
AMERICAN HORROR STORY AND RELIGION
Special Birth Theme
Season three of American Horror Story is subtitled Coven and focuses on a group of young witches as they search for their new leader. This leader, or the Supreme, is chosen out of all the descendants of the Salem witch trials and is predestinated, as only one witch from every generation will become the Supreme ("Witches/The Supreme"). This witch will become the Supreme when she displays all seven wonders, which means she possesses all seven of the powers witches may possibly have. When a new supreme begins to mature and display all seven gifts, the old or current supreme falls ill and begins to die. ("Witches/The Supreme").These gifts are Pyrokinesis, Descensum, Vitalum Vitalis, Divination, Transmutation, Concilium, and Telekinesis ("The Seven Wonders") At the beginning of season three, the Supreme is Fiona Good, the head witch at Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, a home in which young witches are being protected from those trying to harm them and where they learn their craft. Fiona is proven to be manipulative throughout the series, persuading others to get her way and in an effort to attain eternal life. Because of her selfish quest and her poor attitude towards the others, she does not try very hard to find out who the supreme is, as she wishes to stay in charge for as long as possible, but as she grows more ill, this becomes hard for her. In the finale episode,once Fiona has died, Cordelia, her daughter, is revealed to be the next supreme and therefore the leader and protector of the witches of her generation ("The Seven Wonders")


The Supreme is determined by special birth, which is a common theme in religion. The idea that someone's life is predestinated at birth and that a specific person has a specific purpose is also seen in figures such as Jesus Christ, the lord and saviour of Christians. In both cases, the chosen person would have the task of protecting a group of people who followed them and both had a marked destiny. Though they were chosen for very different tasks overall and on different scales of importance in comparison, the birth of the chosen person was extremely important to the group they were to lead. The special birth theme is very apparent in the concept of the Supreme and is a very obvious religious parallel.
Cordelia demonstrating The Seven Wonders and proving that she is the new Supreme.
The Seven Wonders