(Exodus 22:18)

Witches have had a negative image for hundreds of years. Raymond Buckland, a witch himself, describes the popular conception of a witch as

an old weather—beaten crone, having her chin and knees meeting for age, walking like a bow, leaning on a staff, hollow—eyed, untoothed, furrowed, having her limbs trembling with palsy, going mumbling through the streets.¹

There are many witches in literature and folktales that typify this image: the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz and the witch in Hansel and Gretel, to name a couple. In these depictions, an old hag with a pointed black hat, a flying broom, and a wart on her nose is intent on doing evil-killing Dorothy or killing and eating two young children. However, thousands of years ago, the image of witches was vastly different.

Ancient Witches

Modern witches claim that witchcraft...