Potterverse and Wicca

[Equinox Chick]

I'm in the process of writing a fic that has some basis in reality. My hero is investigating a supposed curse around the time of the Millennium. At the time of the incident, there were protests from the Wiccan community and I want to portray this in my fic.

My question is: How do you think Wiccans would have been perceived by the wizarding world? The Wicca religion (for want of a better word and I really don't want to offend anyone) was formed about sixty years ago. Do you think the Potterverse characters would hold it in any esteem? Or perhaps they laugh at a Muggle attempt to be magic?

I'm also considering whether Wicca is practised by Squibs. Any advice or ideas would be welcome.

Carole

[Tim the Enchanter]

I'm in the process of writing a fic that has some basis in reality. My hero is investigating a supposed curse around the time of the Millennium. At the time of the incident, there were protests from the Wiccan community and I want to portray this in my fic.

My question is: How do you think Wiccans would have been perceived by the wizarding world? The Wicca religion (for want of a better word and I really don't want to offend anyone) was formed about sixty years ago. Do you think the Potterverse characters would hold it in any esteem? Or perhaps they laugh at a Muggle attempt to be magic?

I'm also considering whether Wicca is practised by Squibs. Any advice or ideas would be welcome.

Carole

I'd think that real wizards would find Wicca laughable. Wiccan magic does not even slightly resemble Potterverse magic, since it differs in application and execution. In Wicca, magic is used for ritual/spiritual purposes and is achieved by chanting and using various objects like ceremonial knives, incense, chalices, etc. Since there is no wand-waving to make things levitate or turn people's hair blue, I believe wizards wouldn't see any real magic in Wicca - they'd probably think they're just mad.

Plus, Wiccans called themselves 'witches,' regardless of whether they are male or female. I'd think that Potterverse characters would find Muggle men calling themselves 'witches' somewhat... odd.

Tim the Enchanter

[OliveOil_Med]

It may be possible that Wicca is regarded as any other religion. It may be one that wizards find a bit more laughable (simply because the practisioners call themselves witches), but I don't really think it has any larger place in the wizarding world than any other religion.

Personally, I always believed that all religions practise some form of magic, even if they don't call it that. I went to Catholic school, and I would see rituals such as transubstasiation, the blessing of a certain area, exocisims (okay, I didn't actually see that last one), but I still feel like in many ways, they could be considered magic.

[Inverarity]

I do think wizards would think Wiccans are silly and foolish, unless you're going to go AU and propose that there are actually different kinds of magic, and that therefore some Wiccan magic might be real.

Of course, in a world where witches and magic are real, it's more likely that Wicca has some connection to the wizarding world. It could have been a wizard joke at Muggle expense that got out of hand, it could have been a well-intentioned group of wizards who actually thought they could teach Muggles magic (or at least, to appreciate wizarding culture), it could have been a Muggle who was somehow exposed to the wizarding world... but there are too many parallels for it to be coincidental, so at some point, the founders of Wicca probably had some exposure to real wizards.

[AurorKeefy]

I think it probably depends upon wizarding opinion on religion generally. As OliveOil_Med points out, there are elements of "magic" to all religions, usually in the guise of various "miracles". Personally, I don't find the notion of Wiccan magic any less laughable than the notion of Jesus walking on water or turning water into wine - at least if taken literally.

Of course, various Authors project different religious views upon their characters. For some, the wizarding world in Britain is a Christian one, with similar trappings to the muggle system. For others, it is a secular world. Ultimately, it is very difficult to approach a topic like this without distancing yourself from you own cultural backgrounds and opinions on religions. That's something to be careful of.

Wiccan magic does not even slightly resemble Potterverse magic, since it differs in application and execution. In Wicca, magic is used for ritual/spiritual purposes and is achieved by chanting and using various objects like ceremonial knives, incense, chalices, etc. Since there is no wand-waving to make things levitate or turn people's hair blue, I believe wizards wouldn't see any real magic in Wicca - they'd probably think they're just mad.

I do think wizards would think Wiccans are silly and foolish, unless you're going to go AU and propose that there are actually different kinds of magic, and that therefore some Wiccan magic might be real.

It's not AU, I'm afraid. Wizards are well aware that their branch of magic is not the sole magical system in the world. The most obvious example is that of house-elves, who get by just fine without even looking at a wand. Many of the magical creatures the world over have powers that might be considered magic, and the wizarding world doesn't laugh at them. That the Wiccan magic is apparently much less potent than the Wizarding equivilant does not make it laughable.
Wicca might well come under the frame of faith-based magic, or it might not exist at all and these Wiccan's might be considered mad. Yet that sort of approach would leave an uncomfortable feeling in my gut, and sounds a tiny bit prejudicial. If you're going to say Jesus went strolling about over rivers, and then deny Wiccan magic, I'd say you're pushing a religious cause and I'd stop reading. Even if you take a secular approach, and damn all religions equally, that still makes it a bit of an unpleasant read to my mind. Some paths are easier to just stay clear of.

Personally, I'd be fairly careful with your efforts here.

[Inverarity]

It's not AU, I'm afraid. Wizards are well aware that their branch of magic is not the sole magical system in the world.

Yes, I should have been more precise. There are clearly other kinds of magic, and although it's not shown in the books, it's probably safe to assume that not all human wizards everywhere have always used wands and Latin incantations to do magic.

However, it would be AU to have just anyone be able to practice magic, whether it's with a wand or a Wiccan ritual. Because Rowling is pretty clear that you have to be born a wizard to be able to do magic.

(Or maybe that's just what wizarding society tells everyone. Hmm.....)

Wicca might well come under the frame of faith-based magic, or it might not exist at all and these Wiccan's might be considered mad. Yet that sort of approach would leave an uncomfortable feeling in my gut, and sounds a tiny bit prejudicial. If you're going to say Jesus went strolling about over rivers, and then deny Wiccan magic, I'd say you're pushing a religious cause and I'd stop reading.

While I'd agree that if Wiccans can do magic without being wizards, then priests, rabbis, and sufis can too, I'd point out that saying only wizards can do magic doesn't preclude the possibility that Jesus (if you're making him real in a story, and frankly, I don't think I'd read a Harry Potter story with Jesus in it in the first place ) was a wizard.