The Seaholm Witch Trials

By: Mari Sitner

Part 1: Who is a witch?

If you are a woman and dare to look within yourself, you are a Witch. You make

your own rules. You are free and beautiful. You can be invisible or evident in how you

choose to make your witch-self known. You can form your own Coven of sister Witches

(thirteen is a cozy number for a group) and do your own actions... You are a Witch by

saying aloud, "I am a Witch" three times, and thinking about that. You are a Witch by

being female, untamed, angry, joyous, and immortal. -W.I.T.C.H manifesto, 1968. What

society teaches about witches, it teaches about women. Historically the connection

between women and witchcraft is far from subtle. Popular examples of witches are

movies like The Wizard of Oz, which portrays witches as old, ugly, and shrill, everything

women are taught to stray from. So what happens when the view switches? When

witches are no longer just viewed as something to be reviled and feared, but a

reclaimed icon for young, attractive, and spirited young women?

With the advent of second and third wave feminism in the late 1960s and early

1990s american culture saw a resurgence of witches, witches who dare stray from

1
societal expectations of women. To say that the roles of women, particularly young

women in the history of the world and of the west have been limited would be an

understatement. Christianity predominated western culture and controlled the lives of

women and girls anywhere. In the guide for the way of life passages such as "I do not

permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent." [Timothy

2:12] and "Do not allow a sorceress to live." [Exodus 22:18] its easy to understand why

alternatives might appeal to women. witchcraft appeals to young women because it

gives them an identity, and a sense of control over their lives. In this paper things that

will be discussed are what witchcraft and wicca are and how they are different, the

history of witchcraft/wicca, why teenage girls behave the way that they do and turn to

paganism, witchcraft in media in the 1980s through 2000s, religious backlash, and how

wicca/witchcraft can benefit girls and make them stronger human beings.

As a disclaimer, This paper is not a commentary on how wicca the actual religion

may affect a girls soul, spirit, chances of getting into heaven etc. This paper sets forth

the proposition that witchcraft is good for girls intellectually, and socially.

So what is a witch? The oxford english dictionary defines a witch as a woman

thought to have evil magic powers. Witches are popularly depicted as wearing a black

cloak and pointed hat, and flying on a broomstick. Already the term witch is gendered, in

fact in almost every dictionary a witch is defined as a woman. Often women in positions

of power are considered witches. An easy and current example would be media

2
coverage of the Hillary Clinton campaign. Alt-right commenter Alex Jones described

clinton as an abject, psychopathic demon from Hell that as soon as she gets into power

is going to destroy the planet, and conservative radio host rush limbaugh referred to

her as A witch with a capital B,. Any time a woman tries to seize a position of power

she is labeled a witch. Why is this? The answer lies in that a witch is everything a

woman is supposed to not be. A witch is powerful, independent, intelligent, unattractive,

and uncontrollable. This has brought many feminist scholars to see the witch as the

ultimate feminist symbol. The relation between witchcraft and feminism has in recent

years become a hotbed of academic study.

Part 2: A History of the Craft

On average, witchcraft, the ultimate human evil, was sex-related to women in much the

same proportion that sanctity, the ultimate human good, is sex-related to men,

- Christina Larner, witchcraft and religion

Witchcraft is often perceived as sometime a young girl in all black performs in her

room in the wee hours of the night, but it was not always that way. Witchcraft is the

practice of the religion Wicca. Wicca is a contemporary new wave religion that only

came about in the last one hundred or so years. Wicca is a new form of paganism.

3
Paganism has no set definition but is most often described as more primitive religions

that predate christianity and judaism such as Shamans, Celtics, and Druids. Many

ancient pagan religions are female driven, as early worshippers prayed to goddesses of

the earth and fertility goddesses, back when the goal of the human race was to spread

genetics and expand that just makes sense.

It is also important to set forth what wicca is not. Wicca is first and foremost NOT

devil worship. Most wiccans do not even believe in a christian notion of the devil, thus

cannot worship him.

What we now know as wicca was first organized in England in the early twentieth

century. This new wave religion was based on the Witch-cult hypothesis, which states:

That the witch trials of the early modern period were an attempt to suppress any

pre-christian pagan religions that had survived the christianisation of Europe. The theory

was first expressed by german professor of criminal law, Karl Ernst-Jarcke at the

university of Berlin in 1828. It was believed at the time by many popular religious

scholars and the educated populace that there had never been legitimate witch cults in

Europe, that they were made up as a way to have someone to blame for troubles, and

that all those accused of witchcraft from the thirteen to fifteen hundreds were innocent

of the crimes. Jarcke thought of this as a way to cover up any pre-pagan religions and in

turn delegitimize them, thus the witch cult hypothesis was born. Many modern covens

still use the witch-cult hypothesis including covens in Norfolk, Cheshire, New Forest,

and the 1970s feminist group W.I.T.C.H. (Womens International Terrorist Conspiracy

4
From Hell). The first time the hypothesis was put into an organized practice was in the

1930s in England by a man named Gerald Brosseau Gardnern.

Gardnern was born in 1884 Blundellsands Lancashire, England. Born to an

upper-middle class family he had a well off childhood as the son of a lawyer but soon

went to university to study law and anthropology. He became the leader of the New

Forest coven in the 1930s. He developed a strong friendship with high priestess Doreen

Valiente and Wicca as an organized religion began to take off. In 1954 they together

published the book witchcraft today in it they wrote:

I have been told by witches in England: "Write and tell people we are not perverts. We

are decent people, we only want to be left alone, but there are certain secrets that you

mustn't give away." So after some arguments as to exactly what I must not reveal, I am

permitted to tell much that has never before been made public concerning their beliefs,

their rituals and their reasons for what they do; also to emphasize that neither their

present beliefs, rituals nor practices are harmful.

The book was not popular and was almost unknown until it was reprinted in

1956. Gardnern may be the father of modern wicca but he often pushed to the sidelines

of modern wiccan covens due to highly sexist attitudes. In the later years of his life he

implemented rules that allowed him to replace the high priestess of any coven when he

felt she was too old.

5
That is the history of what is know as the modern religion of wicca, but what is to be

said for the ideas of anti-christian witchcraft in culture? To look at how witchcraft as a

phenomenon of scapegoating, Salem comes into the picture.

Salem is the most common and popular example of anti-witch sentiments in the

history of America, and perhaps in all of Western culture. The witch trials of 1692

pervade popular culture and modern religious and historical studies, but the Puritan

distrust of women did not start there. The first witch trial in the new world happened not

in Salem but in Charlestown Massachusetts in 1648. Margaret Jones was a midwife and

healer who held a prominent position in the Charlestown community. Feminists theorize

that many women who held medical positions in early America and europe were

accused of witchcraft by the patriarchal christian doctors, who could not possibly fathom

a woman being knowledgeable about science. The person who most often would begin

a witch hunt was indeed the town doctor.(footnote) She was accused by the governor

of the Massachusetts Bay Colony John Winthrop for the following reasons:

1. That she was found to have such a malignant touch, as many persons, men, women,

and children, whom she stroked or touched with any affection or displeasure, or etc.

[sic], were taken with deafness, or vomiting, or other violent pains or sickness.

" 2. She practising physic, and her medicines being such things as, by her own

confession, were harmless, as anise-seed, liquors, etc., yet had extraordinary

violent effects.

6
" 3. She would use to tell such as would not make use of her physic, that they would

never be healed; and accordingly their diseases and hurts continued, with relapse

against the ordinary course, and beyond the apprehension of all physicians and

surgeons.

" 4. Some things which she foretold came to pass accordingly; other things she would

tell of, as secret speeches, etc., which she had no ordinary means to come to the

knowledge of.

" 5. She had, upon search, an apparent teat ... as fresh as if it had been newly sucked;

and after it had been scanned, upon a forced search, that was withered, and another

began on the opposite side.

" 6. In the prison, in the clear day-light, there was seen in her arms, she sitting on the

floor, and her clothes up, etc., a little child, which ran from her into another room, and

the officer following it, it was vanished. The like child was seen in two other places to

which she had relation; and one maid that saw it, fell sick upon it, and was cured by the

said Margaret, who used means to be employed to that end. Her behavior at her trial

was very intemperate, lying notoriously, and railing upon the jury and witnesses, etc.,

and in the like distemper she died. The same day and hour she was executed, there

was a very great tempest at Connecticut, which blew down many trees, etc."

Jones was convicted of witchcraft and hanged. It is no coincidence that Jones

was a woman who held a prominent position in the Charlestown Community. Early

American is one of the first incidences of Witchcraft being associated specifically with

7
women. Puritans believed that women had weaker and more persuadable souls and

were more susceptable to the clutches of the Devil. The justification was that all

womens souls stemmed from Eve, who took the forbidden fruit in the garden of eden,

and that if given the chance all women would give themselves over to temptation.

The organized hysteria began on January 20th 1962 when a nine year old girl,

Betty Parris, and numerous other young girls in Salem village fell ill. The town physician

William Griggs concluded that the girls had been bewitched by evil spirits.

Scottish religious scholar posed the question: was witch hunting women hunting?

In the 1480s there was a manual for witch hunting, The malleus maleficarum. This

document described the souls of all women as liars, unfaithful, immoderate, and

sexually insatiable. Feminist historians like christina larner and anne barstow accuse

popular history of not taking real and violent misogyny into account when discussing

which trials. Barstow compares the way male historian recount european witch trials to

discussing the nazi holocaust and acknowledging that a majority of the victims were

jewish, but no mentions of anti-semetism,. History must learn to view early modern

witch-hunts as what they are: a genocide against women.

Part 3: The teen Years

8
 The teenage years are the formative years for identity? Young people ask who

am i?, what am i? and what will I become? who will i be?. Those year where

bodies and social structures change may hold the answers to these questions. Rosalin

Wiseman parenting expert and author of Queen bees and wannabes states that girls

dont know the rules until theyre broken

According to psychoanalyst erik erikson adolescence begins at age 12 and

continues until age 18, during these years the foremost dilemma is Identity vs. Role

confusion. This is the time when a child will go through various physical changes along

with growing independence, new relationships, and new identities. This is the stage of

development where the child learns what role they will take on as an adult. In the case

of a woman, she will grow up to be soft, sweet, mothering, and docile. Failing to comply

with or understand the societal roles set forth will result in what Erikson calls Role

Confusion, but is more often referred to as an identity crisis. A child struggling with an

identity crisis will try on different activities, political affiliations, or even religions. A

young girl who feels powerless, that she has no control over her life, may very well be

tempted to put on the identity of a witch.

One of the identities solidified in the adolescent years is the religious identity. Is

questioning faith just another part of being and angst ridden teenager? Or could it

possibly be more? A 2009 study from the review of religious research found that there is

little to no difference in the religious identity through the ages of 16-20 in children of

strict parents versus children of lenient parents. The only significant factor in the study

that led children to be more religious than others was whether or not the child loved with

9
two parents, and that at least one of them was a biological parent. Though this study

focused on parenting styles and excluded the social influence of friends, teacher,

coaches, and other it points in a very specific direction: Children in higher tension

environments will be more likely to doubt their faith and stray from the religion received

as a child.

The single most important identity a child much define as an adolescent is

gender identity. Gender is less about being and more about doing. modern

interpretations of gender as a social construct play heavily into what is a woman and in

turn what is a witch. Gender theorist Barbara J Risman said not only are men and

women coerced into different social roles; they often choose gendered paths actors

are purposive, rationally seeking to maximize their self-perceived well being under

social structural constraints.

Part 4: Witch Bitch

it could be witches Some evil witches -

Which is ridiculous

'Cause witches, they were persecuted

Wicca good and love the earth

10
 And women power and I'll be over here

- Buffy the vampire slayer once more with feeling

As the world plunged into transition between millenia a new force arose. Third

wave feminism. Women, particularly young ones, realizing how truly powerful they can

be. In the early 1990s a new facet of feminism came about in the united state, this was

riot grrl. Riot grrl was all about being loud, crass, and hardcore, things women are not

supposed to be. Much like witchcraft this stray from traditional gender norms felt like an

escape for many young girls. They could go to a meeting and scream about their

problems to their hearts content. The powerful last lines of the riot grrrl manifesto read:

BECAUSE I believe with my wholeheartmindbody that girls constitute a

revolutionary soul force that can, and will change the world for real.

An interesting idea that sparked conversation in the mid 1990s was the idea that

violent or hateful words against women were to be reclaimed. Words like bitch, slut,

whore, cunt, and yes, Witch. Owning the very identities that made women outcasts was

a source of comradery, women could band together around these horrible names and

have that sense of community. Society may view them as bitches and whore, but they

were bitches and whore united.

The 1990s were a sensational time for two things: witch related media, and third

wave feminism. The rise of the witch as a feminist icon in this era is the central turning

11
point of this research. This is when views of witches in the public changed for the better.

Instead of seeing witches as ugly old hags the public soon began to see them as

promising, beautiful young women. There had been instances of beautiful witches in

popular media before, the television show bewitched, and the 1942 movie i married a

witch, but the purposes of these pieces were to show that a womans powers could be

restrained by the men in her life. Take this example of an exchange between the

characters of samantha and darrin on the popular 1960s television program bewitched

Samantha: oh darling ill be the best wife a man ever had

Darrin: i know you will be. Were going to have a nice normal happy life together

and no more (insinuating witchcraft)

Samantha: oh no i promise!

Darrin: its not going to be easy, its tough enough being married to an advertising

manager normal. But I mean youre going to have to learn to be a suburban

housewife

Samantha: ill learn youll see ill learn!

Darrin: youll have to learn to cook, and keep house and go to my mothers house

for dinner every friday night

12
For samantha and darrin, samanthas incredible powers were a threat to the status quo

of the relationship of the the general society. No longer. Its hard to say where exactly

this shift began, but the first hit that was marketed directly towards teenage girls was the

1989 musical comedy Teen Witch.

In Teen Wich shy, sweet, suburban Louise Miller discovers she is the

reincarnation of a powerful witch, and inherits powers on her 16th birthday. She uses

her new powers to capture the attention of the hottest guy in school, get back at evil

cheerleaders, and become the most popular girl in school. Another movie releases the

same year in a different part of the world was Kikis delivery service. Kiki is also a sweet

shy young girl in a search for power, agency, purpose and identity. To a downtrodden

15 year old girl, who feels powerless, doesnt that sound nice? movies, TV show, or

book about witches from the 1990s tend to focus around the girls who feel bored and

trapped in their daily mullings. These types of girls are sweet, suburban white girls. In

her book Teen Witch: Wicca for a new generation, popular occult author Silver

Ravenwolf describes witchcraft as: a book of beginnings, a way to look at the universe

in a different way,. Back in Salem women holding positions of power and having sexual

freedom was highly frowned up, but in this new era the representation of everything a

woman shouldnt be, screamed liberation.

Examining what makes each piece of wiccan media so powerful lies in their

central themes. For community the craft rises above all. The film starts of just like an

13
other; pretty, sweet, shy, young white girl moves to a new town, she makes friends with

those weird girls who escape into the woods at night to perform strange rituals, soon

enough theyve become a full fledged coven. After a while their spirits start to morph

together, the lines between the individual and the collective blur. The importance in the

craft is on connection. Connecting and communicating with other girls is at the core of

third wave feminism. For topics of sexuality and personal identity, the next place to turn

is buffy the vampire slayer. The supporting character of willow becomes a witch, and a

powerful one. In this new practice she learns something new about herself, that she is a

lesbian. Witchcraft led to her female centric groups where she discovered who she truly

was and the life she was truly meant to live. Ah the college years.

But witchcraft wasnt just marketed to those between the ages of 14 and 18, if a

child wanted to learn about the craft they need look no further than the disney channel.

Yes the disney channel, a beacon for american morals released four movies in the

popular Halloweentown series. The popularity of the show The Wizards of Waverly

Place was also stifling. The show premiered after the release of the disney channel

original movie Twitches Too in October of 2007. The first episode, The Crazy 10-Minute

Sale, garnered 5.9 million viewers. The show centered upon a wily, cocky, and self

assured young girl who must eventually compete with her brothers to see who will

become the family wizard. The disney channel has done a marvelous things with both

the Twitches series and Wizards of Waverly Place, it has brought non white women to

the forefront. Movies with black and hispanic leads are important to young people of

14
colors development. Too often young witches are white, or if they are black they are the

sidekick and usually a stereotype such as a descendant of Tituba or a witch who uses

voodoo magic. Witches are a refuge for young girls, someone who represents them.

Non-white protagonists help girls who may have trouble identifying with the mainstream

idea of what a witch should be.

The current most popular example of witches in the media comes from one of the

current most popular shows. American Horror Story. Creator Ryan Murphy flawlessly

pieced together history, society, feminism, race, and witchcraft into a tight a succinct 13

episode arc. In the first episode entitled bitchcraft zoe starts off just as any other boring

white protagonist in a witch movie, but the vibrant cast of characters and stories are

what truly bring American horror story: coven alive. Smart, fierce and capable women

with different methods of furthering the power and legacy of the coven. Tying together

race and gender is messy and complicated but the more it gets done the neater it

becomes. As intersectionality in third wave feminism becomes a priority, more witches

of color will come to life on screen.

With all this good, comes the bad. Since the 1300s religious backlash to

witchcraft reigned supreme and to an extend still does. The first results that show up

when teen girls and witchcraft are typed into the google search bar are from websites

like CBN (christian broadcasting network) and jesus-is-savior.com. Christian parents

and scholars alike are terrified that their innocent and vulnerable young daughters may

15
fall prey to the clutches of the devil, and feel the need to post about it constantly. See

here a quote from the online article confessions of a teen witch:

Its real.

Since the power source that witchcraft taps into comes from Satan, a lot of stuff

actually happens. I dont even like to think about the things I saw. Yet, just because

stuff happens doesnt mean that its truth. Satan does have some limited power on

earth, so thats why psychics are sometimes right and why witchcraft seems to work.

Dont mistake Satans power for Gods. They cant even compare!

After I became a Christian, I gathered all of my materials, the idols, crystals,

books and candles I had used, and burned them all in a big bonfire. I know God was

pleased with that. I had traded a whole lot of nothing for a whole lot of God. It was a

pretty good deal if you ask me.

An article that stuck out was Hersey in the hood and Heresy in the hood II by

Linda P harvey. Harvey is a christian, a publisher, and a concerned citizen. Harveys

works focus on pointing out the sinful flaws in abortion, homosexuality, and radical

feminism. She has also declare wiccan author and previous source Silver ravenwolf her

arch nemesis. Not only does she claim that wicca is the fastest growing religion in the

world, which cannot be supported by statistics, but also that any media that empowers

young women, will lead to vanity and in turn devil worship. Harvey is here to shout from

the rooftops that wicca and devil worship are in your neighborhood, in your face. In

16
heresy in the hood II harvey discusses the consequences of witchcraft as a feminist

practice:

Taking a chapter from the feminist and homosexual playbook, "pagan pride " is

set to burst upon the American scene with its accusations and demands. Groups are

springing up like the Witches AntiDefamation League, Witches Against Religious

Discrimination and the Alternative Religions Education Network, taking refuge under the

constitutional protections on religious freedom. With the "witch hunt" chapter already

written, sorcerers playing victim to evil Christians is a believable role in the eyes of

many Americans.

Part 5: The is magic in everything

So is witchcraft good for teenage girls? Well it all depends on the context of

which you are asking, but when thinking about the general welfare of girls and their lives

here on earth: yes. As has been shown in previous sections of this paper witchcraft has

given girls a new outlook on life, a place to belong, and a sense of being part of

something greater than themselves. There are a plethora of online articles from

prestigious printings like Teen Vogue, to Buzzfeed, to the smallest corners of the

internet recounting a teen girls years of feeling alone and hopeless then discovering the

gods and goddesses and regaining their spark. In Heresy in the Hood Harvey talks

about the danger witchcraft puts on a teen girls soul but contradicts that witchcraft

affects their well-being in her first paragraph:

17
The fifteen-year old girl next door, her mom tells you, has cleaned up her

once-rebellious act. Suddenly, Brittany is getting up early, reading more books, going to

church more, even keeping her room clean. Drugs and alcohol are not cool, she tells

her parents. And she has a much more positive attitude, your neighbor has noticed.

Seemingly, a young life has turned around for the better.

Well, hold that applause. For young Brittany's new standards are outlined by Teen

Witch author Silver Ravenwolf as the model for every young wiccan. Yes, in today's

crazy America, Brittany could have found new identity and meaning in witchcraft.

Wicca is about connection. Connection to the earth, to the gods and goddesses,

and to the coven. How is Wicca any different from swimming or the drama club in that

way? Girls are working together, making lasting relationships with each other in the

formative years of their lives. Teens and adults alike use witchcraft as a way of

understanding the world, as goes for christians, muslims, jews, hindus, the list goes on.

Wicca is by women for women, in a world where girls are told to sit still, look pretty,

smile, and let the boy win, theres no harm in a little empowerment.

A witch is ugly. A witch is aggressive. A witch is Knowledgeable. A witch is

strong. Choosing to be a witch is not an easy path for a woman, but it is a freeing one.

witchcraft appeals to young women because it gives them an identity, and a sense of

control over their lives. Witchcraft is connecting girls to the world on the most base level.

18
The air, the trees, the animals and flowers are all female and full of energy and life.

According the the W.I.T.C.H manifesto witches are: women who dared to be: groovy,

courageous, aggressive, intelligent, nonconformist, explorative, curious, independent,

sexually liberated, revolutionary. The witch is the ultimate feminist, an unafraid,

unabashed woman who does what she pleases and leaves terror or goodness in her

wake. It is up to her, but she will always be unstoppable. A life force that reminds all that

there is magic in everything.

19
 Bibliography

Kikis delivery service:

Mo Nu Zhai Ji Bian Kiki 's Delivery Service. De Li Ying Shi, 1989.

Halloweentown:

Halloweentown. Dir. Duwayne Dunham. Perf. Debbie Reynolds, Judith Hoag. Disney Channel, 1998.
DVD.

Heresy in the hood:

Harvey, Linda P. "Heresy In the Hood." Editorial. Leaderu.com. N.p., 1999. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.leaderu.com/theology/teenwitchcraft-original.html>.

Teen witch:wicca for the new generation:

RavenWolf, Silver. Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications,
1998. Print.

Teen witch:

Teen Witch. Dir. Dorian Walker. By Robin Menken. Perf. Robyn Lively, Zelda Rubinstein, and Dan
Gauthier. Trans World Entertainment, 1989.

The craft:

The Craft. Dir. Andrew Flemming. Perf. Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk. Columbia Pictures, 1996. DVD.

Queen bees and wannabes:

Wiseman, Rosalind. Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip,
Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence. New York: Crown, 2002. Print.

Ahs coven:

Murphy, Ryan, and Brad Falchuk, prods. "American Horror Story: Coven." American Horror Story:
Coven. FX. 09 Oct. 2013. Television.

20
The bible:

King James Bible. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.

Heresy in the hood II:

Harvey, Linda P. "Heresy In the Hood II." Editorial. Leaderu.com. N.p., 2002. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.leaderu.com/theology/teenwitchcraft.html>.

Religious Socialization and Identity Formation of Adolescents in High Tension Religions:

Armet, Stephen. Religious Socialization and Identity Formation of Adolescents in High Tension Religions.
Review of Religious Research, vol. 50, no. 3, 2009, pp. 277297. www.jstor.org/stable/25593742.

On Studying Witchcraft as Women's History: A Historiography of the European Witch

Persecutions:

Barstow, Anne Llewellyn. On Studying Witchcraft as Women's History: A Historiography of the European
Witch Persecutions. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, vol. 4, no. 2, 1988, pp. 719.
www.jstor.org/stable/25002078.

Gender as a Social Structure: Theory Wrestling with Activism:

Risman, Barbara J. Gender as a Social Structure: Theory Wrestling with Activism. Gender and Society,
vol. 18, no. 4, 2004, pp. 429450. www.jstor.org/stable/4149444.

Daring to be Bad: Radical Feminism in America 1967-1975:

Echols, Alice. Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967-1975. Minneapolis: U of

Minnesota, 1989. Print.

The Wizards of Waverly Place:

"The Wizards of Waverly Place." The Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney Channel. 07 Oct. 2007.
Television.

21