MYTH Busting: Witches

We are aiming to bust some of the more straightforward myths about witches:

Myth One: Witches ride broomsticks!

I wish we did! It would be so much easier for everyone if we could. Unfortunately we do not have the power of flight, and the whole idea has been overdone by the media - even enhancing it to a vacuum cleaner in some films and TV shows, although to be fair we have all wanted to be Mary from Hocus Pocus on the vacuum cleaner at one point or another in our lives!

The idea of a broomstick actually comes from a besom or broom that people would use to sweep out bad energy from their houses. It is also used nowadays to do the same thing, and couples wanting to be handfasted often jump over a broomstick to signify the end of their life as single entities, and the start of a new beginning as one. Nowadays, when people crack jokes about a broomstick - especially the one I have over my door frame from my handfasting - I kindly correct them then just say sarcastically “I had my flying licence revoked for flying while drunk”. It's something that people still don't understand and it's a shame.

Myth Two: Witches make spells in a big cauldron that they congregate around

This myth came around thanks to William Shakespeare and MacBeth. The image of three crones standing around a bubbling cauldron chanting “double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble”. Witches often do have small cauldrons but only because it makes a decent place to keep your ingredients when you are doing spellwork and can be a good place to make things like herbal teas etc. You may hover over your cauldron when you are uttering words which help to put your intent into your spellwork. But the image in MacBeth has terrified people for centuries, especially when they start listing the things that they will use!

Myth Three: Witches eat children!

If you are in your thirties like I am, you will remember being scared of Roald Dahl's book The Witches, and even more scared of the film with Anjelica Husten. It says that witches eat children and that you need to watch out for witches.

Unlike the myths, witches generally don't go out to hurt people or things. They are a nature-loving people who identify with the elements and do everything they can to not harm people. It may surprise you to find out that most witches are either vegetarian or vegan and are very conscientious when it comes to their choices and how those choices affect others and the environment. Most pagans and those on the path of witchcraft revere nature and as a result they aim to ethically source any crystals they use, only use things found in nature that are on the floor, and never take leaves off the trees or branches. They see them as being gifted by nature if they have been discarded by the tree.

If you have any myths that you have heard that you want us to bust then please get in touch and we shall add it to our list.