Beyond the fairy tales, mythical stories and stereotypes, there are many ways to be a witch.
Articles on Witches
Displaying 41 - 60 of 86 articles
What’s behind Gen Z’s appetite for tarot and spells? 16th century debates about witchcraft help explain why the occult has become viral on TikTok.
Witch trials relied on a medieval text called the “Malleus Maleficarum” – a book this reference librarian can hold in her hands.
Samhain will be particularly poignant this year for Wiccans who are members or veterans of the US military as they process the end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Scent and magic have been entwined in our imaginations for centuries – right up to today’s witch-inspired perfumes.
Interest in Wicca and witchcraft appears to be increasing, but what exactly is Wicca in the first place?
A historian reviews Pablo Agüere’s award-winning Netflix film Akelarre and explains why it is one of the best films around on the early modern witch-hunt.
Today, beer is marketed to men and the industry is run by men. It wasn’t always that way.
The role of witches in society relates directly to the role of women in society. And during times of social upheaval and changes, witches represent access to women’s power.
As the U.S. election approaches, various groups have mobilized to vote. But witches have taken it a little further, organizing online spellcasting meet-ups to engage in magical resistance.
For members of the minority religion of Wicca and witchcraft – part of contemporary paganism – Halloween is not just a children’s holiday: It is both a celebration and acceptance of death.
From village healers to global brands, witches have long cast their spells over commercial transactions.
They might not really fly on broomsticks or cast spells, but the witches and wizards of books and films are based on real people.
With President Donald Trump’s frequent use of the term “witch hunt” he paints himself as a victim. The women persecuted in one of history’s darkest chapters should not be forgotten so easily.
Bonfire Night keeps the flames of division burning.
Powerful men often proclaim baseless accusations to be a ‘witch hunt.’ But American witch trials have always targeted a persecuted minority: women.
Reports of demonic possession are once again on the rise. But during the devil’s last apogee in early modern Europe, demonic afflictions were taken seriously by both priests and physicians.
From witching equality to what we’d see if we looked in a real Mirror of Erised, researchers explore the magic of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
An antiquated Canadian law against magic and witchcraft is about to be repealed. A close look at its history reveals that it is far less superstitious than it appears.
How Romans overcame their fear of witches by finding them funny.
Top contributors
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Affliated Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University
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Casual Academic, School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences, University of Newcastle
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PhD Candidate, Languages and Literature, Aberystwyth University
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Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures, University of Exeter
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Reader in Early Modern History, History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University
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Teaching Fellow in Medieval Studies, University of Leeds
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Professor of Anthropology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland
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PhD Candidate, Early Modern History, The University of Queensland
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Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland; Syracuse University
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Early Modern European History, University of Cambridge
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Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow, Centre for Corpus Research, University of Birmingham
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IT Service Desk Coordinator, Swansea University
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Professor of Screen Aesthetics and Criticism, University of Birmingham