Practicing Witchcraft in Canada

[lightcastle]

It isn't actually against the law.

It is, however, against the law to *pretend* to practice witchcraft.

Under Part IX, section 365 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

"Every one who fraudulently
(a) pretends to exercise or to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration,
(b) undertakes, for a consideration, to tell fortunes, or
(c) pretends from his skill in or knowledge of an occult or crafty science to discover where or in what manner anything that is supposed to have been stolen or lost may be found,
is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction."


I like the phrase "crafty science".

So you can't pretend to any of these things in order to tell fortunes or to find things that have been lost or stolen.

Charms and hexes seem to be legal according to Canadian Law.

Comments

[feste_sylvain]

However, this law (which appears to be aimed at carnival gypsies) would ban me from reading Tarot for people ("for a consideration", i.e. for money).

[lightcastle]

If it was applied, yes.

Which is why you claim to do it for "entertainment purposes only".

But you are correct, it is technically against the law to tell fortunes in Canada, regardless of method. (Unless a and b are linked in some way, in which case as long as you aren't pretending to do any of those things to tell fortunes you are in the clear.)