Is there a difference between superstition and witchcraft? When I look at my research into Italian Folk Witchcraft I see that the concept of superstition, which in contemporary Italy is defined as an irrational fear that leads people to perform acts and gestures to ward off misfortune or attract luck. I would argue that superstition is incompatible with witchcraft, which is based on active beliefs that can be reshaped through personal experience. In Italian Folk Magic, superstition is used as a way to distinguish between an authentic magical act and a groundless conviction that is false and alien to the tradition.
Summary
Is magic a superstition though? What’s the difference – if any – between a superstitious and a magical endeavour?
Let’s see…
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Now let’s move on to the topic, shall we?
Today, I’ll be discussing the matter of superstition and magic with you. Is Witchcraft a form of superstition? Is there any difference between the two? To analyse the matter, I will contextualise it by utilising data from my doctoral field research with the Italian Folk Witchcraft, which I systematised as The Tradition of Segnature. This may also apply to other forms of Witchcraft in other countries and cultural contexts, and I encourage you to let me know in the comments if that’s the case and what your experiences and thoughts on the matter are.
As discussed in a previous video, the practices associated with the Tradition of Segnature are quite popular. Although those seeking help from vernacular witches may or may not admit it publicly, most Italians are aware of their presence in the peninsula (Puca, 2019).
There is still a stigma associated with these practices, which retain a degree of secrecy and are deeply known only among those who belong to the related communities. This stigma is due to the contrast with the dominant religious system and the idea that such practices are a form of superstition (Porterfield, 1987, pp. 721–722). My work in the field uncovered this recurring idea when asking non-practitioners and people opposed to such practices whether they knew anything about vernacular Witches in their area. ‘It’s just a superstition!’ (è solo una superstizione), many have replied, surprised I was even interested in studying such a phenomenon. This led me to wonder how superstition can be positioned about witchcraft and whether the two show similarities or not.
According to Ernst Riess, the Latin term superstitio sees its precursor in the Greek δεισιδαιμονία (transliterated as deisidaimonia), which means ‘fear of demons’. Although at first, it designated a devout worshipper of the Gods, it acquired the meaning we associate today with ‘superstition’ around the end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth century before the common era (BCE), when Menander used the term with this connotation in one of his comedies called Δεισιδαίμων (transliterated as ‘Deisidaimōn’ and translated as ‘The Superstitious Man’). As for the Latin noun superstitio, it first appears in Cicero, while its related adjective superstitiosus sees an earlier appearance in literature through the works by Plautus to refer to a man with prophetic powers. Later, superstitio became used by the Romans to designate any foreign religion, such as the Jewish and Christian faiths (Riess, 1895, pp. 40–41).
In contemporary Italy, two primary meanings are popularly attributed to the term superstition (superstizione); one is a semantic signifier, while the other is a justification. Superstition can mean an irrational fear, not associated with imminent tangible threats, which results in performing acts and gestures associated with and believed to ward off misfortune or propitiate luck.
Another popular use of the term among Italians is the one I will define as a justification of activities which do not fit into the dominant rationalistic paradigm. In such a case, a person may show an interest in horoscopes, get a Tarot reading or seek help from a Witch and still avoid public scorn by declaring ‘It’s just a superstition!’ to imply that it is a game really, rather than something the person endorses as part of their belief system. This is connected to another idea that is pretty common amongst Italians, which is that of Non è vero ma ci credo, translatable as ‘It’s not true, but I believe in it’ (Magliocco, 2012, pp. 3–13), which is a common answer Italians would give when asked how come they engage in practices of this sort.
According to field data from interviews and discussions with and among my informants, Superstition and belief are two different things. While Superstition is seen as a passive abiding by external conventions, irrationally associated with avoiding threats or attracting luck, belief is instead an active stance the person takes, which can be challenged and reshaped through personal experience and even lead to further investigate a person’s understanding of the world.
So, the three main themes underlying the conceptualisation of superstition are fear, ignorance, and passive conviction or behaviour.
When such elements are put about the magical practice, they are deemed incompatible with it, for Witchcraft is led by active beliefs based on experience and may be subject to being reshaped accordingly. Also, Witchcraft is employed to dispel fear and threats through active empowerment rather than by being overpowered by them and reiterating automatic gestures and rites mindlessly.
On this note, in Italian Folk Magic, superstizione is being used as a way to distinguish between an authentic magical act – based on a genuinely orally transmitted tradition – and a groundless conviction which is believed to be both false and alien to what the Tradition of Segnature encompasses. As my field data confirms, it is widespread within these communities for someone to ask a Healer or a Witch whether an act or a gesture they have heard of falls under the realm of the Segnature. For instance, they often inquire about popularly known superstitions, such as whether it is true that the four-leaf clover brings luck or that a black cat crossing your way leads to misfortune. To such questions, the answer is usually, ‘That’s only a superstition, an ignorant/false conviction. It’s not a Segnatura’!
For the Italian vernacular Witches, superstition becomes then an evaluating trope, a way of delineating the boundaries of what is versus what is not a Segnatura. This appears especially useful within the realm of Folk Magic, which is strongly linked to the cultural framework and the folklore of the local area, easily mistakable as superstitions unless the healer highlights the difference between the two. And a difference is indeed there, as Witchcraft is deemed as an active and empowering practice to better the lives of those within the community. These vernacular practices are not mindless customary acts but traditional rites guided by a ‘power’ that is believed to have passed down through generations aided by the help of spirits and deities.
To sum it up, superstition can be defined as passive compliance to automatic gestures led by fear and ‘ignorance’, to quote my informants. It’s an instrument to dispel the fear of the unknown and bad luck through unquestioned yet apotropaic acts. Since it cannot be seen as an actively endorsed idea, it’s not subject to being shaped upon individual beliefs, nor is it linked to working with spirits or deities. Its very nature, devoid of a strong commitment to belief, allows superstition to be used as a justification for people interested in Astrology, Tarot cards – and other such activities – who don’t want their ‘rationality’ to be challenged.
On the other hand, Witchcraft is an active and empowering activity which upholds a belief system purposely endorsed by its practitioners. Even when its practices are passed down from earlier generations, they bear a theoretical-spiritual-religious framework which can be reshaped and adapted by new generations by their belief system and current times.
So this is it for today’s video. Hope you liked it. Do let me know in the comment which part did you like the most and what you’d like to see next on the channel. And if you like this video SMASH the like button, subscribe to the channel, and activate the notification bell so that you will be notified when I go live or when I post a new video and, as always, stay tuned because there’s lots and lots of academic fun coming next.
Bye for now.
REFERENCES
Magliocco, S. (2012) ‘Beyond Belief: Context, Rationality and Participatory Consciousness’, Western Folklore, vol. 71, no. 1, pp. 5–24.
Puca, A. (2019) ‘The Tradition of Segnature: Underground Indigenous Practices in Italy’, The Journal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions, no. 7, pp. 104–123.
Riess, E. (1895) ‘On Ancient Superstition’, Transactions of the American Philological Association (1869-1896), vol. 26, pp. 40–55 [Online]. DOI: 10.2307/2935693.
First uploaded 24 Aug 2020