Are Witches For Real or Just for Halloween Fun?Is the notion of witches just a harmless legend, or something else entirely?
“When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-12 NASB). The traditional image of a black-clad witch flying on a broomstick at night has endured for centuries. Once something scorned by most people, a witch’s garb has become a go-to Halloween costume for women and girls alike. These days, most people think dressing up like a witch on one day out of the year is just a bit of innocent fun. But is it? Is the notion of witches just a harmless legend, or something else entirely? Focus on the Family has shared this account of one young woman… “Kathy” was raised in the church but rejected its teaching in her teens. “I was always kind of artsy, different, and non-conformist,” she says, “Witchcraft attracted my interest because it appealed to those facets of my personality. It was certainly non-conformist, and I liked the mystery surrounding it.” So Kathy found a high priestess who took her under her wing and taught her how to be a witch. “She told me it was all white magic, and that’s all I was interested in.” But after a while, things turned sour. “The more I learned, the more things started to spiral downward, deeper and deeper into darkness and black magic. I became very good at what I was being taught. My teacher never acknowledged Satan but did say there was something called ‘the abyss’ that we should avoid.” For Kathy, however, avoiding it proved to be difficult. “One hot summer night, I was lying awake in my bedroom when all of a sudden the room became very cold. I started to shiver and broke out into a cold sweat, although it was the height of summer. A cold wind blew in through my windows, startling me. Now I was terrified. I hugged my knees to my chest and gasped as a legion of what can only be described as black demons encircled my head, all laughing at me. I started screaming out my spells to rebuke them, hoping they would disappear. That only made things worse... The laughter escalated with each spell I tried. “Then all of a sudden I remembered my days in Sunday school as a child and the teachings of Jesus. I hadn’t thought about that in a long time. In a loud voice, I called upon Jesus Christ to rid the room of this dark presence. Instantly, they were gone, and my bedroom was once again calm and warm. My life was never the same after that.” One recent study shows that over half of young adults in the U.S. believe astrology is a legitimate science. Psychic services such as palm reading, tarot card reading, and the services of mediums have grown into a $2 billion industry over the last five years. Books on witchcraft, horoscopes, meditation rituals, and role-playing games are becoming increasingly popular every year. Halloween has become the second-biggest retail spending holiday after Christmas, surpassing other celebrations like Mother’s Day, Easter, and Thanksgiving. Total Halloween spending in the U.S. for 2025 is expected to reach a record $13.1 billion, with the average person planning to spend about $114.45. Key spending categories include costumes, decorations, and candy, reflecting a strong commitment to celebrating the holiday despite rising prices. At the same time, participation in witchcraft and similar pagan religious practices has increased dramatically since the beginning of the 1990s. This growth has been fueled by many young women turning away from Christianity to alternatives like astrology, fortune-telling, earth worship, New Age, tarot cards, and things of the occult. None of this is innocent fun... It’s downright demonic. Several recent studies indicate there may be at least 1.5 to 2 million practicing witches in the U.S., and that number is growing every year. Wicca is a magical system and a pagan “religion” that includes witchcraft and sorcery as part of its core beliefs. (The terms Wiccan and Witch can be and are often used interchangeably.) Wicca is an earth-centered, environmentally-focused religion based on ancient occult practices. Its practitioners worship the life-giving and life-sustaining powers of nature through occult ritual worship and a commitment to living in balance with the Earth. Wiccans do not believe in sin as Christians do. They see sin as an outdated, constraining concept. They claim that the patriarchy of Christianity does not empower women, whereas Wicca does. Therefore, they see no need for God nor His ordained order... Halloween is an official Wiccan holiday (one of eight) with origins in the Irish “holiday of the dead” that traces its roots back to the ancient Druids. Who is embracing this garbage? For the most part, it is the Millennial and Gen Z generations, mostly women, who grew up reading and watching Harry Potter books and movies. The book Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation has sold more copies for occult publisher Llewellyn than any other in its 95-year history. Many others watch occult-themed TV shows and movies like The Craft, Legacies, The Vampire Diaries, Charmed, Wanda Vision, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Good Witch, Motherland: Fort Salem, American Horror Story: Coven, Hex, The Worst Witch, Always a Witch, Luna Nera, and others. At the same time, witchcraft-related content is trending on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram. The hashtag #witchtok currently has nearly 8 billion views. The hashtag #witchesforblm (Black Lives Matter… yes, that BLM) serves as an online meeting place for practicing witches who want to learn how to cast protection spells, draw occult symbols, and put hexes on police. Five days after the hashtag started, it gained 10 million views on the TikTok app. Why am I not surprised? Writer Dean Dwyer notes this… “Do you believe in magic? If you are a child of the 1960s, your mind is probably drifting back to the lyrics of the song by the same name, made popular by the band The Lovin’ Spoonful. According to the lyrics, the magic referenced in the title is the power of music to supply happiness and freedom to both those who make it and those who listen to it. But two simple lines of the song caught my attention: “I’ll tell ya ‘bout the magic, it’ll free your soul”. In context, the writer of the song speaks about how he believes music is like magic that can free your troubled soul. But when it comes to the concept of magic itself, the Bible warns that it will not free your soul. In fact, magic (known as “magick” to occultists) introduces a person to some very dark and demonic forces which has enslaved the souls of many unbelievers.” All of this… the deceptive books, movies, TV shows, and schools are doing this to accomplish one thing… to brainwash innocent children into believing that the things of witchcraft are normal and acceptable activities. Just last week, public school officials in Orange County, Florida, were subjecting students to lessons on sorcery and witchcraft. According to news reports, students at the school were shown witchcraft programming across the school’s TV system as part of the mid-week morning announcements. There has been no option to avoid the program; however, legal action is now underway to allow students to opt out. Witchcraft is the godless practice of using the power of the universe and the mind to attract one’s wants and desires. It’s about being in tune with Earth and emphasizing the power of female energy. It reeks of divine feminism, encouraging women to harness the power inside themselves, rather than turning to God. Consider what Paul wrote to the Galatians… Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 NASB 95) Sarah Hinlicky, in Witch Path Would You Choose? writes “the idea of being able to control spiritual forces sounds pretty good to many teens who otherwise might feel powerless. Wiccans boast that their religion gives even young witches a great deal of control. Also, the secrecy of rituals can provide a sense of power.” Satan’s plan (he does exist!) is and has always been to discourage us from worshipping the one true God. He tempts with false promises of worldly power, female empowerment, and special knowledge apart from submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. Many witches contend that Wicca has nothing to do with occult, dark, and evil forces... but that is exactly what Satan wants them to believe! In the end, Kathy learned that dabbling even a little bit on the dark side can be a very frightening and potentially dangerous thing indeed… Occultists are everywhere these days, in schools, online, in churches (think Bethel’s “Tarot” style cards), and ready to deceive those who lack Biblical discernment. Since we are on the topic of Halloween, Jeff Maples of the Dissenter writes this… You hear it even in the language of secular culture, buzz words like “summon,” “manifest,” “channel.” The dark spiritual has become trendy, and the demonic has become desirable. What our grandparents called witchcraft, our generation calls self-discovery. Satan doesn’t need people to worship him outright. He only needs you to stop taking him seriously. And that’s what Halloween has done—it’s turned the ancient warning of Scripture into a costume party. “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness,” Paul wrote, “but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11) Parents: Guard your children...
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