Number 10 Witch of All-Time: Cordelia Foxx, AHS Coven

All hail the mighty Supreme Witch! The modern day Queen of Witch’s: Cordelia Fox! Cordelia? Who saw that coming? Or better yet, how could you not see that coming, American Horror Story Coven fans?

I must admit, while not totally blown away by the producer’s choice of Sara Paulson’s character, Cordelia Fox, to follow in her mother’s footsteps, I was surprised that her mother, Fiona Goode, portrayed by Jessica Lange, didn’t somehow find the secret to immortality and reign as Supreme forever. Alas, I was mistaken.

With the promotion of Cordelia, AHS’s coven pulled the ultimate surprise by allowing their annual mini-series scare fest to leave its fans with a happy ending. My, how far things have come since season one, when you could count the survivors on one finger.

Not that I’m complaining. I love Cordelia as Supreme, despite my life-long crush on Jessica Lange. The classic underdog tale, you must hand it to her. Her mom put her through hell her entire life with unrealistic expectations, harsh criticism and cruel intentions. But then, Fiona did that with everyone. Only more reason to admire Cordelia, who took all that punishment and came out even stronger.

Even though they both held the title of ‘Supreme Witch’ that’s pretty much were the similarities between the mother/daughter witch characters end. Cordelia, despite her upbringing or perhaps because of it, grew into the polar opposite of her mother. Where Fiona was evil, Cordelia was good. When Fiona was hateful, Cordelia was nice. The list could go on and on. But perhaps the most telling comparison would be this.  Whenever Fiona was needed to help save the Coven she would dodge the situation, unless something was in it for her. When Cordelia needed to help save the Coven she stabbed herself in the eyes to re-gain her second sight. Now that is a gruesome and noteworthy sacrifice.

As for Sarah Paulson, she is on a roll with her American Horror Story characters. This marks two seasons in a row that Jessica Lange’s character first appears as Sarah’s antagonist only to fail in her own corrupted quests for power, get her comeuppance and then meet her final fate at the end. No such death scenes for Sarah. Her characters have survived the utmost in terrors and emerged victorious both seasons. Let’s see if her luck holds next season in American Horror Story: Carnival!

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s give credit where credit is due. What Cordelia has done in Coven is the ultimate witch fantasy. After being suppressed, cast out and even slaughtered for centuries, Cordelia becomes the witch that changes all that, finding a home for wayward girls’ with gifts from the world of the occult. With Cordelia leading the nurturing Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, these women can now learn their craft in peace and find acceptance in a world long renown for hostility toward witches.

Thanks to this fictional story, for the first time witches are allowed to be truly accepted, as can be noted by the incredible response from the witch community on social media. For that, a huge kudos must go not only to the Cordelia character, but also the producers, writers and the millions of witches and witch-lovers that made mainstream witchery a reality.

Oh, and by the way, the first books Cordelia presents to all her young apprentince witches at the Academy is SUFFER THE WITCH CHRONICLES 1 & 2, Rise of the Raven Knights and The Dragon-Wizard's Crystal Skull. Purchase your copies at Amazon by clicking the book covers below!

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WITCHCRAZE: A LOOK AT MODERN WITCHCRAFT

Alrighty folks, being a lifelong football fan, I know when to punt. Today’s blog was supposed to further the Knights of Lore series, but an older series of mine, The Top Ten Witches of All-Time, is still far surpassing the Knights’ series, so I’ve decided to jump back on the bandwagon and further explore the new ‘Witchcraze’!

It’s hard to believe that just a few hundred years ago, claiming to be a witch, or even being accused of being one, would get you burned at the stake! My, how times have changed. It seems like the only mythical creatures that can rival the skyrocketing popularity of witches is vampires. From a personal standpoint, I see witches winning that battle.

Nothing against those immortal blood sucking creatures of the night, but I will take witches any day! Hey, witches are pretty sexy! All one has to do is look at shows like American Horror Story: Coven, to see what I’m talking about.

That show, which is my favorite AHS yet, has sexy witches from all age groups and walks of life. From perennial bad girls, Fiona Goode and Delphine LaLaurie (portrayed by the esteemed actresses Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates), to younger bad girls like Madison Montgomery and Zoe Benson (Emma Roberts, Taissa Farmiga) and even witches in between, Marie Laveau, Misty Day and Cordelia Foxx (Angela Bassett, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson, respectively).

The AHS: Coven witches are bad to the bone! And like all naughty witches should be, they are charming and beautiful, thus belying their own wickedness. So far, the Coven witches have shown incredible powers of second sight, telegraphic fire starting, resurrection, death by sex, control over zombies, reverse empathetic pain, and, of course, murder.

During the upcoming blog installments for Witchcraze! A look at modern witches, we will explore these incredible witches and see what makes them tick. 

On the flip side, American Horror Story producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk aren’t the only production company zeroing in on witchcraft. We also have the Lifetime television series Witches of East End, and Fox’s Sleepy Hollow, which has witches that Ichabod Crane must deal with.  CW’s The Originals is full of witches too.

In the land of Hollywood we’ve recently seen witches on the big screen in Beautiful Creatures, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Snow White and the Huntsman, Oz, the Great and Powerful, and Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem. Later this year we can expect to be enchanted by Disney’s upcoming cartoon movie, Frozen.

2014 promises to be just as epically wicked with potential blockbusters such as Maleficent, Seventh Son, The Last Witch Hunter, The Good Witch’s Wonder and Into the Woods.

Is this just a result of the last witchcraft trend, in which the kids that grew up watching Buffy and Charmed are putting their own spin on things? I think it is, and I also think that is a very good thing. When the Harry Potter kids and the kids that are currently learning the ins and outs of witchcraft from today’s shows, grow up, the cycle will repeat and their witches will be even bigger and even more wicked and epic.

In real life, witchcraft is more openly popular than ever before. However, even in today’s time there is still a great degree of discrimination for those who practice. Just mention the word Wicca to a fundamentalist of other religions and you will see exactly what I’m talking about. It seems that some just can’t get past the ‘do not suffer a witch to live’ mentality from religious edicts from thousands of years ago.

Though these aren’t the burning times, I wouldn’t encourage any kid to go to school and claim witchery. While it’s ok to be proud, it invites too much negativity. Who would want to deal with all that in a religion that teaches positivity? Let’s not be like the religions that preach peace and practice war! We are witches damn it! Like good heavy metal music, it’s a helluva lot better when it comes from underground!

Somewhere in the midst of this series, I would like to take a close look at Wicca, what it entails, how it works, and what real coven witches are like. So, if you know some fantastic witch, particularly one that is an author or one that lives in or around Cincinnati, I would love to chat you up and profile you on my blog. Hit me up on facebook or twitter and let’s talk!

In closing I can only add this: Witches: You’ve come a long way baby!

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