The thought of witches and witchcraft conjures up familiar images such as wart-nosed hags and boiling cauldrons, black cats and midnight flights on broom-sticks. These popular images have shaped our understanding, or more accurately, misunderstanding of what witches really are.

Witchcraft has been broadly defined as the practice or use of magic or mystical powers in casting spells and summoning spirits. This spell-casting and spirit-conjuring is for the sole purpose of manipulating the elements, and the dead, in order to bring about either good or evil. Where the misconceptions come into play is when witchcraft is seen solely as a tool of the devil, or a diabolical conspiracy against Christianity. Witches, and the magic they practice, can be either good or evil. “White witches” who practice “white magic” are individuals, either female or male, who seek to use their craft for the benefit of others. This form of witchcraft is known as the “right-hand path”. Witches who practice “black magic”, magic intended to manipulate or harm others, are known as “black witches”, and their magic follows the “left-hand path”.

Our limited understanding of witchcraft typically does not go any further back in history than the Salem witch trials of the late 17th century. However witchcraft, in one form or another, has its roots in ancient civilizations. Shamanism, dating back to prehistoric times, is in essence the earliest form of witchcraft. Cave drawings from the Paleolithic period depict shamans, or medicine men, dressed in animal skins and engaged in ritual dances. These rituals were intended to bring about certain events, such as fertility, hunting success, good crops, etc. These ancient “witches” were seeking to manipulate the elements to bring about a favorable outcome. The ancient Sumerians and Babylonians believed that the world was full of spirits, most of which were evil. The only way to protect yourself from these spirits was by the use of amulets and magic spells. These beliefs would be adopted by the ancient Egyptians. It was believed that the high priests of ancient Egypt held magical powers and were able to cast spells. The Egyptians had an elaborate belief system concerning the after-life. The use of rituals and spells were used in order to ensure safe passage into the after-life.

Witchcraft, as we know it today, can be traced back to around 700 B.C. with the Celts of northern Europe. From these highly spiritual nomadic tribes would emerge a priestly class known as the Druids. They believed in a “divine creator” that was evidenced in nature. Amongst their beliefs was the veneration of trees. This so-called nature worship would lead to what is today known as paganism. Those who practiced this nature-based worship would later be seen as heretics by the Christian Church.

Medieval Europe would see a resurgence in sorcery and the use of magic. In an attempt to keep believers from being distracted by these “darker” practices, Christian methodology would mirror them by the use of holy relics and the veneration of saints. In the 5th century A.D.,  St. Augustine of Hippo would claim that all pagan magic was of the devil, and that it was a means of luring people away from the Church. Even though witchcraft at this time was condemned, it was also deemed to be essentially ineffective—a mere distraction—and therefore the Church, at that time, felt no need to concern itself with witches. All of that would change with the Medieval Inquisitions of the 12th and 13th centuries.

The Medieval Inquisitions were initiated by the Catholic Church in response to several growing religious movements thought to be heretical to Christianity. Any individual thought to be practicing witchcraft, and thereby consorting with the devil, was tried and ultimately put to death. Perhaps the most famous of these trials would be that of Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl, who while claiming divine guidance, led the French troops to numerous victories against their British enemies during the Hundred Years War. Captured and tried for witchcraft, mainly because she dressed in male clothing, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake when she was just nineteen years old. Interestingly, twenty-five years after her execution Pope Callixtus III would re-examine the trial of Joan of Arc and pronounce her innocence. This so-called “witch” was now seen as a martyr to her country. In fact, in 1920 she would be canonized as Saint Joan of Arc, one of the patron saints of France.

During the 15th century A.D. witchcraft trials would erupt across Europe. Torture would be inflicted on heretics suspected of witchcraft. Under this grueling torture, defendants suspected to be witches would confess to things such as flying on poles (broomsticks), communing with Satan, casting spells, and engaging in sexual relations with animals.

In 1484 A.D., under Pope Innocent VIII,  the Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches) would be published. Essentially a witch-hunt manual, the Malleus would be used for the next three hundred years to hunt down and persecute hundreds of thousands of suspected witches. As a result of the procedures outlined in the Malleus Maleficarum, thousands of people would be judicially put to death; sometimes for nothing more than bearing an odd birthmark, or growing certain herbs in their garden. There really didn’t need to be proof at all for a person to be convicted of witchcraft, someone just had to testify that they “suspected” the individual to be a witch. The vast majority of witch trials were no more than common hearsay.

The witch hunt frenzy would not be limited to Europe. In 1692 in the sleepy little town of Salem Massachusetts, the most famous of all witch trials would leave twenty people dead and several more imprisoned for what was suspected to be witchcraft. Ironically this historical witch hunt would begin with the sickness of two local girls. When these girls failed to recover from their illnesses, local doctors deemed the source of their ailment to be witchcraft. Someone had obviously cast a spell on them. What would follow would be a gross display of hearsay, as young Salem girls merely “called out” the names of individuals they felt were involved in the alleged witchcraft conspiracy. They claimed that these so-called witches would change shape and torture them in their sleep, allegations that were completely unsupported. The lack of concrete evidence did not prevent fourteen women and five men from going to the gallows. In addition to those who were hung, one man of over eighty was crushed to death beneath heavy stones. The Salem witch trials were a frenzy of fear and paranoia.

Through history, and across every civilization, there has been what we would deem as witchcraft. Whether it is the simple benevolent practice of using herbs and roots to create healing potions, or the malevolent conjuring of dark spirits to bring about evil on others, witchcraft has and will continue to exist in the world. Perhaps the true evil of witchcraft lies in the misconceptions that it creates. In the fear that causes people, primarily in the name of religion, to persecute something they simply don’t understand.