Learning: Witches and the Craft

What I was taught about witches as a child and learned through research since I was a teenager

While I was writing Magickal Pagan Power Tools , I thought about what led me to research witchcraft and Paganism.

My earliest memories of witches were them flying on brooms, having black cats and doing bad “stuff.” We were discouraged from talking about witches, except for Hallowe’en when it was fun, because the adults told us they didn’t exist. I knew witches did exist, and not just in faerie tales.

We had Sneakers Sal, a harmless lady who always wore sneakers and carried a big basket to sell vegetables and flowers. We children were convinced she was a witch and ran when we saw her.

When I young, I was taught, in school, about hex signs and the “superstitious” Pennsylvania Dutch. Their only purpose was to keep witches away. Later, I learned about PowWow: Pennsy Dutch Arcane Art and about the meaningsof the signs, Pennsy Dutch Magikcal Art. I readPennsylvania Deutsch Grimoire with fascination.

When I was a teenager, I read my first book about witchcraft. This fueled curiosity. When I was in college and took a required religion classes, my paper was about witchcraft as a religion and how alleged witches were persecuted.

I was appalled with Rosemary’s Baby! How dare Ira Levin call satanists witches!

I read Sybil Leek’s books. She was a famous British witch. I continued my research. I learned about the different types of witchcraft and spellwork.

I have an Italian friend who is highly educated and very successful. She thought some put the Malocchio on her. What is The Evil Eye? I consulted one of my books about Stregheria, Italian Witchcraft. I told her how to find out if this happened. She did. There was no Malocchio.

I continue to research, write and learn. There can never be too much knowledge.