Oh no! Witches!

Witches!

I know it is the season and all that but Goddess almighty PLEASE, please just stop!

I am not unused to bad representation in the media but it has really just got under my skin. I enjoyed Pennydreadful's first season a lot. The complex level of good and evil, the nature of people to be corrupted but to hope. The acting was awesome.

And then came the witches, inhuman, in league with the devil, all bad, then came the baby murder and butchery.

Witches can be good and bad, mostly in the middle, same as most people. However we are human. We are people. Murdering babies for spell components? Nope.

Witches of all faiths heal more than they harm. Protect and deal with dark and vampiric forces. This anxiety of powerful women, of their freedom and choices seems to be playing out on big screen and small. If a woman does not bow down before God and also man, she must be sleeping with the devil!

The devil is, a Christian concept. A "get out of jail free" card for a religion with no personal responsibility for the "bad" things that happen. This scapegoating, blame and shame concepts became more and more complicated as Christianity developed. (Early Christianity was kind of awesome, with freedom for both genders, peace, gay marriage, non-violence and kindness being the core message.) Once the masculine Patriarchy rebelled this aspect was not only suppressed but they denied it ever happened at all!

The Jewish devil became a different beast, collecting names and traits from old Gods, popular ones at that. From Bacchus and Bes, Pan and Herne. The Horned Gods, old Jewish Gods and anything wild, untamed and free became fair game. Andy Hamilton's Search for Satan is a great historical and funny program exploring this.

Witches in general (there are Satanic witches, but they seem to worship Lucifer, the angelic, not the demonic);  however most witches don't believe in the devil, much less worship "him".

Their Gods tend to be older than the devil by a couple of thousand years if they worship a God at all.

I am tired of news articles leading with Witch murders, when it is Christians murdering those they fear and hate could be witches instead. 

From the early witch trails to the hunts for Satanic cults in the 80's, to the mass murder of women in Africa and India, today it is the witch that is in more in danger than dangerous.

This "excuse" is killing women, who aren't witches at all. Violent and sadist crimes against women have for centuries be sanctioned by the "witch" excuse. Any disobedience was meet with this threat. Conform, behave or we will destroy you and your family, one thumb screw at a time. 

The demonizing of women must stop. The twisting of headlines, the murder of innocent women is given purchase in these ideas.

This is what witches look like.

Human, beautiful and divine.

We wear wellies, suits, sportswear, dancing shoes, in fact we look just like everyone else...mostly.

We are teachers, and nurses. We are writers and artist, musicians, therapists, train drivers, and stay-at-home mums and dads. 

Even if we don't like people, hurting the innocent is a line too far.

We are those who help and heal, stand in the darkness bringing light, shelter and safety.

Bright Blessings xxx