
Witches Rejoice for Harry Potter
Maybe They Cant Fly, But They Love Their Magical Portrayal in the Kids Book
By Buck Wolf
July 1, 2000
Harry Potter sure knows which witch will bewitch a real witch.Real witches just love the series of novels about the boy wizard who flies on his high-powered broomstick, The Nimbus 2000 (upgraded to a Firebolt), and studies all sorts of sorcery at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft. And just like everybody else, theyre eagerly awaiting the next installment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Its great fantasy, says Phyllis Curott, the lawyer who won witch clergy the right to perform marriages in New York City.
Sure, you are seeing witches in Harry Potter do things they dont do in real life. But it is positive. They are friendly. They are good. The book might change the way people feel about us. You know, when you see how we are portrayed in the media, its not easy sometimes being a witch.
And Toto Too
You know the stereotype of wart-stubbled old crones, with twisted noses and pointy hats. Heh-heh-heh, Ill get you my pretty, the Wizard of Ozs Wicked Witch of the West tells Dorothy.
But Harry Potter subtracts the witch fright factor. The 11-year-old orphan discovers on his birthday that hes a legendary wizard, and that theres a world of witches and wizards waiting to embrace him. Thats the basis of the Potter series, which is filled with magic potions, transfiguration and defense against the dark arts.
The July 8 release of Goblet of Fire now stands as a landmark in publishing. Advance orders have already pushed the book to No. 1 on Amazon.coms best-seller list, even before anyone had seen a single page.
Pottermania
As far as witches are concerned, Pottermania is a far cry from last years box office surprise, The Blair Witch Project. The mock documentary borrowed elements of witchcrafts ancient traditions and mixed them with gruesome B-movie horror.
The people who made Blair Witch seemed to know a lot about the religion, Curott says. But they totally misrepresented what we are about, and they made us into monsters.
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