Even for those of us who actually practice magic and know what is typical and what is grossly exaggerated, there's something still charming and exciting about a touch of the sort of magic that's visible: the kind that is seemingly impossible yet almost within reach, and that pushes our sense of wonder.
If you're a Wiccan, general eclectic pagan or any kind of real mage, there's plenty to scoff at in the movie Practical Magic, but there's plenty to love, too. Most magic may not run in the blood as blatantly and consistently as it does in the Owens women, but the fate of the Kennedys makes it hard to rule out the possibility of family curses, and magic-oriented relatives do like to pass on their skills and teachings to worthy heirs. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the story is its emphasis on the importance of a community of supportive and caring women. It also suggests that being yourself is the best way to be, even if it means being distinctly weird.
I just read The Rules of Magic, which is Practical Magic's prequel, and enjoyed it. Mind, titles like that I find somewhat annoying, since they imply an absolutism (as in, THE Rules, period), but it makes sense for the story.
I loved Practical Magic ever since I rented it from now-defunct Hollywood video, only to find myself years later as part of a group of women friends (Witches of the Kitchen Table, now isn't that a perfectly broomtastic bomb-ass name?) who go so far as to have annual Practical Magic parties. And what witch wouldn't love an excuse to drink Midnight Margaritas, unless she prefers red wine?
This movie always makes me pine for a beautiful old house like the one the Owens Aunts live in. But it also gently encourages me to unwrap some of the barbed wire that surrounds my heart, and open up to the possibility of falling in love, for what would be the first time in my life --- for me, a notable step beyond mere friends and screw-buddies. It whispers that I'm not subject to any family curse, I'm mage enough to handle any difficulties, and I'm not only a pretty sex object but a lovable being, so why not? (Idolizing Snape isn't a good enough excuse, so it must just be that I'm picky.)
But an equally strong draw for me is the magic itself. In terms of the world of real Magistery, it has the most in common with folk magic, hoodoo and the women herb-healers of olden times --- what might be called "low" magic; hence, the word "practical" is perfect here. Most importantly, it feels very organic, natural and feminine, even at its most edgy and vengeful or retaliatory.
I'll just be blunt here: While the Harry Potter stuff is fun, it's always bugged me, and not because it's so obviously stereotypical; stereotypes exist for a reason. No: it's because it's patriarchal. It's a Western-framework, hero-worshipping, old boys' club, old money type of world. With little boys being absolute shits to each other, and waving exploding dick-sticks in each other's faces. And little girls doing the same thing, because they're in that same boys' world, playing that boys' game. It either belittles or appropriates in ridiculous ways many of the more subtle forms of magic, which is great for CG effects, but now that it's nearly taken over anything to do with magic? Let me be frank: I find it annoying as fuck.
As a devotee specifically of the Potterverse's most brutally divisive character (you either love him or you hate him, if you hate him don't bother talking to me), I feel it's no less than my duty to be one of those who steps back, calls bullshit on this massively inflated set of franchises, and does not get swept away by the braying herd. I think quite a few of us liked Snape because, despite his obvious flaws, his little-boy emotional wounds and vicious tongue and inability to forget and forgive, he did espouse more than "wand-waving" and dedicated himself just as much to more subtle forms of magic. A pity, then, that despite the students' supposedly thorough training in astronomy and Merlin knows what else, it always came back to the goddamned patriarchal stick-waving. Oh yes, I have felt Done --- Capital D --- with the whole Potterworldfuckdomination many times over the past few years.
Thus, I also like the Practical Magic stories because they remind me that there is a vast magical world that existed for many years B.H.P., and thankfully, I'm old enough to remember it. I can recall when it was just Magica diSpell and Lord Maliss and The Worst Witch and the old Sabrina (before all this dark Satanic ridiculous Hollywood garbage reloaded), and a little girl who made potions out of things she found in the fields. And I treasure those days, even as I continue to accept Snape (who perhaps above all fanfiction characters has really expanded in archetypal form beyond his parent stories, thanks to his complexity!).
Wand-waving may be fun, but it's the quiet arts of Snape combined with the folk ways of Practical Magic and my own women friends that lift me up and whisper to my heart, saying: "The gift is in you!"
And of course, because it's so many people's favorite scene, here is a clip of Midnight Margaritas:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DVLLs-5oCB8
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