Witches have long been a business person, and in modern times magic has become an industry on the scale of hundreds of billions of yen.
Witches, who are heretics in Christian society, have been persecuted in the past due to severe
How witchcraft became a multi-billion dollar industry
https://theconversation.com/how-witchcraft-became-a-multi-billion-dollar-industry-148101
According to Lenoir-Jourdan, the witch since the 13th century was a successful 'business woman' in the port cities of Scotland, England and Finland. About 800 years ago, superstitious sailors were looking for a witch in a port town to buy a 'wind knot' before their voyage.
A wind knot is a rope with three knots, and it was believed that each knot contained the 'wind' that is important for voyage. It was said that one knot would blow a breeze, two knots would blow a strong wind, and three knots would blow a stormy wind.
The sailors bought wind knots from the witches to control the wind and prayed for the safety of the voyage. However, Lenoir-Jourdan said that the disappearance of witches due to the fierce witch hunting that began around the 15th century forced sailors to look for other ways to regulate the wind.
Also, in the 13th century, witches were banned from practicing medicine, but in the private sector, witches have been relied on by people as healers since then. Some of the remedies sold by witches at the time prescribed willow bark to control pain and fever, but later, salicylic acid, which has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, was discovered in willow bark. It is said that some treatment methods were actually effective.
La Voisin, who was active in France in the 17th century, was a witch who was familiar with black magic and black mass, and made a lot of wealth by manufacturing and selling large-scale 'drugs' and 'poisonous drugs'. It is said that there were many celebrities among the customers, and it is said that Françoise Athenis , the mistress of Louis XIV, was one of the customers.
The case of La Voisin is quite unusual among witches, but it was not uncommon for witches to live a relatively wealthy life. Regardless of whether they were actually witches, many of the women targeted for witch hunting were single and independent women, and 89% of the women who were tried for witches in New England between 1620 and 1725 were wealthy. And he didn't have a son or brother to share his fortune .
A witch who has long been persecuted by Christian society as a pagan and a satan worshiper, in recent years the belief in witches and pagans has been recognized by the name ' Wicca '. Regarded as the founder of Wicca, Gerald Gardner laid the foundations for Wicca in 1954 with the publication of the book Witchcraft Today .
It seems that the number of witches is increasing rapidly in the 21st century, and according to the results of the United States Census Bureau (PDF file) American Religious Identification Survey , 130,000 Wicca followers from 2001 to 2008 The number has increased from 4,000 to 340,000. Is an American think tank Pew Research Center in the survey that was conducted in 2014, one million people, which corresponds to 0.3% of Americans that believe in pagan similar Uikka and it has been estimated .
These modern witches sell a variety of jewelry to their followers, such as beads with a cross, incense, and crystals to maintain a spiritual connection. Lenoir-Jourdan points out that this could bring long-term profits to witches, similar to the 'wind knots' sold to sailors in the 13th century.
In the United States, in addition to selling accessories with magical power, there are witches who are engaged in various businesses such as hosting 'ghost tours' and practicing 'magic to keep negative energy away from customers'. The American magic industry, including palmistry, mediums, and astrologers, is said to boast an annual market size of 2.2 billion dollars (about 230 billion yen), although it is centered on small and medium-sized businesses.
Today's witches do not necessarily carry out activities rooted in the community, but do business by making full use of technologies such as the Internet and SNS. Witch and witchcraft related movies posted with the tag ' #witchtok ' have been played over 5.4 billion times on TikTok, and more than 5.5 million posts have been tagged with ' #witchesofinstagram ' on Instagram. ..
Witches who have gained popularity on SNS sell products such as candles, Spell bottles (bottles filled with spelled herbs), and pentagram necklaces on Etsy , an online shopping site that handles handicrafts. I will. For example, if you search for the word ' Spell bottle ' on Etsy, you'll find that there are actually over 4000 Spell bottles on sale.
In addition, not only witches who run private businesses are entering the magic industry, but also large companies sell various products. For example, the toy company Parker Brothers owns the patent, is a dial for necromancy and spiritism ' Ouija ' also has been sold 2 million a year.
In 2018, Sephora , a makeup and perfume specialty store under the umbrella of Louis Vuitton, started selling 'Witch Costume for Beginners' online. The kit included tarot cards, rose quartz crystals, dried sage and fragrances.
'Witch Costume for Beginners' Now Available Online-GIGAZINE
Sephora's beginner witch kit has been discontinued because witches around the world have accused it of 'cultural appropriation,' but major manufacturers still sell tarot cards and crystals. 'The commercialization of witchcraft has allowed modern witches to gain financial prosperity without fear of being burned at the stake, submerged in water, drowned, or tortured.' Lenoir-Jourdan said.
In London, there are stores that specialize in magic tools, and a wide variety of products such as wands, witch pots, and power stones are sold.
Real magic stores in London sell everything from canes and witch pots to 'curses that keep unpleasant guys out of the house (about 3600 yen)' --GIGAZINE
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