Kyla's Witchy Blog

Our first discussion on Wednesday (1/24) was thought-provoking and planted seeds in my mind for further exploitation. I am certain that these themes regarding women, otherness, and deviance will be recurring throughout the semester. Below are my three key takeaways from the documents we explored and the conversations that we had.   Malleus Maleficarium . What a pleasant book! I was baffled to hear that it was the second best-selling printed book for over two centuries, just behind the Bible. With it being such an influential text at the time, I cannot help but wonder who was reading it and what their thoughts were. Did people believe it all to be true? Was this text used to defend witchcraft accusations? How did it impact society’s view toward women? I am quite intrigued.  One of the key things that stood out to me from this text was the contradictory depictions of women. On one hand, women are described as weak and incapable. As Kramer says, “women are intellectually lik...

Welcome to Kyla’s Witchy Blog! I am excited to document my learning experiences this semester and keep them in a place that I can look back on in the future. I am sure I will find this blog decades from now and smile about the time I took a class on witchcraft and magic… how cool! To begin, I would like to discuss my current perceptions of witchcraft and magic so I can compare them to my newfound knowledge at the end of the semester. My perspective has already begun to shift after reading A History of Magic, Witchcraft, & The Occult and I look forward to seeing how it continues to evolve. Much of my knowledge of witches and magic comes from fictional stories and childhood movies. From The Wizard of Oz to Hocus Pocus , I have always seen witches as evil, bitter, and lonely antagonists. I picture an older woman with a pointy hat, green skin, and a broomstick. In my head, these magical beings only exist in a fictional wonderland– not in real life. This makes me think– what truly is ...