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The Harry Potter franchise earns lots of people lots of money. The books, films, toys, clothes, plasters and sleeping bags are big business and this story of a boy wizard has captivated kids and adults alike. It�s got kids to start reading instead of watching TV and adults to go back to their childhood days and get sucked into the story. But there�s also controversy. Book burnings and religious people who have a problem with witchcraft being the main subject have had their fair share of media attention. Christians have published books such as �Harry Potter and the Bible� and �What�s a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?� which deal with peoples� fear. It�s true to say that just because your kid reads a book it doesn�t mean they�re going to turn into a Satanist and want to raise the dead, and these people are blowing it out of proportion. Wicca is a nature based religion, which is closely related to traditional witchcraft but didn�t exist until the 20th century, it�s often seen as a very modern religion and people like its emphasis on male and female gods and respecting nature. But what effect has Harry Potter had on it?
Well the things in Harry Potter are very unlike anything which is practiced in modern day Wicca. But some things are based on fact, such as divination; spell casting and the use of wands, although in Wicca wands are purely symbolic. Like other witchcraft based pieces of pop culture such as Buffy, Charmed, The Craft or Practical Magic Harry Potter may have made some people want to find out more about witchcraft. But picking up any book or reading a website about Wicca would explain the non-Potterlike truth to that person. If they liked what they heard about it�s beliefs and teachings then maybe they�d feel like Wicca was the religion for them, but if it was Latin gobbledygook spells and evil snake people they wanted then they�d just go away disappointed that it doesn�t exist. So anyone who found Harry Potter pointed them in the right direction probably only became Wiccan through their own liking of the themes and value of Wicca as a religion, no one would join it for the Potterlike magic because none of that stuff exists.
But Harry Potter has caused more anti-Wiccan feeling from people who are religious nutcases. But then again things have always stirred this up, even The Wizard of Oz. Wiccans in generally don�t feel so bad about it, except the annoying questions they get asked about things in Harry Potter and people who believe Hogwarts or something like it exists (the Children of Artemis, the UK�s main witchcraft organisation has even had emails asking them of it�s location!) Even though it does give the wrong impression of witchcraft many witches and Wiccans can't help but like it! Some like the books and films, some don�t, it's just personal preference. It�s brought witchcraft to the media�s attention some more, and even taken away some misconceptions. Harry Potter�s positive portrayal has almost made witchcraft cool and so it�s now more acceptable for Wiccans to be open about their beliefs, which can only be a good thing to help be a more accepting society.
Harry Potter and Real Witchcraft
Info on Wicca (Children of Artemis)