{"id":8785,"date":"2021-11-05T12:29:58","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T12:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1372215"},"modified":"2021-11-05T12:29:58","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T12:29:58","slug":"being-a-witch-on-tiktok-seems-just-as-controversial-as-it-was-in-the-16th-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=8785","title":{"rendered":"Being a witch on TikTok seems just as controversial as it was in the 16th century"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s 1.30 am, and I\u2019m about to watch a duel between magicians. One is a \u201cdemonolater\u201d, a word I have never heard before, someone who claims they worship demons and can petition them in return for knowledge or power. The other describes themselves as a \u201cSolomonic magician\u201d, and claims to be able to command demons to do his bidding, as some Jewish and Islamic traditions have believed of King Solomon<\/a>, who ruled Israel in the 10th century BC.<\/p>\n

I first discovered this debate because, in the course of studying 16th century books of magic attributed to Solomon, I had found, to my astonishment, that \u201cSolomonic magic\u201d is still alive and well today, and growing in popularity. Twitter had suggested to me that I might be interested in an account called \u201cSolomonic magic\u201d, and a few clicks later I had found myself immersed in a vast online community of young occultists, tweeting and retweeting the latest theories and controversies, and using TikTok to share their craft.<\/p>\n

To my further bemusement, it seemed that the tradition of Solomonic magic had recently faced accusations that its strict and authoritative approach to the command of demons amounted to a form of abuse, akin to domestic violence. As I had made a note in my diary of a public debate that I wanted to attend out of sheer curiosity, it seemed astonishing to be asking myself whether Solomonic magic, the same found in books of necromancy dating back hundreds of years, was on the brink of cancellation in 2021.<\/p>\n

At 28, I\u2019m slightly too old to be familiar with the platform Twitch, mostly used for live video streaming, but tonight I\u2019ve managed to get it working for this particular debate. As an atheist, I\u2019m very likely in the minority, though I\u2019m not the only Brit to have turned up in spite of it being such an ungodly hour this side of the pond. The chat box is buzzing as occultists of various stripes arrive to hear the arguments.<\/p>\n

My mum would hate this, I can\u2019t help thinking to myself. She didn\u2019t even let me read Harry Potter.<\/p>\n

When people ask me what I do, it\u2019s always fun to tell them, \u201cI study magic at Cambridge University.\u201d It\u2019s technically true. I\u2019m researching the representation of magic on the early modern stage, and am interested in the ways in which dangerous, forbidden or \u201coccult\u201d knowledge was theorized by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. My research<\/a> combines my fascination with the mechanisms of belief with my love of storytelling and the stage. When I\u2019m not researching plays, I\u2019m writing them: I\u2019m an award-winning playwright, whose work<\/a> has been performed across the UK and abroad.<\/p>\n

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<\/i><\/a>British painter George Romney was only one of many artists whose imagination was inspired by the three witches in Shakespeare\u2019s Macbeth. Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/figcaption>