Literature Review 2

 

Witchcraft as Political Resistance: Magical Responses to the 2016 Presidential Election in the United States

Citation:

Magliocco, Sabina. “Witchcraft as Political Resistance.” Nova Religio, vol. 23, no. 4, 2020, pp. 43–68, doi:10.1525/nr.2020.23.4.43.

https://rutgers.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_crossref_primary_10_1525_nr_2020_23_4_43&context=PC&vid=01RUT_INST:01RUT&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI_2&adaptor=Primo%20Central&tab=Everything_except_research&query=any,contains,witchcraft%20as%20political%20resistance&offset=0

 

Summary:

Magliocco describes the ways in which many people use witchcraft to combat the Trump administation and the 2016 election. This article gives many different cases where many would use spells and rituals in order to bind Trump and stop him from performing evil deeds making a huge impact on the country. It also talks about how many different people have found Wicca and the media attention it has received because of the political resistance they are taking a part of.




Author:

Sabina Magliocco, a professor of Anthropology and Religion at University of British of Columbia. She has studied and done research about Neo-paganism and has written many articles about witchcraft, religion, and neopagans.  

Key Terms:

Resistance: A movement in order to push against something that one may find negative and seek to rid the world of it. Wiccans have joined in the resistance against Trump and many Republicans.

Community: A group of people that have a moral, goal, or characteristic in common. Wicca has helped communities like the LGBTQ community and the Black Lives Matter movement push against Trump. It has also built a community of its own, especially those that participate in spells and rituals.

Quotes:

“The magical resistance arising from the political left must be understood in the context of the much larger liberal resistance movement, of which it is just a small slice. The resistance is not a single, united movement but a network of groups linked through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter that sometimes coordinate efforts and at other times operate separately or even in conflict with one another,” (Magliocco 44)

“Groups are varied, overlapping, and non-exclusive: it is typical for individuals to associate with several groups, or with none. Solitary practitioners are the fastest-growing segment of this movement. What unifies them is the use of ritual magic to bring about transformations in the self and the world around them,” (Magliocco 46)

“As in the case of many art forms, aesthetic reflect ethics, and spells are artistic enactments of ethical principles. While engaging in spellwork created a sense of community among magical practitioners against Trump, it also sundered them into contrasting and occasionally warring camps as they performed and critiqued others’ performances of resistance,” (Magliocco 51)

Value:

This article can go hand in hand with empowerment being the reason that many people find themselves to be a part of Wicca. Many newcomers found themselves wanting to practice spells in order to become a part of the resistance. This is a way for many people to feel empowered in a situation where they are considered to be powerless.

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