Portrait of a Media Witch: Sally from Practical Magic

Analysis of Witchcraft used in Practical Magic

An important step for me in this journey is to investigate what preconceived notions I have about witchcraft, and where they come from. The most obvious step (outside of the religion I was raised in)? Take a look at how witches and magic have been portrayed to me in entertainment for my entire life. 

Practical Magic is a movie that sticks out in my memory of my childhood. It is the reason that I have always planted rosemary by my front gate and kept lavender plants. Sadly, the quote wasn't enough to help me keep the plants alive though.

There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can. -Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic 

The 1998 movie is based on Alice Hoffman's book, Practical Magic, published in 1995. A matriarchal family of witches lives in a small Massachusetts town. Here they have been blamed for every misfortune in the town for over 200 years. While they were blamed for misfortune, townsfolk would still come to them for help in their own problems.

Enter Sally.

Sally, played by Sandra Bullock, and her sister, Gillian, were raised by their eccentric aunts after the death of their parents. The girls knew that they were different from the other children their age. As kids, they suffered ridicule, but the girls found shelter in each other. 

As Sally becomes older, she learns about the family's history. Sally's ancestor survived an execution meant to kill her as punishment for her involvement in witchcraft. She was exiled to Maria's Island, where she waited with her unborn child for her lover. He never came. To deal with her heartbreak and feelings of betrayal, she cast a spell on herself to stop her from ever falling in love again. This spell unintentionally became a curse that would affect all of her descendants. 

Sally was exposed to witchcraft throughout her life, and actually had a fairly large amount of natural power. However, once she realizes that this curse is what killed her husband, she refused to perform magic or allow her daughters to either perform magic or learn about it.

Sally runs a botanical shop called Verbena. Here she uses her natural understanding of herbs to help the town with teas, and oils, and tinctures. In effect, she is still practicing a form of magic by using herbs to heal those around her.

After a rather weird and long story arc about Gillian's boyfriend dying multiple times, and possessing Gillian, Sally finally comes around to forming a strange unofficial coven and using her magic to save her sister.

All the magic done by the women seems to have roots in traditional hedgewitch magic. It walks a strange line of herbs and realistic magic and costume-y magic with toads and literally stirring a cauldron a la Disney villain.

Gillian's magic lies with natural forms of charm and deception - usually leading her to trouble more often than getting her out of it. The aunts hold a form of form of magic that lends itself to the trope of older, magical, mentoring women who exhibit some strong form of love. (leaving the girls to clean up their own mess).

I loved the scenes of the women working the everyday magic and the ending scene with the ragtag coven exorcising Jimmy from Gillian. Every time a pointy hat was on screen I struggled to not roll my eyes. As well as the toads. I hate Gillian and the toads.