The movie: The Craft

Open discussion about how our beliefs have been affected by popular culture.
Post Reply
loona wynd
Banned Member
Posts: 1281
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 7:27 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Bath Maine

The movie: The Craft

Post by loona wynd »

The binding spell thread from the Craft got me thinking that the movie has been so influential that it deserved its own thread. I've been reading over the IMDB pages of information and found something interesting I thought you all might like:
IMDB Craft Trivia wrote:An official website of the film said: "The crew had to return to the location a second time to complete filming interrupted by several weird occurrences that even caused witch consultant Pat Devin to raise an eyebrow. As the fog rolled in at midnight, the four actresses used actual Wiccan rites and language to invoke powerful forces. Then, as Fairuza Balk's character Nancy attempts to invoke the deity Manon, a flock of bats hovered over the set and the tide rose dramatically, extinguishing the circle of candles. Witchcraft consultant Devin recalls that 'Manon, a fictitious creation for the film, sounds very close to Mananan, the Gaelic god of the sea. Luckily, we weren't all swept to sea!'" Director Andrew Fleming is quoted: "'Every time the girls started the ceremony, and only when they would start the ceremony, the waves would start coming up tremendously fast, pounding heavily. Then, right when Nancy says her line, "Manon, fill me," right at that exact moment, we lost power. It was a very strange thing.'"
source

So the power of the rites was there even if it was to a fictional God. Though I did wonder about the name Manon as it does sound a lot like the god Mananan and given that they were doing the rites at the ocean...Hmmm....
User avatar
BabyBear
Posts: 636
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2013 12:44 am
Gender: Gender Fluid
Location: Waycross, GA
Contact:

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by BabyBear »

That is a cool fact, you know ive always wondered something
people mispronounce gods and goddesses names all the time and they have more then one name so doesn't it stand to reason that if it sounds close enough it would work, or that some of the names you do not know could be what you accidentally call upon
User avatar
Lunar Rose
Posts: 105
Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:33 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Gloucestershire, UK

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by Lunar Rose »

I love that movie! I love the use of glamours in it to manipulate what other people are able to see, would love to be able to do something like that myself!
loona wynd
Banned Member
Posts: 1281
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 7:27 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Bath Maine

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by loona wynd »

BabyBear wrote:That is a cool fact, you know ive always wondered something
people mispronounce gods and goddesses names all the time and they have more then one name so doesn't it stand to reason that if it sounds close enough it would work, or that some of the names you do not know could be what you accidentally call upon
See thats sort of what I was thinking considering the events that happened every time they started that particular ritual scene in the movie. Words and actions have power. It just doesn't seem to be a coincidence to me. I especially love what the wiccan adviosr said:
IMDB The Craft trivia page wrote:"Witchcraft consultant Devin recalls that 'Manon, a fictitious creation for the film, sounds very close to Mananan, the Gaelic god of the sea. Luckily, we weren't all swept to sea!'"
With the director specifically mentioning how the tide would come in quickly I would say that if not Mananan answering the call, some other ocean spirit heard the call and answered.
loona wynd
Banned Member
Posts: 1281
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 7:27 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Bath Maine

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by loona wynd »

Lunar Rose wrote:I love that movie! I love the use of glamours in it to manipulate what other people are able to see, would love to be able to do something like that myself!
I've done glamors myself. Though I've done them to hide myself so that people don't see me. I've also done them so that they see something other than what I am feeling at that moment. Like I will project an image of a smiling and happy person when I am very depressed and upset. Glamors can and do work. Just not like you see in the film.
User avatar
Sakura Blossom
Posts: 2612
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:29 am
Gender: Female
Location: USA, Midwest

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by Sakura Blossom »

There was this list online about facts you didn't know about the movie, and the one with the power going out was on there. Haha! It was a really cool list, I wish I still had it on hand. I really enjoyed it!
"We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams." - Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy

If you need any help with anything, don't hesitate to ask!
User avatar
Lunar Rose
Posts: 105
Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:33 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Gloucestershire, UK

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by Lunar Rose »

loona wynd wrote: Like I will project an image of a smiling and happy person when I am very depressed and upset. Glamors can and do work. Just not like you see in the film.
I like the sound of your use of glamours. I work as a receptionist, and some days, I am really not people friendly, so it would be very helpful to use a glamour to appear "smiling and happy" even if I really am grinding my teeth behind it!

Shame it's not like in the movies though, who wouldn't love to change their hair or eye colour with a quick rhyme?! I'd save a fortune on dye! Haha!
loona wynd
Banned Member
Posts: 1281
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 7:27 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Bath Maine

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by loona wynd »

Sakura Blossom wrote:There was this list online about facts you didn't know about the movie, and the one with the power going out was on there. Haha! It was a really cool list, I wish I still had it on hand. I really enjoyed it!
The IMDB trivia page has a lot of them. It verifies that the actress who played Nancy is a Wiccan and that she was one of the people who helped make the movie more craft like. She also was able to find them contacts to help in ways she couldn't. Which was cool.
User avatar
Sakura Blossom
Posts: 2612
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:29 am
Gender: Female
Location: USA, Midwest

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by Sakura Blossom »

Yeah! I loved that they were able to bring someone in for it. It adds a bit of realness to the fictional movie, which I like a lot! (: It really got me excited and interested in the craft itself. I'll have to go check out the trivia page. (:
"We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams." - Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy

If you need any help with anything, don't hesitate to ask!
loona wynd
Banned Member
Posts: 1281
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 7:27 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Bath Maine

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by loona wynd »

I actually remember some quotes from the website that was run bu Eileen Holland (at the time it was called Open sesame but now its Eileen Holland.com) where she had all sorts of questions from seekers about having a person for each element but one and where they could find the other person for the remaining quarter/element. The response on the website was that you don't need a person for each element to cast a circle and call the quarters. Though the movie the Craft does lead you to think this as Nancy's two other friends and her were on the search for a fourth to complete the circle.

My friends and I were in the same boat basically at the time. We all wanted to practice Wicca and witchcraft but we essentially thought it wasn't possible based on the movie The Craft. If those three experienced witches were looking for a fourth to make the circle complete than we assumed that while we may be able to do some things alone, it wasn't going to really work unless we had 4.

At the time I thought I was the element of earth when I am the element of water lol.
User avatar
Sakura Blossom
Posts: 2612
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:29 am
Gender: Female
Location: USA, Midwest

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by Sakura Blossom »

Oh, really? Haha! I was in a similar situation. I didn't think you needed the group, but I did think you had to be a Natural Witch and be able to twist your pencil on the desk. I kept trying and trying but couldn't do it, and got frustrated. This was when I was lot younger. Haha! I now know better.
"We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams." - Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy

If you need any help with anything, don't hesitate to ask!
User avatar
Echo_of_shadows
Posts: 1349
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:07 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Mushroom Valley
Contact:

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by Echo_of_shadows »

I think three of the founding members of my former coven thought like this for quite a while. I know that there were a couple people in the position for the element of water before I joined and even after I left, The members changed a few times. The High Priestess is the only original founding member left. I do think part of her difficulty is that she would involve whomever she was dating at the time. I'm not saying that it's a bad idea to include significant others, but booting someone from the coven just because you've broken up with them seems immature to me.
loona wynd
Banned Member
Posts: 1281
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 7:27 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Bath Maine

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by loona wynd »

Sakura Blossom wrote:Oh, really? Haha! I was in a similar situation. I didn't think you needed the group, but I did think you had to be a Natural Witch and be able to twist your pencil on the desk. I kept trying and trying but couldn't do it, and got frustrated. This was when I was lot younger. Haha! I now know better.
I know some one who claims they could do that. I'm a bit skeptical about that myself. Though that being said I have been able to cast a fire based energy ball at a tree and I saw some damage of sorts done to the spirit. It was an exercise to see if I could channel fire energy not being a fire based element.
User avatar
Lunair
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:19 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Dreamland

Re: The movie: The Craft

Post by Lunair »

Just watched the movie a couple of hours ago on netflix. Reminded me of the first time I heard about Wicca/witchcraft. This is actually what started my interest in witchcraft that and the fact that my mom had all these books about Wicca (at the time I didn't really know anything about being Wiccan just that my mom had all these cool books with spells and knowledge about it). Now I know more and am grateful whenever I get a chance to watch "The Craft" because its just delightfully reminiscent of my beginning childhood curiosity with Wicca, plus its just really one of my top favorite movies that I can watch over and over and not get bored, it just gets me pumped up and excited.
Post Reply

Return to “Pop Culture Magic”