ABSTRACT
Based on anthropological fieldwork among New Zealand feminist witches, the chapter examines the ways in which symbols and symbolic action are conceived of and employed in ritual to induce or assist magical transformations or events. Witches are shown to use both homeopathic and contagious magic; however, magical potency is believed to reside much less in the symbolic object or action than in the woman’s own psychological state and her sense of being able to harness energy ‘out there’ or within herself to effect change. Thus these witches’ theory of ritual action is inextricably tied to their feminist political consciousness and notions of selfempowerment.
