I think a lot of people don't know what it actually *is* as they have been lied to over the years by Hollywood, their Anne Rice novels (among others), their parents, their friends and their church (if they attend). No, magic is not evil. It is neutral and therefore cannot be either evil or good. Spells are merely a way for the practitioner to focus their energy to help them do something, not do it for them. It is, in its most basic sense, the Witch's version of prayer. Even the biblical Lord's Prayer follows the basic formula of a spell. Christian types just use a lot less props.
Oh, and not all Pagans and Heathens and Wiccans practice witchcraft, contrary to popular belief. So that's another issue. For some reason those three distinct terms have come to mean to many people "witch" when the vast majority of us are not. We will know a lot of them though since all Witches are Pagans, but not all Pagans are witches. Kind of like how all Baptists are Christians but not all Christians are Baptists. It's simply a lack of education about other spiritual disciplines and faith paths combined with misinformation propagation and lack of knowledge of what the basic terms actually mean. Nothing to get your knickers in a bunch over, just politely correct them and move on.
People are misinformed, period. Probably the top ten would be (in no particular order):
* Pop culture/Hogwarts influenced confusion
* Confusion with Satanic Panic (which is its own set of misinformation's)
* Confusion with related areas (Paganism, Wicca, etc.)
* Confusion with New Age beliefs
* Buying into Evangelist B.S.
* Thinking that magic is "easy"
* Thinking that magic is "supernatural"
* Confusion with Dungeons and Dragons
* Assuming that we are all feeble minded and/or playing some kind of game
* Assuming that we are all women.
Well the reality about witchcraft is that it's all just pretend and make-believe anyway and the only people who may think it's evil are just superstitious people themselves who believe in a made up invisible man who lives up in the sky.
witchcraft in all its forms is a topic i enjoy reading about. in my reading, there are two things i come across the most. the first is that that most people are misinformed and think it is evil because of the influence of a church. the second is that many people expect witches to be able to perform harry potter like magic, and then automatically think the witch is lying because he/she cant throw people across a room or transform into a cat.
its unfortunate how some people become so misinformed they dint ever bother to listen to a source that is more knowledgeable on the subject
The most common misinterpretation about Witchcraft is that those who practice it are inherently evil simply because they practice Witchcraft. Voodoo is viewed in a similar way. Generally, this is untrue, most "Witches" tend to attempt to use their perceived powers, real or not as you see fit to believe in them, in much the same way traditional Shamans and similar archaic medical practitioners would, generally for the good of those who seek their aid.
Another stereo type is that Wiccans are also automatically users of Witchcraft, which is almost always false seeing as Wiccans are earth-worshipers (at least fundamentally) who generally believe in the power of nature and not the super natural.
You seem to be asking specifically about Witchcraft, so i will answer in that vein. The only people i have ever met who think Witchcraft is actually Evil, are Born again Christians, i have a client who feels this way..but she also thinks Aromatherapy is the Devils work so you can appreciate the mentality. I have come across folks who misunderstand Witchcraft, nose neighbors who push for responses then don't like what you tell them..that sort of thing, but actually, for the most part i have very little problem with misinterpretations, but then again, i don't have much to say to general Joe public about Witchcraft on the whole. The one odd and frankly irritating stereotype i have come across on numerous occasions, usually from Men, is the one where people imagine that what they consider to be 'Witches' all strip of and dance naked round a fire or whatever. The reality? no naked dancing (not for me anyway) and i don't care if people think Witchcraft is Evil, that's their problem not mine.
What are people often mis informed about when it comes to witchcraft? Do they think i
