It had to happen. Riding the commercial wave of Harry Potter, Buffy and Sabrina, Mattel has launched Secret Spells Barbie, just in time for Halloween. Appropriately adorned in a pink brocade cape-gown, the all-American schoolgirl figurine is now empowered with a wand, cauldron, spell book and “magic” potions.
And just in case you’ve forgotten, Barbie is marketed to “ages 3 and up.”
So when your little Chloe is playing over at her friend’s house, among their girlish pastimes may be sorcery. American parents needn’t worry, though. This is “white” witchcraft, simple and harmless. Just like the wholesome frivolity of Halloween, no one – not even committed Christians –should give it a second thought. It’s not like that spooky, dark witchcraft, the stuff associated with midnight rituals, graveyards, feline sacrifice and devil worship. This is way different than that. Pretend witchcraft is a no-risk game that keeps kids out of real trouble.
After all, doesn’t the Bible make the distinction? There’s that passage about sorcery and mediums being spiritual “abominations,” but then it goes on to say, “except that it’s OK for your kids if you can’t find anything better for them to do.” God is very indulgent of this make-believe heresy. It’s in about the 88th chapter of Deuteronomy, Article 7, verse 65, in the Gnostic scriptures.
So no parents should be concerned when Chloe and her friends sign up on the teen section of the Witches’ Voice website, as nearly 5,000 other kids have done, most in the past 18 months. Many talk about how their interest began with the Potter books.
“I am 14. I am self-initiated because I believe becoming a Wiccan is supposed to be something you do alone,” writes one girl in her Witchvox entry. “Please contact me if you would like to join my coven. Since I am only 14, I can’t go very far. If there is an older, more experienced person than I, I would very much like to meet you.” She gives her e-mail address so those “more experienced ” people can contact her.
One 13 year-old girl has been studying the “craft” since she was 10 as a solitary practitioner. “I am extremely lonely and would enjoy any witch’s company,” she writes before providing her e-mail information. Another 16-year-old girl writes that she is living in a household of Christians “whom I have to avoid revealing myself to.” She also says she’s a Goth and hears a voice in her head named Lance, who claims to be a ghost from the medieval days. And then there’s the 13-year-old girl, also searching for a “mentor,” who loves Halloween. “I love orange and black, and vampires, witches and ghosts.” She also mentions she’s a bisexual.
When I was 13, I, too, loved Halloween. That was before I knew it originated as a holiday to honor the dead. In ancient Celtic custom, it was a time when terrified people appeased their notion of evil spirits with offerings of goodies to gain favor in the coming year. This was before they understood the pointlessness of such superstition and ritual, before they experienced the freedom to pray to a merciful God at any time without pomp, circumstance or candy. Today’s modern witches, who tend to be anti-Christian, continue to commemorate Halloween – called Samhain – as their highest holiday, holding moonlight ceremonies and attempting to contact spirits that are said to be more accessible at this time of year.
As an adult, I learned the origins of Halloween. I also read passages like Galatians 5, which tells us sorcerers will not inherit the kingdom of God, and it became clear that God takes this stuff very seriously. And it’s not like Christmas or Easter heathen traditions that have been eclipsed by the big events of Christ’s birth and resurrection. God trumped those holidays, and still does in spite of pagan trappings like Christmas trees and Easter eggs. But Halloween, God has let stand alone, perhaps as a test.
I decided I had to give up Halloween, no matter what kind of friendly mask it wears in today’s America. I gave it up for the same reasons I don’t want my husband to commit adultery just for fun. It’s a loyalty- to-God thing with me now.
That’s why, as for me and my house, we won’t be celebrating Halloween with or without Barbie this year, or ever.
Linda Harvey has published several articles about teen involvement in the occult. Her website is called Mission: America.
