How White Magic Became the New Black: Mayfair Witches 

I have to say it, Cip didn’t stand a chance. Nope sorry. He just couldn’t compete against a demon, a thousand-year-old demon at that, who knows all the moves of love making and seduction.  

Yes, Cip’s intentions were good, but for those of us that read the book, The Witching Hour, we all know what happens to him in the end. If you watched my other video, Why Demons are a girl’s best friend. I talk about how I would have loved to have a demon, and how demons simply got a bad reputation over the years. However, demons/ spirits have played a pivotal role in the history of slavery and women’s liberation. And I believe that society, including Hollywood, showcases demons and spirits in a bad light, to inhibit the downtrodden and the disenfranchised from attaining power. I will explain how and why in this video, so please stay tuned.  

Truth be told, we all have voodoo in our blood. Our ancestors served primordial gods, some required human sacrifices, some wanted blood magic, but most of the old gods rest on the principles of harmony and love.  

Some people may believe that witches were the first healers, and thus paved the way for doctors and other scientists. Afterall, it was Suzanne, the first witch in the Mayfair legacy, who used herbs to mend and heal. Throughout the season, we see the tension thickening as suspicions arise. Witch hunters believe that Suzanne and the other women in the village are dancing with the devil, having midnight satanic rituals, and committing the ultimate sin of not worshiping their one God. Suzanne is caged, and sentenced to be burned alive, until Lasher rises up and saves her. They make a pact; Lasher promises to be Suzanne’s little demon boy. While Suzanne will be his feisty little witch. Suzanne passes, but her powers and her demon Lasher are transferred to her daughter and her daughter after that. Each generation amassed more wealth than the previous one. The Mayfair Witches travel from Europe, to Haiti, settling down in the Garden District in New Orleans. With the help of Julian and Cortland, two of the families’ male witches, they work to fulfill the old prophecy of postering the thirteenth witch. She will give birth to Lasher’s heir, who will be formidable and possess incredible powers. But those of us who read the book, we know what really happens.  

Rowan, the thirteenth witch is a doctor. She has suspended all belief in the supernatural, in exchange for delving deeply into the hard sciences.  

Rowan begins to explore her powers. Only she is continually admonished by Carlotta, the family matriarch. Carlotta wants Rowan to denounce Lasher and join her in the battle against evil. Cip, Rowan’s new boyfriend wants Rowan to do the same. Only he believes that Lasher wants to use Rowan, so that he himself can become more powerful. Who is right? Well, that’s the genius of Annie Rice. She writes amazing stories and incredibly engaging characters, where everyone is right.  The Mayfair Witches carries the underlying theme of hidden powers that can be derived from practicing witchcraft. Or, to put it another way, the hidden powers that come from the gods we choose to worship. We’ve seen this theme play out before in The Craft, where four young girls dibble and dabble in a craft they really don’t understand. And that my friends is the biggest problem with witchcraft, many people really don’t understand it.  

Many of us are afraid of the witches. We are afraid of demons. We are afraid of spirits. So much so that even mentioning these topics has become taboo.  

Black magic and voodoo have become synonymous with evil. However, we fail to understand that these practices were discouraged to curtail slave revolts in the America’s South and throughout the diaspora. Slaves would call out to their gods, Ogun, Chango, Yemaya, Oshun, and Eshu Elegba for guidance, support, knowledge, and most importantly courage. The Haitian slave revolt was started by a Vodun practitioner.  Healers used their knowledge of herbs to mend, and even heal wounds. In fact, it’s safe if it wasn’t for the witch doctors, the hoodoo practitioners, and the black magicians, Blacks in America probably wouldn’t have survived slavery.  Demons, spirits, and deities didn’t only help Blacks. Women of all creeds and color found themselves knee deep oppression. Many of them were continually berated, belittled and abused by their partners with no real sense of recourse. That is until they called upon the great goddess of Freya or Hecate, for serenity, and maybe a little bit of revenge. Yet, the smear campaigns continued with the purpose of not just demonizing indigenous religions but discouraging others from practicing them. As a result of this, a lot of information was lost. Worse, many of us don’t have the same mindset as our ancestors. We don’t live as close to nature as they did, so when we try to repeat their rituals, they just come out all wrong.  

And that was the problem with Rowan and Lasher, everything just went all wrong.  

If Carlotta would have spent her time teaching Rowan and her biological mother Diedre about Lasher, they would have had been better able to handle him. Lasher would have never been able to get a grip on any of these witches. Instead, they turned Lasher into the boogeyman. Just like they turned all our ancestors’ gods into monsters. And like I said in my other videos, all gods are neutral. They possess both the good and bad aspects of nature. And these gods are only going to bring out what’s already inside of you. So if you believe, deep down in your heart that these gods are pure evil. That is what you will manifest. In truth, Rowan from the Mayfair Witches and Nancy from The Craft, were both suffering from the same afflictions. They both wanted to attain power but didn’t have the strength to wield it. In short, it was their weaknesses that was their downfall. Nancy wanted to use her newfound power to control almost every aspect of nature. While, Rowan, never learned how to fully surrender, to fully love someone. Without this, she lacked foundation, and easily lost her footing, giving Lasher the perfect opportunity to seduce her.