[Claud]

Good observation on the history of magic.

I think it’s particularly funny that wiccans want to be medieval and pagan at the same time—thus proving that they understand neither paganism nor the Middle Ages.

I think folks today are getting their history more from the D&D Players’ Manual than, say, Ovid and Malory. :)

[Antoninus]

I think it’s particularly funny that wiccans want to be medieval and pagan at the same time—thus proving that they understand neither paganism nor the Middle Ages.

And it's just too convenient to claim that the "persecution" of witches (or is that whiches? Which is it??) started in the Middle Ages when the Catholic Church was ascendant when pretty much every ancient pagan culture made the practice of sorcery an offense deserving death.

I think folks today are getting their history more from the D&D Players’ Manual than, say, Ovid and Malory. :)

LOL. I think you're right. Rowling's got lots of inadvertent (or not) D&D references in the books. Every time she brings up a new creature, I think to myself, Monster Manual, 3HD, 1-8 hp damage per attack.