Witches, Pagans, and the Media

As the year 2000 comes to a close, I am once again making a vow (which I always break) to never, ever, be interviewed by the media during so-called "witchy" times of the year, like Halloween or even Beltane on May 1. (For some reason, reporters who interview Pagans about the winter and summer solstices tend to be more serious; there is less emphasis on magical powers and spells, and more on nature and the passage of the seasons.)

A friend of mine, a Wiccan priestess in New Jersey, tells this story to illustrate the problems Pagans have with the media. A few years ago, she was asked to appear on Geraldo Rivera's show for Halloween. "We really want to do a serious program," the pre-interviewer gushed but added, "Of course we want everyone to come in costume." My friend had the quick wit to reply, "And I suppose that when you do your Easter show, the pope will dress in an Easter bunny suit." She turned the show down.

Most of the time, we no longer get confused with Satanists.

My own experience this year was much tamer, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. I haven't belonged to a coven in 18 years. I don't use the word "witch" all that often to describe myself. With the exception of several large solstice celebrations, my rituals tend to be private meditations. This past Halloween, I spent most of my time helping to create a fun evening for my 9-year-old son. But because I wrote "Drawing Down the Moon," the media is always after me, particularly during October. So, recently I agreed to do a simple phone interview with a very reasonable and respectable public radio show in the South.

The interviewers kept on wanting to know what I "did" as a Wiccan practitioner. Despite 27 years in Wicca, and 32 years in the media, I felt fraudulent as I answered. I tried to steer the conversation toward the philosophy of earth-based spirituality, which is what I like to talk about, but the interviewers kept wanting to know what I "did." After I offered a few half-hearted phrases about the Celtic new year, reverence for our ancestors, and seasonal celebrations in a circle, I realized that the interviewers weren't really interested in those things; they assumed that this thing called "a Wiccan practitioner"--whatever that was--did something exotic and arcane, and I wasn't living up to their expectations. It was a sensation I had had in interviews before.

Continued on page 2: »