More Crazy Season

The Crazy Season: the weeks leading up to Hallowe’en when the news media rediscover Witchcraft.

Witchcraft and Magic: North America, edited by Helen Berger and mentioned here earlier, has arrived.

One contributor, the sociologist Tanice Foltz, writes on “The Commodification of Witchcraft” (a favorite academic topic, also addressed by other scholars, as here and here). To her credit, Foltz states, “I submit that Pagans’ exchange of money for spirituality services such as Wiccan festivals, retreats, and educational programs does not portend a change in the main focus of the religion.” Elsewhere in her introduction she speaks of the new media image of Witches as “attractive, youthful, strong, and independent females who openly use their magical powers to fight against evil for the common good.”

Fully in the commodified Crazy Season spirit, then, we have Australian media-witch Fiona Horne, using her powers in Playboy, which has a long history of interest in sexy Witches, dating back to at least 1974 when they sent frequent contributor Mordecai Richler to cover one of Llewellyn Publications’ “Gnosticon” gatherings.

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