(republished from Oct, 2022)
Most of us view Halloween as nothing more than a whimsical fun holiday. But in all actuality, nothing could be further from the truth. I will attempt to reveal some of the history behind the holiday, its relationship to witchcraft, and what the Christian view should be.
Before we get into the minutiae, I’d like to highlight a little-known fact that I think you may find interesting. According to the National Retail Federation, the total all-time high Americans will have spent on, candy, decorations, and costumes for 2022 will be $10.6 billion dollars. In 2021 it was just over $10 billion. So much for a recession, right?
The history of a celebration on October 31st dates back centuries. It was originally called “All Saint’s Day” to honor the dead saints of the Catholic church. It was also known as “Allhallowmas”. Conversely, this date is also one of the four most major holy days of witchcraft, of which (no pun intended) we will review more in detail later.
Honoring the dead at the end of the summer season isn’t just an American or a Catholic celebration. Other cultures and religions have celebrated such for hundreds of years. They include the Assyrians, Hindus, Persians, Chinese, American Indians, natives of the islands of the South Seas, the British, Irish, and Scots. All believed that this was “the times of Ghosts.” However, it is the Druids that is the closest to what we celebrate as Halloween today. The Druids were members of the learned class among the ancient religious order called Celtics (not the basketball team). They celebrated Samhain, the Druid god of death, also called Hallowtide. And it’s from them we get the customs, trick or treat, the making of jack-o-lanterns, dressing up in costumes, the wearing of masks, the ominous superstitions related to black cats, bonfires and the like.
So, what is the relationship of Halloween to Witchcraft?
Witchcraft has existed since before the time of Christ and continues today. It has been, and still is, a grave sin in God’s eyes. Witches organize in groups of 12 known as covens. As stated previously, Oct 31st is a high holy day to them. Additionally, “Jesus’ name is widely accepted in the occults. He is considered to have been the greatest medium and magician to have ever lived.” Many believe that witchcraft is rarely practiced today and that there are relatively few, if any, witches left. Well, they’d be wrong. No, there are no old haggard, long grey-haired women with warts on their noses riding on brooms across the moonlit sky. But there is Wicca.
Wicca is nothing more than a modern form of Witchcraft. They utilize what they call “white magic” and many of them consider themselves to be “good witches”. But make no mistake, they tap into the same demonic spirit world of their namesake, and they are responsible for many Satanic events. It’s said that Witches in Brooklyn, N.Y. cast a spell on then Supreme Court Justice nominee Brent Kavanaugh. Hence, the hellish attack upon his character and the freak show that ensued at his confirmation. Wiccans too, also meet in covens and they’re in virtually every city across America. They still use spells, make potions, and perform secret rituals. And like the witches of old, they’re tied to the occult.
Why don’t we hear more about them? And why don’t they get more media coverage?
The simple answer is they don’t want to be made known. They want to operate in the shadows and in the cloak of darkness. As previously stated, they’re tied to the occult. The word “occult” comes from the Latin which means “hidden”. Although they would claim that they don’t worship Satan, nonetheless, they’re doing his bidding.
Wicca in America. What do they believe?
They believe in the force of energy. They believe through their rituals, props, spells, and incantations they can cause things in the supernatural to affect the natural. They believe in “mother earth”. You may recognize it in its most common form, namely “environmentalism”. Have you’ve ever thought these environmentalists are wackos? It’s like they’re in religious cult! It’s like they worship earth. Bingo! But I digress.
How many Americans practice Wicca, and do we know any of them?
In a Newsweek article by Benjamin Fearnow (really his name), published on 11/18/18. “The number of witches and Americans practicing Wicca religious rituals increased dramatically since the 1990s, with several recent studies indicating there may be at least 1.5 million witches across the country…. pre-Christian traditions have been revitalized by young adults.”
He goes on, “Millennials are seeking more freedom in their spirituality and interest in astrology and tarot card readings have spiked in recent years.”
I don’t know about you, but I find it very disconcerting that so many young people are getting involved in witchcraft and occultic practices. But it’s not just the young, it’s the famous too.
Here are some celebrities that are either witches or warlocks. They include Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Lara Del Rey, Stevie Nicks, Katy Perry, Cybill Shepherd, the late Patrick Swayze, Heather Graham, Spencer Pratt. And the soon to be x-wife of the inimitable football great, Tom Brady.
In an article written by John Trent, published September 9, 2022, by Boundingintosports.com, “(the) Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady previously described his wife Gisele Bundchen as a “witch” and described the numerous rituals she engaged in to help his football career.” I mean it really doesn’t seem far facetted when you think about it. The man is the greatest quarterback of all time. He’s 45 and still playing at a level that most 20-year-olds could only dream about. Gosh, he doesn’t look a day over 30. In the article the 6-time Superbowl quarterback went on to say, ‘So she put together a little altar for me that I could bring pictures of my kids, and I have these little special stones, protection stones, and she made me wear a necklace, and she take these drops she makes, and I say all these mantras’, He continued, ‘I stopped questioning her a long time ago. I did. I just shut up and listen’. Is it any wonder why many our young people get sucked in?
My final question is, where is the church?
The power and influence she once wielded seems to have dissipated. The light of “the shining city on the hill” is now but a flicker at best. I think Erwin W. Lutzer summed it up most accurately in his book, “We Will Not Be Silenced.”
“Our churches may advertise the gospel, but once inside, you might find an extension of the culture around us. You might hear positive messages about the virtues of love and inclusion, or about our essential goodness and how to be a better person. You might see timed announcements. But what you might not hear is a word from God. You might hear a lot about grace but nothing about sin; you might hear how to get blessed by God but nary a word about how to withstand the cultural pressures that are destroying our children and silencing our witness” (p.153).
In conclusion, Halloween may seem to be a fun, whimsical holiday; it’s anything but. Witches are still going strong under their new name, Wicca, and the Church has some serious soul searching to do. The enemy has “tricked” a lot of people, why not “treat” them to the truth?