Witchcraft and esotericism reach the classrooms

Witches and sorceresses are recurring characters in classical ballets and great works of literature. In the works of Max Ernst and Lucio Fontana there are traces of his passion for alchemy, and Miró's paintings reveal his interest in astrology, as was evident in the exhibition. The hidden, which was hosted this summer by the Thyssen Museum, followed by a course at UNED. But this hidden side, persecuted by institutionalized religions in the past, has historically been viewed with distance and contempt by the academic world. A situation that is changing. As interest in this parallel history increases around the world, prestigious universities are rushing to incorporate it into their teaching offerings. The University of Amsterdam offers a specialization in Western Esotericism, and the Complutense of Madrid teaches the subject Magic and Religion. The University of Exeter, in England, announces for the next course a master's degree that under the title Magic and Occult Sciences aims to review the history of magic in Greece and Rome, the hidden texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, “in addition to delving into the history of witchcraft, and analyzing the presence of magic in literature and folklore.”

A novelty in the United Kingdom, they say, which is produced in the ideal place because “this institution has a large number of experts in the history of magic,” explains Emily Selove, in charge of the new master's degree, dependent on the Institute of Magic. Arab and Islamic Studies of which she is an associate professor. It may not be a coincidence that JK Rowling herself, author of the Harry Potter saga, studied at this institution, and that Exeter was the scene of the last execution of witches in England, at the end of the 17th century. Are we facing an attempt to repair the memory of these women? “One of the most interesting aspects of studying magic is that it allows us to look at historical texts with new eyes and rediscover voices that have been marginalized,” says Selove.

Miguel Palomo, professor at the Complutense and coordinator of the degree in Religious Sciences where the subject Magic and Religion is taught, admits that there is interest in a certain reparation, but also confusion about what is meant by “witches.” Among those who risked dying at the stake were from healers to alchemists, “but those who suffered persecution were mostly religious women and men accused of heresy,” says this professor. “A paradigmatic case would be that of María de Bohórquez, in the 16th century, condemned to die at the stake in her youth.” The court granted her the grace, after agreeing to pray her creed, of not being burned alive, but rather executed by garrote and her corpse burned. A faithful defender of the Protestant Reformation, Bohórquez was not exactly skilled in spells, but rather in Hebrew and Latin.

_