Debunking the misjudgment of Paganism, Wicca and Witchcraft
Posted on August 16, 2013 at 6:40 PM
Written by Raven Sagemoon

Educating the truth to the lies

1. The biggest misunderstanding of Witchcraft is that we're evil. First and foremost, we're not evil. We uphold many sacred laws in our craft. The largest one is not harming others. While not all Witches are Wiccan, a major belief in many is the law to not hurt others with our craft. Magick is sacred and roots in nature, spirits, the universe and with-in us. There is no evil in our craft.
2. The next biggest, which might just be the biggest misunderstanding of Witchcraft, Paganism and Wicca is that we worship "Satan" or get our gifts from "Satan". First off, Satan is a Christian belief, we're not Christians. Our gifts comes from the earth, universe, ancestors and the spirits. We do not get our gifts or knowledge from "Satan" or any demon for that matter. Second, we do not worship Satan. As I said above, Satan is a Christian belief, Paganism is not Christian, but Christianity sure does enjoy our practices (Christmas/Yule, Easter/Ostara, Altars, Baptism/Paganing/Wiccaning). We worship nature, the spirits, the ancient Gods and Goddesses. There is no devil in the craft.
3. Witches curse people and practice black magic!!!!! No, another lie that I am so happy to debunk. We do not curse people at random, nor do we practice black magick. Now, this is not saying we cannot do so or some out there do enjoy more darker approach to Witchcraft. But generally a Witch isn't going to curse you just for the fun of it. We avoid harming people. Secondly, black magick is soooo 1600's propaganda. True magick is not black nor white. It is the intent of the caster that makes the magick good or baneful.
4. All witches wear black and sacrifice the neighbors dog! Again, No, No, No! We do love black, although our religion or craft is not a clothing trend. Witches, Wiccans and Pagans can wear anything they want. We do not have a "proper clothing policy". And to just debunk this now, black does not symbolize evil. Black absorbs energy, thus many of our ritual robes are black. But that depends on the witch/wiccan/pagan. And come on! We do not kill living beings, that is very much so against our creed. And hello, our Gods represent many of the animals on earth, why would we sacrifice them? All living beings are sacred and are apart of Mother Earth (Goddess) and we do not promote violence towards any being. Now this doesn't mean you cannot hunt deer for food or such. As that is balance in nature, but we do not use animals to harm in magick or any practice of our religion or craft.
5. Aren't all Witches Wiccan? Nope. Wicca is a religion, centered on ancient pagan earth worship and Gods and Goddesses from many Pagan religions. Sure, Wicca does have many symbols that are Witchcraft related, but to be a Wiccan you do not have to be a Witch (Most Wiccans I have met are Witches, but I know some that aren't). The same goes for Pagans, not every Pagan practices witchcraft.
6. Well Pagans are all Wiccans, right? Nope again! A great way to put this is "Not all Pagans are Wiccan, but all Wiccans are Pagan." Paganism is an umbrella term for many ancient pre-Christian religions, such as: Hellenism, Kemetism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Roman Paganism, Astaru and much more. The general term meaning of Pagan is Heathen, meaning Non-Christian, Judaism or Muslim.
7. Witches can throw fire balls and transform into creatures, like on TV, right? No, we are not Hollywood. We're real people, who happen to be Witches. Our craft is not about conjuring magickal fire balls and turning into creatures and fighting demons like on Charmed. We work with the energy all around us, in science the matter that is around you is electrical, thus giving off powerful energy. We tap into that energy to make positive change, some may use it for more personal gain. But that is one thing, this Witch and many others do not do.


Okay, now that is a general debunking overview. So here is some more knowledge for you (based on yes/no answers/questions)

1. Do you summon the dead?
No. Although there are forms of Witchcraft called Necromancy, but summoning and meddling with the dead is frowned upon. It is one thing to commune with the spirits, but it is another to meddle.
2. Do you hex people who are mean to you?
No. Wicca for one teaches "An ye harm none, do what thou will". Paganism generally states to not harm others, unless ye be harmed. We have the right to defend ourselves. But we shouldn't use magick to just attack innocent people.
3. Do you hate Christians?
No. We do not generally hate Christians (I cannot speak for everyone though). We do however dislike the fact of anyone saying their path is the only path or threatening others because of fear and ignorance. But we're generally peaceful and do not randomly hate someone for their religion.
4. Are Witches like obsessed with Halloween?
Not obsessed, but by Goddess we love Halloween/Samhain. Samhain is one of the greater Sabbats, a day we celebrate the spirit world and the dead. It is the end of the Witches calender and the beginning starts on Yule.
5. Do you summon demons?
No! We do not summon baneful beings. That is not with-in our law or our craft.
6. Do you work with Satan or any devils?
As said above, no. We do not believe in Satan. As Satan is a Christian belief, we're not Christians.
7. Do Witches have like familiars and black cats?
Yes, we do have our furry or feathery or maybe lizard-ie friends/familiars. Not all witches have black cats, but we do have our familiars that aids us in our craft.
8. Do you believe you will burn in hell?
No, we do not believe in the concept of hell. Hell is another Christian ideal, we do believe in the Underworld.. But that is not a place of torment or where people go if they're bad. Most of us believe in the Summerlands, where the spirits reside, or Spirit World. No hell is in our volcabulary!


Now, I do hope this helps you to better understand us as a community. Pagans, Wiccans and Witches. We're not the enemy, we're not evil, we're not devil worshippers. We're peaceful, earth loving, magick loving people who heal our planet and protect those we love.

May the Goddess and the God forever protect, bless and shine upon you.

Shared with kind permission from

Raven Sagemoon

Nice :)
Wicca hasn't been around for that long, it was invented in the 50s by Gardner.
Witchcraft is much much older ...
Many wiccans are in a coven (group) where they are taught by a High-priest and High-priestess. Covens can have their own rules and regulations. I've met someone who wasn't allowed to wear symbols, as in jewelry.
Witches aren't part of a coven, work on their own, although they can get together with others for certain rituals or celebrations.

Sometimes I find it difficult to derive the original story behind a ritual or lore, as so much of it got tainted by church. So many rituals, events, celebrations were 100% pure, but lore is riddled with Christian influence about evil spirits, the devil and so on.

Then again, everything is in Divine order, so the tainting of ancient ritual and lore must also be in Divine order. Maybe we have to re-assess and let go of old obsolete ways. After all, the energy world isn't stagnant, we have to go with the flow, work with the energies of today, which are substantially different.
What each individual is capable of, is different. We don't need a priest, shaman, witch anymore, we all have our gifts and abilities.
Maybe it's simply time to write a new book, take from the past what is still valid, dump the obsolete, add the new.
This for me was the reason why I closed my Book of Shadows on witchcraft. I'm a Light-worker, an energy-worker. Many similarities to a shaman, a witch and so on. But it's more contemporary.

Hello paganpoet. Merry we meet.

I totally agree. Wicca is such a misunderstood religion. From my observations in other parts of the world its much more accepted then it is here in the US. Its ridiculous how we are treated just because of what we practice. If people would educate themselves it wouldn't be a problem but they don't.

I wish things were different but what can you do?

I hope your post brings some understand to others

Blessed be

Nice to see some conversations happening in here.

ok now for a lil debunking of my own
1 Gardener along with sanders only started what can be referred to as neo wicca

2 there are more solitary practitioners than coven members

Dark Gray Wanderer