Paganistan: Notes from the Secret Commonwealth
In Which One Midwest Man-in-Black Confers, Converses & Otherwise Hob-Nobs with his Fellow Hob-Men (& -Women) Concerning the Sundry Ways of the Famed but Ill-Starred Tribe of Witches.
American Faerie Story
According to Cal State folklorist Sabina Magliocco, author of Witching Culture, fairy belief is alive and well among American pagans.
In a recent talk at the University of Minnesota, she told numerous tales of first-hand 21st-century encounters between modern pagans and the inhabitants of what Robert Kirk called the “Secret Commonwealth.”
Of them all, the following was my favorite. It bears all the hallmarks of classic fairy narrative.
Including the ambivalence.
Driving in an isolated area late one night, a man braked to avoid hitting a fox that was crossing the road.
Much to his amazement, the fox stopped there in the headlights, stood up on its hind legs, and looked him straight in the eye.
It then walked bipedally to the side of the road, turned, and motioned for the man to follow.
Well, he floored it and got the f**k out of there. ASAP.
They can take any shape that they like, you know.
Sabina Magliocco, Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America (2004). University of Pennsylvania Press.
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