Navigating A Negative Witchcraft

As with everything else in life, the craft also has its own light and dark. There’s a million articles you can read about white vs black magic, but I want to take a look at a different duality of witchcraft: the duality of its reputation. Throughout history, the negative reputation witchcraft carries stems mostly from religious persecution, scapegoating, misconceptions, and a lot of misunderstandings. 

• RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION: historically Christianity viewed magic performed outside of the church as something to be feared, even associating it with working with the devil, and “reverse Christianity.” Various other religions share similar views of witchcraft, but Christianity is arguably the most notable. 
• SCAPEGOATING: historically witchcraft has been used to explain misfortunes such as illness, death, crop failure, and more. This has historically led to many people accusing community members of baneful witchcraft – the Salem Witch Trials are a good example. 
• MISCONCEPTIONS: the incorrect understands of things like “black magic” and the “dark arts” drives home the idea of devil worship, and evil practices. Misunderstandings of cultural practices also play a huge part in fueling the negative reputation of witchcraft. 

Satanic Panic & Witchcraft Hysteria 

In the not so distant past and even in present times, depictions of witchcraft are often shown in negative light. We see an overarching concept of witches in literature and media as the villain – Hansel and Gretel, the Wizard of Oz, Macbeth, Maleficent, The Little Mermaid, The Blair Witch Project, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc. Evil witches usually embody chaos, unchecked power, and often act as an archetypal villain to test and

challenge heroes with manipulation and “dark magic.” In the 80s and 90s we see this negative view of witchcraft hit a peak with the Satanic Panic. For those not familiar, the Satanic Panic was a widespread moral panic across the globe that was based on unsubstantiated rumors that organized Satanic cults were engaged in immoral ritualistic practices. This panic was widely fueled by media sensationalism and unreliable testimony, with consequences that mimic those of the Salem Witch Trials, and other historical witch trials and persecutions. It can be speculated that the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson had a hand in fueling these rumors – connecting immoral acts with demon possession and devil worship. 

 

Modern Witch Hunting 

Today, we are finding ourselves coming to another peak of evil witchcraft hysteria. While the persecution of witchcraft is no new concept, it is still a huge problem around the world. 

• Saudi Arabia – has an official Anti-Witchcraft Unit 
• Tanzania – over 600 elderly women were killed for witchcraft between 2011 and 2012 
• Gambia – former dictator Yahya Jamme had those he believed were witches tortured and killed, until he stepped down as dictator in 2017 
• Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Uganda, and India – mobs often burn those they deem are witches, going so far as to chase away local authorities if they try to intervene 
• Ghana – Akua Denteh was beaten to death after being accused of witchcraft in 2020 
• Democratic Republic of Congo – ostracizes those accused of witchcraft from communities, sometimes even subjecting them to torture and rape

While physically violent witch hunting is not as common in the US, the hysteria is still present. Modernized witch hunting now regularly includes digital witch hunting, which uses a metaphorical torch-bearing mob approach to destroy reputations and “cancel”

witchcraft practitioners. This isn’t just an act of speaking out against witchcraft, its weaponized cancel culture and pressure to silence. In fact, back in 2014, FOX News made multiple jabs at Wiccans, backing themselves with harmful stereotypes.

What complicates this further is the continued negative reputation of witchcraft. While older (even ancient) witchcraft practices may have included unethical or immoral practices, the majority of modern witchcraft does not. Witchcraft is not tied to one spiritual practice, and will mirror the spiritual morals of the person practicing it. It is far too easy to follow the pattern of scapegoating and blame witchcraft for misfortune, and lumping immoral practices as a commonality of witchcraft. The horrors we hear about in our world today have, and will be put on witchcraft. It is much too difficult to come to terms with the idea of people being capable of truly evil things without the driving force of something supernatural. In reality, people are fully capable – witchcraft or not.

Further Reading on Witch Hunts Today:

Warding Off Witch Hunting

Witch Hunts: A Global Problem In The 21st Century 

The Once and Future Witch Hunts

End Witch Hunts

Modern Witch Hunts in America

Witchcraft and Human Rights

Witchcraft Bias 

The misconceptions and scapegoating that surrounds witchcraft are often founded in biasness. 

• ABLEISM: In many countries, witchcraft is seen as the explanation for diseases like HIV/AIDS, and physical deformities – these ailments often seen as curses by someone untouched by the same ailments. 
• POVERTY: witchcraft associated with crop failure, natural disasters, and harsh weather, are directly related to countries and cultures where these things severely impact livelihood. Witches are also often portrayed as an impoverished old woman, living below her means and improvising to make ends meet. Many “witches” throughout time were women of medicine who used Eastern medicinal practices like herbal remedies, acupuncture, and meditation – using means and ingredients they could find for cheap or free from scavenging. The concept of evil witches living in the woods were tales to deter people (mostly women) from scavenging for these resources, and push consumerism in local markets. 
• AGEISM: portraying witches as poor ugly old women, often described as “hags” with physical marks associated with aging (wrinkles, warts, discolored skin, grey hair). 
• SEXISM: there’s a weird sexism that plays into the negative reputation of witchcraft. Often times female witches are depicted as evil villainous creatures, while male witches are depicted as wise sorcerers who aid heroes with wisdom and divination. In fact, the stories of King Arthur have both depictions: Merlin and Morgan le Fey. Yes, I am saying the negative reputation of witchcraft has ties to the patriarchy. 
• RACISM: we see this more clearly with neopagan witchcraft getting more spotlight. The concept of what is considered “light magic” vs “dark magic” not only alludes to racism in that description alone, but when people think of “light magic” they think of positive happy practices – often using Wicca as an example – with moral concepts that focus on putting out positivity, like the rule of 3, and are predominantly white practitioners. Whereas when “dark magic” is discussed, it is described as evil or ill-intent, even vengeful – often using Hoodoo/Voodoo as an example, which are predominantly practiced by BIPOC. Even common deities are commonly associated this way; soft, gentle, and beautiful deities are often associated with predominantly white practices, while aggressive, vengeful, or “angry” deities are often associated with predominantly BIPOC practices.

Combating Witch Hunt Hysteria 

 So how do we combat this negative reputation? There are many organizations who have

taken up this fight, but how do we as individuals handle it? 

• Education: educating the public on the history of witchcraft and witch hunts can help dismantle myths and misunderstandings. 
• Reclaiming/Redefining Witchcraft: modern witchcraft is shifting away from a negative and malicious stereotype, and moving towards a narrative of empowerment, healing, and connection to nature. Embracing “witch” as a source of personal and spiritual power, reduces its connotations of a negative label. 
• Ethical Role Models: while I would never tell a non-Wiccan to follow the rule of 3, you can still practice ethically and maintain a good moral compass, showing others a witchcraft that isn’t inherently evil. 
• Normalization: social media visibility has drastically helped normalize witchcraft practices, and allowed more open discussions about it. It allows visibility into the self-reflection and growth part of witchcraft without it being shadowed completely by spellwork. 
• Transparency: being transparent about mundane or spiritual tools and practices helps break down fears and quiet misconceptions. It also allows for knowledge growth into cultural practices that many would otherwise never learn. This transparency will also distinguish between actual witchcraft, and fictional (sometimes also over glamourized) witchcraft. 

When we shift the narrative of witchcraft away from a villainous archetype, and instead highlight the modern practices, we can change the way we are perceived.