Wicca still thrives through solitary practitioners and covens nationwide.
What is this religion truly about?
All these form the image of the stereotypical witch—a product of word-of-mouth tales and mass media portrayals. But just how true is this image of a witch?
Wicca—yes, a religion
Witches actually have a religion—Wicca. Imported from Europe, it has since been Philippinized, from the names of the rituals and celebrations to the forms of healing, spells cast and herbs used.
Wiccans either practice alone as a “solitary,” or in covens, which are usually personal groups. Among the more formal, organized groups include the Philippine Wiccan Society (PWS) and Arcanum, an umbrella organization for Wiccans, healers, and other magick practitioners.
“[For] celebrations, we usually get together,” says Lady Dana, the very first Wiccan high priestess in the Philippines who came out in the open. “I get together with my coven-mates, we try to keep the bond.”
Wiccans also have craft names, which they get either through meditation or by forming names through numbers and symbols.
Becoming a Wiccan
Wicca is either inherited or acquired. In Lady Dana’s case, she inherited the craft from both sides of her family. Her mother’s side practices good magick, her father’s side dark.
Lady Dana, who says she is a balanced fusion of the two types of magick, reveals that she was even sent to Romania to take formal witchcraft classes when she was 21 years old. She studied at a secret school whose name she refuses to disclose, but jokingly likens to Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series.
In the case of those who acquire Wicca or want to get into it, Lady Dana says that they must reflect carefully.
“It’s not a game. It’s a serious thing,” she says. “Unless you have the guts for it, don’t meddle with it. Some people say na, ‘Curious lang ako…’ Utang na loob, are you trying to kill yourself?’”
Most who acquire Wicca also retain elements of their original beliefs. For instance, Alon de los Reyes, an MA Anthropology student at the Ateneo de Manila University who started Wicca in college, calls herself a Catholic-Wiccan.
“I did not let go of being a Catholic because I found very essential similarities,” she says. “May integration naman kasi eh, ‘di sila nagkakalayo. [Like the] principle of reciprocity—what you send out comes back to you. Pwedeng i-compare ‘yun sa Catholic faith natin.”
De los Reyes, also the treasurer of the Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion (PASR), adds that this principle of reciprocity is in the Wiccan Rede, which says that whatever you do comes back to you three-fold.
39-year-old Lilian Velasco or Shamit, a full-time healer, also practices Catholicism. “We hear Mass every Sunday. Wala naman nagsabi sa’yo na, ‘You’re a Wiccan, you can’t go to Church.’”
She adds that her kids, ages 17 and 13, also practice Wicca, and going to Church adds normalcy to their otherwise “different” lives.
Much more than spells
High priestess Lady Dana regularly appears on local talk shows to educate people on Wicca. Here she is at Jojo A. All the Way.
Stereotypes of Wiccans range from the outrageous to those which bear some semblance of truth.
“Ang pinaka-nakakapikon na tanong is, ‘Do you worship the devil?’” says Lady Dana, who regularly appears on local television shows to talk about Wicca and owns the occult shop La Luna Isis. “We don’t even believe in the devil!”
It doesn’t help that there are people who give Wiccans a false name, such as those who are in it solely for the fashion.
“I cannot name this person. She dresses up in goth and scares the living shit out of people,” says Lady Dana. “’Satanista! Adik ka ba?’”
Velasco adds that people are surprised when they see her. “I will be invited to do rituals. Ang ine-expect nila, matanda. They don’t expect na younger, they don’t expect na casual lang yung damit,” she says.
Melina, a 22-year-old graduate student and customer service professional, says some treat them as if they are freaks. She recounts that in her freshman year of college, a class discussion about Harry Potter turned into half the class commenting on how witchcraft shouldn’t be tolerated.
“I wasn’t attacked per se, but it was common knowledge that I was Wiccan,” she said. “I had to leave the room. I was upset at the attack. I felt judged.”
Lady Dana refutes the impression that Wiccans are dark and scary.
“Most Wiccans are very perky and happy,” she says. “They’re actually very peace-loving people—ayaw ng giyera, ayaw ng gulo. Gusto nila tahimik ang mundo.”
Due to society’s tendency to react negatively, Wiccans prefer not to reveal their religion right away.
"It’s not something I blurt out. On a normal day, you don’t blurt out your religion. But if they ask me, I say it," says lawyer Pixie Serrano, co-founder of PWS.
However, Manuel Victor Sapitula, a Sociology professor at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, cautions against emphasizing only one aspect of Wicca.
“Ordinary human practices are always double-edged. When you emphasize one aspect of practice over the other, hindi na integral. It’s a counterstereotype—you only emphasize the exact opposite,” he says. “It’s not a complete picture. It’s a caricature. We form caricatures when we stereotype others, when we stereotype ourselves.”
Dark magick, for instance, is an ever-present power that Wiccans can use if they wish.
She says that she doesn’t use dark magick unless it’s to retaliate against someone who has harmed her. “You touch me, to hell with you. Hindi kasi pupuwede na ‘di ka mag-retaliate, mag-mu-mukha kang tanga. When I’m provoked, I do something. Matakot ka kapag nag-wrath ako, kasi mas matindi ‘yung balik sa’yo.”
On the other hand, Rolando Comon Jr. or Aghamang Bughaw, founder of the group Luntiang Aghama and spa treatment developer and therapist at Fitness First, prefers not to retaliate.
“Kung gagawa ka ng mabuti, mabuti. Kung gagawa ka ng masama, ‘di nalang kita papansinin,” he says.
"Those are serious matters and higher forms of magick, they suppose you know basic magick. Pano kung balikan ka? Hindi ka marunong mag-banish, sayo pumunta. Delikado."
Ishilta and his friends in the PWS do the Mabon ritual. At the center is an example of a Wiccan altar.
For love & money
Wiccans who were interviewed agreed that the most common spells people ask for are to get love and money. Some, however, ask for revenge.
“Pinaka-ayoko sa lahat, yung sasabihin mo sakin na i-ganti [kita] sa ganito. Kasi kapag, let’s say, ‘Sinaktan ako ng boyfriend ko. Turuan mo siya ng magandang leksiyon.’ Question is, iiwan ka ba ng boyfriend mo kung wala kang ginagawa? That mean’s there’s something,” Lady Dana says.
Lady Dana sells a variety of Wiccan tools and potions at her shop La Luna Isis, including these bottles of aura protection spray.
They also discern whether they should do a spell for a person or not, as they view each spell as having important consequences.
“I try to look at all the angles first. Kung di ko makita kung bakit dapat ko gawin ‘to, [I don’t do it]. ‘Pag nakita ko yung angle na siya yung mali, siya pa yung matapang, yari siya sa akin,” says Lady Dana. “I’m not the type na ‘Ito yung pera, trabahuhin mo ‘to…’ Ano ‘ko, hired assassin? Take your money back.”
A PWS member does a tarot card reading at the Fully Booked Wiccan Fair.
Asked why Filipinos constantly go to Wiccans or other magickal healers despite their Christian upbringing, Sapitula says, “[There are] human concerns—healing, guidance. People need that and when they can’t find it in their conventional religions, they will look elsewhere.”
“[They say], ‘Wala namang mawawala kung gawin natin ‘to. Kung ‘di naman totoo, it wouldn’t harm. Kung totoo, maganda kasi protektado tayo,’” he adds.
Wiccans say the spells they usually do for loved ones involve healing or safety. De los Reyes, for instance, recommends praying before leaving the house and infusing altar images with light.
“Imagine you have a loved one who’s traveling and he’s glowing with light and he’s at peace, and he will reach his destination safely,” she says.
Ishilta is a Buddhist-Wiccan healer and editor in chief of the online newsletter Manggagaway.
Comon and Ishilta, a 22-year-old Buddhist-Wiccan, BS Geography senior at UP, and PWS moderator, specialize in holistic healing.
“Illness comes in many ways—lack of money, emotionally… We help people recover from illness,” Comon says.
Ingrained in history
Sapitula says that historical factors are crucial in analyzing Filipino Catholics’ mindsets on non-Christians today.
“Nagkaron ng religious purification sa Spain. There was a time when Spain was predominantly Muslim. They wanted to restore Catholicism, and when they came here they had that frame [of mind],” he explains. “Very strong ‘yung tendency to convert. ‘Yun ‘yung Katolisismong namana natin.”
De los Reyes agrees. “Filipinos are generally accepting of anything, pero hindi pagdating sa faith kasi andun pa rin ‘yung idea ng God na katatakutan. The element of fear.”
Sapitula, also the secretary of the Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion (PASR), adds that earlier pagan believers have been branded deviant since time immemorial.
“’Yung salitang ‘bruja,’ ‘yun ‘yung ginawa nilang term for the Babaylan [and] Catalonan ancient priestesses,” he says. “So kaya ‘yung stereotype na witches are agents of the devil, they offer human babies… may historical basis.”
Sapitula also points to stereotyping as the process of “othering.” He explains that Christians, being dominant in Philippine society, may treat non-Christians as “others.”
Moving into acceptance
Lady Dana clarifies, however, that there are still religious fanatics who try to convert Wiccans.
“Stop converting me!” she says. “I have found my god and my goddess and I know that you have found yours. I’m happy with them and very peaceful with them, so why can’t you be with yours? Ganun lang ka-simple.”
Melina agrees. “Personally, I don’t think that they have a right to decide if we need saving. Most of the practitioners I’ve had the pleasure of meeting are really level-headed individuals who are wonderful to be with. They’re intelligent, know their own minds, and make sound decisions.”
“Hangga’t sobrang tindi ng hawak ng Catholic faith dito, mahirap,” de los Reyes adds. “The root [of] misconception is ignorance. Alamin niyo naman muna bago kayo magsalita.”
Lady Dana also emphasizes that for people to start accepting Wiccans, Wiccans themselves should also be able to defend their religion well.
“If you don’t know your religion, you’re not supposed to be called a Wiccan. You don’t know your belief enough,” she says.
The media should also realistically portray witches, according to Velasco.
“It’ll take courage, I think for people to literally go out and put it out there. I don’t think the society is ready to take us for what we are,” Melina adds. “On my part, I don’t see a need to push too much. Tolerance has to come on a person-to-person basis. Others must learn to be kind before practitioners can confidently step out.”
3 comments:
Brilliantly done article. Blessed Be!
Thank you Melina! :)
The topic isn't only intriguing; it's a valid social and religious issue as well. I'm glad that the writer was able to include sociological arguments in this seemingly just-for-fun article.
The writing is exceptional. And so is the writer.
Excellent journalism!
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