@lisa67 I like this, I remember her from Wizard of Oz right? Healers is a great title I think. I remember reading somewhere that the term âwitchesâ was originally not complimentary to who we are. Werenât we called healers/shamans/cunning folk in the past? This was a nice read. 
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CHALLENGE ENTRY
First off, before I start, I want to say hello again - itâs been several months since Iâve been on here and I just realized how much I miss all of you!
Iâm just a regular person to look at, and I do regular person things - but I do other âstuffâ too that isnât so regular. I wear a Hecateâs Wheel on a necklace, because where I live a pentacle would have me outcast quickly - and thatâs because of the witch stereotypes, that witches are evil and satanic.
However, with it becoming more trendy to be into witchcraft and magick, it does make it easier to procure what is needed to practice Wicca and witchcraft. There are one or two âmystic fairsâ in the area every year. Perhaps this helps with acceptance of the lifestyle. Itâs not uncommon to find people with oracle decks and even tarot cards. Almost every craft market has a crystal vendor. And meditation is almost considered mainstream at this point in time. Perhaps if people realized the connection this has with witchcraft, they would be more accepting of witches. Maybe some do, and some are - but Iâve been very careful to keep my âwitchinessâ hidden. In small-town Ontario, most people subscribe to âWhat I donât understand is bad and wrong.â
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@Catharine Hi, this is true, people do witchy things, yet donât like witches. Nice points.
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@Catharine Ontario gal here too! 
I grew up in such a town and feel what you are saying. I remember seeing a nurse with a pentagram ring on our local doctorâs office as a tween and I can remember thinking âbut witches donât believe in doctors, why does she work hereâ? That was pre-internet, so I am sad to hear the misinformation is still so prevalent. Sending strength your way 
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I think that this can be funny, but itâs also super interesting to witness! Seeing the personal growth of the people we know and love, watching them come to accept something we hold sacred, and learning the truth about these practices - I think thatâs an amazing thing for a witchâs family. Iâm glad your family is accepting of you! 
Even if the ever-frequent requests for information, cleansing, etc. can be annoying, Iâm sure deep down, they truly love and appreciate you.
And your son thinking you ride on a broomstick 
is absolutely a plus 
Aww, how wonderful! 
Our children sure can surprise us! Iâm glad you were met with more knowledge rather than negative comments. 
It sounds like you and your son have something more to bond over!
I can definitely see how that would be an issue. I wasnât raised Christian - it was more of a âwe go to church during holidays and when we need prayerâ type of thing 
but my parents were still against Wicca and paganism. Over the years â Iâm in my 30s now â and theyâve come to terms with my beliefs and have even joined in on a spell or two. I have hope that youâll get there one day, too. Maybe not doing spells with your parents, but at least embracing the spiritual side of yourself after being raised Christian.
I think you should check out one of our previous challenges if youâre looking for more modern witches in media that are balanced and not all negative stereotypes! My favorites include Cassie Nightingale from The Good Witch and the witches in the book/movie Practical Magic.
That challenge was this one â 
Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Witchy Media
Oh wow, I look forward to reading about your progress! 
Thatâs quite the undertaking!
I think youâre totally right! When we look back through the years, both more recent history and ancient, itâs easy to see the shifting energies and thoughts when it pertains to witchcraft. Everything was good, magic was part of life. Then the demonization started, it become âevilâ, and a sin to practice witchcraft and its associated skills. Now, weâre trending more positive, at least in my perception. Itâs like riding a wave, almost, the way I picture it in my head I hope that makes sense!
Witches and magical people have gone by many names in various cultures throughout the years. Not everyoneâs practice is the same, and some people see shamanism and Brujeria, for example, as being different than witchcraft. But youâre right - magical people have existed for a very, very long time!
Thatâs such a narrow-minded thing to deal with, Iâm sorry! Iâm glad that youâve been able to find workarounds for things, though. Wearing a Hekateâs Wheel is a great alternative! Only people that are into history or Paganism are gonna know what it means Also - welcome back! 
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Challenge Entry:
I decided to not read others entries till after I submitted my own as to not influence my answers. I wrote most of my answers pre meditation and then added anything that popped up after I did the spells 8 meditations. I thought it was easier for me to respond to the questions provided
Can you think of any stereotypes about witches/pagans/magick/spirituality/etc?
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Iâve had people ask me what my powerâs are as if im one of the charmed sisters, asked whereâs my broom to which I said I park it in the garage after I fly across the sky at night, to not let them have the last laugh.
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I personally find there is a stereotype that were all evil. Its usually Christianâs Iâve found to be the most fearful.
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People think its like the movies.
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That we were pointy hats and have warts on our face.
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The assumption because someone practices the craft we will hex you.
Been told Iâm weird for being a witch and that wicca is a cult. 
What did you think about witches and magick before you began your magickal journey?
- I always believed in the fae and as a child would walk around my garden trying to find them and look for any signs of Magick. So when my dad told me about Wicca when I was 14( Iâm now 31). It was an easy transition for me. I loved the idea of connecting with the universe and spellwork. Although Iâve been on and off the path. (mainly for having past partners pull me off, telling me its stupid, its not real, or its evil and get in my head alot) I wish I had the confidence and connection I once had ( although every now and then I feel a pull towards it.)
I was scared of ouija boards and scared of psychic vampires and evil spirits which I still am and not being able to defend myself properly.
Have any stereotypes influenced your own identity (around labels, titles, actions, dress, etc)?
I find myself wearing very small discreet jewellery as I dont want the judgement. I just donât have the energy to educate ignorant judgmental people. I dont have the confidence as one of my friends, who is also a witch, wears as a badge of honour. She will proudly say even at a work meeting when asked what did you get up to, oh I did witchy stuff.
How do you feel about witchcraft and magick as a âtrendâ or âaestheticâ affecting how people view witches?
I feel itâs become a fashion style. Itâs usually very gothic and Iâve rarely seen light colours, pinks and delicate pieces of clothing and jewellery for pagans. I think people get creeped out by the aesthetic, although I like the Morticia look myself.
Do you think stereotypes around witches are improving, getting worse, or staying the same over time?
Personally Iâd say its more accessible now. When I was growing up it was a struggle to find any books on the topic at the libary or at the book stores in my area, and the bad looks youâd get for buying or picking it up was annoying. Now I can walk into Kmart and Big W ,here in Australia and thereâs heaps of books easily accessible. So I guess there has to be increased demand right ? Thereâs also Youtube channels which wasnât around when I was growing up (which would of been extremely helpful being I am a visual learner) But whenever iâm talking to people Iâd say the general attitude is the same.
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One of the biggest Challenges is properly answering this question:
*"What do you think God is thinking about you?"*
Mote it Be,
Medea
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I usually cringe at witch interviews but this was a good one. He seems very wise. Thanks for sharing 
x
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That is so ironic "
Just last night my "male friend, ex-boyfriend, pain in the &*%$ friend, when talking about Witchy things, told me I was âweirdâ LOL. Blessed Be
Medea
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I love your Weekly Witchy Challenge! You have brought up some old memories and the pictures are great.
Blessed Be,
Medea
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The first thing my mind went to when doing this challenge was the stereotypes of witches in ghost-hunting shows. The really annoying one is usually Zac Baggins from Ghost Adventures. It bugs me because he will have a witch come on, Patti Negri, but she follows the Wiccan Rede and practices a more New Age style of magic. Then in other episodes where there are portals or things like that, he always blames it on the witches!
Like hello, sir, there are other entities and beings out there that can create portals. Sometimes portals just exist, and it isnât always because of witches, sacrifice, or SatanistsâŚ
Even one of his crew members has a tattoo of a pentacle 
so they should know that the stereotype theyâre perpetuating of witches being the ones to cause those hauntings is harmful (and annoying). I swear, one day if I ever get the guts to do it, Iâd love to interview him for my podcast and ask him what the heck his issue is
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@MeganB Iâve never seen the show. Yes this would annoy me too. It did remind me of a line from Stardust. âIf you donât return my Tristan exactly as he should be , Iâll be your personal poltergeist,â. Maybe this Zac will get his comeuppance one day. 
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Hopefully so I have to try and remember that itâs all TV, and even if their investigations are real, a lot of it is dramatized because TV ratings matter 
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CHALLENGE ENTRY
Iâm taking a scattered approach to this one.
When I was maybe early teens I saw one of the many teenager finds out they have magic abilities movies, I wish I could remember the name of it but I only remember a girl goes into a bookshop and finds out she had has magic abilities. It was then that I knew that magical ability was real and that I had it. I just had to wait to find out and be trained. I insisted to my bio mother to the point of it becoming a not good situation but I stuck to it because I knew that was who I was.
When I worked in retail as a cashier I had a few customers becoming very upset when their order came to $6.66 or $13. I know there were more but I can only recall 2. One was sweet older lady, very proper in dress and manner. When I told her that her order totaled $6.66, she shrieked and ran out of the store. There was another whoâs order came to $13 even, he very calmly picked something from the impulse counter and happily payed for his order and went about his day.
I just pulled up part of a memory about a conversation my Grandmother had with someone, I donât remember who. The conversation was about her street number being 77. The person made a comment that ended up with them trying to convince my Grandmother how terrible and unlucky the number was. My Grandmother very much disagreed.
This is the Grandmother whom I suspect to have had so called Witch Blood. I guess that could be considered another kind of stereotype. There are some who think those born to a family of Witches or who can trace back to a Witch are the only true Witches or that a person born to a Witch is not only a Witch but born true Witch but that a so called Born Witch is born with complete knowledge and powers and just needs to grow into and learn how to use them.
I believe none of that, when I heard that was a thing I only started trying to find a connection through her blood line based on a growing list of what you could call circumstantial evidence purely because I find it interesting.
Nothing thing really changes. The fears go back hundreds of years and will continue.
I never wear anything that would imply Witch. I was told by my bio mother that people would see me as evil. Iâm still struggling a lot with that. She taught me that what people think of you is everything. âAlways pretend that someone is watching, that way you will always be at your bestâ That definitely doesnât help but Iâm about at the point that Iâm going to put on tight jeans, my kick ass black boots, my Witches be Crazy T-shirt, my Hecate ring and triple moon Pentacle necklace and call it good
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Aww no it totally sucks when weâre accepting of others are others arenât reciprocal. Blessed be x
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Itâs time for a friendly reminder:
This challenge will soon close
If you would like to participate and havenât done so already, please post about your challenge experience(s) by the deadline:
â Tuesday, July 18 at 7:00 AM EDT (Eastern US Time)
Thank you so much to everyone who has joined in to share their thoughts, ponderings, and revelations around witchy stereotypes! There certainly is a lot to think on here- I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the scale while writing up the challenge, but with each entry and reply I read I realize just how much more there is out there! The Coven always widens horizons and goes beyond expectations with how wise and thoughtful everyone is- thank you again to everyone who has joined in so far! 
If you havenât already shared an entry but would like to join in, this is your friendly reminder that you still have a bit of time left to do so!
Blessed Be! 
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@Nixi This is such an interesting experience. I find it funny how your customers reacted to the $6.66 and $13. Ive never seen that here. People are funny.
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@tracyS I had another that had me add impulse items until it reached a number he was happy with 
I actually have a lot of odd customer stories. Thereâs the Christmas Eve drunk, the cat food lady, the snow peopleâŚI could go on
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