Writer: The Horned Witch
Subject: Magick With A “K”
Link: Tumblr / 15.12.2024
The Devil Is In The Details: Compelling Depictions Of Lucifer In Media 1
We are often bombarded with depictions of Lucifer as the antagonist. As a Practitioner of the Left Hand Path, I have a complex relationship with these portrayals – one that I refuse to let hinder my enjoyment of the film.
Horror with religious undertones has become one of my guilty pleasures, along with dramas and action films that explore end-times scenarios and battles with Lucifer/Satan. While He is frequently cast as the villain, which is understandable given the mainstream narrative, I’d like to explore some representations of The Dark Lord that capture aspects familiar to those of us who walk this Path.
Black Phillip – The VVitch
“Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?” That line, embodies all that is Lucifer. It is near-whispered, layered, and echoed with other voices to young Thomasin, who stands with her mother’s blood dried to her skin. The words hang there, not so much as a question but an invitation.
During the Puritan Era (1625-1660), European settlers adhered to strict religious doctrine that often bastardized and corrupted the indigenous practices of the American inhabitants and the former pagan practices of their own European roots. The film shows this nuanced portrayal as we follow Thomasin and her family.
Her father William, while pious, is a very proud man. His lack of knowledge when it comes to surviving off the land is well depicted through his struggles with growing crops and hunting.
We see the only thing William is good at is chopping wood and defending his eldest daughter from the grieving rage of her mother, who seems to hate Thomasin not only for the tragic loss of baby Samuel (taken by the Witch of the Wood), but for her very existence as a young woman coming into her own.
Early in the film, we’re introduced to an imposing presence: a striking 210-pound black Arapawa billy goat, whom the twins Jonas and Mercy affectionately call Black Phillip.
Thomasin learns from Mercy that Black Phillip speaks to them — what seems at first like childhood fantasy takes on a darker significance as Thomasin begins to experience various supernatural events. These incidents build to a crescendo when middle son Caleb returns naked and “bewitched” from his desperate journey into the woods for food.
As Caleb lies in religious ecstasy, succumbing to the now potent supernatural forces, we witness the complete breakdown of the family dynamic. It begins with the twins’ shocking refusal to pray over their dying brother — a pivotal moment that fractures their parents’ illusion of maintaining a godly household.
This escalates into the stereotypical ‘witch’ accusation turned against Thomasin, but the film subverts our expectations by making this accusation both false and prophetic. This event seals Thomasin’s fate. As she is condemned to the goat pen with her siblings, both her mother and father are met with the full force of what they fear: The Devil.
It is the next morning that we realize there is far more to Black Phillip than what we were led to believe. After Black Phillip kills William (the symbolic removal of corrupted masculinity), and Thomasin’s survival-driven killing of her mother (the symbolic removal of the corrupted feminine), Thomasin stands alone.
Once night falls, we are granted conference with The Dark Lord Himself, in His form of Black Phillip. As Thomasin stands with her mother’s blood dried to her skin, she conjures Black Phillip to speak with her as He did with Jonas and Mercy. The velvety, layered, and echoed voice we are greeted with is both loving and terrifying. With the simple words “What dost thou want?” we come face to face with the Liberator Himself.
This entire scene is handled with such nuance and care, that it still gives me chills. Thomasin’s innocent reply of “What canst thou give?” followed by Black Phillip’s response, “Wouldst thou like the taste of butter? A pretty dress? Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?”
With each offer, there is a deeper meaning behind its simplicity. Butter, a simple pleasure you and I share, was something denied to Thomasin as her family struggled. A pretty dress, a symbol of femininity, that Thomasin had been denied through her parents’ rigid religious indoctrination.
To “live deliciously” transcends these mundane luxuries. It is an invitation to, not only physical freedom but spiritual liberation. Lucifer is giving Thomasin a chance to reclaim everything that was rightfully hers before it was stripped away by religious doctrine. She is offered back her autonomy, her sexuality, her power, and most importantly, her true self.
All this is offered to Thomasin with the simple request of signing her name in His book – a book He had offered her mother, a book that symbolizes freedom and not the fear-based notion of giving one’s soul away. Much like myself, Thomasin hesitates. “I cannot write my name.” Yet in His patient glory, He offers, “I will guide thy hand.”
This rather simple exchange shows us the true nature of The Liberator. Instead of responding with demands of blind obedience, He shows her understanding and patience at the exposure of her vulnerability.
One that is a direct result of the patriarchal restrictions He now offers her freedom from. Her inability to write isn’t met with judgment, instead, He offers his assistance. Depicting the aspects of Lucifer that represent His role as a mentor in one’s transformation. Instead of forcing and commanding, He is supportive and guiding.
His gentle patience stands in stark contrast to the rigid demands of her family’s faith, which was riddled with conditional love based on adherence to their doctrine. Lucifer offers unconditional acceptance and guidance on one’s journey to self-realization.
With the offer of rebirth as her true, honest self, Thomasin follows Black Phillip into the woods. There, she is openly accepted by other Witches, as they physically rise above the flames of a fire into the night sky. Like myself, Thomasin weeps and laughs at the new-found glory and power she has found in herself.
Unlike Christian and mainstream depictions of Lucifer as something evil and hateful, “The VVitch” offers a more nuanced truth that resonates with me as a practitioner of The Left Hand Path. Through Black Phillip, we see Lucifer not as an antagonist but as a patient guide who offers true liberation.
Yes, Thomasin does lose her entire family in a rather horrific and ritualistic fashion. It has been my experience that we must go through hardships and difficulties to learn and grow into who we truly are.
While we can sit and complain that we are suffering, we must understand that these hardships allow us opportunities to transcend. Lucifer guides us, not unlike how He offered to guide Thomasin’s hand. His power lies not in corruption or deception, but in the gentle recognition of our innermost desires for freedom and self-realization.
The transformation He offers Thomasin and indeed, offers to all who seek Him — is not a fall from grace but an ascension to one’s authentic self. In those moments of hesitation, when we stand like Thomasin with the weight of doctrine and judgment upon us, He does not demand or condemn. Instead, He simply offers to guide our hand, leading us not into damnation, but into delicious truth.