On Friday 10/20/2023 on Witch Rising, I covered three recent attacks on Wiccans, Pagans, and Witchcraft.
We started in Hanover, PA at the Serpent’s Key Shoppe and Sanctuary. The owner of the shop, Beck Lawrence, was interviewed by a local newsletter for their October edition. Lawrence’s pronouns are they/them. Lawrence talked about the shop offering candles, crystals, and other witchy objects, as well as Tarot readings. They invited the community to come check out the Serpent’s Key.
On October 5, Police Chief Chad Martin visited Lawrence to inform them that Tarot is illegal in Pennsylvania. He advised Lawrence that he was not there to arrest them, but if a complaint was made, he would have to investigate it. Lawrence has described this visit as “chilling.” They have spoken out about this incident to their over 200,000 followers on TikTok. Lawrence is very grateful for all the support they have received.
I spoke with Freya Maeven, a Pagan who lives nearby. She also describes the incident as chilling. She says that it feels like it has been a set back to the local Pagan community.
Links:
https://www.tiktok.com/@thestitchingwitch
Next, we move to Franklin, PA where the Chamber of Commerce hosts an annual Witch Walk.
From the Chamber Website:
Witch Walk
The Franklin Retail Association will hold it's annual Witch Walk from 4 to 7 p.m. in downtown Franklin.
Tickets are on Sale now at Olde Liberty and Amy's & Sassy's.
The cost is $25 per person, which includes shopping downtown Franklin, 2 Treat Coupons, 2 Trick Coupons, One Reading, Entertainment, Best Dressed Prizes, Door Prizes and the Witches Ball/Dance at Trails to Ale II.
A limited number VIP tickets are available and give the holder the right to pick their reader.
Sounds like fun, right? Not everybody thinks so.
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church is calling on Christian business owners and Christians in the community to contact the Franklin Chamber to protest this “nonsense” as they call it. They also go on to claim that participating will lead to demonic interference in a person’s life. They are inviting the community join them for prayers for deliverance from witchcraft on 10/21 at 3:00PM.
Links:
https://www.franklinareachamber.org/events/details/witch-walk-10-21-2023-18939
Finally, we looked at an article from The Wild Hunt discussing a recent uptick in the use of the phrase “burn the witch.”
https://wildhunt.org/2023/10/readers-raise-concerns-about-the-term-burn-the-witch.html
I want to particularly focus on the board game from Pique Games called Burn the Witch.
https://piquegames.com/burn-the-witch
Game play consists of trying to burn the witches in the village, although innocents can be burned as well. This game is promoted violence against all of us who identify as Witches.
Rev. Kzane Burdick has started a petition against the distribution of this game. Please at the link below.
https://www.change.org/p/stop-playing-the-burn-the-witch-board-game?source_location=search
Stay tuned for more from Witch Rising!
Rev. Mary Hawk
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