Sabrina and witchcraft – MANDY'S READING LIST

Happy October!

I have been watching and reading lots of witchy things this season, and it has me feeling so nostalgic! I loved the new Hocus Pocus (which was done so well! The Sanderson Sisters haven’t aged a day!!) and have been watching Sabrina and Practical Magic on repeat all month. So I thought it would be fun to to honor some of my favorite witches for spooky season!

The Owens Sisters

Two is a magickal number: 2 is the very essence of duality, and Gillian and Sally Owens are the perfect duo – where Gilly is rebellious, Sally is prudent. Where Gillian is spontaneous, Sally is predictable. They are polar opposites, but together they complete each other.

Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Sabrina is the type of which many of us strive to be — navigating through the world, taking care of the people we love, and always using our powers for good. Yes, sometimes her magic causes more hijinx than heroism, but she can usually fix her mistakes and learn from them, and her heart is always in the right place.

The Sanderson Sisters

27 years later and the beloved movie Hocus Pocus is still watched every Halloween season, and the new sequel only solidifies this classic in witch lore. The Sanderson Sisters represent the quintessential trine, and are the youth-stealing monsters of myth that everyone loves to hate.

The Craft Coven

Nancy is who I think of when I think of the ultimate dark witch. She dabbles in shadow Magic, loves a good hex, and even taps into astral maniulation. But if Nancy is a dark witch, then Sarah is her opposite: a light witch.

Sarah Bailey is a witch who understands that right choices are not always easy to make. She could easily could’ve followed her coven into reckless and harmful magic, but instead she fights against them, even when they try to use her mental health struggles against her.

The Wicked Witch of the West

I can’t make a list of witches and not include her! She isn’t a 90’s witch, but she is a classic!

I loved Sabrina The Teenage Witch and watched it for years! But I also love the new interpretation of the show, even though it is so completely different from the light-hearted original I once loved. The old show was very much a sitcom while the modern version is more of a drama, which is great for the spooky October vibes. But what I appreciate most about this remake is the attention to detail in regard to witchcraft. This show not only makes the occult approachable but does it in an educational-yet-fun way. There are a ton of important topics Sabrina touches on—including gender issues, religion, and identity—but here I am going to talk about witchcraft.

There are actually two separate Sabrina comics that have inspired two very different shows: the 90’s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch was based on the Archie comics from the 1960’s, while the newer Netflix show is based on the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina graphic novels, which were first published in 2014 under the Archie Horror imprint. Continue reading “How Witchcraft and Comics Inspired The Chilling Tales of Sabrina”