In our current day and age, practices of witchcraft are rarely talked about, and almost never revealed to society. Although there have been countless TV shows that try to portray witches like “Charmed” or “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” viewers have never taken the subject seriously, and continue to tune out the fact that witches exist in the world. Whether or not spells show results is debated, but the Wiccan religion is real and has drawn many to the craft. Predominantly women, witches choose to practice their faith quietly behind closed doors and in groups called covens.

Solon High School senior Madeleine Carrigan-Orrell practices witchcraft and says that she was not born into it, but rather introduced to it by her stepmother, who is  a Wiccan practitioner.

“As soon as I was introduced to it, I tried a couple of confidence spells that I was taught, and became more accepting of it when I started noticing results and changes after spells and certain meditations,” Carrigan-Orrell said. “There are so many different kinds of magic that I was exposed to, but I use mostly elemental magic, which uses the air, earth, fire and water.”

Carrigan-Orrell explained that although her coven mostly practices white magic, there are witches in the world that don’t use their gifts for good, and instead they practice dark magic used to benefit the practitioner for evil and selfish purposes. Carrigan-Orrell explained why it’s important to not become immersed in the darker sides of witchcraft.

“There is the Wiccan Rede and the Tri-fold rule,” Carrigan-Orrell said. “The Wiccan Rede states ‘and if it harms none, do as thou wilt.’ This means that witches are free to practice witchcraft as long as they don’t hurt anyone, including themselves. The Tri-fold rule essentially states that whatever energy you send out into the universe will return to you three times stronger.”

Shiloh Priore, who graduated  from SHS in 2016,  shared her views on practicing magic in the Wiccan religion, and how she felt ostracized from her peers as well as family because of it.

“Although it usually is a community of witches who come together to do group spellwork, which is usually more effective since it combines more energy, I am a solitary witch who chose not to be part of a coven,” Priore said. “I wanted to practice magic, and instead of having positive results from it, I was separated from most of my friends at school.”

For Carrigan-Orrell, the situation is different as she does not practice magic alone, but instead in a  community of seven including her, which allows her to be more comfortable knowing that she can rely on her family if people don’t accept the concepts at school.

“I’m just fine in school, and I am confident in my knowledge of my practice, so if I was to be confronted during the school day, I feel like I would be able to explain and defend my outlook,” Carrigan-Orrell said.

Claire Gullia, another senior at SHS, has also shared her views on how she was exposed to the religion, as well as how it affected her personally.

“My mom was never a big believer in modern medicine, instead she chose the homeopathic lifestyle, filled with herbs, teas and natural remedies,” Gullia said. “As I grew older and entered high school, I had friends who visited apothecaries and invested themselves into witchcraft, buying items like spell books or crystals, and this is how I was first introduced to magic.”

As Gullia works  everyday there isn’t always time to cast spells and practice, but she has found time to build a small altar, (a table used for religious rituals,) in her room, dedicating her prayer and meditation to the goddess of nature and earth, the symbolic higher power for Wiccan practitioners.  

“The spells I have mainly completed are mostly for protection, for people that I love,” Gullia said. “I would say that Wiccan magic is not only magic, but it’s a mindset that sends positive vibrations to the people who I cast the spells for. Many times I do see results from my spells, although they don’t always come in the way I would expect them to, it makes me feel so happy, and really allows me to feel like I helped someone else.”

The Wiccan religion was described as a practice that allows all people to be able to worship, even if you were not born into a specific coven that has been practicing it for hundreds of years. All the Solon students that were interviewed had, surprisingly, come into the Wiccan religion later in life, and became completely intrigued by what they learned.

“Some people are more adapt to it, which means that they tend to be able to sense energy well, and can read people and themselves a lot easier, however, anyone can do magic and witchcraft as long as they have a passion to learn about it,” Carrigan-Orrell said. “The beautiful thing about Wicca is that you can customize it to fit what you want to accomplish, and that’s why there are many paths to how differently people practice, this is why I love being Wiccan.”