Here’s a Breakdown of the “Real Magic” Used in ‘Agatha All Along’
As you surely already know, the most recent MCU hit series, Agatha All Along, is currently doing great, as both fans and critics are enjoying the WandaVision spin-off series. Before adopting its final title, the show underwent a number of rebrandings, as you might know, and we’ve been saying that it surprised us that it managed to retain the current one at the time the broadcast started.
On September 18, 2024, the first two episodes of the series made their Disney+ debut. The final seven episodes of the series will air once a week till it ends on November 6.
We have been reporting on the series since it came out and while we’ve mostly been focusing on its ratings and some of the characters, it is now time to discuss the series’ lore in a more detailed way.
As you know, magic is a crucial factor in the series and while the fictional component is something that Marvel fans will know about, in this report, we have decided to tackle the topic of how much the magic in Agatha All Along is influenced by real-life magic and mythologies, which is what you are going to read about in the text below.
As said, most of the magic in Agatha All Along is completely fictional and has no basis in real-life beliefs, but some references are present, as the more keen observers might have noticed. Marvel’s magic lore is a standalone, separate entity and that is why we thought it would be interesting to analyze those references to real life that actually exist in the series.
The first major reference we are talking about is the locket that Agatha finds in Episode 1 in relation to the discovery of the dead woman in that episode. The locket is the same one Agatha wore in WandaVision and it is actually a representation of the Triple Goddess, also known as the Maiden, Mother, and Crone.
This is a concept that has been known since ancient times (as triplet deities were a regular aspect of ancient religions, like the Graces, the Horae, or the Fates in Greek mythology), but this specific concept was taken from Neopaganism, where the Triple Goddess aligns to different phases of the moon and different phases of womanhood.
The second important reference is the Teen, whose mouth is shut when he tries to utter his name. A symbol (letter) appears on his mouth, preventing him from uttering his name, keeping the mystery alive.
The symbol itself is a reference to sigils, which are often seen as symbols in real-life beliefs that center on magic and occultism.
The final reference is the raven or crow that can be seen in the series; when the bird appears, Agatha is visibly unsettled by it, which is a reference to real-world superstitions that one crow or raven may be the harbinger of bad luck or something more grim, like death or suffering.
Of course, beliefs related to ravens and crows (birds in general) vary, so much that in some systems, these birds are considered to be harbingers of good luck, whereas in some, the number of birds is important. Agatha, on her part, seems to believe that one raven or crow is a bad omen, which explains why she is so unsettled.
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