Fans have been quick to praise the show for its progressive storylines, which often place contemporary social issues at the heart of the action. From gender power imbalance to LGBTQ+ representation, CAOS has it all and then some.
But another key aspect of the show - which has been the source of some controversy - is the spotlight that it shines on non-traditional religious practices.
The portrayal of magic and witchery in CAOS leans very heavily on Satanism, but season three has also introduced a new belief system - Paganism.
"The Pagans" are brought into the show as new villains for Sabrina and Co. to war against, first revealing themselves during a hare moon celebration held by Sabrina's coven.
The pastoral ritual has its roots in ancient Pagan traditions, but the Pagans in this episode are far from impressed.
The Pagan witches oppose Sabrina's Satanic coven because, according to CAOS, they worship Pagan deities - "the Old Gods" - whereas Sabrina's coven arose with the later religion of Christianity and its correlative Satanism. The Pagans feel that they have been forced out of their rightful place - their leader claims that "we were here first" - and are therefore reluctant to give way to the Satanic coven.
In the real world, people often conflate non-traditional belief systems such as Paganism, Satanism, and the Neo-Pagan practice of Wicca, so many fans of CAOS have praised the way that the story differentiates between these branches of witchcraft.
But what is the intriguing hare moon ceremony, and what are its real-life Pagan origins? We have everything you need to know...
What is a hare moon?
The hare moon is a Pagan symbol which originated in Medieval England.
Whereas many cultures nowadays refer to the "man on the moon", a few centuries ago the image of a hare was in fact more commonplace - hence the name "hare moon".
The hare is a symbol of regeneration, fertility, and magic in many ancient cultures. Pagans in particular held the belief that the hare moon was a promise of growth, re-birth, and new beginnings - likely due to the hare's associations with high reproductive rates.
This imagery was later adopted by various religions. In fact, the "Three Hares" design can be found in a wide range of locations - from cathedrals in Britain, to Buddhist caves in China, and synagogues in Poland.
How does it feature in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina?
The hare moon's promise of regeneration explains its role in CAOS, as Sabrina's coven utilise the celebration to strengthen their waning powers.
They originally plan to drink "celestial blood" in order to restore their magic, but when they find that there isn't enough blood to go round, Hilda suggests applying it to their skin and bathing in the light of the hare moon instead.
Despite the Pagans' attempts to thwart the coven's plan, the magic of the hare moon proves successful, and the Spellmans' powers are restored.
What other rituals has the Netflix show portrayed?
This isn't the first time that the show has incorporated genuine rituals from folklore. Despite being a dark comedy, CAOS is often very thorough in its research, and draws many of its storylines from real-world history.
In the case of Paganism, Lisa Soper - the show's production designer - is actually a practicing Pagan. She has explained that even minute details - such as spells carved over doorways on set - are grounded in genuine mythology.
“All the writers and myself are very sticklery on the Pagan rituals”, she said, adding that most details were drawn from “actual history.”
In part 2, for example, The Academy celebrates Lupercalia. In CAOS, this ancient holiday is meant to bring Sabrina and her potential love interest, Nicholas Scratch, closer together.
In reality, Lupercalia was a Pagan festival that first appeared as early the sixth century B. C. E.. It was celebrated around the same time of year as Valentine's Day, but was far bloodier than its more romantic counterpart.
The festival involved random coupling and animal sacrifices, and was designed to appease the fertility god of Rome - Lupercus. Each man would randomly draw a woman's name from a jar, and they would be paired together for the remainder of the celebrations.
Netflix
Other rituals featured in CAOS have been less grounded in reality, and this is where the show has attracted criticism. Genuine followers of ideologies such as Satanism and Paganism suggest that the show paints them in a bad light, and exaggerates their practices for entertainment value.
Elsewhere in season 3, for instance, the Greendale Pagans sacrifice a "virgin" in a ritual called "implantation" - essentially a very dark form of sacrifice in which someone is killed after being penetrated by vines. The ritual is not based on any actual Pagan history, and has contributed to the show's history of bad press.
Still, CAOS is certainly a unique offering from Netflix, and has consistently proven successful if at times also controversial.
We'll just have to wait and see what season four has in store for us.
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