Witches are NOT Satanic...and More Common Misconceptions About Witches!
[ The Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus ]
It’s Halloween time, a time in which TV channels only broadcast horror movies, grocery stores bump up their candy prices, and people dress up as whatever grew to be popular that year ( ex. there may be several Wonder Women out there trick-or-treating this year ). Halloween, everybody.
With the Halloween season comes a heightened usage of the well-known Halloween monsters, such as vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, and of course, witches. If the image of a hideous, green woman cackling over a cauldron came to mind, then you might be simply another brainwashed cog in the pop culture machine. Due to their portrayal in media and how they are popularly viewed, witches have been given a bad rap. Little would one know that with just a bit of research, all the stereotypes they knew about witches would be quickly torn to shreds. Here is a list debunking some of the common misconceptions about witches.
1. Witches Are Satanic
Let’s take a moment to dissect this statement. “Witches” are people who practice witchcraft. “Satanic” refers to something that is related to Satanism, which is a religion. Unlike most people are lead to believe, witches do not follow any particular religion*. Witchcraft on its own is a practice, not a religion. There is a huge difference between those two things. You can be Christian but not practice going to church every single Sunday. Likewise, a person can be a witch and not necessarily follow a specific belief system. However, many witches do like to incorporate a religion into their practice. Two of the most common religions witches use are Wicca and Paganism. Of course, that doesn’t mean witches can use other religions if they wish.
( *Although some of the belief systems mentioned here are not technically religions and are in fact more broad than that, the term “religion” is being used to refine the subject and to save time explaining extra information. )
2. Witches Sell Their Soul To The Devil
[ The Devil from the videogame Cuphead ]
As previously established, witches do not follow any particular religion. The Devil is an entity mainly pertinent to Christianity, which is a religion. Due to this, most witches don’t even acknowledge the Devil as a real entity at all. To witches, choosing to begin such a practice is more of a personal and spiritual decision. In reality, there are not any huge initiation rituals one would have to go through in order to become a witch. The first step is literally choosing to become one.
3. Pentagrams Are Satanic
You see them in movies, TV shows, videogames - you name it! Similar to witchcraft, the popular usage of pentagrams in pop culture have lead them to be viewed as Satanic. But after some research, one would be surprised that the pentagram actually originates from early Christianity. According to Exemplore,
“Early Christians into the middle ages used the pentagram heavily as a symbol for Christ’s five wounds. The star of Bethlehem that lead the wise men to the baby Jesus was believed to be the pentagram. In Authorial legends, you’ll often see the symbol of the Pentagram inscribed on knight’s shields and other things—these were actually Christian, not Pagan, references. Christians thought of the pentagram as a protective amulet, and it was the primary symbol of Christianity back then, even more common than the cross.”
In terms of how the pentagram is used in witchcraft, the five points represent five elements. The uppermost represents the element of spirit and the other four points represent earth, air, fire and water.
If one was looking for an actual evil pentagram ( not that Satanism and evil are synonymous in any sense ), look no further than the inverted pentagram.
4. Witches Are Evil
Often in various movies and stories, witches are made out to be these frightening villains whose main goals are to bring harm to everyone they encounter. This is not true for actual witches. For a long time, there was a huge debate about the official definition of what it meant to be a witch. After much discussion, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke put together such a definition, which was made up of 13 points. It included the following statement,
“We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as ‘Satan’ or ‘the Devil’ as defined by Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.”
Unlike people would like you to believe, evil is not a common part of witchcraft. Far from it, actually. Remember, witchcraft is a practice. Think of it like yoga, but with herbalism and astrology. Many witches follow such a path as a means of spiritual or self healing. There are several witches who use their practice for good; to help, heal and protect others. Then again, it is the witch’s choice of whether they want to incorporate evil intentions in their magick. That being said, while the concept of evil is not synonymous with witchcraft, there is still the possibility of it being used for such purposes.
5. The Only Form of Witchcraft is Black Magic
By definition, black magic is, “magic involving the supposed invocation of evil spirits for evil purposes.” While there is the population of witches that choose to practice black magic, the majority of them actually don’t. However, there are far more forms of witchcraft than what it is stereotypically associated with. A few of them are listed below.
Solitary Witch - A witch who practices alone, without a coven.
Eclectic Witch - A witch who incorporates tidbits of several different practices into their own.
Secular Witch - A witch who does not incorporate any particular religion into their practice.
Christian Witch - A witch whose practice centers around focusing/honoring a single deity, which is the Christian God.
Science Witch - A witch who incorporates science into their practice.
Green Witch - A witch who utilizes any sort of greenery/herbs/plants/flowers in their practice.
Crystal Witch - A witch who utilizes the different properties of stones and crystals in their practice for healing.
Elemental Witch - A witch who incorporates the four elements into their practice.
Lunar Witch - A witch who utilizes the phases of the moon.
Of course, these are only SOME of the kinds of witches out there. There are even tech and music witches!
6. Witches Don’t Exist
[ Credit to debbie-sketch on Tumblr ]
Au contraire! Many people may think that witchcraft stopped at the Salem Witch Trials. But lo and behold, there are still plenty of witches still practicing in the world today. Whether they follow traditional witchcraft or more modern practices.
7. Only Some People Can Be Witches
[ Credit to debbie-sketch on Tumblr ]
There has never been anything more false than the above claim. Society has lead people to believe that being a witch is exclusive to women. But that is not true! Anyone could be a witch. Woman or man, atheist or Christian, young or old - the list goes on! It all starts with the decision to become one.
Hopefully this list has been able to change your perspective on witches. You’ll be looking at them differently the next time you watch a witchy movie. Anyways, Happy Halloween!
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