Magic sizing is a product that has been commonly used in laundry routines to make clothes look and feel better after they have been washed and dried. However, it seems that many people are finding it increasingly difficult to find and purchase this product in stores. One possible reason for the discontinuation of magic sizing could be a decrease in consumer demand. With the rise of modern fabrics and technologies in laundry detergents, people may be finding that they no longer need to use a separate product like magic sizing to achieve the desired results. Additionally, the increased availability and popularity of alternative products like fabric softeners and wrinkle releases may be contributing to the decline in demand for magic sizing. Another possibility is that the manufacturer of magic sizing has decided to discontinue the product due to production or business reasons.
Another possibility is that the manufacturer of magic sizing has decided to discontinue the product due to production or business reasons. It is not uncommon for companies to discontinue certain products if they are not performing well in the market or if they are not generating enough revenue. This could be the case with magic sizing, as the demand for these types of products may be declining overall.
Blog Post 203 – What is New World Witchery?, Part II (Witchcraft is an Amoral (not Immoral) Act)
This post is part of my ongoing series trying to use folklore, history, and contemporary accounts of folk magic to paint a picture of what “New World Witchery” might look like. If you haven’t already done so, you may want to read the previous post, “What is New World Witchery?, Part I (Irrational Pragmatism).” Or don’t. I’m not the boss of you. I have already said there what I will reiterate here: that my attempt to lay out some sort of shape that defines New World Witchcraft practices is likely to satisfy no one (not even me). I undertake this effort largely because I think it gives me a point of reference when I’m developing other articles and trying to see how distinctly “New World” certain practices are. There will always be exceptions, of course. Rules and witchcraft have a murky, complicated relationship, a thought which brings me to the subject of today’s section:
Witchcraft is an Amoral (not Immoral) Act
Despite a common popular conception in parts of early America, most witches are not interested in worshiping a literal Christian Devil or sending random blights over their neighbors’ crops. That doesn’t mean witches do no harm—they seem to do a lot of it, at least in accounts historical and folkloric. For instance, many witches will tie up a rag to an axe handle or fence post in order to steal milk from their neighbors’ cows, thereby stealing directly from the people around them. Seldom are those targeted by witches run into ruin or completely deprived because of the witch’s interference, although it may cause them some anxiety and trouble. The magical theft seems to be an extension of the pragmatism mentioned previously, though, offering the witches involved a way to sustain themselves. There are stories of people being tormented to the point of death, of course, but as in the famous Bell Witch case, much of the lore surrounding such attacks implies that the target has wronged the witch in some way, and that the witch is simply bypassing conventional justice for her own brand (see Keith Thomas’ essay on English witchcraft for a good outline of that argument, which applies equally in a number of Colonial-era witchcraft cases).
Witchcraft is not an act of evil unless it is being labeled that way by those not practicing it, but its applications are often morally ambiguous, verging on unethical. Take for example, the case of Mont and Duck Moore in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Duck would hex livestock within the community, and then Mont would remove the curse…for a fee, of course. This was an act of commerce far more than it was an act of evil. Or at least, it was evil in proportion to its pragmatic approach to earning a living. The case of Betty Booker mentioned previously provides an example with a bit less racketeering. At the far end of the spectrum we have the case of “The Witch of Pungo,” Grace Sherwood, who provided a variety of cures for her community in Virginia, only to end up being “swum” for her troubles (fortunately, she survived the experience). Sherwood reportedly stirred up the ire of some of her neighbors through her witchy ways, but seldom held back in her condemnation of those same neighbors when they leveled accusations against her. Folk magic and witchcraft, as we have seen already, are about meeting needs, and those needs are frequently morally dubious, much more so than the people who perform conjurations to help meet those needs. Cheo Torres noted that he was once asked what people liked to ask curanderas to do for them by a reporter. He replied: “Well, I said, young men usually want something to help them get sex…[M]idle-aged women usually want something to make their husbands love them again, sine that spark has left their lives. Middle-aged men want something to help them deal with the old aches and pains of their arthritis or their old football injuries. Older women wanted something to help them win at bingo or the lottery. And older men usually wanted something to attract younger women.” Clearly, meeting the needs of those who come to them is what creates moral ambiguity, far more than a witch’s partnership with a particular imp or spirit (although we’ll be getting to that topic soon enough).
Statue of Grace Sherwood on Witchduck Rd., Virginia Beach, VA. By Lago Mar [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons A New World Witch is accountable to herself, and answers to her own sense of morality. Some stories demonstrate a witch paying a price exacted later by a Devil, but for the most part any suffering they find is at the hands of those who work countermagic against them—for example in tales where a hexed butterchurn is used to reverse harm upon the witch who cast the curse in the first place. One informant shared a just such a reversal with me regarding the Evil Eye:
“If your infant is thought to have been given the Evil Eye, it will display tantrums, inexplicable fits, crying, fever, coupled with nausea out of nowhere. If this is determined to be the case, the one suspected of giving the Evil Eye to the child must be confronted in front of said child, and be asked to submit (pass along with their mouth or spit in a glass of water) their saliva to the infant for it to ingest… Giving of themselves a part of them, to queue [quell] its curse.”
The person who gave the Evil Eye was expected to be a person that could be confronted, negotiated with, a part of a community that operated by informal, unofficial, but very potent magical “rules” that could flex and adjust to particular circumstances.
Justice is negotiated in individual encounters rather than through uniform rules. Witches like Sherwood may have had tempestuous personalities but still acted as forces for good in their communities. Milk-stealing witches met their needs through magic, often because they had fallen through any social networks of support that were supposed to exist in their communities, and frequently paid an eventual price for their deeds at the hands of those they’d wronged. Some witches played a system, as in the case of Mont and Duck, and were tolerated by the community at least for a time. No one, it seems, in history or folklore, expects the witch to act in a morally “mainstream” manner, but to operate under her own code of right and wrong (and any shades of gray between).
Next time: Witches Have a Lot of Friends (You Just Can’t See Many of Them).
Thanks for reading!
The person who gave the Evil Eye was expected to be a person that could be confronted, negotiated with, a part of a community that operated by informal, unofficial, but very potent magical “rules” that could flex and adjust to particular circumstances.
Regardless of the reason for its discontinuation, it can be frustrating for those who rely on magic sizing for their laundry routine. It may require some experimentation with alternative products or methods to achieve the same desired effects. However, with the wide range of laundry products available on the market today, there are likely to be suitable alternatives that can be used to achieve similar results. In conclusion, the discontinuation of magic sizing may be due to a decline in consumer demand or business reasons. While it may be frustrating for those who relied on this product, there are likely to be other options available to achieve similar results in the laundry routine..
Reviews for "Magic Sizing Gone Wrong: The Product's Controversial Side"
1. Jane - 1 star
I was extremely disappointed when I found out that Magic Sizing has been discontinued. I have been using this product for years and it was always my go-to for keeping my clothes wrinkle-free. I have tried other brands since, but none of them even come close to the results I got with Magic Sizing. I really hope they bring this product back soon because I don't know how I will manage without it.
2. Mike - 2 stars
I used to use Magic Sizing regularly, but I found it to be a bit too heavy and sticky for my liking. It would leave a residue on my clothes and make them feel stiff. I also noticed that it would sometimes cause my clothes to attract more lint and dust. I understand that not everyone had the same experience, but personally, I was not a fan of Magic Sizing and I have switched to using other products that suit my preferences better.
3. Sarah - 1 star
I cannot believe they discontinued Magic Sizing! This was the only product that actually worked for me. I have tried other brands, but none of them can compare to the effectiveness of Magic Sizing. It was so easy to use and it always made my clothes look clean and fresh. Now I have to go through the hassle of finding a new product that can match the results of Magic Sizing. I am extremely disappointed.
4. John - 2 stars
I used to use Magic Sizing on my dress shirts, but I found that it would sometimes cause the fabric to become stiff and uncomfortable. It also had a strong chemical smell that would linger on my clothes. I have since switched to using a different brand that is more gentle on the fabric and doesn't have an overpowering scent. I can understand why some people liked Magic Sizing, but it just didn't work well for me.