A broom, several warts on his face, a big, pointy nose, black clothes, white hair, and wrinkled skin. For many people, this might be the description of a witch. Cinema and literature built an image of this stereotyped woman, based on the Middle Ages, a time when the Catholic Church dominated civilizations and considered women who, for whatever reason, did not fit the standards imposed by society to be witches.
They believed that having extensive knowledge about nature, for example, was an indication that there was a connection between women and darkness. Witches, as they were called, burned at bonfires so that all the evil in the world could be purged. Over time, other expressions of spirituality came to be accepted by society, and women were able to exercise witchcraft freely.
Despite this, prejudice and misogyny permeate the impressions people have about this practice. Although some movies and series make an effort to erase this negative image, placing women who fit beauty standards to play witches, information about this practice must go far beyond defining which witches are good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
For witchcraft, also called the Wiccan religion, nature is sacred and part of our existence. Harmony between it and people is essential to understand our role in the world. Furthermore, this theory promotes the idea that everything was created from the male essence in union with the female essence, a more egalitarian way of thinking in relation to religions that place a man as the creator and center of everything.
Another idea disseminated by witchcraft is that people are responsible for their trajectories and their own teachings. In communion with nature, each one must learn their own lessons and act in accordance with what they believe is best for themselves and for others. This process concerns human spirits, which are living (incarnate) people. However, there are also non-human spirits, which can harm people, depending on their essence.
The spirits that can harm people are: the mockers (they cultivate chaos in the thoughts of incarnate people), the instance of sterility (women who did not get along with motherhood and torment the incarnate, making love difficult), the instance of false guides (sucking energy from inexperienced mediums, as if they were counselors), the instance of the furious (inciting violence and pain because they are consumed by a desire for revenge), the instance of misery (sucking the energy and life of incarnates), the instance of lying (they encourage the incarnates to be unjust) and the instance of obscurity (they manipulate views of those who think they are using their gifts the wrong way).
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While there are spirits that can harm incarnate people, there are also those who have already evolved and share their knowledge with other people. These spirits can be human or non-human: guardian angels (each person has a protector), elementals (evolve along with whom they must accompany), spirits of deceased people (can protect and assist in essential moments) and animal spirits, also called of totems (evolved spirits responsible for protecting those they represent).
Like any religion, witchcraft works with the belief that there are forces that can act for good or for evil. It's important to understand that people who consider themselves witches don't have special powers like those in the movies. They are rituals that they perform in order to get help and guidance from the spirits in which they believe. The connection with nature and knowledge about one's own body and one's own desires, for example, are part of these rituals.
If you are interested in knowing more about this religion and understanding that the witches of today are people like any other who follow a religion, maybe you can join Wicca. Searching for “Wiccan events/witchcraft events”, you will find some programs that talk about this religion. One of them is the Pagan Pride Day Celebration in São Paulo. Witches' meetings and meditation circles take place all year, every year.
