Prior to taking this class, when the word “witch” was mentioned an image similar to Kathryn Rountree’s initial reaction popped into my head. I immediately was taken back to my childhood when a witch was just an ugly character the princess had to overcome to live happily-ever-after. After our first few classes my definition began to change. I thought of witches as being misunderstood, unlucky, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, after reading Rountree’s, “The New Witch of the West: Feminists Reclaim the Crone” my idea of what defines a witch is forever changed.
Reading the history of feminist witchcraft has taught me that the term “witch” doesn’t necessarily need to be identified with devil worship, “stolen penises, and boiled babies”. (211) Rather it represents a group focused on the inclusion of the goddess, challenging patriarchal control, and valuing independence, knowledge, and feminine power. In fact, a large part of the feminist witch movement wasn’t centered around religion at all; instead it was at times used as a political organization’s tool to attract a crowd. I found it interesting that one of the only reasons the group kept the name “witch” was to hopefully change the negative connotation that typically coincides with the term do to historical texts.
Furthermore, I admit that I have slightly more basic knowledge when it comes to the Goddess. As a child, I grew up associating Goddess’s with Greek mythology: beautiful women wearing white alongside other Greek Gods and Goddesses. However, last year I took a class on King Arthur and did a presentation over “The Mists of Avalon”. Even though this movie is not entirely (if at all) historically accurate, it does give the viewer a glimpse into at least the stereotypical Goddess. I always found it interesting and refreshing that in this type of religion, the woman is supreme rather than the man.
Finally, the portion of the text that I found most engaging was Rountree’s reference to the “three aspects of the Goddess”. The author explains that the first two aspects of the Goddess trinity, the maiden and the mother, are attractive to men and therefore are included in Christianity. The third aspect, the Crone (older woman who speaks her mind) is conveniently left out…as in many other parts of our history.
Reading this text has opened my eyes and taught me that the definition of “witch” is changing. Prior to reading this article I would have never believed that I would say that I agree with certain aspects of “witchcraft”. My opinion has certainly changed.
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4 comments:
Meredith-
I saw that you also mentioned "The Mists of Avalon" in your post on Rountree's article. With all that talk in there about the Goddess, how could we not think of that? I think we both saw the similarities between what the article was saying and between the film. It seems like the female role has been relegated to the sidelines in the Christian religion. For me, the concept of the Goddess is kind of neat. I like the idea that a female figure doesn't have to be purely good or bad, but can be whole within herself and be both. Oh, the things we learn from English classes!
Hi Meredith! Great post. I must confess that my definition of a witch has also changed and broadened. I feel the negative connotation of the word was assigned to women who did not fit the patriarchal culture's idea of womanhood. What a loss to all of us that endure that sort of oppression.
I am not sure that I agree with the Rountree reference on the "three aspects of the Goddess". But, that said, she does bring some very interesting observations of this women's movement that would have otherwise gone undetected, at least to me!
Your mention of "The Mists of Avalon" and King Arthur was very intriguing! I know that in most versions of the Arthurian legend, the important female charactersget a pretty bad rep. On one hand, we have Guinevere, the cheating wife who breaks the noble king's heart; on the other, we have Morgan Le Fey, evil sorceress, Arthur's half-sister, and, depending on which version you're reading, a vixen who tricks Arthur into committing incest. Not a lot of moral scope. I don't really know the details of "The Mists of Avalon," but I've heard that it drastically reinterprets Arthurian legend to be more female-friendly (sort of like the feminist witches are reinterpreting witchcraft), and that it supposedly inspired my favorite English teacher in mid school to leave a bad marriage. Good connection.
Meredith,
Very interesting post. I completely agree with what you said about how your idea of what a witch is has changed over the years. I think I said something along those lines in my post, too. I liked how you mentioned how you thought of a Goddess before reading this article. I thought the same thing, and it is interesting to see a different point of view on that. Thanks for the great post!
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