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Hi! F eel free to view mine and Erin's final video project here!

I have so enjoyed our semester of learning about witchcraft, witch trials, and Salem. I feel that I’ve deepened and enriched my understanding of what defines witchcraft, witches, and magic through our fantastic texts, discussions, and projects. In reflecting on our semester, five of the most interesting and memorable things I have learned over the past months are: The importance and purpose of art in witchcraft. The existence and impact of Salem witch trial transcripts. The delineation between magic and religion. How magic and witchcraft persist as a force in our society today. The commonality between and prevalence of witches in popular media today. One of the first things I’d love to discuss in my learning this semester is the role that art has played in relation to witchcraft. I had the chance to touch on this a bit in my final presentation, but one of the most personally impactful things I’ve learned through reading our first text is how art has preserved knowledge and understanding of witchcraft for centuries. Art, defined in this case as paintings, drawings, jewelry, sculptures, book illustrations, etchings, and more, has not only provided incredible visual elements to supplement our modern understanding of magic and witchcraft, but also provides a window into this world. The nature of the work of art, its purpose, who commissioned it, who created it, and where it was displayed all reveal key things about how that form of magic was conceptualized in society at a given time. For example, Prince Iskander’s nativity horoscope was created for the birth of the grandson of the Mongol ruler, Tamerlane. This first reveals that magic, at least in the form of astrology, was valued among the highest classes of Mongol society in the mid-1300s. By extension, those that could create these maps were also important figures to Mongol leaders. This nativity horoscope also indicates that magic was used to determine what greater forces might have been at play during one’s birth. Another thing I learned is how prevalent magic and witchcraft have been throughout time. In reflecting on our first text, magic practices appeared in nearly every civilization across the globe in each century. From Ancient Egypt, to Native American civilizations, to Ancient Japan, to the American colonies, the courts of European kings, magic was present. I also noticed that our book classified elements of certain ancient religions as magic. This struck me as quite interesting. For example, some parts of Ancient Egyptian beliefs, such as protective spells for the afterlife, or Ancient Roman votives were considered magical by our authors. One question that I am left with, that will continue to spark my learning in the years to come is: What is the line between magic and religion? At what point in time does religion begin to be classified as magic? When do sacred practices begin to seem like ancient rituals? A third impactful thing that I have learned over the course of our semester is that there were recorded transcriptions of the Salem witch trials. As we know, these transcripts are not entirely reliable, as they were hand-written, and recorded by men in the community who, even if they claimed to be independent, likely had some sort of agenda, bias, or beliefs that impacted the writings. These transcripts were so key for my learning because they provided such a unique perspective on the trials, especially by offering the responses of the individual who was accused. In these transcripts, the aggressive, unrelenting, and often baseless approach of the inquisitions are captured, as well as the unreasonable lines of questioning they employed. The emotional confessions or the futile denials of the accused witches were also captured in unparalleled detail. Two of the most compelling transcripts that we read were those of Tituba and Sarah Good. The detailed and immersive nature of Tituba’s “confession” enabled me to understand why the people of Salem were drawn even further into the witch-trial frenzy. On the other hand, Good’s examination reveals how even those who denied being witches were cast as magic practitioners. Perhaps most critically, these transcripts enabled me to connect with individuals who lived hundreds of years ago; they humanized the residents of Salem and helped me to further understand the predicaments of the witch trials. Additionally, through our enlightening new media presentations, I learned about the commonality and prevalence of witches in media. These presentations enabled me to understand how different conceptions and versions of magic and witches exist in many movies, TV shows, and books. Some of these stories, such as Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Enchanted have actively shaped my generation’s and my personal relationship with witches and magic. This influence and dynamic of how witchcraft figures into my personal understanding of magic through the media was not something that I had deeply considered before. Through our new media presentations, I was also able to see the similarities and common themes that exist between depictions of magic and witches. For example, the theme of magic being seen as a special ability that could be taught or developed, or the idea that witches can transform their appearance by using magic. I was also able to understand how these modern depictions were rooted in past notions. For example, the idea that witches can be understood as old, craggy, women (as seen in Albrecht Drüher’s “The Witch”), or as young, beautiful, dangerous seductresses (as seen in “Liebeszauber” or “Love Spell”, which was painted by the Master of the Lower Rhine). Finally, a key part of my learning this semester was that witchcraft and magic continue to be prevalent forces in today's world. I had not previously considered things like crystals, tarot cards, and even zodiac signs to be fully classified as magic. Although, through our readings, I now understand them to be completely related to this realm. I believe that part of the reason why these items did not strike me as being entirely related to magic before taking this course was because they have become somewhat commonplace in our society today, or at least in the community in which I find myself immersed as a young woman. Earlier in the year, I saw videos about the powers that different crystals such as rose quartz and malachite hold on TikTok, painted tarot card decks for sale on Etsy, and the horoscope predictions in Cosmopolitan magazine. However, I’ve learned that even though these items, and other things like them, have become somewhat integrated and accepted into mainstream society, that does not diminish their magical origin. Rather, it represents how elements of magic are still thriving and in place in society today. Thank you so much for leading us through such a great semester, and for helping to foster discussion and reflection on these fascinating topics!

One situation that struck me in our readings in The Salem Witch Hunt, was the case of John Proctor. This case stuck with me for a number of reasons that I’d like to outline in the following few paragraphs. First, Proctor’s case was unique as it was a trial in which a man was accused of being a witch as opposed to a woman. While women tended to be much more likely to be accused of witchcraft, our text notes that over 30 men were accused of being witches in 1692, and five out of the 19 individuals killed in Salem during the trials were men. In this sense, he was not the only man to be accused, but he still fell into the smaller category of men who were suspected of witchcraft. Additionally, I believe that Proctor’s case reveals some of the key distinctions as to why men were accused as opposed to women. We learned in class that many of the women accused such as Bridget Bishop and Sarah Good were those that fell outside of the traditional social structure. The accused women, at least initially, were destitute, did not conform to society’s expectations, or did not have a traditional family structure to shield them from suspicion. Proctor, however, was a respected member of the community with an established household. He was also a successful farmer and businessman. In this sense, the elements that made women more likely to be accused of witchcraft did not apply to him. Proctor, however, was vulnerable for other reasons. Women were targeted for their outspoken opinions and supposedly “immoral” behavior. Proctor, was also drawn into suspicion for these same issues. He was not afraid to conceal his doubt in the veracity of the afflicted girls’ claims or to voice his distaste for the trials. For these reasons, Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth were accused of practicing witchcraft. Additionally, his own financial success in Salem Town and Salem Village did not save him from being accused, but rather caused him to be a target of envy and suspicion. Proctor’s case is also unique because of the reaction that his and his wife’s arrest drew from those in the community. In the course of his trial, his neighbors and friends drafted and signed a petition attesting to his and his wife’s innocence in relation to the charges of witchcraft that had been set against him. The first petition garnered 32 signatures from men, and the second petition had an additional 20 supporters. These documents showed me how significant and well-liked the Proctors must have been, as neighbors were willing to risk their own reputations, and potentially even their lives to support the couple’s innocence. I would love to learn more about how these petitions were received by the court and the judges, and if they were taken into consideration during the trials. The documents also reveal to me the more humane side of the trials and how some fought to free their friends and neighbors from accusations.

This semester, I am in a Strategic Communications Case Study course. In this course, we analyze communications campings from organizations and companies and determine what the company did well, and what it could have done better. One of the most fascinating cases we analyzed this semester related directly to this course. The case was called “Destination Salem”, and it discussed the city of Salem’s communication and public relations strategy to increase tourism in the city. I was reminded of this case when Professor Izzy presented her experience recently visiting Salem. I’d love to share a little bit more about this case and some of my major takeaways from this communications campaign in relation to our course. This effort to revitalize Salem’s tourism industry was led by the mayor’s office and centered around expanding tourism beyond the Halloween season. As Professor Izzy highlighted in her presentation, Halloween is one of the busiest tourism events for Salem as it is associated with the witch trials, and it is greeted every year with mixed reactions from the locals. One goal of the campaign was to draw more attention to Salem’s origins as a burgeoning seaport and its history of trade and pirates. As we learned in class Salem Town’s success as a seaport was a cause of contention between it and Salem Village, as Salem Town grew into a far more prosperous city because of sea trade and its harbor. However, today the city wanted to honor both sides of its history. The Destination Salem team set about doing this by creating a variety of visitor itineraries, some of which centered around the witch trials, and others that related to the city’s maritime history. It then pitched these itineraries to journalists who featured them in newspapers around the country. Another goal of the campaign was to increase the number of international visitors to Salem. The Salem witch trials are a fascinating part of American colonial history, but they are also storied enough to attract the attention and interest of people from all around the globe. The city knew Boston was a big center for international tourism, and began advertising how accessible the city was from Boston— including messaging in their campaign that Salem was only a brief ferry ride from Boston’s shore. They even advertised the non-stop flight from Japan to Boston, and then the ferry ride from Boston to Salem that could bring international visitors from Japan to Salem’s streets. In a particularly creative move, the city also redesigned a new logo to capture the dual history of Salem as a place with a rich maritime history, and as the site of some of the world’s most famous witch trials. As the photo above shows, this logo was designed to look like a sailboat, and as a pointed witch’s hat, displaying the multifaceted legacy of the city. The slogan “Still making history” was also paired with the logo to emphasize that Salem is not merely a city with a fascinating past, but a promising future.

Inspired by our new media presentation on witches on TikTok or “Witchtok”, I was curious to see if modern-day witches had made a presence on other social media applications as well including Instagram. I found that there is a thriving witch community on Instagram endeavored to discover a bit more about this online network. One of the best ways to track this online content and categorize posts as belonging in this category is by using hashtags. The #witch appears in about 17.5 million posts, and #witchcraft has 7.3 million posts. One of the most enlightening hashtags was #witchesofinstagram. A few trends that appeared under this hashtag were content related to the moon cycles, wiccan holidays, zodiacs and witch tips. Below are some examples of this content. This first post was shared by an account called “mysticwitchofthemoon”, and it is an infographic with six ideas for how to practice a bit of witchcraft on Sunday. It includes ideas such as having a sunrise ritual, lighting yellow candles, and writing out spiritual goals. This second post, shared by “moonmysticgoddess”, contains information about Beltane. After some brief research, I found that Beltane is a Pagan holiday that falls midway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It represents a time when spring is most fully in bloom, and celebrates fertility. It also is sometimes known as “May Day”. It highlights what to include in a Beltane altar, what are some activities to participate in on Beltane, and brief information about what Beltane celebrates. This third post featured in “lovebyluna”, an account with 274K followers on Instagram, relates to astrology and outlines ways to tap into the energy of the New Moon in Taurus. The graphic suggest six activities to connect with the new moon. The captions shares that this moon ushers in a time to “reconnect with and honor Mother Earth” and also “ground our energy and prioritize our needs”. Another post shared by this same account details positive affirmations that each zodiac sign should keep in mind as we head into the new moon cycle. An interesting distinction between Witchtok and witches on Instagram is that some of the witch accounts on Instagram appear to be optimized for commercial purposes in addition to creating content. A few of the most popular accounts that appeared under these hashtags had their own e-commerce sites that were linked in their Instagram bio. Other accounts also advertised their own services of readings, promotions, or even subscription boxes. This distinction between commercial services being provided on TikTok and Instagram could have to do with the fact that Instagram has had the chance to develop features that are aligned with business such as the ability to shop on the app and embedded direct links to shopping websites.

Our Salem Today readings, reveal what is, in my opinion, one of the most shocking things about the Salem witch trials: how quickly the community reversed its decisions and stances about witchcraft. As we read, by 1697, Samuel Parris and his daughter, Betty, had been forced out o Salem Village. By 1709, Ann Putnam, one of the main accusers of the witch trials, shared that she had played a role in spilling "innocent blood", and directly apologized to the Nurse family for her role in the trial and execution of Rebecca Nurse. Just 25 years after Ann's confession, Great Britain codified the growing belief that witchcraft was not at play in its territories by enacted "The Witchcraft Act of 1735". This law made it illegal to claim that anyone was practicing witchcraft or possessed supernatural occult abilities. One explanation as to why the people of Salem Village went from being fanatically convinced that there were malevolent witches working among them, to entirely sure that the accusations and executions has been unwarranted in a mere matter of years may lie in the structure of the community of Salem. Puritan society, as we read and discussed in class, was so tightly interwoven and truly built on a foundation community and neighborly support. In a community like this, division, long-term, deep-seeded resentment, and conflicting ideas would be a threat to the survival of all those in Salem— especially as the village was experiencing intense economically instability and threats from outside forces. As such, just as nearly all those in Salem initially turned to support the belief that witchcraft was being practiced, those in the village then communally shifted to the opposing belief that the lives of innocent people had been taken over the course of the trials. In this way, a shared sense of commonality was maintained among the majority of people of Salem at all times— first they were besieged by witches, and then, many came to the understanding that the evidence in the trials had been unreliable and that the executions had been unnecessary tragedies. These collective cognitive shift enabled Salem to maintain a sense of internal stability and cohesiveness, even as it was threatened by forces within and beyond its borders.

One of the first things that particularly struck me from our readings throughout both A History of Magic and Witchcraft, a **** Short Introduction are the rich, well-preserved, and fabulous artifacts and depictions of witchcraft and magic contained in the text. Some of the art pieces that left an impression on me were the fresco of the Dionysian rites in the Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii (p. 44), the Roman mosaic depicting Odysseus (p.39), and the 14th century Mongolian nativity horoscope (p. 83). Each of these works contain such intricacy and had been made with an expert artistic eye and skilled craftsmanship. They also feature fine materials such as rich red paint, gold leafing, and reflective tiles. These factors indicate that people of a high economic station were willing to invest money, time, and energy into ensuring that these works were masterfully crafted by artists. This willingness speaks to the important role that magic played in the lives of individuals at all levels of the social hierarchy. These pieces also have personal connections for their patrons; the Dionysian painting was once part of an individual’s villa, and the nativity horoscope depicted the exact placement of the stars on the night that the grandson of the Mongolian emperor was born. This personal connection could reveal that magic was something with great personal significance for many in the ancient world, and that it was something so special, that patrons commissioned grand artistic pieces not only to be created to their specification, but kept in prominent places in their homes. Another element that I really enjoyed looking over were the lines of real spells and recommendations from grimoires. For example, the belief that uprooting a mandrake would cause it to emit a scream so terrible that it could kill someone, or the notion that certain plants contain healing properties. I would love to know more about how these commonly held beliefs came into being, and how the specifics surrounding them were determined. For example, how were certain plants, words, or actions connected with specific properties or set outcomes? Was it through trial and error? What constituted evidence that a given act accomplished a goal— a single successful incident, or repeated successes? I also wonder how these pieces of information were preserved— were they passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation? Were they kept safe in hidden spellbooks? Were they maintained by the healers that worked with those in power? I also wonder if the high level of preservation of these spells and beliefs perhaps indicates that individuals over centuries thought it was powerful knowledge to possess, perhaps even information that was essential to their family, village, or society at that time?

In this post, I wanted to take the time to share some of my thoughts on this week’s reading, and pose a few questions I would have loved to discuss in class or personally research moving forward. In our reading this week, our book discussed the correlation between a woman’s age, and her being accused of practicing witchcraft. The text noted that elderly women were likely to be accused of being witches, largely because they might have lost the familial structure that once provided them protection and stability. These accusations helped to form the common stereotype of a witch as a wrinkled, old woman. In this sense, witches seemed to represent elements that were particularly undesirable for women in Western culture: not being considered physically attractive and aging. I might even go so far as to say that there is also a bit of an inherent contradiction within this stereotype. From the beginning of the most prevalent period of witch hunts in the 16th century into the modern era, elderly women have been connected with witchcraft. Some in society may have seen these women as frail, and disenfranchised. Yet simultaneously these same people may have believed them to be capable of repeatedly performing powerful dark magic. In this sense, elderly women accused of witchcraft were seen as both physically weak and as able to perform impactful immaterial spells and magic. I would be curious to find out if this connection between witches and the elderly holds true with witch stereotypes in other cultures, particularly, in cultures where elderly women are not seen as lesser but rather, elderly individuals are treated with great respect and revered as community leaders. I would be particularly curious to research this subject in places such as Japan and China, as Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. In China and Japan it is common for many generations of a single family to live together in a single house, and children are traditionally duty-bound to care for their parents' physical, financial, and spiritual needs. I would love to learn how this attitude might have helped to separate the idea of evil witchcraft from elderly women. I would also be eager to investigate the prevalence of this stereotype in India. In India, elders are often considered the leaders of the household, who play key roles in providing advice and insight to younger family members and in raising grandchildren. Historically, in both Western and Eastern cultures we see varying degrees of social regulation surrounding how the elderly are treated, and I would love to examine how common depictions of witches are positioned across these societies.

Inspired by our new media presentations and our discussions about how names, words, and letters were all believed to hold power in many civilizations throughout the 15th century, in this entry, I will examine the names of some of the most popular witches in modern media. I was struck by how unusual and unique many of the names of witches in modern media are. These names serve to not only phonetically distinguish these witches from other characters, but may also convey something about their intentions and powers. I wanted to investigate just that in this entry and dig a bit deeper into five of these names to discover what they mean and how they may reveal information about a character. Glinda: Glinda is hailed throughout the Wizard of Oz as a “good witch”. In the Welsh language, her name literally translates to “Good” or “Fair”, which corresponds to her role in the film. “Glida” also has a rather light, airy, and feminine sound to it which also has positive connotations and matches her princess-like presentation in the film. Ursula: The name of The Little Mermaid’s sea witch means “Female bear”. This name selection speaks to Ursula’s formidable nature and her disgruntled and aggressive demeanor throughout the film. The name itself has many vowels in it, but it does not have a particularly gentle sound to it. Rather, it sounds a bit other-worldly and a bit shadowy. Wanda: Wanda is a name of Polish origin, and it means “wanderer in life”. This corresponds to Wanda’s character in the Marvel universe, as her family of Eastern European origin. Wanda’s character is also somewhat conflicted within the Marvel movie series. She first enters the series as an antagonist towards the Avengers, but then transitions to join their team. She is undeniably a good person with a soft heart and pure intentions, yet she endures incredible pain in the loss of her brother, Pietro, and Vision— this leaves its mark on her, and darkens her character a bit. Wanda is also a name with a somewhat whimsical sound. In addition, the actual name itself does mirror the sound of “wand” , a classic article associated with magic. Jadis: This is the name of the “White Witch from C.S. Lewis’ the Chronicles of Narnia, book and movie series. I don’t believe that her name is ever mentioned in the movies, yet it does appear in the book series. Interestingly enough, one article said that this name was perhaps inspired by the Hindu word “jadu” which means “magic” or “sorcery”. Other sources say that it could have been connected with the French word “jadis” which means “long ago”, or “yore”. Both of these possible origins indicate something about the White Witch’s character, as she is an established practitioner of deep Narnian magic. Maleficent: As we mentioned in class, many words that contain the root “mal”, which means “bad”, have negative connotations. Maleficent is no exception. This name translates to “doing evil or harm”, which is appropriate for her as her character is the villainous sorceress in the film. It also directly contrasts the name of the film’s protagonist, “Aurora”, which means “dawn”. In this way, we can see that authors use names to help build viewers’ perceptions of characters before we truly see their story arc unfold.

One element that caught my attention throughout The Witches of Eastwick was the distinct costuming choices made for each of the three leading ladies: Alex, Jane, and Sukie. The film’s wardrobe was a topic that I didn’t have the chance to discuss in our New Media Presentation, but it was an element in the film that repeatedly caught my attention and enriched the story. Alex, Jane, and Sukie’s distinct senses of style further connected them with their unique personalities and helped to convey details about each of them. For example, Sukie wears a lot of blue, purple, and white throughout the film. These are cool-toned, serene colors that help to represent her collected and calm disposition. In the film, she also describes herself as rather “unusual”, and then immediately in the next scene of the film when the women are frolicking in the ballroom with Daryl, she is wearing a rather eccentric navy two-piece set with a white swirl pattern. This contrasts with the elegant dresses that Jane and Alex are wearing in their moments with Daryl, showing that Sukie is perhaps indeed, a bit unusual but also has a quiet confidence and self-assured nature. On the other hand, Alex’s clothing is more mature, it could even be said to be more masculine, as in some scenes she wears trousers or men's overalls. The color palette of her wardrobe is darker and more muted, with lots of grays and blacks. This speaks to her level-headed and practical nature. Jane’s wardrobe goes through a drastic shift after she meets Daryl. In the beginning, it is rather classic and sophisticated; her outfits are fairly conservative and feature a lot of white— denoting her innocence. After she is seduced by Daryl, her clothing becomes brighter and almost coquettish. During their tennis match, she wears a polka-dot romper, in her next music lesson she wears a long, frilly skirt that looks like a tutu, and in the grocery store she wears a bright pink romper with lacy socks. These outfits are fun and somewhat youthful, or even doll-like, perhaps denoting her genuine, yet childlike infatuation with Daryl. Another element to note in the film’s styling choices that extends beyond their clothing was the evolution of their hair throughout the film. In the opening scenes of the film, the three women’s hair is pulled back or tamed in some way. However, as the movie progresses and the three embrace their power more, and become more confident in what they are truly capable of, their hair becomes more wild and free. This can best be seen in the final scene when they are working to banish Daryl, and they are leaning out the window with their hair curly, bouncy, and untamed.

A reflection on the relationship between ancient royalty and magic. Something that really struck me in our learning so far this semester is how intertwined royalty and magic seems to have been over the history of ancient civilizations. In looking back at our text, one example that comes to mind are the statues of lamassu, winged creatures with the body of a bull or lion and the head of a man, that guarded palace doors. Another example are the onmyōji, practitioners of exorcisms and diviners in Japan who became court officials and practiced their craft after being appointed by the designated Divination Bureau. Another instance are the early Islamic astrologers who transcribed horoscopes for entire dynasties that were said to determine how the shifting of stars and planets would influence the course of nations. “... claiming to possess magical powers was not something that was looked down upon, but rather was something that could enable a practitioner to secure a position of respect in a ruler’s court.” In each of these examples and many more, claiming to possess magical powers was not something that was looked down upon, but rather was something that could enable a practitioner to secure a position of respect in a ruler’s court. Beyond guaranteeing one’s personal wellbeing and safety, a coveted court position would also provide a practitioner with the time and resources to immerse themselves in the study of their chosen craft. In these cases, a practitioner’s occult art was not only sanctioned by the ruler, but would likely have been considered an invaluable asset to any empire, as it provided rulers a chance to supposedly glimpse their future, understand what lay ahead of them, and even overcome obstacles in their paths. To a certain extent, these magical practitioners relied heavily on rulers to provide support and protection for them, and as we see repeatedly throughout history in Ancient Rome, England in toward the 13th century, and Japan as Emperor Meiji came to power, these practitioners and their arts could quickly fall out of favor and power, and become persecuted. The combination of living at the will and whim of rulers must have caused practitioners to feel a certain pressure to align their predictions of findings with the desire of their rulers. To that end, I wonder what sort of loyalty, if any, these practitioners felt to their patrons over their craft and if this mutual relationship impacted the content or integrity of magic practitioners’s art.