Moonbeam Cafe: for the night owls. We are not afraid of the dark. Pour a drink and stay a while.
Understanding “The VVitch”'s frustrating ending

[Context: People recommended The VVitch when I first joined LGC. Mentioned occasionally. Seems like a long-running Moonbeam topic...]
It was odd how Thomasin joined Satan at the end of The VVitch. How empowering can that all-women coven be, if still under patriarchy? In that regard, it’s... kind of a lateral move.
But the movie’s from a Puritan’s gaze! “If I could take a Puritan’s nightmare as I would envision it and upload it into the audience’s mind’s eye, that was the goal.” The whole movie’s in Puritan metaphors.
Historically, Christian priests elevated the Horned God over the Goddess:
The image of the Horned God in Witchcraft is radically different from any other image of masculinity in our culture. He is difficult to understand, because He does not fit into any of the expected stereotypes, neither those of the "macho” male nor the reverse-images of those who deliberately seek effeminacy. He is gentle, tender, and comforting, but He is also the Hunter. He is the Dying God-but his death is always in the service of the life force. He is untamed sexuality-but sexuality as a deep, holy, connecting power. He is the power of feeling, and the image of what men could be if they were liberated from the constraints of patriarchal culture.
The image of the Horned God was deliberately perverted by the medieval Church into the image of the Christian Devil. Witches do not believe in or worship the Devil–they consider it a concept peculiar to Christianity. The God of the Witches is sexual–but sexuality is seen as sacred, not as obscene or blasphemous. Our God wears horns—but they are the waxing and waning crescents of the Goddess Moon, and the symbol of animal vitality. In some aspects, He is black, but not because He is dreadful or fearful, but beacause darkness and the night are times of power, and part of the cycles of time. 1
There have always been traditions of the Craft in which the God is given little recognition. 2 In the Craft, separate Women's Mysteries and separate Men's mysteries may be performed. But in most Witch traditions the god is seen as the other-half of the Goddess, and many of the rites and holidays are devoted to Him as well as to Her.
In the medieval Witch cult, the God may have obtained prominence over the Goddess for a time. Most Witch confessions speak of “the devil,” as the Christian priests transcribed the Witches’ words for their non-Christian God. Fewer mention the Goddess, who is usualy called “The Queen of Elphame.” However, the interrogators of Witches were looking for evidence of Devil worship, not Goddess worship. They recorded evidence that supported their accusations of Satanism and ignored or twisted other evidence. Tortured suspects who reached the end of their endurance were often given already prepared statements to sign, which expressed what the Christian Priests wished to believe, rather than the truth.
— Starhawk, “Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess”



I adored the ending of the VVitch
BTW, I always feel guilty with such long posts. But... then again, The VVitch requires a 1.5 hour investment. So hopefully this post enhances that investment. :P
And of course, anyone can skim/ignore...
I love the long posts! They always have great complexity and depth!