The final finding for the first chapter focuses on the theme of Voodoo being, arguably, the antithesis of Wicca, some participants simultaneously argued that witches who are people of color are more likely to perform dangerous, harmful witchcraft (Voodoo) when compared to white women’s witchcraft (Wicca). It is important to immediately note that this theme was not dominant in all of the interviews, but did emerge in around half of the interviews, although in varying degrees.
The other important factor in the interviews that had this theme emerge is that some of these individuals report actually knowing nothing about Voodoo other than individuals of color practice it and that it is perceived as negative. These statements were more nuanced and found in subtle statements from multiple parts of each
interview. The first case worth noting is Angela’s. Angela spoke early on in her interview about Voodoo and said she had studied it, but never practiced it. She said, “I have met a woman who called herself a bruja. That was when I was traveling, so it's not in my home base community. I also met a gal who was very much into Voodoo because her mother and grandmother were. I suppose right now where I am I don't have as many as would be enjoyable to me, because I would love that. I guess right now not really, maybe one or
two…I've studied it (Voodoo). I haven't enacted any of it, basically. Well, the thing about it is, is that we're using the same mechanics in our brain when we do those things. When a Voodoo priestess is using a dead crow and a jackal skull, she's doing a ritual. It's all ritualistic, and the components of each ritual is dependent on the tree that this branch comes from. I would never do any kind of life sacrifice of any sort. I feel that that would be throwing something out of balance, and that's not for me, but I do know that with very specific demands, a Voodoo priestess will do that and the heightened stakes, because an actual life was ending, it makes that need will manifest in that ritual.
Because of that added element, it takes less effort I feel, yet I'm not in Voodoo so I'm not 100%, but I feel it would take less effort on the part of the priestess herself, and put more on the client or the ... I don't know what other word we use. The client asking for this…Because just the spectacle itself is very shocking, and we all know that humans have amazing abilities hidden in their brain. Aboriginal people, if they are rejected by their tribe, they can walk out into the desert healthy, perfectly fine, lay down and decide to die, and do it. That control, I think, it all stems in the same direction. With that added element of sacrifice, the client's brain does something, and it somehow helps them make manifest the thing that they're asking for. Do I think that the death of the crow had anything to do with them earning a bigger paycheck? No. I think that crow should not have died.”
This response was prompted after I asked her what she thought of Voodoo and to tell me about her experiences. It is worth noting that I was unable to find any proof of aboriginal people walking into the desert and choosing to die, which is an odd act of
self-harm to attach to a group, and in this case, a group of people who have darker skin tones. The othering of those with darker skin to demonstrate the virtue of the
participant is again present in this quote (Ezzy 2006). After this quote, I said that other people had also equated Voodoo with negativity and something that they would stay away from, she immediately responded with positives of Voodoo, almost like I had accused her of something negative (perhaps some type of racism). This time she said,
“It's not all dark. If it was all dark and evil, it wouldn't provide comfort for anyone, and it does provide comfort for people. It would be impossible for an entire following to be made up of fundamentally evil people. That is something that Hitler would think, and because everybody follows this practice, that means they're all fundamentally evil and that's not real. That's not true. People are different. I think the witches, as my
understanding in our culture, are frightened of some of the rituals that Voodoo folk do because they don't understand it, and because there's an added element of blood, and screaming, and self flagellation. All of that stuff that we as upright, cognizant people would probably refrain from. They immediately jump to this idea that it's bad and it's all used for dark stuff. If you look at some rituals that they do that are less spoken about, you can see that it's not all used to put hexes and curses on people…Some of it is used for making sure that a sick baby stays alive through the night until the next day. Some of it is used for a laboring mother to have some pain relief. It's not all used for this horror show that people have this idea about. That's true of most Pagan practices. Druids would be looked down on for chanting late into the day when Catholic monks would do
the same thing, and would be looked down for talking to trees when we now know, scientifically, talking to plants makes them grow.”
Again, Angela is othering people of color, the, “voodoo folk,” by commenting that they do, “stuff that we as upright, cognizant people would probably refrain from”. It is implied that the, “upright, cognizant people,” are white like Angela. Angela also fits into the category of the ‘white witch’ (Ezzy 2006).
Sarah was similarly an interesting case because she mentioned actually knowing and having friends who practice Voodoo and she says she consistently tells them what they are doing is dangerous. When I asked her what broad society thinks of when they hear the term witch she said, “Like hexes, and Voodoo, and all those negative things….I try to stay away from that (Voodoo), just because you don't wanna mess with something that you can't control. You know? I've seen a lot of people who dabble into very dark aspects of it, and I'm just like, "That's opening too many doors." I would never wanna try to invite anything terrible like that in.”
In response, I asked her if there was a certain type of woman that practiced Voodoo. She said, “Not really. 'Cause Voodoo is so across all cultures. I've realized that there's so many different kinds of Voodoo. I'm ... I have a lot Spanish friends. And a lot of my Spanish friends, like, they're grandmas do Bruja. And it's just, "Ooh, that's so risky, guys." Or then I have like, West Indian friends, or like ... And they have some kind of Voodoo as well. It's just ... Oof. No Voodoo…. I'll always say something small so I don't like, impose on like, what they're doing. 'Cause I don't wanna be like, you know, that guy. But, I'll just be like, "Ooh, that's no bueno. Sometimes you'll open like a door or
something, then you can't close that door. It's very risky, 'cause oof." Some things we can't just control in this world…I feel like it's a lot cultural as well. 'Cause every single friend that I've had that is Spanish is just like, "Yeah Brujeria." And I'm just like, "No. No, don't do that. That's so bad." I then asked her what made Voodoo “so bad”.
She then described an experience and said, “You know, one of my best friends, she's half Puerto Rican. And I remember one time like, this guy dumped me, and she's just like, "Let's like, hex him and get him back." And I'm just like, "Let's not do that. But thank you." She's just like, "No. Like, I'll light a candle. I'll do this. I'll get like, a chicken bone." I'm just like, "No chicken bones. No chicken bones." And then, I'll be like, "Yeah, I'm trying to like, get more into like, card reading." She's like, "Am I being more of like, a witch?" "Don't do that. That's so ... " Like, you know, "Don't do it. It's bad." I'm just like, "You literally wanted to hex my-my ex with a chicken bone."
She went on to speak about black women and said, “I feel like there has to be, but I haven't seen anything on like, Instagram or any ... or anything like that. But I feel that's-that's also like, cultural too. 'Cause a lot of African American individuals are like, they're raised very religious. Every one I've ... Everyone I've spoken to is very, very, very religious. It's like they're Christian or Baptist. And it's very ... Even mentioning the word to them would probably be like, Oof…That's a big no-no.” Overall, Sarah stressed that all of the, “African-American individuals…(are) very, very, very religious. It’s like they are Christian or Baptist,” which is not an accurate representation of all Black American’s religious identity.
Calley described Voodoo as more of “gray magic.” It could be good or bad, and she had practiced it herself once. She said, “Voodoo? No. No, I really, actually, um, I don't. The only thing I could say that I don't, I don't know if it's Voodoo or not, but, um, the weight loss spell I did.. I had to cut out like a little person that looked like me. Well, that not looked like me but like kind of like, um, a silhouette, just some paper and then write how many pounds I wanted to lose…Kinda I guess. I, I don't really practice Voodoo, but I know what was a part of the spell, and it was like a chant that you, you said…I feel like it's, um, I feel like it's a different road of witchcraft, you know what I mean? I feel like that's something, I don't know. It could either be good or bad, I feel like that might be gray magic, you know what I mean? 'Cause it, it could go either way…I feel like whoever could do that though, is very powerful and spiritual, because that's, that's someone you wouldn't wanna mess with. (laughs)…You know what I mean? Someone that just pull out a doll and break your arm, like you never know. People are nuts.”
Calley was the only participant who thought she may have practiced voodoo. She refers to voodoo as being, “gray magic,” which is interesting because she is one of the few participants who allow a middle ground in the binary of ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ magic. Allowing for a middle ground is not a common belief held by ‘white witches’ (Ezzy 2006). However, it is possible that Calley referred to voodoo as possibly being used for good because she believed that she had used it herself, and she said she would never do a harmful or ‘bad’ magic.
It is also worth noting that Calley only reported using voodoo to help her lose weight, which actually does fit into the self-improvement goals of the ‘white witch’ (Ezzy
2006). Being thinner, particularly for a woman who is already overly thin, fits in with the patriarchal beauty norm that women should be very thin and that it is acceptable for them to continuously be striving to lose weight. Calley also fits into Immergut’s (2010) theory of the body being a project and something that should be controlled and maintained by a heterosexist and patriarchal society.
Similarly, Michelle reported making Voodoo dolls, but never using them herself. She was concerned about the dangers of Voodoo, even though she enjoyed making the dolls. She said, “Um, but I make them for people and what they do with them is beyond their own control. I put- I put no energy into it for negativity. Um, but because I do make costumes and such, um, I've been asked on numerous occasions to make Voodoo dolls of people and I let them put the energy into it afterwards. I just provide the doll… It's meant to be negative. I do not think there's anything positive about a Voodoo doll. I'm gonna- I have technically a Voodoo doll quote unquote in my car at all times, but I just think it's cute…. I don't know much about it (Voodoo). Um, I don't think that there's anything positive about it. And if- if you know how to use it and use it correctly, then I'd probably be a little afraid of you.”
Other participants were open and honest and gave very short responses when asked about Voodoo, such as Julia who said, “Yes, I’m familiar with Voodoo. It’s a practice of worshipping spirits…Mostly I know of the Haitians. I know others do as well (practice Voodoo), but I’m not familiar with them.” These participants made it clear that they did not feel comfortable discussing a type of witchcraft that they knew nothing about.
Samantha echoed this, and also described how Wicca is different from Voodoo. She said, “Um, I don't. For me personally, I think that Voodoo is very much, um,
embedded in African American culture. And I, I wouldn't presume to, um, study it or to know it without the, you know, that someone who has that family lineage, 'cause Voodoo is very, very ancestral, and it's so connected far back to ancestors that I just personally feel if you don't have that lineage, it's not something that you can or should practice…. I would say it's (Wicca) different. Um, Wicca specifically, you know, it was, it was created by Gardner in the 50s, like you know exactly where the religion came from. Um, and whether or not, you know, you, you believe that he got that from the, the tribe as described but, um, you know that he's the one that put out the book and set the rules and that it's very recent. Um, and I think the, the Salem witch trials, I mean, that's, I, I don't know that would even honestly connect the Salem witch trials to actual witchcraft. Um, it was more of a, just a, an insane like historical thing to kill a bunch of individuals, like, (laughs) I don't, I don't know if I even believe any of those individuals were witches. I don't think it really had anything to do with witchcraft, more I think it was just a horrible historical like murder fest. (laughs)”
Samantha, who self-describes her race as Arab, also voiced her concern that Wicca had been culturally appropriating other new age religions. She was culturally conscious and competent demonstrated when she said, “You know, honestly I think it's kind of the opposite. I think Wiccans accidentally culturally appropriate way more than they should. And I think that, you know, we have enough of our own ritual and our own beliefs that we don't need to do that. Um, but you get a lot of stuff like, um, like the term
smudging, um, or using sage. That's very, that's very embedded in Native American culture. Um, or calling to your spirit animal. I think it's okay to, you know, try and connect with the spirit plane, but I don't think it's okay to use traditional Native American, you know, rituals to do so. Um, and then we have like Voodoo dolls. I don't think it's okay to use Voodoo dolls or anything with Hoodoo or Voodoo unless you have that ancestral link. And I think that unfortunately because, um, you have pop culture with witches, um, and that there's, Wicca is not a huge well known thing, um, I think unfortunately because of that, people get confused, and, you know, they accidentally appropriate where they shouldn't.”
Samantha also recognized the added stress from discrimination that people of color face, which she was concerned would make them not want to then also choose a deviant ‘religious’ identity because it would be added stigma. She said, Um, I would love to, um, I mean I'm like, I'm something tiny, like an eighth Native American, and, um, I, I would love to meet more people, even if they're not, um, Wiccan or Pagan. Um, I would love to meet more people of color who just have any non-Christian religion. Um, but it's, it's tough 'cause, you know, people of color already have so much to deal with and so much discrimination, it's not surprising to me that I don't know very ma- like any open witches. So, that would just be another thing, you know?” Samantha was very cognizant of others during her entire interview.
Empowerment: From Popular Culture to Self-Empowerment
This section discusses how self-identified witches view and create empowerment for themselves based on their self-described witch identity.
Popular Culture and Empowerment
Popular culture depictions of witches and participants’ views on those depictions is discussed in the following chapter (Chapter 3). However, a discussion on cultural criminology is more fitting in this chapter because of the connection to social control and criminology that is the dominant theme for this chapter. Cultural criminology