(RNS) — Marvel Studios’ television series “Agatha All Along,” which has its finale on Disney+ on Wednesday (Oct. 30), oozes witchcraft lore, movie references and symbolism.
And modern witches are there for it.
“They are really doing their research,” said Opal Luna, a witch, author and crafter in Florida, “and I appreciate that.”
A spinoff from Marvel’s “WandaVision” miniseries, which ran in early 2021, “Agatha All Along” picks up from that show’s final episode with Agatha, played by Kathryn Hahn, who was magically enslaved by Wanda, known as the Scarlet Witch. The show follows Agatha and her covenmates — among them Lilia (Patti LuPone) and Rio (Aubrey Plaza) — as they seek to recapture their magical powers.
This is all standard television witchy fare, but “Agatha” is drawing real-life witches with an aesthetic that aligns directly with a long legacy of magical storytelling — a teenage witch’s room is littered with witchcraft movie memorabilia — and with modern witchcraft practice. In one episode, the creators imagine the characters as figures inspired by the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot cards, a classic card set first published in 1909, with Agatha as the Three of Swords, Lilia the Queen of Cups, and Rio Death.
Opal Luna. (Courtesy photo)
“The people that wrote this have to have a background in paganism, witchcraft or something,” said Luna. The characters are “not all typical Halloween witches.” (Marvel Stud …