I have never used item creation feats or done any crafting with any of my characters, past, or present. It has defined and used a distinction between religion and magic in the service of colonial assumptions, but it has also served as a repository of practical examples for contemporary magic-using communities in the West, from the nineteenth century through the present. Much responsibility for the confusion about witches and Witches can be laid at the feet of anthropology.

This book analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. Etsy’s 100% renewable electricity commitment includes the electricity used by the data centers that host Etsy. Because the label of witchcraft has been used to demonize colonized people and their practices, Witchcraft was approached as a deeply inappropriate term for religions belonging to BIPOC communities, especially Yoruba-inspired traditions such as Vodou, Candomble, and Santeria, and Indigenous traditions like curandera. I am soooo happy to know who to reach out to and work with as I have been trying to work with someone else.These 4 or 5-star reviews represent the opinions of the individuals who posted them and do not reflect the views of Etsy. She argued that those persecuted as witches were not vicious, satanic heretics, but instead salt of the earth practitioners of the Old Religion. When I think of a traditional Grimoire or Book of Shadows, I think of beautiful illustrations alongside thorough information; and that is what I thought of when I created Magick.

In colonial settlement contexts, such as South America and the Caribbean, oppressed communities of color, often enslaved or formerly enslaved, including those of African, Indigenous, and mestiza descent, continued to develop worship and protective practices that were derided as magical by ruling authorities. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Witch can become accusation, empirical description, or praise as it reflects perceptions of practices and people, rather than anything inherent in a particular object, action, or identity. Given the continuing relevance of diabolical witch fears, making a clear distinction between victims of witchcraft accusations and religiously self-identified Witches is not just a thought experiment.Concerns about Witch as a racist label have driven efforts to limit its use within scholarship to Wicca and other contemporary Paganisms. Turning off the personalised advertising setting won’t stop you from seeing Etsy ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

In contexts where Witch identity is valued, continuing to insist that the label is inappropriate for BIPOC folks sours from allyship into whitewashing. Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections—they may also appear in recommendations and other places. Contemporary Paganism is a new religious movement that champions magic as both group worship and personal empowerment. Heidi Breuer traverses both the medieval and early modern periods and considers the way in which the representation of literary witches interacted with the culture at large, ultimately arguing that a series of economic crises in the fourteenth century created a labour shortage met by women.Witchcraft was a fearful fantasy of an upside-down Christianity, flipping the proper hierarchy of good over evil, but the people accused of this nightmare inversion were themselves Christians, persecuted by their own religion. The ratings/reviews displayed here may not be representative of every listing on this page, or of every review for these listings.