Breaking the spell | Gareth Leaney

On a recent visit to my local library, I ended up in the ‘Mind, Body and Spirit’ section. At least 30 feet of shelf space is devoted to witchcraft, astrology, tarot and all sorts of similar practices.

Which is why I was unsurprised when I read an article in The Independent (May 20 2007) reporting the results of a study conducted by Bath Spa University into the popularity of witchcraft among teenage girls. The report claims that record numbers of teenage girls are becoming involved in witchcraft, and that there are over 700,000 internet sites aimed at teenage witches. But why have witchcraft, and the associated belief system known as Wicca, become so popular?

There are some usual suspects which tend to get the blame. TV programmes such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, as well as the Harry Potter franchise and a host of other books and films, are all implicated in introducing young people to witchcraft. But Wicca and the practice of witchcraft have other features which are attractive to seekers. And these provide important challenges to Christians as we try to reach these same young people.

Feminist credentials

Denise Cush, professor of religious studies at Bath Spa and author of the original study, suggests that it is the attitude of Wicca to women which makes it appealing to teenage girls. The ‘feminist credentials’ of Wicca contrast sharply with the common perception that organised religion, particularly Christianity, is biased against women.

But the trend goes hand in hand with the growing general interest in spirituality in Britain. Wicca is not the only feature of the ‘Mind, Body and Spirit’ section — angels, spiritualism, crystals, healing, yoga have all grown in popularity and acceptance. A glance at daytime TV reveals a similar range of interests.

Fallen spirituality

As Christians, such spiritual hunger should not surprise us. We were created by God to know God. We were made for divine communication. God has ‘set eternity in man’s heart’ (Ecclesiastes 3.11), and God’s power is visible, even to those who don’t recognise him (Romans 1.20). In Wicca, there is an attempt to feed this God-given appetite. Wicca acknowledges an ‘Imminent Deity’ (that is, a creative being, the source of life and energy in the universe) and it seeks communion with the divine. These impulses are not completely bad — we were designed that way.

But, in Wicca, the results of the fall are obvious in the way these impulses are directed. The effects of sin have twisted the sense of the divine and put the human in the centre, in the place which should be reserved for God. Witchcraft acknowledges, even worships, the divine power in the universe. But that power is bent and channelled according to the will of the practitioner. The witch is elevated to the position of master, and the power of the divine is used like a battery. Yet, again, is this attitude so surprising? Misdirected worship is idolatrous whether it is misdirected to ‘the Goddess’ or a football team! And how often do we hear people, even our fellow evangelicals, using prayer as a magic spell to accomplish their own ends?

Controlling the chaos

Wicca also reaches the deep needs we all have, which resonate with young people. Wicca gives meaning to a chaotic world. Natural ‘laws’ such as karma (i.e. you reap what you sow) provide a framework to understand the random and often cruel events of life. And, significantly, it puts the practitioner ‘in control’ of those events. Why continue to live in hope of finding love when you can perform a spell to bring Mr. Right your way? And why endure the hopeless feeling of watching a loved one fight illness when you have access to the power of the universe? It’s an enticing mixture, the means to both understand and control the world around you.

And Wicca embodies the prevailing attitudes we see in the world around us. The Wiccan Rede, a central tenet of Wicca, states: ‘An’ it harm none, do what ye will’. ‘As long as you don’t hurt anyone else, do what you like’. Sound familiar? The tolerance, acceptance and apparent freedom of Wicca add to the mix of attractive features. In fact, as with all humanly-constructed religions, it is almost perfectly designed to appeal to our status as sin-twisted (but God-given) desires.

Infinitely better

God’s opinion of witchcraft is obvious (see Deuteronomy 18.10 or Galatians 5.20 if you’re in any doubt). But where does all this leave us, trying to reach young people when alternatives like this are fighting for their attention? While I could write much more about all this, I would just make three observations:

Firstly, young people are spiritually hungry. They have not embraced the apathy towards faith which their parents have. Their in-built sense of ‘something bigger’ is crying out to be satisfied by a relationship with God.

Secondly, I think we have to acknowledge that our message has often not dealt with the deep issues people have. Christians have often not treated women properly. Relationship with God has often been overtaken by dogma and rules, and people with real spiritual hunger have often gone unfed.

But, finally, we have a gospel which deals with all of the issues Wicca and witchcraft play to, but the gospel is infinitely better! Wicca finds meaning in the world, but it is impersonal and uncaring; the meaning revealed to us in Christ is that the universe is created and sustained by an all-loving, all-powerful heavenly Father. Wiccca puts humans in control, dealing with life themselves. In yielding control to Christ, we put the power back where it belongs. And through the death of Christ on the cross, we can have the relationship with the Divine that adherents to Wicca long for. But we do it in the right terms — as children relate to their Father. We should see the growth of Wicca as a challenge. Young people are hungry. If we preach a big enough gospel, the biblical gospel, then the Lord Jesus Christ will see that they never go hungry!