This started off with The Boston Herald calling the owner of local witch shop Crow Haven Corner, Lorelei and asking about curses. Apparently the New England Patriots' star quarterback Tom Brady made the cover of Sports Illustrated, which is considered some sort of curse in the sports world. When she mentioned that rituals can be used to neutralize negative energy it became a bigger scoop for the Herald, as they were the ones to break the news that the ritual would be held a few days later at the shop. It also became a surprising opportunity for good publicity for Lorelei and the store, as the story was picked up by local news outlets and quickly spread to syndication and national news outlets.
I figured the story was cute and would get a bit of coverage, but had no idea that when I showed up to witness the ritual at Crow Haven Corner at 12pm on Friday the 13th I would have to shove past gigantic news cameras just to get into the store. Fox, CBS, NBC, etc etc - they were all there. Must have been a slow news day!
This doll isn't supposed to be scary, but tell that to my nightmares.
Honestly, I expected the ritual itself to be really cheesy after that whole Charlie Sheen thing last year, but it was surprisingly well-thought-out, politically correct, and positive. Lorelei even mentioned Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow saying he had "powerful energy..., magic[, and was] a force to be reckoned with," but went out of her way to say she wished him well, but wanted the Patriots to win. The whole thing was meant to be for neutralizing the Sports Illustrated "jinx" and to ask for victory for the team in the upcoming game, but still many news outlets sensationalized the story or just got it plain wrong, some going so far as to say things like " SALEM WITCHES HEX TIM TEBOW..."
Suddenly the story was everywhere, and the videos had gone viral.
That little circle second from the right represent bloggers.
All the publicity has been great in the eyes of the majority of most people. I have personally seen in the comments of may of these articles professed Christians and atheists going out of their way to say how this makes witches and religions associated with witchcraft look good. They are used to seeing witches in the media portrayed as a bunch of circus freaks, weirdos, and publicity whores and many noted how relieving it was to see a legitimate ritual; done in a fun way for a good cause.
The backlash, as always, came from the pagan community. Some pagans are so obsessed with the embarrassment associated with the aforementioned freaks and publicity whores they assume every witch in the news is just out to make a buck. This comes as no surprise to any witch that's ever been in the media. The moment you put yourself out there there are throngs of people shouting about how you're a sell out and judging you guilty of the crime of simply being in the media at all. These detractors inevitably end up resorting to making fun of the way you do your make-up, your weight, or accusing you of living in your parents basement playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Although sometimes the mockery is warranted.
It's just how it is. Don't know if that will ever change.
