"The Craft" by apocrypha

In the summer of 1996, a movie called "The Craft" was released by Columbia Pictures and Sony Entertainment, much to the chagrin of practising Witches everywhere. The movie was about four teenage girls who become witches and suddenly gain supernatural powers that they use to fulfil their wishes. However, the movie's portrayal of Witchcraft was not only stereotypical, but this pagan religion was misrepresented in the film, with its lore taken out of context. Witchcraft is one of the most misunderstood religions today, and this movie only further damaged Witchcraft's already tarnished reputation and credibility by misrepresenting it.

The biggest problem with "The Craft" is, of course, that it is the perfect lie: two thirds truth, one third deception. A lot of the Wiccan lore presented in the movie is accurate, but taken out of context in the film. So what this essay will attempt to do is reveal the inaccuracies in the movie, and inform the reader of the truths about Witchcraft.

One word that you will encounter in this essay is Wicca. In most cases, the terms Witchcraft and Wicca can be used interchangeably. However, there are slight differences between the two. The term witchcraft is used by many cultures to denote a variety of things, including sorcery, whereas Wicca is a more specific term referring to the pagan religion of Wicca. However, many Wiccans call their religion Witchcraft, and call themselves Witches. Wicca, although still very open and flexible, has some lore that is common to most of its practitioners, such as the Charge of the Goddess and the Wiccan Rede. There are also Witches who practice religions call Witchcraft which are not Wicca.

These religions tend to be more folk-pagan than Wicca, and are not seen as religion, but as a way of life. A good way to think of this is that not all Witches are Wiccan, but most Wiccans are Witches. Really, it depends on the person as to what they call themselves, and most people have their own definition as to what all these terms mean. [note: to make things easier, I have used the terms Witchcraft and Wiccan interchangeably, as did the creators of "The Craft" and as do many Wiccans]

The creators of "The Craft" took none of this into consideration, and simply used the term witchcraft to describe the misconstrued Wiccan lore as well as the sorcery performed by the witches in the movie. Using the term Witchcraft in this way is horribly inaccurate, and blurring the lines between Witchcraft/Wicca and sorcery only creates more stereotypes for Wiccans and Witches to face.

In the first scene of the movie, we see three girls chanting, "This is the time, now is the hour, ours is the magic, ours is the power". This scene demonstrates a stereotype that pervades the film; that Witchcraft is a source of supernatural power, and that it is only mere spellcasting, such as chanting by candlelight and the like.

In truth, Witchcraft is a RELIGION, and is recognised as being so by the government. Wicca is a very diverse form of spirituality. It has no set doctrine or dogma, no church to belong to, and it emphasises the spiritual needs of the individual. As a result, it is very unlike organised religions such as Christianity in that Witchcraft is more about personal realisation and growth, than realising a growing relationship with God. For that matter, Witchcraft has a very different "flavour" than Christianity. It is matri-focal, earth-oriented, wymyn-friendly, and favours change, diversity, and self-empowerment by holding life sacred.

It's practitioners do not have supernatural powers of any kind, however many Witches do practice magick, which is spelt with a 'k' to differentiate between magic tricks and the magick used by Witches to shape reality.

The theories on magick are many, but basically magick is the projecting of will. To do this, a spell or ritual is done to cause an altered state of consciousness and connect with the subconscious to allow the practitioner's will to be projected into the physical world. The symbols used in spells and the symbolic actions performed in spells connect with the subconscious, acting a vessels that energy may pass through and be directed towards causing a desired change. In other words, magick is simply the psychological power of visualisation, amplified through a link with the subconscious. Magick is very powerful and is not something that should be taken for granted, nor "experimented" with.

Throughout the movie, references to Satan are made, and on more than one occasion the inverted pentacle is shown as a symbol of Witchcraft. In one scene, the witches are walking down the school hallway and as they pass a group of boys, one of them whispers to the others, "Scary bitch alert," then after making eye contact with one of the girls, he crosses himself and says, "Oh thank God, it's only you! I thought it was Satan!"

The biggest stereotype faced by Witches is that they are Satan worshippers, and this widespread belief has caused much harm to Witches, resulting in horrible accounts of religious discrimination. Of course Witchcraft has nothing to do with Satanism, but the creators of "The Craft" ignored this fact.

Satan, the devil, is the Christian embodiment of evil, and is a symbol of rebellion against the Christian God. To worship Satan, you must first have belief in ultimate evil, and you must also accept Christian philosophy. But unlike Christians, Wiccans do not see the universe in terms of ultimate good and evil, and so the concept of a devil is irrelevant. One cannot worship a concept that does not exist in one's mind.

Also, Witches do not rebel against Christianity, in fact some Witches choose to integrate Christian mythology into their beliefs. This is possible since Witches do not believe in a "one true religion", but see all spiritual paths as being equally valid; this is why Witches do not proselytise. The only problem Witches may have with Christians is with fundamentalists and overtly biblical Christians who condemn Wiccans for their beliefs (hence the title of this section).

As for the inverted pentacle, this is not a symbol of Wicca. The symbol used by Wiccans is the upright pentacle, with ONE point facing upwards. It represents the five elements of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit, as well as the triumph of the Spirit over the material world. It is a sacred symbol, just as the cross is sacred to Christians.

Before Nancy, Bonnie, and Rochelle meet Sarah, they indicate that they are in need of a "fourth" to "cast circle" and "invoke the spirit", implying that in order to do any kind of ritual in Witchcraft you must have four people.

This is not true, any ritual can be done with any number of people, and ritual can also be performed alone. Hence there are three ways to celebrate in Wicca: in a coven, a circle, or as a solitary.

A coven is a tight-knit group of people who practice and celebrate together. The members take vows when they enter the coven to respect, care for, and trust each other. The coven bond is very strong, and is not to be taken lightly.

A circle is simply a group of people who come together and celebrate, but without the bond involved with a coven. Many covens begin as circles, where eventually some of the people in the circle decide to branch off.

A solitary works alone, and does all of their rituals by themselves. It is estimated that close to half the Witches in this country are solitary since they do not live in urban areas and are unable to locate other Witches.

In this movie, the witches drink, smoke, steal, are dishonest, skip school, and are described as being "badasses". This is another stereotype that Witches face, that they are malicious and altogether evil.

In truth, the belief most common to all Wiccans is the Wiccan Rede which states, "'An it harm none, do what ye will". In other words, do as you like so long as it harms nothing and no one else, which includes yourself. This tenet is applied to every aspect of life, and so Witches carefully consider their actions and possible consequences. Wiccans also believe that all things are connected, and so everything a person does affects everything else.

In one scene, the witches go to an occult store, and when Sarah asks, "So you guys are into all this stuff?" Bonnie replies, "Not really". After this, the owner tells Sarah that she is a "natural witch", meaning that her power comes from within.

Witchcraft, like any religion, requires a great deal of commitment, but even more so since it is relies on the self for revelation, and not a spiritual leader. Hence, Wicca requires quite a bit of dedication in order to learn all of its aspects. One cannot dismiss this religion as simply burning candles and dressing in black.

Also, there is no such thing as a "natural witch". Since Wicca is a religion, it is impossible to "naturally" be of that religion, no more than anyone is "naturally" Catholic. As for power, Witches believe that all people have a certain amount of psychic power, and acknowledge the magickal abilities that all people posses. It's only a matter of learning how to use these powers and abilities.

In the movie, the witches refer to their deity as Manon, and say that, "If God and the Devil were playing football, Manon would be the stadium they play in".

This is a gross misrepresentation; Wiccans view deity in terms of the Goddess and the God. The Goddess and God are not good nor evil, but they are in need of each other for the universe to exist. Of course, since Wicca is matri-focal, the Goddess is given some precedence over the God. But Witches do not "believe" in the Goddess, rather they see Her as being present in all creation. She is within very ground we walk upon, and her face is reflected in the moon that waxes and wanes every month. She is the triple Goddess, the strong maiden, great mother, and wise crone. The God is the Horned God of the wilderness, the Summer Oak King and the Winter Holly King. He is also the trickster, the Fool of the Tarot. He is a gentle guardian, a courageous warrior, and a fierce lover.

These are not the only images of deity Wiccans have. They may also choose to honour many different gods and goddesses from various cultures, while others follow particular panthenons. Still others honour only the various faces of the Goddess, and others believe that "Goddess" and "God" are convenient shorthands for that which we cannot explain.

After sealing their friendship, the witches decide to go to the country and do an initiation of sorts so that the four of them can be their own coven. There were two main parts to this initiation. In the first part, one girl would hold a knife up to another girl's chest and say, "It is better that you should rush upon this blade that enter this circle with fear in your heart. How do you enter?" Then the girl would answer, "With perfect love and perfect trust". In the second part, the girls pricked their fingers and squeezed some drops of blood into a chalice. Then they took turns drinking from the chalice, making a wish, then saying, "blessed be" to seal the "spell".

Initiation is an important ritual in Witchcraft, both as an initiation into the religion of Witchcraft, and as an initiation into a coven. But initiations are not like the representation in the movie at all. For a coven, initiation usually has something to do with entering the coven in "perfect love and perfect trust", but there is much more to the ceremony than that. For an initiation into Witchcraft, the initiate would be asked certain questions about Witchcraft, and if their answers were satisfactory, a symbolic ritual of death and rebirth would be performed. The initiate would then be blessed and welcomed into the coven and/or the Wiccan Ways. Self-initiation, where an initiate initiates his or herself, may also be performed if they do not belong to a coven. This is a very sacred and special event in a Wiccan's life.

A stereotype that Witches face is that they are blood thirsty. The truth is that Witches do not drink blood, nor do they sacrifice any living thing for their religious practices. However, there are magickal uses for blood in ritual, but it must be the blood of the practitioner, and it is never more than a few drops.

The term "blessed be" is a familiar Wiccan term that can be used as a greeting/farewell similar to the Hawaiian "aloha", or as the equivalent of the Christian "amen".

The night of their initiation, the witches have a sleep-over at Bonnie's and they decide to play "light as a feather". Three of them sit around Rochelle, and as they chant "light as a feather" she begins to levitate off the ground. Then later they try doing "glamour", which is a spell where the witch is able to change their appearance, and succeed.

This whole scene has nothing to do with Witchcraft and everything to do with special effects. "Light as a feather" is a game that children play, and the idea behind it is that if everyone puts two fingers underneath the person's body then chants and tries to lift the person off the ground, the person will suddenly become very light and easy to lift. This game has nothing to do with Wicca. And although levitation is humanly possible, only the well-trained are able to do it, and it can take years to learn. As for "glamour" there are some Witches who cast "beauty spells", but those have more to do with boosting self-esteem than anything. The idea that magick can help you change your hair colour in a few seconds is preposterous, and can only be achieved with special effects.

In another scene, the witches return to the occult store, and the owner tells them that "whatever you send out returns to you", and that "magick is not black or white". This scene, refreshingly, holds quite a bit of truth in it. Another piece of Wicca lore is the three-fold law that states that whatever you send out returns to you three-fold. In other words, if magick is used for good, then good will come back to you. However, if magick is used for harm, then you had better be prepared to deal with the negative consequences.

The terms "black magick" and "white magick" are misleading, and imply that some magick is good, and some magick is evil. In reality, magick is simply an ability that all people possess, and an ability cannot be good nor bad. It is the practitioner's intentions that shape whether the outcome is positive or negative.

Eventually, the four witches decide to go down to the beach and "cast circle" and "invoke the spirit". They do their rite, and then collapse when Nancy is hit by lightning. In the morning, when bonnie, Rochelle, and Sarah wake up, they see Nancy walking on the water towards them, full of Manon's power.

This whole scene, from the rite to the spectacle the next morning is the most dangerously misportrayed scene in this movie. It was done up to seem like a Witchcraft ritual, using real Wiccan lore but taken out of context. In "The Craft" the rite was about gaining power, but Wiccan rituals are about learning to attune one's energies with the Earth's, as well as inner-growth and personal reflection, and also to celebrate life and the turning of the Wheel of the Year. Rituals are typically held at full moons and at the eight Sabbats of the year which are the solstices, equinoxes and the cross-quarter days.

In the movie, the circle casting done by the witches was fairly accurate. Casting circle is the Wiccan way of creating sacred space. Since Witches do not believe that it is necessary to celebrate in a sacred building or church, they make sacred the place wherever the ritual is to be held.

Creating sacred space is a very individual thing, and there are literally millions of ways to do this, but generally it calls for two thing; the marking off or the circle and quarter calls. Marking off the circle can be done by simply walking around the circle, or by putting candles, stones, ribbon, or whatever, around the edges of the circle where the ritual would be performed. Quarter calls refer to the invocations to the four primary elements of earth, air, fire, and water, which are sacred to Wiccans. These invocations can be done in many different ways, and the ones used by the witches in the film would be reasonably acceptable in Witchcraft. Once the circle has been created and purified, the ritual may begin.

"Invoking the spirit" seems close to a Wiccan ritual that is referred to as "drawing down the moon". This ritual is used only on full moons to ask for strength and blessings, as well as to achieve a connection with the Goddess. It is seen as a "drawing down" of the power of the moon and the Goddess. But unlike in the movie, this is a religious ritual, and has nothing to do with sorcery and granting wishes.

Sarah soon starts to get fed up with Nancy and her destructive and mischievous antics, and so she tries to stop Nancy by doing a binding spell on her by taking a red ribbon and tying it around a picture of her.

This is the closest the movie ever gets to a real spell. A common theme in binding spells is typing knots, and it is possible that a spell could be written that incorporates typing a ribbon around a picture of the person to be bound. But one should be aware that binding spells that bind other people are a subject of controversy among Witches since they can be considered harming the person who is being bound, and therefore break the Wiccan Rede.

In one of the last scenes of the movie, Nancy is attacking Sarah with her powers, so Sarah begins to "invoke the spirit" by invoking "her" element.

When drawing down the moon or casting circle, one does not invoke only a single element. All four elements must be invoked for the circle to be cast. Also, in a coven, no element "belongs to any one person, nor can anyone be "in charge" of that element. And it goes without saying that Witches do not attack others with their magickal powers or otherwise.

As a result of this poor representation of Wicca, Witchcraft is starting to become somewhat trendy, and hence there has been a phenomenon of "wannabe" witches; people who say they are witches because they imitate the girls in "The Craft" and try to do "black magick". These people are not practising Witches, nor are they interested in real Witchcraft. Instead, they are only interested in doing something "taboo" and "cool". And since "wannabes" are not truly committed to Witchcraft, they do not bother to look further into this spiritual path, and assume that "The Craft" is the end all of information on Wicca. As a result, "wannabes" are grossly misinformed about Witchcraft, and by claiming to be Witches, they make it difficult for real Witches to explain themselves.

What they do not realise it that "The Craft" is a movie, not reality. Instead, I would suggest to all "wannabe witches" to look further and discover the truth about Wicca. There are many wonderful books around, and some very good information on the Internet. Please learn what Witchcraft is really about before you decide to get into something you don't understand.

To conclude, I would like to add that Witchcraft already has a tarnished reputation and credibility, and this movie only worsened it by misrepresenting Wiccan lore and cheapening Wicca, making is seem like a joke and adding more stereotypes for Witches to face. Hopefully filmmakers will be more accurate in their representation of Witchcraft in the future.

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