About witchcraft news...
In recent years, a series of despicable events related to witchcraft, the performance of spells, bindings and other rituals, etc. have occurred around the world, which in turn lead to a series of criminal and delinquent acts of an atrocious nature. However, each media outlet has reported it in a different way and below we can examine each case.
First of all, the headline ""Witchcraft" sect accused of sexually abusing children and forcing them to eat pet food" tells us about a gruesome event in Scotland between 2010 and 2020 where a sect forced children to attend spiritualism sessions and magic rituals and where they suffered sexual abuse as well as widespread mistreatment. In this case, the alleged ritual acts and the abuses, whether of a sexual nature or mistreatment, are highlighted in bold, but although the headline gives importance to the abuses, the subtitle focuses more on the activities related to the rituals, such as the case in which some children were chased with masks or forced to get into microwaves, cupboards or behave like dogs. This case is still in its trial in Glasgow, where the numerous accused deny their guilt. It should be noted that the most serious thing is not so much the rituals but the generalized mistreatment of the children, but it seems that in an attempt to describe everything in detail, they focus more attention on the acts of "magic" than on the seriousness of the continued abuse.
On the other hand, we have the headline of an event that occurred in the Canary Islands. "Wolf head, gorilla tooth, tiger fang... arrested for selling animals for Santeria." The subtitle already mentions the three people who use animal species for rituals and potions, and does not highlight the fact that trafficking is carried out or that these rituals imply a mortal sacrifice. The sale and its purpose is what dominates the news, and beyond what the rituals are for, in the end, the animals are torn from their habitat (animals from all continents, even bringing seahorses) whose introduction into Spain is illegal and without any sanitary control. It is surprising that the focus is more on the purpose of smuggling than on trafficking itself, and what these animals endure when they arrive mistreated in suitcases and are then killed.
Thirdly, we have an article from Seychelles that informs us quite accurately about a case of witchcraft where two bodies have been unearthed from a cemetery, in addition to the fact that the six accused were carrying objects suspected of witchcraft, which is also considered a crime according to their penal code. The article is very specific and is limited to providing proper and detailed information. It also explains how the ritual acts to be carried out implied a political objective by using the photos of President Wavel Ramkalawan, leader of the United Seychelles, Dr. Patrick Herminie and two other unknown people. Herminie has ended up being charged with witchcraft. The vandalism carried out has also reached churches according to the police and we have here a more informative approach in the article, perhaps due to the cultural context - in Africa witchcraft is much more present and its realization has always been very common - contrary to the Western view, the case is more notorious for attempted vandalism and attack on important figures than for witchcraft itself.
Although the African Union at the beginning of 2023 has established new rules to punish violence in acts of alleged witchcraft as well as violence even towards practitioners - they retain the right to defend themselves despite everything. These regulations have not yet achieved practical and current results, as cases like these continue to appear.
As mentioned, on the African continent, magic rituals are a widespread and common practice that takes lives, not only animals (for example, the persecution of albino people).
In the Western world, there is a contradiction today, where many stories of witches are told in a different way to whitewash many of them, their acts, - such as the story of the witch Circe - or give a more realistic view of what could have happened in some cases - witches who were simple poor women who only wanted to cure illnesses, not claim their position as women - while there are still Christian religious people who burn books like those of the Harry Potter saga or arrest people who practice the Wiccan religion. A series of contradictions also carried out by the media, in the cases mentioned, which lead us to a certain misinformation and to a failure to understand the seriousness of the violence that is exercised for and in these rituals, although there is not always violence in supposed acts of witchcraft. The treatment received by religious abuses, poaching or political attacks are not the same in the media and they try to put aside the cultural aspect.
Rachel Black - raquel_carrasco91@hotmail.com
Here are links to the news mentioned, so that you can contrast the use of witchcraft as a claim, despite the seriousness of the acts themselves
•News about the Glasgow sect.
•News about illegal trade in the Canary Islands.
•News from the Seychelles:
