In just three seasons, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina — the glamorous, wicked Riverdale spin-off — has morphed from a campy teen horror comedy into a dark, intense melodramatic series exploring topics ranging from patriarchy to sexual assault to earth-based religion.
The balance of coming-of-age angst to tongue-in-cheek satanic antics is deftly achieved by an increasing focus on older characters, who, it turns out, have just as much drama as the teens of Greendale. And, being witches, the drama is pretty high stakes.
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The Netflix series has always had plenty of subtle references to the history and folklore of witchcraft and paganism, but the newly-dropped third season is digging into much deeper, darker territory. But how accurate are the witchcraft tropes? Please allow a practicing witch with two decades’ of experience to summarize what this show is doing right, and where it needs to burn the midnight oil.
(A caveat: Even among those long-time practitioners, there is often disagreement about what "real" witches do. Some will disagree with the norms and standards I have suggested. I don't speak for all witches.)
Warning: spoilers ahead for the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 3 on Netflix.
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
RIGHT: Witches do perform moon rituals
During the ritual in episode 4, “The Hare Moon,” Hilda (Lucy Davis) calls down the moon's magic, asking it to fill the coven with its energy.
This brilliant scene has the vibe of many an outdoor full moon ritual I’ve been to, and feels very authentic. The content of Wiccan rituals is often poetic, and participants regularly sing, too, as the coven does in the show.
One quibble: Though in the show it's portrayed as a major holiday, the “Hare Moon,” specifically, is not a pagan ritual practiced by modern witches. But it corresponds to Ostara, a spring equinox festival that is celebrated by some Wiccans.
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
WRONG: Witches and pagans are completely different
I know — the terms get confused a ton. The easiest way to think about the relationship between pagans and witches? Today, “paganism” is a kind of umbrella term for a number of different belief systems, including Wicca, druidry, heathenism, and many more. In other words, "All witches are pagans, but not all pagans are witches."
CAOS sometimes treats paganism as its own, distinct religion. For instance, both pagans and witches are shown celebrating a spring festival: for the witches, it’s the Hare Moon; for the pagans, it’s Ostara. And the “pagans” on the show are devoted to the god Pan — a very familiar figure in (IRL) modern witchcraft, often seen as the consort of the Great Goddess.
For what it's worth, the language around paganism and witchcraft can get complicated. Some witches refer to themselves with a capital W (Witches) and some pagans do the same. This is a point of contention even in academia. But specific traditions (Wicca, British Traditional Witchcraft), and traditions derived from proper names (Satanism, Gardnerian witchcraft) are typically capitalized.
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Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
RIGHT: Witches do worship the Goddess
Indeed, Wicca (also known as modern pagan witchcraft) is based upon the embrace of a feminine deity embodied in Mother Earth, the moon and the principles of fertility, abundance, and creativity.
In episode 8 of the third season, "Sabrina Is Legend," Zelda (Miranda Otto) performs an amazing ritual that calls on the powers of Maiden, Mother and Crone, the three aspects of womanly power. This is drawn directly from modern Wicca, and is strikingly authentic.
Also: The witches invited from the other realms are called "hedge witches." That is how some nature witches, who don't tend to perform ceremonial magic or belong to covens, refer to themselves.
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
RIGHT: Sex can be part of witches’ magical workings
The show’s emphasis on sexuality keeps it firmly in the “adult” genre while also portraying a fascinating yet sometimes controversial aspect of modern witchcraft. Many of the seasonal holidays of Wicca have their origins in ancient rites performed by Europeans — including the rather erotic ritual of Lupercalia seen previously in Season 2, episode 3.
Lupercalia is a Roman fertility festival that falls between Imbolc (February 2) and February 14, hence the show’s dichotomy between the Lupercalia rites and the Valentine’s Dance at the high school.
On the whole, CAOS is often impressively accurate in the way it handles the folklore and background of Wicca and its rituals. But, of course, the supernatural occurrences are not realistic.
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
WRONG: Witches don't worship Satan, or Lilith
I mean, witches don’t all follow one specific way of doing things. In fact, the eclectic nature of modern witchcraft is one of its most unique qualities. But the conflation of Satanism or devil worship with witchcraft is basically inaccurate; we have films like Rosemary’s Baby to thank for this confusion.
After Faustus Blackwood (Richard Coyle) is banished from the Church of Night (yay for patriarchy smashing!), the coven only temporarily worships Lilith as a way to sort of wean themselves from the Dark Lord's influence. By using a female deity that comes from Christian lore, the show builds a really powerful transitional bridge to their decision, as a coven, to leave Satanic witchcraft behind and shift to goddess devotion.
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
WRONG: Human sacrifice is not a thing
CAOS depicts a "Green Man" ritual that has similarities to Christian crucifixion.
While the imagery of crucifixion is seen during Sabrina's quest for three unholy relics, neither witches nor pagans nor druids nor Satanists practice human sacrifice.
The Green Man ritual sacrifice, however, does have a place in pagan folklore. This sub plot is partly drawn from the 1973 film The Wicker Man, which is based on anthropological findings in The Golden Bough, published in the 19th century. The Green Man and Pan (who, in the show, is revealed to be the alter-ego of Professor Carcosa, the carnival impresario) are both considered consorts to the Great Goddess.
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