Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
The Fear of Witchcraft

The Fear of Witchcraft

Last updated on: September 20, 2026 at 3:00 am by John Beckett

0 Comments

The Fear of Witchcraft 2026-09-19T06:23:37-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Maybe the Halloween silly season is starting early this year. Maybe it’s the publicity around Practical Magic 2. Or maybe I’ve just got too many conservatives in my Twitter feed.

But maybe it’s a sign of something more serious.

In any case, I’m seeing a lot of hand-wringing and pearl-clutching from certain kinds of Christians concerning witchcraft.

They’re afraid of it.

And even when they say they’re not personally afraid (I suspect their insistence that “my God is bigger than your God” is more whistling past the graveyard than actual faith) they’re afraid of the influence witchcraft and Paganism are having on society as a whole.

I have friends who’ve been warning me about this for some time – people I respect, not conspiracy theorists. Maybe they were more right than I thought. Maybe I’m the one who’s been whistling past the graveyard.

In any case, I think this is worth exploring in more depth.

The fear of witchcraft runs deep

A not-so-old joke says “if someone tells you they don’t believe in witchcraft, ask them for a lock of their hair.” The Enlightenment is only a couple hundred years old and it has not overwritten millions of years of biological evolution and thousands of years of social evolution. There is something deep inside us that whispers “magic is real.”

And if magic is real, then the possibility exists that someone will use magic against you, or against the social and political structures that favor you at the expense of others.

There are still places where people are killed for suspicion of witchcraft, sometimes with the blessings of the government.

Should you be afraid of witchcraft? The vast majority of witches – especially skilled witches – are like bears. Leave them alone and everything will be fine. Harass them and things may not go so well for you. This is an easy thing for people of all religions and of no religion who respect the right of everyone to live their lives their way.

It’s a hard thing for those who insist that everyone must live by their religion and their culture.

The fear of witchcraft and the fear of The Other are very closely related. The cure for both is education, compassion, and a good dose of mind-your-own-business.

Fear sells

It’s one thing to be afraid. It’s another thing to be told you should be afraid.

And it’s a very dangerous thing to be told you should be afraid of “those people.”

It’s also a very effective thing. You convince people they should be afraid and then you tell them that you and only you can protect them. Negative political campaigning is so prevalent because it’s effective. Fear sells. Hate sells.

The current administration tells us we should be afraid of immigrants and Muslims. The Republican candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner is afraid of Indians. And there are those who insist that Pagans and witches are a threat.

I wish we were the threat they think we are. The truth is that while a few Pagans and witches are spiritually strong and magically effective, most of us are disorganized and more interested in insuring that no one tells us what to do than we are in exercising real power, whether social, political, or magical.

But to them, any witch is a threat – if not to them personally then to the socio-political structures they prefer.

The culture war is still very undecided

At least half the Republican campaign ads I see here in Texas have some sort of anti-trans angle to them. The war in Iran has no end in sight, diesel is at an all-time high, interest rates are so high most people can’t afford to buy a house (and I’m going to need to sell one in a couple months), but what’s really important is shutting down the handful of trans girls who want to play volleyball.

I’ll be honest. I thought the culture war was all but over in 2015. Marriage equality was finally a reality and progress toward full social equality for all was going to continue.

I was wrong.

Christian nationalists have infiltrated all levels of government, including the top levels. They aren’t content to live and let live. They won’t be satisfied until their version of Christianity is the law of the land.

They told us what they were going to do and we ignored them. And now they’re implementing their plans.

There is a significant portion of the American population who wants to return to 1950. Or 1890. Or 1857. A Republican candidate for Tennessee governor called for outlawing “pagan religions” despite the clear language of the First Amendment. He still got 23% of the vote.

These people may not be afraid of witchcraft (though I suspect most are), but they don’t want witchcraft to exist in “their” country. They will go as far as they’re allowed to go. In the words of 19th century German poet Heinrich Heine “where they burn books, they will end in burning people.” He hasn’t been right every time, but he’s been right too many times.

We cannot be spectators in the culture wars. To quote fictional witch Fiona Goode from American Horror Story – Coven: “when witches don’t fight, we burn.”

There is a spiritual war

There are some witches and Pagans who cringe every time “spiritual warfare” is mentioned. They want to leave that to the Evangelicals and the Catholics.

I disagree.

Magic is real, and it’s more than psychology. And those who mean us harm are using it, even if they wouldn’t call it that.

We live in a world filled with spirits, some of whom are our allies and some of whom are our enemies, and many of whom don’t care about us one way or another. Humans are one part of Nature, not the head and not the center.

There is an Otherworld, and it more closely resembles the Welsh Annwn than our popular idea of the Wiccan Summerlands. It is not a place of perfection and peace. Like this world it is a place of conflict and struggle.

There’s a war going on over there. And it’s spilling over into this world.

This is not a battle between “good” and “evil” or between “light” and “dark.” It’s a war with many sides with many objectives. Alliances are always tentative and today’s allies may become tomorrow’s enemies.

And alliances remain essential, especially for small groups… like Pagans and witches.

Those who are afraid of witches (and Muslims, and Jews, and Hindus, and liberals, and women, and LGBTQ people, and every other group that isn’t exactly like them) are fighting to win. If we ignore them we will end up like Belgium, who proclaimed their neutrality and then was promptly overrun in both 1914 and 1939.

Don’t let “harm none” make you harmless

People have always been afraid of witches and witchcraft. That fear diminished in the West in my lifetime, but now it’s growing again.

So what do we do?

The first thing we do is that we don’t concede defeat. By all means, take care of yourself. If you have to be in the “broom closet” for your personal safety, so be it. Live to fight another day. But to the extent you can be out and visible, do it.

Witches and Pagans have ethics and we should maintain them – those who claim ethics only come from the Christian God are factually wrong. But don’t think that quoting the Wiccan Rede will have any impact on those who are trying to eliminate any and all religion and spirituality that isn’t their own.

Just as importantly, don’t let your ethics move you from “harm none” to “harmless.”

Sometimes you have to punch a bully in the face. Sometimes you have to throw a curse.

Level up

Start with your regular spiritual practice – whatever it is you do on a daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal basis that keeps you connected to your Gods and ancestors, your community, your highest values and virtues, and your magic. For me that’s daily prayers, weekly offerings and meditations, monthly magical workings, and seasonal celebrations. You don’t have to follow my plan. Do what works best for you – just do something regularly.

Build your skills. If you only do magic “whenever you have need of anything” you may go weeks and months without practicing. And then when you have a deep need, your skills will be rusty. Practice regularly. Despite the current complications, we are still living in a magical golden age. Take advantage of the resources you have that your ancestors could only dream about.

Build alliances. Build strong, respectful, reciprocal relationships with your Gods and other spiritual allies. Build good relationships with your fellow Pagans. Build good relationships with your neighbors who aren’t witches or Pagans but who share your values and your belief that everyone has the right to live as they see fit.

Pay attention to what’s going on. Obsessing about the news is a recipe for depression, but ignoring the news is a recipe for walking into a storm without rain gear. The same is true for what’s going on in the Otherworld and between the worlds. Meditate. Do divination. Pay attention to the astrological conditions. Talk to others who do the same. And then use the information you get to figure out the best way for you to respond.

And when you respond, you will learn that you are not alone. There are more witches, Pagans, Druids, Heathens, and other like-minded people than you thought. The Gods and ancestors aren’t hidden in Otherworldly cloisters – they’re here with us… or at least, in that in-between place both they and we can access.

We can’t make small-minded and mean-spirited people’s fear of witches and witchcraft go away. But together we can take care of ourselves, take care of each other, and in doing so make their fear irrelevant to us.

While we work to build a world where no one needs to be afraid.

Previous Post

September 14, 2026

Bo French Doesn’t Understand Texas

Next Post

September 29, 2026 I Think I’ve Been Hexed

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"If you have access to Facebook you might find my analysis of the Trump movement ..."

Gus diZerega

Paganism In An Era Of Christian ..."

"Halloween is so popular because of about 5% pagan influence, and 95% because horror and ..."

Jordan Moller

Why Halloween Is So Popular – ..."

"A great post! Point 3 has always held interest for me, as it makes a ..."

FCVan

Why Halloween Is So Popular – ..."

"Absolutely marvelous John!"

Panmankey

The Pillar of the Boatmen: the ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What island was John on when he wrote Revelation?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Patmos Crete Malta Cyprus