Witch Way - Witch Week, Day 1

What would Halloween be without witches? The Hollywood evolution of the witch has made them ugly, glamorous, sexy, and just downright intriguing. It’s no wonder that witches are the number one costume on October 31st.

What I find interesting is that over the course of the last century perceptions of witches changed drastically thanks in large part to the romanticizing of them through literature and media. European “witches” were still being executed well into the 18th century and witch hunts still exist today in remote areas. For hundreds of years, fear, ignorance, religious fanaticism and conflict have led to the murder of about 50,000 to several million people.*

Thanks to the shift in public opinion, today’s witches—many of whom prefer to be called Wiccans—enjoy religious protection by some governments.

Why would governments protect these “evil” people? They’ve fought a long uphill battle to show their practices, though not mainstream, are not about boiling bat’s blood, collecting eye of newt, and killing children to keep them young and beautiful. One prevalent misconception is that witches are Satanists. These are two separate “faiths” of sorts with witches living harmoniously in nature with a pagan pantheon while satanic worshippers reject God and His rules and take a more hedonistic approach to the here and now.

Today’s Wiccans try to live at one with nature using herbs and plants in conjunction with the moon’s phases and four seasons. True Wiccans abide by one main tenet: Harm None. Their belief in a Karma driven system of sorts means that whatever you put out into the world via your words and actions will come back to you.

Did evil witches ever exist? Probably. If stories from around the world are to be believed, then, yes, there were women and men who killed and tortured others for their gain. Are there any misguided witches today? Most likely. Just as there are good and bad people of any faith, so too there are ones practicing some alternate form of Wicca.

As we enter the witches’ high “holy” season to celebrate the end of the harvest and cycle of life (winter leads to spring planting which leads to summer growth and the fall harvest), remember there’s more to witches than their Harry Potter incarnations. Real witches may not be able to fly, but their very real hocus pocus honors their ancestors and celebrates the beauty and purpose of each season.

* Worldwide documentation varies on the exact figure as many more people died in prison awaiting trials than those who were actually executed and oftentimes, executions in remote areas weren't documented at all.