The Wutcn from the Wutcn: Guardians of Nature or Agents of Chaos?

The Witcher is a popular fantasy book series written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series gained significant international recognition after the release of a video game adaptation called "The Witcher" in 2007. The success of the game further propelled the novels' popularity, leading to the creation of a Netflix television series titled "The Witcher" in 2019. The central character in "The Witcher" series is Geralt of Rivia, a witcher. Witchers are professional monster hunters skilled in swordsmanship and trained in utilizing magic. Geralt is often referred to as "the White Wolf" due to his white hair, a result of the rigorous training witchers undergo.

Grossman: In the last image, she's cruciform, so it feels like her own death and resurrection. She is radiant and sanguine and free. She has transcended the confines of a brutal, oppressive life. That last shot is also very Goya, though in his painting Witches’ Flight, it is men. I kind of feel like Eggers reclaims that image for women. The finale is exhilarating.

Aloi Delusion was certainly a big part of the religious belief system around witchcraft, if you consider the wonders of the invisible world that Cotton Mather, a minister who led the Salem trials, wrote about. Pam Grossman is another practicing witch, though she identifies as Pagan, an umbrella term for earth-based spirituality that can include witchcraft, Wicca invented by British witch Gerald Gardner in the 1950s , druidry, Heathenism, and so on.

Geralt is often referred to as "the White Wolf" due to his white hair, a result of the rigorous training witchers undergo. He wanders through various Medieval-inspired lands, taking up contracts to eliminate monsters that threaten the safety of human inhabitants. The Witcher series is known for its complex characters, gray morality, and thought-provoking themes.

The wutcn from rhe Wutcn

Robert Eggers’ The Witch is a witch’s witch movie

It’s steeped in history; Eggers spent years researching Puritanical New England of the 1600s, and stayed faithful to the period by skipping the over-the-top, lightning bolt special effects you see with most onscreen witches. (He really committed to the mood: His crew only shot in natural light, but only on overcast days.) It’s the movie I turn to when Hallowe’en finds me—a practicing witch—especially yearning for some witchcraft, and lighthearted stuff like Practical Magic (1998) or vintage occult fare like Rosemary’s Baby (1968) are not quite right.

I belong to an Alexandrian coven that began in 1960s Boston. I’ve designed and led rituals for hundreds of people, but now that I live in upstate New York, my practice is more solitary and nature-based; I’m perfectly happy walking through the woods and interacting with trees. Pam Grossman is another practicing witch, though she identifies as Pagan, an umbrella term for earth-based spirituality that can include witchcraft, Wicca (invented by British witch Gerald Gardner in the 1950s), druidry, Heathenism, and so on. Pam recently consulted on the script for the remake of The Craft (1996), and wrote a book and hosts a podcast about the modern witchcraft movement, which has undergone several revivals even since the 1950s. In 2020, witchcraft encompasses a wide range of practices and aesthetics including altars, kitchen witchery, Hoodoo, and Santeria.

The current witchcraft revival is one of the liveliest I can recall since the late 1980s, and it created a welcoming atmosphere for The Witch, which is witch folklore distilled down to its most essential elements. With All Hallows' Eve on the horizon, I called up Pam to rewatch The Witch (2015) and have a spirited, Libra-season chat about the parts of the tale that still fascinate, thrill, and even mystify us to this day.

Pam Grossman: This film shows us so many facets of the witch archetype. Right off the bat, we see the crone who steals a baby to make ointment that she rubs over her entire body.

Peg Aloi: Eggers doesn’t shy away from really dark archetypes, like witches eating babies, and using their fat and blood to make flying ointment. I also wonder: Does the ointment make her appear younger or give her real youth? Lady Bathory, a 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman, reportedly bathed in blood to attain eternal youth. But it’s hard to tell, since later we see the youthful witch seducing Caleb in the woods, and it’s clearly that same old hag.

Beautiful women are just as threatening as crones, because they can lead you to damnation.

Grossman: Crones are scary, especially naked ones who still desire things, whether that’s sex or power. But she returns as the Snow White-fairy-tale sort of witch, using glamour to disguise herself. She even wears a scarlet cloak, harking back to both Little Red Riding Hood and the biblical whore, who’s described in the Book of Revelation as “arrayed in purple and scarlet.” Beautiful women are just as threatening as crones, because they can lead you to damnation.

Aloi: And that witch archetype emerges later, when the mother, Katherine, accuses Thomasin of trying to seduce both her brother Caleb and her own father, William. It’s right out of the Malleus Maleficarum (translated to The Hammer of Witches), the 15th-century manual for hunting witches: “All witchcraft stems from carnal desire, which is in women insatiable.”

Grossman: Having the protagonist be a young woman on the cusp of sexuality weaves in the association of women with diabolism, which we most famously see in the Bible with the story of Eve. An adolescent girl’s "magic” is really her newfound sexual power—an unruly force that she has to learn to control, lest it bring ruin upon her and those around her. It’s a central tenet of Puritanism, and it’s why Katherine sees Thomasin as an agent of the devil.

Aloi: The fact that Kate and William want to farm out Thomasin, to go work for another family as a servant, reminded me that nearly all the young women accused of witchcraft at Salem—some of whom later became accusers—were indentured servants. They were of childbearing age but had no marriage prospects, which made things sexually tense, which sometimes resulted in accusations of witchcraft. The dangerous power that’s unleashed by burgeoning female sexuality shows up again and again in cinema. Just think of Carrie (1976).

Grossman: And then there’s Caleb, this young boy, who’s starting to have sexual urges and the only place to put that is on his sister. I was struck by the hare that Caleb follows into the woods: It’s a nod to the witch as a shape-shifter that can take on animal form. This belief exists around the world—you see it in Japanese and Indian mythology—but the witches' familiar, as a magical animal assistant, is a distinctly English concept.

Aloi: I wondered why Eggers didn't do a bit more with familiars, since it’s such a common modern assumption about witches; the black cat myth is still with us, and most witches I know refer to their pets as familiars. The English witch Sybil Leek had this amazing raven, named Mr. Hotfoot Jackson, that she took everywhere with her. With Black Phillip as Satan's stand-in, I guess it may have been too much to have other familiars.

Does Thomasin choose witchcraft, or does witchcraft choose her?

Grossman: Black Phillip is also one of the film’s many art references. Certainly, it ties into Francisco Goya’s Witches’ Sabbath, with the huge black goat. But I also see Albrecht Dürer and Hans Baldung’s woodcuts of witches, and Salvator Rosa’s painting Witches at Their Incantations. Not to mention the engravings from famous witch hunting manuals, like Mathew Hopkins’ book The Discovery of Witches (1647), which also features illustrations of witches’ familiars.

Aloi: It’s fascinating how enduring these characters are. In Hopkins’ book, the familiars are named things like Vinegar Tom and Pyewacket. Vinegar Tom became the title of a Caryl Churchill play about witches, and there was a recent horror movie called Pyewacket (2017).

Grossman: For Thomasin, I think the familiar is the he-goat on the farm. Maybe Black Phillip is the devil in disguise, but he offers her deliciousness: fine clothing, world travel, butter.

Aloi: And he will guide her hand, which I interpret as a sexual initiation of sorts. On another Black Phillip-related note, may I just say: Those twins are f—cking terrifying.

Grossman: They are, but I like them as a device. It harks back to Salem, and the kids who lied, or were perhaps delusional.

Aloi: Delusion was certainly a big part of the religious belief system around witchcraft, if you consider the “wonders of the invisible world” that Cotton Mather, a minister who led the Salem trials, wrote about. But people were also encouraged to lie, because if you didn’t lie and accuse others, you became a target yourself. So about that last scene: Does it seem to posit that witchcraft is something a woman would willingly choose, or is it just the only thing she has left to turn to when all else is lost? Does Thomasin choose witchcraft, or does witchcraft choose her?

Grossman: Some people read the end as tragic: This poor girl is doomed, so she gives in to the dark side. But I see the ending as liberating.

Aloi: The devil doesn’t come to her unbidden; she conjures him. And in the woods, she finds empowerment and communion.

Grossman: In the last image, she's cruciform, so it feels like her own death and resurrection. She is radiant and sanguine and free. She has transcended the confines of a brutal, oppressive life. That last shot is also very Goya, though in his painting Witches’ Flight, it is men. I kind of feel like Eggers reclaims that image for women. The finale is exhilarating.

Goya's Witches' Flight, inspiration for The Witch's perhaps more-feminist finale. Image c/o Museo del Prado

Aloi: It certainly evokes modern portrayals of covens. In Rosemary’s Baby they’re naked and chanting. In The Wicker Man (1973), the pagan women are naked, dancing, and jumping over the fire. It’s not unlike some pagan festivals or witch coven circles I’ve been a part of myself.

Grossman: Though if I was being a total perfectionist, I’d have shown 13 women at the end. That’s the traditional number for a coven. That’s why so many people find the number 13 to be unlucky—even scary.

Goya's Witches' Flight, inspiration for The Witch's perhaps more-feminist finale. Image c/o Museo del Prado

Andrzej Sapkowski explores political intrigue, racism, and the consequences of choice in his books. Geralt's persona, with his dry and sarcastic sense of humor, has become a beloved character in fantasy literature. The video game adaptation by CD Projekt Red introduced Geralt and the world of "The Witcher" to a wider audience. The game series gained critical acclaim for its immersive open-world gameplay, engaging narratives, and rich character interactions. It further broadened the fanbase of "The Witcher" and contributed to the exponential growth of its popularity. In 2019, Netflix released a television series based on the books, starring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. The show gained mixed reviews from critics but was well-received by fans of the series. It showcased Geralt's adventures and introduced viewers to the fantastical world created by Sapkowski. Overall, "The Witcher" series has had a significant impact on popular culture. It has transcended its origins as a book series, capturing the hearts of gamers and television viewers alike. The complex and morally ambiguous world of "The Witcher" continues to captivate audiences, ensuring its enduring legacy in the fantasy genre..

Reviews for "The Wutcn from the Wutcn: Guardians of the Natural World"

1. Sarah - 2/5 stars - I really had high hopes for "The Wutcn from the Wutcn" after reading all the positive reviews, but I was left disappointed. The storyline was confusing and the characters were not well-developed. It felt like the author had too many ideas and tried to fit them all into one book, resulting in a messy and convoluted plot. I struggled to stay engaged and had to force myself to finish it.

2. Michael - 1/5 stars - "The Wutcn from the Wutcn" was a complete waste of time for me. The writing style was dry and lacked any sort of depth or creativity. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it hard to connect with the characters. The plot was predictable and lacked originality. Overall, I found the book to be boring and tedious to read.

3. Emily - 2/5 stars - I found "The Wutcn from the Wutcn" to be underwhelming. The pacing was off, with some parts dragging on while others were rushed. The descriptive language was excessive and often irrelevant to the story. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked depth. The book felt like it was trying too hard to be edgy and unique, but fell flat in its execution.

4. John - 2/5 stars - I had high expectations for "The Wutcn from the Wutcn" based on the intriguing synopsis, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to them. The writing style was confusing and made it difficult to follow the story. The plot lacked coherence and seemed disjointed. I struggled to connect with the characters as they didn't feel fully developed. Overall, I found the book to be disappointing and it left me wanting more.

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