different.

The history of witchcraft is full of and has been shaped by politics, as Mat Auryn reminded us all the way back in 2019. But things change over time, right? So the fact that politics shaped witchcraft before doesn't mean that it is shaping it now, does it? Wrong answer:

Almost a year after a visit from the borough police chief over tarot readings, [Beck Lawrence] the owner of Serpent's Key in Hanover has filed a federal lawsuit alleging civil rights violations against the police department and borough over an obscure 163-year-old state statute, which the suit asserts is unconstitutional. (...) Title 18, Section 7104, Fortune Telling, which makes it a third-degree misdemeanor in the event that someone is found guilty of "pretending for gain or lucre, to tell fortunes or predict future events, by cards, tokens, the inspection of the head or hands of any person, or by the age of anyone, or by consulting the movements of the heavenly bodies, or in any other manner." The rarely prosecuted statue is punishable with up to a year in jail or up to a $2,500 fine.

In short, charging for fortune-telling is illegal in Pennsylvania, so the whole situation has developed into a legal battle that questions the separation of church and state here in the USA. So politics do affect witchcraft, which is nothing new.

"But hey, things change!" Do they, really? Or, for the sake of a better phrasing, have they in this particular topic? It's something worth considering.

I am no stranger to magic regarding politics. I am part of many underrepresented, marginalized populations, for heaven's sake. My very existence is a challenge to many. So when my identity is questioned, when my safety is compromised, I take out my tools and materials, I summon those I work with, and I get down to business.

Witchcraft is about balance, living in peace, authentically, and many would add "in perfect love and perfect trust." I am all up for it. But there are times when you need to fight for those things. Witchcraft is also about evening the scales, about what is fair and just, about being a better person, but also getting back your power.

Witchcraft was, is, and will always be political.

Kinky regards, K!

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