Dark Side Positivity: Sith, Witches, and Servants
Or: why villains actually represent the othered and oppressed.
From the TV Salem, which is a fictionalized account of the Salem Witch Trials, based on the supposition that the witches of Salem were controlling the trials all along. The TV show takes all of the liberties with history but also has a crap ton of legit traditional witchcraft imagery, so I forgive a lot historically. Also, TITUBA LIKE A BOSS.
Tituba: My body was bought and sold many times, but never my soul, not until I came to Salem. I am a child in a cage, given less to eat than the animals on the ship. I fear I will never see the sun again. And then a man comes. It was he that brought me to Salem, only to be bought and sold again. I am sold from hand to hand, from man to man. But at least I am no longer in a cage. And my final owner is not cruel. The Wolcotts give me a bed to sleep in. Their girl child, Mary, treats me almost like a sister. But still at night, I weep for my mother, and I ride a river of tears out of my straw bed, into the dark woods.
Increase: The dark woods? Who do you meet in the dark woods?
Tituba: The kenaima. He has come to save meā¦ Save all of us. He draws to him all who hurt, all who hide, all who hate, all who thirst for justice, gathers us into the circle and promises us a leader, a savior, one who will crush our enemies with a mighty fist. And he keeps his promise.
Increase: Girl, I, too, keep my promises. And I promise you now I will put your eyes out this instant if you do not tell me who is in the circle, who, the names, who is in the circle of witches. Tell me. [Grunts] What fortitude. Solidarity amongst the rudely oppressed. Inspiring. Itāsā¦ itās all so very touching. But I tell you, youāre duped. These creatures are not your friends, nor anyoneās friends. They are the enemies of all mankind. (emphasis mine. also: insert any statement Yoda has ever made about Sith doctrine āfear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, etcā HERE.)
Tituba: Tell me, who started this war between witches and puritans, the scattered few of them or the mighty many of you? (Do I need to cite the Rule of Two here?)
Increase: By your own admission, these creatures have sold their very souls for vengeance to the Devil. Is this not so?
Tituba: Were your people never slaves? Did they never cry out in the wilderness for justice? And did your God not hear their cries and answer with thunder? Donāt you see? There are no witches, only poor people like me, hunted and harried, tortured and murdered, and for no reason other than they are not you! (emphasis mine)
Thinky thought for those who think that the Jedi are a force for good: do Titubaās words remind us of anyone?
āAt last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge.ā - Darth Maul
Why does Maul say this? A little backstory, from the Book of Sith (yes I know, itās Legends now, but at the time the TPM was made this was still canon - i donāt think the book was written yet but the source material that it draws on was).
Thousands of Jedi, a dozen Sith, dwindled down to just two - āhunted and harried, tortured and murdered, and for no reason other than they are not you!ā
āHeya Heather, you seem to take this shit personally.ā
Yeah, reader-chan, I do. You know why? Cause Iām a witch. And the Dark Side is very, very coded towards witchcraft, magic, and Paganism. Have a looksee at the Nightsisters and one of their prominent texts:
āBook of Law.ā HEY I KNOW ANOTHER BOOK OF LAW. Yāall ever heard of Thelema or Aleister Crowley?
Yeah. Look at that. Itās a text used by Pagans and Ceremonial Magicians. Itās not the only allusion made to Paganism, magic, or witchcraft. Hereās a visual: the triangle of manifesting, used in many branches of magic and witchcraft. Hereās one example:
Hereās one from the Book of Sith:
I counted all the references I could find of magic in the Book of Sith and found a good 25 separate instances of references to things that are commonly found in magic/witchcraft/Paganism. Twenty-five. Poppet making. Incantations. Alchemy. Elemental spirits. Spirit work of the spiritual death and rebirth variety. Spirit work in general wherein spirits interact with the Nightsisters. A God and Goddess pairing (thatās more Wicca but some Wiccans are also witches, so, still counts, Iād say). References to divination, and to the Wild Hunt. Place names derived from Norse cosmology - Muspellheim and Ginnagugap specifically. The word āSithā itself is a variant of the word āSidheā which is a type of fairy or elf.
And all of that to say this: when I read over and over things where itās suggested that a Dark Sider character needs to return to the light, it pisses me off, because it feels to me like a good old fashioned witch trial. Repent, and save your soul.
My soul doesnāt need saving, yāall. Neither does Darth Maul. Or Kylo Ren. Or any number of Dark Siders. Weāre fine, thank you. And we have a right to exist.
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