Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings! For today’s post, I have decided to share two Hocus Pocus film theories that I began to develop on my most recent re-watch of the iconic Halloween favorite the week before last. This post does fit into my Magical Media Analysis series, but not in the average way. Instead of analyzing the magick used in the film for how it fits in with real-world magickal practices, I will be discussing how Hocus Pocus theories can be linked to real-world magickal practices. I do want to acknowledge that Hocus Pocus, much like The Witch from 2015, takes the interpretation of witches from old world witch hunting manuals and medieval and puritanical beliefs about what witches were. In that way, it can be semi-linked to actual magickal beliefs from the Puritan Time Period where the film begins. However, I want to focus more on analyzing Hocus Pocus through the lens of two theories I have developed over how to view the sisters! Without further ado, let’s get into my theories!
THEORY 1: THE BILLY, SARAH, & WINNIE THEORY
~In this theory, I have used information from both films, a bit, to relate Sarah and Winifred to specific cross-quarter holidays. The theory hinges on the fact that both Sarah and Winnie are said to have been lovers of Billy Butcherson in the first film, but confirmed by Billy himself in the second that he only actually was Sarah’s lover but he and Winne did share a kiss. Now, on my most recent re-watch, I finally realized the date of Billy’s death on his headstone, as seen clearly in the first film, May 1, 1693. I do not know how after growing up with this film and countless re-watches over the years I did not see it sooner, but I am so glad that I finally saw this because it really solidified this theory for me! In fact, it is what inspired this post to begin with. We know from both films that Winnie killed Billy when she caught him with Sarah. In the first film, it is presented as he had cheated on Winnie, but in the second it is confirmed that he never did more than kiss Winnie. Either way, we can view her killing of Billy Butcherson as a crime of passion, used to fuel her magick, due to her jealousy over her younger sister having him as a lover!
It is that act and the date on which it took place that brought about my theory. Sarah Sanderson is associated with Beltane and Winifred Sanderson is associated with Samhain. Sarah and Billy slept together and got caught by Winnie on Beltane, which is May 1st obviously, leading to her killing him. I feel that Sarah and Billy were participating in Beltane Sex Magick and Fertility Rites, which are an essential aspect of this sex and fertility holiday! Winifred is therefore connected with Samhain, when the sisters are finally caught and executed on that day, October 31, 1693.
Beltane and Samhain are cross-quarter days that are directly opposite one another on the Wheel of the Year. Beltane and Samhain are intimately linked in this way, the holidays can even be said to represent a link between sex and death. In the Southern Hemisphere, Beltane is literally celebrated alongside Halloween because the Wheel of the Year is reversed below the equator! These are also the two holidays of the year where the Veil is thinnest, with Beltane being more associated with the sexiness of Faery and Samhain being more associated with Ghosts of the Dead. To me, this feels very much in line with how each sister, Sarah, and Winnie are respectively portrayed in the films.
What brings this little theory of mine full circle is that (if we assume both holidays were recognized by the Sandersons) Sarah would have been in charge of the Beltane Magick, through her Sex Rites with Billy, which led to his death at the hands of her jealous sister. Then it is Winifred who is in charge of the Samahin Death Magick at the beginning of the film to drain the life out of Emily Binx, which gets all of the Sandersons put to death! I have no idea if any of that was an intentional easter egg, but I certainly ran with it, and I think it lines up!
THEORY 2: THE SANDERSON SISTERS AS REPRESENTATIONS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF MAGICK
~My second theory here does link up with my other theory, but I felt it was different enough to separate them, and this theory is much shorter. Sarah being associated with Beltane means that she also exemplifies Faery Glamour and Enchantment taken to a darker place in that she used her abilities to lure in children for Winifred to eventually kill to use their life essence. Winifred being associated with Samhain means that she also exemplifies Death Work and Death Magick since it is her of the three sisters that is the driving force of actually killing children to steal their life force, again this is Death Magick taken to a darker and evil place. Finally, Mary is rooted in Protective Magick because she is able to detect children by smelling them. This may not seem protective at first, but in the darker and more evil viewpoint of the Sanderson Sisters, detecting children so that their life force can be stolen to keep the trio alive is protection for them! She is also seen as the nurturing and maternal figure of the three, further exemplifying the protection of a Mama Bear archetype.
~I hope that you have enjoyed this look at two of my personal Hocus Pocus theories on this Magical Media Monday. Do you think these theories work with the plot of the film? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is part of one of the posters for the first film. I found the image on https://carolinatheatre.org/events/film/hocus-pocus/.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Watching
- Hocus Pocus (1993)
- Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)