Witches-Evil or Wisewomen/Healers?

We all know the caricatures of the witch with the pointy hat and th green face and the broom. With her black cat by her side, she stirs gross things into her bubbling cauldron of spells. Although I have to admit it is kind of a fun picture for Halloween, it's probably not truly accurate.

We also know about the witch trials-which were more about enforcing power than getting rid of "evil." Truly, though, it is the utmost level of evil to burn someone at a stake and watch it happen. I cannot think of a scenario where that would ever be justifiable. Yet it happened to many women (and some men) during the era of witch hunts. So to me, this was a politically-driven, mass hypnotized tragic era of craziness.

The origin of witch ( it comes from the word wicche which means wise one) is more about healer than dark spell caster. Before the inception of organized religion (not bashing religion in general, religion can be a beautiful guidance tool if you are not using it to bash or judge another), people went to these wise women for their knowledge of nature/healing. It was through this new paradigm of organized religion that these wise women or "witches were demonized. These women were too powerful and should be stopped, was the paradigm. The era of the witch was known as more of the "feminine" era of belief systems. When religion took over it was known more as the patriarchal era, the era which is still present today. The fact that women still struggle to hold positions of power is evidence of that. Yes, there are women in power but they still have to deal with stereotypes and other obstacles.

I think it would be safe to say that those who persecuted the "witches" were way more sinister than the witches could ever be. What was thought of as a spell or ritual that these wise women used were recipes and processes used from nature to improve one's life. Do we all not try a natural remedy once in a while? Have most of us not observed a ritual in a church or synagogue? What makes that more sacred than being out in nature, something God created for us to enjoy and get sustenance from? Have we all not wished good or bad on a person or situation? Whether or not we like it, that is a spell.

So it is more about the intention of the ritual or "spell's" intent than who wields it. And if there are good intentions from those who cast the spells and do the ritual, it does not matter what label is put on it. One of the features of these wise women was they had psychic powers-in fact we all have psychic powers whether we realize it or not. In some religions this is called prophecy but in my mind they are the same. You can slap a label on it, but no one has the final word on who this ability is "ok" for.

There is still dark magic and those who intentionally practice it. And perhaps some of these wise women did have ill will and cast a version of a dark spell. Against their persecutors, that would be understandable. But it is no different than someone wanting revenge against another.

Still today, people are being persecuted for their beliefs and practices. And my question is, if the practice or belief is a positive one, why is this still going on?

The only answer is power. And in truth, that kind of power is not true power at all, but a false paradigm of power that will hopefuly crumble one day.