JUGGLING WITH SEMANTICS
Anne Newkirk Niven raised some interesting points in her editorial for ‘Witches & Pagans’ concerning what we choose to call ourselves – pagan, witches, Wiccans – thereby painting a great big bull’s-eye on our backs. As Anne so righty wrote: “You claim the title of witch. Why on Earth wouldn’t you expect to be hatred?”
In traditional British Old Craft we stick strictly to the philosophy of ‘Trust None’ for this very reason, and I doubt if any member of the Coven of the Scales would ever introduce themselves as being a witch. After all we would frown on someone announcing out of the blue to complete strangers that they were a Seventh Day Adventist, epileptic , or blood group RH Positive, without the rest of us thinking they were slightly potty. Unless, of course, they were in the company of other SDAs, epileptics, or blood donors when such an utterance would be completely superfluous.
If we insist on labelling ourselves like Paddington Bear then we must be prepared for the consequences, and in today’s climate of suspicion over terrorism, it’s only a small step to be labelled among a country’s enemies. For example: Anne also quotes from a recent Time article in which the author states that “witches like terrorists threaten to wipe out everything you believe in. If they could, they would overthrow your government, overturn your faith, and destroy your society”.
It was some stupid comment such as this made in the House of Commons in 1988 that detonated an anti-occult campaign in Britain that resulted in hundreds of children from pagan families being taken into care. The persecution – for it was no less than that – rumbled on until 1994 when it blew itself out for lack of factual evidence. But in the meantime hundred’s of people’s lives were destroyed in the process.
Today we live in a suspicious society and as governments in the West declare open season on fundamentalist groups such as the Islamic State, with the media inflaming public opinion it doesn’t require any stretch of the imagination for them to start maligning pagans – especially when comparisons are already being made in the popular press. Because as Anne also points out, the word ‘witch’ is one of the most vilified in the English language, and therefore extremely inflammatory, especially if the evangelical brigade jump on the political bandwagon – WASPs only need apply!
During the 1988 witch-hunt I was known as an ‘activist’ and I’ve done my time on the firing line – as had my predecessors during the 1960s witch-hunt. I’ve also participated in various pagan conferences and events up and down the country – because I would be in company of like-minded souls. Nevertheless, I have always refused to appear on television programmes, which are subsequently edited to make us appear as suffering from either a tranquil madness or as dangerous sociopaths, depending on the point the editor is trying to make to the viewers.
Anne also warns that in announcing publicly that we are witches, we are laying claim to magical power/knowledge, although in my experienced the greater a witch’s vocal claim to power, the less likely they are to be able to wield it! If you wish to draw attention to yourself in this way, then do make sure that any fellow members in your group are comfortable with your public actions, because your antics could seriously backfire on them. That is why the second most important rule in traditional British Old Craft is ‘Keep Silence’ – so choose your label carefully.