by Viviane Stackhouse and Sam Barrett

The room in Symons Hall smells and looks like any other. But there’s something unusual here — it’s home to the Pagan and Witchcraft Council. 

The club’s students don’t fit the stereotypical image of a witch — there are no bubbling cauldrons and there’s no hocus pocus. They’re just people with an interest in Paganism, a variety of non-traditional religions that emphasize connecting with and protecting nature, president Montague Nagel said.

The club focuses on everything from tarot cards to astrology to Celticism and seeks to clear up misconceptions about witchcraft, he said. 

“I feel like a lot of people associate the word witch with a Halloween monster,” Nagel, a sophomore computer engineering major, said. 

On Sept. 24, the Council discussed the history of tarot cards. The executive board taught the members how to read tarot and the significance behind the history of the cards. Participants received a reading and clues about their future. 

The club has been around since fall 2017 but experienced low turnout last year because of the coronavirus, treasurer Edward Brennan said. Now, the council is wrapping up a new semester and is looking for new members.

Every meeting focuses on a new element of witchcraft, paganism, tarot reading and other practices. Most meetings open with a presentation on the evening’s topic followed by a demonstration.

Brennan, a senior secondary English education major, said people don’t need to be witches to join the club — they just need to be interested in learning about witchcraft. Brennan said his own interest was sparked after receiving an eye-opening tarot reading from his friend. 

“I started reading tarot, which led me to more witchcraft-y stuff,” he said. 

From there, Brennan decided he needed to find a group that would help him expand his knowledge about divination.

Kyle Enchill, a senior computer science major, heard about the club from his roommate two weeks ago. His interest with witchcraft stems from his own set of tarot cards. 

“I’ve not studied them for a while, so I’m trying to study them now,” Enchill said. 

The meeting provided a lot of the background needed for him to begin practicing again. He joined the second week of the semester, and hopes to learn more about witchcraft by participating in the weekly meetings.

Featured image: A trifold posterboard advertising the Pagan and Witchcraft Council on Sept. 29. Photo by Sam Barrett.