Wiccans and other pagans have had to suffer many trials and tribulations in the past, and still suffer them now. This is due to the myths that have been spread about them, most coming about with the dawn of Christianity. These myths were spread mostly by clergy, who saw pagans as a threat to their new religion. They told stories of witches eating Christian babies, of having sexual orgies with the Devil, of flying across the moon on broomsticks and of blighting crops and cursing livestock. Witch hunts began, pagan tamples were defiled and destroyed, churches going up in their place. Anyone who attempted to protest these actions was accused of witchcraft and almost always put to death. Kings and lords converted to Christianity for political reasons. Peasants became Christian rather than be killed. And of course lies were spread.
A few of these myths are listed here. Many of them are still circulating, and even worse, are still believed. I hope to put a few of them to rest.
1. Witches worship Satan
This is one of the worst lies that still plauges witches today. Too often they are associated with Satanists, or called Satanists themselves. The truth is, Wiccans don't even belive in Satan, saying he was formulated by Christians. The layman often gets the idea that wiccans worship Satan from the common image on finds him in- a horned goat-man with a pointed tail and pitchfork. This image comes very close to a favorite image of the pagan god Pan, who most of us know from Greek mythology as a half-man, half-goat, who happens to have horns upon his curly head. The reason these images come so close is that clergy created this image of the devil to match the image of Pan. In reality, in Christian beliefs, Satan, aka Lucifer, was a fallen angel, one of God's most beautiful creations. So if in fact he actually did exist, he would, according to Christian beliefs, look like an angel, wings and all.
2. Witches cursed the land and blighted the crops
This is another common idea, and comes directly from human nature. People are always looking for someone to blame, and during the Burning Times, witches made the perfect scapegoat. During famine, plauge, etc., there is simply panic and accusation. No one ever stopped to think that if witches cast a spell to cause famine, they too would suffer the same fate. It is also unfortunate to note that the peasants had forgotten who made the potions, teas and medicines that cured their children- for before the time of trials, witches held the role of respected healers.
3. Witches fly on broomsticks
This myth I actually find kind of funny. There was a rite once performed by covens, where witches, straddling broomsticks, would walk round the circle, jumping up and down, getting higher each time. This was a fertility rite, the jumping mimicking the growth of crops, performed to make the the fields fertile and the crop good. It was, of course, done for the benefit of the whole village.
4. Witches had sexual orgies with the devil
Wiccans already do not believe in Satan- I find it is rather difficult to have sex with someone who does not exist. Witches did, however, perform sex magick. Sex is believed to be a perfectly natural act, and can, in ritual, be a way to heighten power, just like chanting, dancing, or praying. In Beltane rites it is often a focus. Christians have a much more conservative view of sex and used this against witches.
5. Witches perform black magick
This is not exactly a myth, but it is untrue of Wiccans and most other pagans. Black magick is greatly frowned upon- it goes against the Wiccan Rede.
