Superstition and
religion have a symbiotic and complementary relationship within the
context of modern American Witchcraft. There are many practices that
can be upheld as similar between religion and superstition. The act
of lighting a candle which one has dedicated for a specific intent is
a fine example. How this act is viewed within the social setting
determines if it is stated to be a superstitious or a religious one.
Prior to the rise of modern American Witchcraft, the only setting
where it would be viewed as a religious action is within a Christian
church (and
this would vary according to the denomination of
Christianity espoused). The lighting and blowing out of the birthday
cake candle(s) would be categorically a superstitious act, perhaps
some vestige of an ancient rite within the cultural memory of the
people.
The birthday cake’s
wishing candle, and other superstitions within the United States
(primarily) were frequently decried as things that the irrational
man
i
would believe in. Following the rise of the Industrial Revolution and
the development of a more urban cultural identity within the United
States, many of the folk practices and beliefs began to be held in
contempt. As such, they were referred to as superstitions for the
sake of denigrating their prominence in the culture and to make room
for a new set of beliefs. As such, things such as the belief in
ghosts and the minor vulgar rituals, such as turning the statue of
St. Anthony to face the wall until a lost item is found, went
underground and disappeared from the surface of the cultural identity
of the United States. The main reason for this happening was that
people did not want to appear out dated or foolish in the eyes of
their peers.
Even now, one will
find that an openly professed belief in ghosts (for example) is
generally scorned and mocked by the majority. Rephrase this belief
into the context of the colloquial
ii
version of Christianity that’s ubiquitous and you find it is a
belief in angels rather then ghosts, which is now more of a religious
then superstitious belief. In the early 1960s, modern Witchcraft was
introduced to the United States by Raymond Buckland. Initially, he
disseminated information via word of mouth. At roughly the same time,
Zusanna Budapest (more commonly known as Z. Budapest) began to
disseminate information via word of mouth.
In roughly ten
years, both of these individuals burst onto the cultural scene.
Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft quickly became the
cornerstone of the voluminous body of work surrounding modern
American Witchcraft. Z. Budapest and her coven rocketed to something
akin to stardom with their involvement in the Feminism movement. It
was within the context of Witchcraft that the folk practices that had
been decried as superstition began to take on a more legitimate
appearance. (Russell, p.172) As the glamour and celebrity status of
these and other Witch authors grew, the concept of Witchcraft as a
religion grew.
Witchcraft as a
religion, rather then a set of superstitions, provided a place where
one could openly express the suppressed elements of the cultural
identity of the United States. For this reason, it flourished and
multiple elements from various sub-cultures began to become present
as well. As a result, many different Traditions
iii
were established and other occult practices and belief systems began
to become apparent. Public works discussing practices such as
Louisiana Voodoo and folk practices began to be produced targeted for
the common man rather then academia. This broad spectrum of
information quickly set the stage for Witchcraft to receive a minor
degree of approval in the United States as a religion. Aside from the
readily available information, individuals who had been engaged in
covert practice of these marginalized belief systems and practices
found it a safer environment to publicly express themselves on these
topics.
If one looks at the
seminal works of the entire modern Witchcraft movement, one finds
that these early texts were of an academic tone. Many of the early
modern Witchcraft authors worked to retain the apparent authenticity
that came with academia. Using Buckland’s Complete Book of
Witchcraft as a representative of these early texts, one finds
the book is organized much like a work book. The chapters are
organized into a combination of lessons and exercises. In Buckland’s
work, it is apparent that he drew a great deal of material from folk
practices that he found about him, just as Gerald Gardner and others
before him in England had.
These folk
practices, such as not walking under a ladder, were part of the
common knowledge of earlier generations and the efforts of authors
such as Buckland to place them into a religious context served to
legitimize the remaining inclinations towards ‘superstition’
present for many people. Within academia, much of this work was met
with great excitement. These modern Witchcraft authors were drawing
from anthropological studies and similar academic endeavors to
recreate ancient beliefs upon the basis of vestigial elements of
practices that linger in the superstitions and folk lore of the
region. When these authors presented apparent evidence supporting the
theories they referenced in their works, this strengthened the
legitimacy of their claims in the eye of the common man.
As legitimacy was
acquired from the academic connection, the number of adherents to the
modern Witchcraft movement began to rise significantly. From this
rise came a development of communication between many of the
different groups. As a result, the community of modern Witchcraft
began to diversify. With a boost in the number of people looking at
the issues and bringing their unique perspectives to the discussion,
the distinguishing line between superstition and religion within
modern Witchcraft began to blur to some extent.
Given the highly
individualistic nature and cellular organization of modern
Witchcraft, as well as the lack of any formal hierarchy structure, a
great deal of the question determining the difference between
superstition and religion became quite difficult to ascertain. It
quickly became apparent in the period of time between the 1970s and
the 1980s that the practices of a single Witch were of equal validity
as those of an entire Tradition. From this point, there was found not
only a great deal of diversification but also the resurgence of
superstition within the context of modern Witchcraft in the United
States.
Among the ways that
superstition and religion can be distinguished is the way the rituals
and associated behaviors are explained. Superstition often gives
little, if any, explanation for why the action is carried out.
Generally, a superstitious action is reactionary to a situation and
has little connection to the event it is used as a reaction to or the
intended result. With a religious act, the explanation may seem
insubstantial but there is an explanation which can be placed into
the context of the cosmology and theology of the given religion.
Sometimes a superstitious act can be confused with a religious one
due to ritualism. Ritualism is an over emphasis upon a series of
actions and the elements that form a ritual rather then the objective
of the ritual. Ritualism can be described as a subset of superstition
or an intermediate point between these two concepts which are often
upheld as opposites.
Ritualism and
superstition within modern Witchcraft became increasingly prevalent
due to a sudden influx of Seekers and Neophytes into the subculture.
These individuals, eager to discuss and explore their newfound belief
system reached out to each other thru the different means of
communication available to them. Volumes of information were made
available during the publishing boom that occurred at the same time
the Internet started to become a cultural force. The sudden
proliferation of information about Witchcraft resulted in an
increased awareness of this movement by the culture at large, as seen
by the rise of more mainstream references to Witchcraft, generally in
a negative sense as proscribed by the old cultural stereotypes which
continued to echo in the more urbane modern society that Witchcraft
was reemerging into.
This created a
degree of tension between the established practitioners and
individuals who were seeking to learn about modern Witchcraft. As a
result, many of the Witches who had sufficient information to
adequately teach others in the more ‘traditional’ method of
taking a Seeker into the coven and educating them personally refused
to do so. Fears of legal reprisal and persecution forced these
Witches to become extremely selective of whom they taught.
Unfortunately, the volume of people seeking information greatly
outstripped the number of teachers who were made available.
As a direct result
of this, the Seekers were looking at the various published and
publicly shared information available and attempting to educate
themselves. At this point in time, ritualism became increasingly
apparent. Ritualism was an influence upon the introductory phase of
the development of modern Witchcraft in America but it was largely
confined to the Neophyte Witches of the covens. With the population
boom of Seekers and Neophytes, many failed to understand the language
of modern Witchcraft and how elements of Witchcraft such as magic
worked in the worldview of the belief system.
With the increased
ability for Witches to network and communicate with each other, there
came a rapid dissemination of poorly understood ideas and poorly
communicated concepts. This ushered in a new development within the
relationship between the religion of modern Witchcraft and the
superstitions surrounding it. Superstition had additionally come to
incorporate the flawed understandings of the basic concepts of modern
Witchcraft. A fine example of this is the supposed animated aspects
of a Tarot deck. A Tarot deck is a pack of 72 illustrated cards used
for the card game Triumphs and also as a divination tool. Within the
community of modern Witches and occultists, Tarot decks are primarily
used as divination tools. Many of the second generation Witches
explain the Tarot deck’s effectiveness as a divination tool in
terms of the deck’s personality and moods, ascribing to the cards a
semi-sentient quality. In concurrence with this have arisen many
minor rituals to appease the semi-sentient pack of cards and assure a
favorable result in working with them. Unfavorable or confusing
readings are ascribed to a displeased Tarot deck rather then
potential difficulties upon the part of the diviner.
The idea that inanimate objects can have human personality qualities is one that perpetuates fairly widely across the pagan community online. It is the conflating of animism with superstition that results in the premise that a pack of cards is angry with a person for not using them more frequently and this is why they are giving an unfavorable result. Animism, the premise that all things that exist are endowed with a spirit of some sort, is an ancient belief system that has seen some resurgence in the West. It is confused with superstition that says that the Tarot deck that is stored on a low shelf is acquiring unfavorable aspects versus the one stored on a higher shelf. As a result, the person with the Tarot deck will say that the deck's spirit is angered with them for its placement on the shelf when in actuality the reader is coming to the session with their internal compass for reading set to anticipate unfavorable results due to where it is sitting when they come to collect it for use.
Disentangling superstition and animism is part of the process of freeing modern pagan practitioners from the paradigm of fear that tends to plague them. While many religions are build upon a basis of fear, which feeds into superstition, growth within faith comes from resolving the fears and acquiring knowledge of the deeper truths of the religion in question. An enormous mystic tradition can be found in faiths all around the world that seeks to divorce superstition from belief. When superstition is carefully excised from faith practices and the associated thought forms of a given religion, the practitioner moves into a deeper, more intimate and more deliberate relationship with their faith.
In part two, I will cover additional material regarding the interplay between superstition and modern pagan belief systems.
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i
I am using the term ‘man’ in the sense of referring to all of
humanity in this sentence. I will be using this convention for the
sake of clarity and convenience.
ii‘Colloquial
Christianity’ is the vulgar form of Christianity as found in the
mainstream culture of the United States. This secular form of
Christianity is divorced of any theological teachings and holds only
a few rudimentary vestiges of the religion it has bastardized. Among
them being the celebration of the nativity of Jesus, the inclination
against working on Sunday, and the pink and plastic amalgamation of
the solemnity and celebratory aspects of Easter. Colloquial
Christianity lacks any but the barest remote resemblance to the
faith system it has grievously abused and repackaged into a
commercial product. In light of this, however, one must recognize
that colloquial Christianity is pervasive and often argued by many
to be the state religion of the United States. It does have a
dramatic impact upon the culture and deserves to be recognized as
the culture shaping force it is.
iii
The term ‘Tradition’ is used within the Witchcraft community and
the Neo-pagan community as an alternative for the word ‘sect.’
Originally Published 2012 on Helium under the pen name Deb M.
