the time i realized i did not have super powers

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Now when most kids think they have super powers they're usually referring to thinking they are some kind of super hero. Oddly enough, the only super hero I grew up with was Batman and to me he was just a guy in a cape, he didn't really have powers. I did find a group of gals that convinced me if I wished hard enough I could develop super powers too, only they weren't caped crusaders, they were witches.

In the 90's when I was growing up there were several movies that showed the light side of witchcraft, Practical Magic, Simply Irresistible and Teen Witch (really late 80's, big deal). I loved all of them and thought that maybe someday it would be possible that I could have the same powers as those ladies. Laugh all you want, but when the movie The Craft came out in 1996 I was far more intrigued than I'd ever been by those previously mentioned. The Craft was darker and scarier and it had Neve Campbell from Party Of Five who was awesome in the 90's.

Set in California, Sarah (Robin Tunney) moves with her family to start a new life after some trouble with depression and suicide. Determined to start over she meets three new friends with a dark side, they claim to be witches and they're looking for a fourth to make their "circle" complete (for the record you apparently need four witches to make a complete elemental set of earth, air, fire, water so that you can call the corners. I still have no idea what that means, they probably explain it in the movie but in the billion times I've watched it I've never caught on. Makes sense, right?). After accepting Sarah in their group and making her familiar with their ways, they find her to be much more powerful than they anticipated. Terror ensues as she shows her true power while they try to make her life hell. Typical Mean Girls, minus Lohan, plus powers, which in my opinion is much better.

I couldn't have cared less about the plot of the actual movie, I just wanted to find out if somewhere deep inside I had magic powers. Luckily I had three close girlfriends so thinking we had a complete set we would occasionally try out spells during our sleepovers. Now my mother had a book she'd found at a thrift store called The Modern Witches Spellbook. Don't ask me why we had this in our home, but I found it very helpful. My friends and I replicated altars in our rooms praying to whatever Witch God's we were supposed to (I'm not sure we ever knew who they were). There was a nearby church with an open clearing and we would take that book out there, light candles and try to bring back the dead ala Now & Then. Nothing we tried ever worked, but we kept optimistic. Over the few months we tried to be witches we each had "experiences" where we claimed we'd felt a breeze or seen a shadow. I will be honest now, I never did. Sorry, guys.

Our fascination tapered off almost as soon as it had started and the seances stopped. Eventually I didn't care that I couldn't make pipes burst in my room or make spoons float across the table. I still believe in magic at times because the concept of it is just so damn fun. I may change my mind if future daughter comes to me with leaves and lavender and asks if she can draw creepy symbols in her closet. What do I say to her? Oh for shame. I never was a witch, and I never will be a witch, but The Craft gave me a brief hope that if I wanted to mess with thine enemies then I had the opportunity, or so I thought.