“I’ll get you my pretty… and your little dog too!” (Langley) This one line conjures the common stereotype of a witch in our culture with all the attached negative connotations and fits the primary definition of a witch found in most dictionaries, “One that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially: a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of Satan.” If one looks into the etymology of the word, it is confusing at best; however, witch seems to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words wicca (masculine) and wicce (feminine) with meanings of sorcerer or sorceress. A more precise, modern definition of the word would be an ethical person who practices witchcraft -- a non-mainstream (minority), pre-Christian religion -- that teaches the use of “supernatural powers” and ethics using occult (secret, hidden) knowledge of the arts of divination, healing, and herbalism. First, we will explore the “supernatural powers” concept.  Then we will examine the ethics of witches.  Finally, we will look at one of the largest myths about witches: Witches worship Satan.

     What are supernatural powers as they relate to witches?  Supernatural to most people means anything that is unexplainable by science and the known natural laws; this would include the arts of divination and healing. This means that scientists have not found ways to detect the forces at work and to quantify them. Magnetism -- considered a supernatural force at one time -- is now a partially understood through study of its influence. Science is just beginning to study the effects of thought, prayer being the most common type of thoughts under study, on healing rates of patients. If thoughts can help healing, they can also cause harm.

     What stops witches from intentionally harming other people?  Ethics guide people’s behavior to try not to harm others. There are many guides to living an ethical life: The Golden Rule, The Ten Commandments, and “An’ Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Wilt.”  Let us take a closer look at the last one because of its archaic form, a modern version would read like this “You harm none, do what you will.” At first glance, this seems to give permission to do anything you want to, but notice the “Harm None” phrase. This means a witch is personally responsible for the results of their actions and cannot intentionally harm anyone -- not someone you hate, not a total stranger, not even themselves. Considering the discussion about thoughts, take a moment and contemplate how restrictive this actually is. Living to this code, a witch must consider the effects of every decision they make and the influences on everyone connected to the choice. Intentionally choosing to do harm is a dark or evil act with the potential to incur the wrath of the Divine as perceived by the witch.  Most witches work with deities of one or more pantheons -- ethnic, historical groups of divine or godly beings (i.e. Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Hera of Greek mythology) -- as examples of ethical behavior and right action and feel that they have to answer to these deities.

     What about the claim that witches worship Satan? This question is a result of the fact that Christianity is the dominant religion in the Western World; therefore, their viewpoint tends to end up in the dictionary.  Satan is a part of Christian mythology, and is not part of the mythologies that witches follow as a template for the divine.  A witch is most likely working with the Deities of the Roman, Greek, or Celtic pantheons with all the associated myths; however, these pantheons are not the only ones selected. This raises the clear question: how can a person worship a being that is not part of their pantheon? Do Christians worship Loki, Hermes, or Mercury?  No, they are not part of Christian Mythology and it is the same for witches.

     With our exploration of a more modern definition of the word witch, we have found that supernatural powers are most likely unexplained natural forces, that they have a strong ethical code to live up to, and that they do not worship Satan. The image of the Wicked Witch of the West is an example of a stereotype that does not accurately reflect who and what witches are. Unfortunately, perpetuation of this stereotype is by both inertia and, in some cases, active promotion by some sects of Christianity. Keep this information in mind, as there are more witches in this country than most people realize: at work, at the gym, or in college. Remember, perpetuating stereotypes against witches is just as insulting and harmful to the witch as it is to other minorities.

 

 

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