For the Recovering Witch

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy 1:7

Modern witchcraft is not an ancient survival. It is an English invention, and a recent one. After Britain repealed its old witchcraft laws in 1951, a retired civil servant named Gerald Gardner published Witchcraft Today in 1954, founded a coven, and with his high priestess Doreen Valiente assembled what became Wicca: a nature religion of the Goddess and the God, the seasons and the circle. Its story of an unbroken line of witches stretching back to pagan antiquity does not survive the scrutiny of historians, including sympathetic ones. Wicca is younger than the transistor radio.

From England it spread around the world, and in our own day it found a second wind online. During the pandemic years the witchcraft corner of TikTok exploded, from millions of views in late 2020 to tens of billions within 3 years. In England and Wales, those who wrote Pagan on the census rose from 56,620 in 2011 to 73,733 in 2021, while those who called themselves Christian fell below half the population for the first time.

That boom has cooled. The tarot renaissance peaked around 2020 and 2021, and sales of decks and crystals have slipped. What remains has largely become a marketplace: fewer people learning the craft, more people paying a stranger online to cast a spell for them. And that leaves a very large number of people who once dabbled, or more than dabbled, and have since drifted away.

This letter is for you. Not to shame you, and not to argue you out of what you experienced, but to tell you something you may not have heard: you are among the people best equipped to finish well.

What You Were Looking For Is Real

Most people do not come to witchcraft looking for evil. Gardner's Wicca made no place for the Devil at all, as friend or foe, and most witches sincerely believe they are working with nature, energy or a goddess. If you were one of them, you probably came looking for something good.

You may have been looking for power: some way to act on a world that felt out of control. You may have been looking for wonder: the sense that the woods, the moon and the turning year mean something. You may have been looking for belonging, a circle that welcomed you when other doors had closed. You may have been looking for a place where a woman's strength was honored rather than managed.

Every one of those hungers is real, and none of them is wicked. The wonder is not imaginary: For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead (Romans 1:20). The moon and the seasons do mean something. They point beyond themselves to their Maker.

The trouble was never the hunger. It was the meal.

A Form Without the Power

Paul warned Timothy of people having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5). He was describing people inside the church, not outside it. And that is worth facing honestly, because many who turned to witchcraft first turned away from a church that had the form and had lost the power: rules without presence, ritual without fire, talk of the Spirit with no evidence that He was in the room. They went looking elsewhere for the power the church had stopped showing them.

The book of Acts tells the story of a man who stood exactly at that crossroads. Simon of Samaria had used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one, and the whole city said of him, This man is the great power of God (Acts 8:9-10). Then Philip came preaching Christ, and Simon saw something he had never seen in his own craft. He believed, was baptized, and followed Philip around, wondering, beholding the miracles and signs which were done (Acts 8:13).

Simon had known counterfeit power, and he recognized the real thing when he saw it. That is the first gift of the former witch: she is not confused about whether the unseen world exists. She is only finding out who rules it.

Spell or Prayer

Simon's next move shows the line between the 2 kinds of power. When he saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money: Give me also this power (Acts 8:19).

That is the logic of every spell. Find the right technique, pay the right price, say the right words, and the power is yours to direct. A spell is a tool for making my will happen.

Prayer runs the other way. Thy will be done (Matthew 6:10). Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22:42). Prayer is not a technique for steering God. It is a relationship in which I ask, and then trust the One who answers. The power belongs to Him and stays with Him.

This is why the idea of a good witch is more dangerous than the idea of a wicked one. A dark ritual announces what it is. A gentle spell for healing, love or protection feels harmless, even kind. But it rests on the same premise: that spiritual power can be handled, bought and pointed by human will. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The counterfeit almost never looks like a counterfeit.

Pharmakeia

When Paul lists the works of the flesh, one of them is translated witchcraft (Galatians 5:20). The Greek word is pharmakeia, the root of our word pharmacy. When John describes the fall of the great city, he says: by thy sorceries were all nations deceived (Revelation 18:23), and the word is pharmakeia again. The New Testament files drugs and sorcery under a single word.

That old word describes our recent season with uncomfortable precision. The same years that saw witchcraft boom online saw a surge in hallucinogen use. Among Americans aged 18 to 25, past-year LSD use rose from 0.9% in 2002 to 4% in 2019, and by 2021 the share of young adults reporting past-year hallucinogen use reached its highest level since that category was first surveyed in 1988. Researchers warned at the time about the risks of unsupervised use: anxiety, confusion, delusional states, and a lingering sense of fear and dread.

Many who went down one road went down the other. Some used substances to thin the veil and practices to walk through it. They saw things the human soul was not designed to see before its time, and some of what they saw followed them home.

Here honesty needs a fence. Not everything seen in an altered state is real. Some of it is chemistry. Some of it may be deception dressed as light. The point is not that every vision was true. It is that the door was real, and opening it was not without consequence.

It is the author's conviction that the potency of that season was removed when the season closed, as set out in the exhibit The Season of Satan's End-Game, 2020-2023. Readers need not share that dating to share the thankfulness. A great many people walked through a volatile combination of open doors and came out the other side alive and of sound mind. That is mercy, and it should be named as mercy.

Those Who Have Seen

Here is the good news hidden in all of this. The person who has looked behind the veil is often closer to the Kingdom than the person who has never looked at all.

The settled skeptic has a long road to travel before he even grants that there is a spiritual world. The former witch has already made that journey. She knows the unseen is real. She knows it has power. She may know, better than most churchgoers, that it is not safe to trifle with. What she needs is not to be persuaded that there is something there. She needs to meet the One who is Lord of it.

Scripture's pattern favors her. Jesus said of a woman with a reputation: Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little (Luke 7:47). Paul, who had hunted the church, called himself the chief of sinners, and then explained why: Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him (1 Timothy 1:16). The worst cases make the best witnesses.

And there is a picture in the Gospels for anyone who has come back from that edge. When Jesus freed the man of the Gadarenes from the spirits that had tormented him, the townspeople came out and found him sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind (Mark 5:15). Sitting: at rest. Clothed: covered. In his right mind: of sound mind. Then Jesus sent him home to tell his own people what great things the Lord had done for him (Mark 5:19). He was not sent away in disgrace. He was sent out as a witness.

Two Doors

Simon's story does not end in triumph. When Peter refused his money, he did not soften it: Thy money perish with thee... thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee (Acts 8:20-22).

And Simon answered: Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me (Acts 8:24).

That is where Scripture leaves him: a man who has seen his error, cannot fix it himself, and asks for help. Later church writers, from the 2nd century onward, gave Simon a darker ending and made him the father of every heresy. Scripture does not write that ending. It leaves the door open, with a man standing in it asking for prayer.

Set beside that door another one. The last book of the Bible describes people who lived through plagues and judgments, and yet repented not of the works of their hands... Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts (Revelation 9:20-21). Sorceries there is pharmakon again. And at its close the book draws the line in its starkest form: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still (Revelation 22:11).

The difference between those 2 doors is not the size of the error. Simon's was serious enough to earn a rebuke from an apostle. The difference is posture. One recognizes the error and asks, in humility, for help in setting it right. The other has settled into defiance of the Most High and assumes that tomorrow is guaranteed.

It is not. Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city... Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away (James 4:13-14). To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Hebrews 3:15). Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

If you woke up this morning able to read this sentence and of sound mind, the first door is still open. That is not a small thing. It is the whole thing.

Bought at a Price, Offered Without Price

Witchcraft runs on transactions. The right herbs, the right candles, the right timing, the right offering, and now, more and more often, the right fee to the right stranger online. Simon only said out loud what the whole system assumes: power can be bought.

The Gospel turns that upside down in 2 directions at once. The price was paid, and it was not small: ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold... But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:18-19). Ye are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20).

And then that same redemption is handed to you for nothing: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1).

The cost was infinite, and the gift is free. For someone who has spent years paying for power in rituals, in money, and sometimes in peace of mind, that is the whole message. You do not have to earn your way back. You only have to come.

The Books at Ephesus

The fullest picture of former practitioners walking out comes from Ephesus, a city famous across the ancient world for magic. When the Gospel took hold there, many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed (Acts 19:18-20).

Notice 3 things. No one forced them; they came. They burned the books rather than selling them, so that what had bound them would not bind anyone else. And the result was not a smaller church but a mightier word.

Those who had practiced the arts became the city's most convincing witnesses. They knew exactly what they were walking away from, and everyone else knew that they knew.

A Word to the Church

England has its own memory here, and it should be spoken plainly. In the Pendle trials of 1612 and the hunts led by Matthew Hopkins in the 1640s, accused witches were hanged, many of them poor women condemned on rumor and spectral evidence, often in the name of the church. Some who are leaving witchcraft today expect the church to play the witch-finder still.

The Old Testament laws against sorcery belonged to a time and a people, and they are type and shadow under the covenant of grace, never a warrant for the stake. The posture of Christ toward a woman brought before Him for condemnation was this: Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more (John 8:11). Both halves of that sentence matter, and the first half comes first.

The church that wants to receive former witches must offer what they went looking for and did not find: real power, real wonder, real belonging. Power without manipulation. Wonder that points to the Maker. Belonging that does not depend on the right ritual. And it must do what the father did when the prodigal was still a great way off: see her coming, and run.

Lord, Send Me

Begin with petition. Ask the Father for fresh unction and utterance fitted to your own calling and circumstances, whether you are the one walking out or the one standing at the road to meet her. Then the first steps.

For the one walking out:

1. Say it plainly to God. No ritual is needed, and no special words. Something like this is enough: Father, I went looking for power in the wrong place. I am done with it. I belong to Jesus Christ, who bought me. Fill what I emptied, and keep my mind sound.

2. Clear the house. Gather the books, decks, altars, charms, spell kits and anything you dedicated to another power, and destroy them rather than selling or giving them away. Ephesus burned theirs; you may simply throw yours out. The point is the same: what bound you should not pass to someone else.

3. Close the accounts. Unfollow the WitchTok feeds, cancel any spell subscriptions or readings, and stop the purchases. A door kept half-open invites traffic.

4. If substances were part of it, get support for that too. Speak to a doctor about any lingering effects, and find a recovery group or a trusted friend who will walk with you. Sobriety is part of a sound mind, not a separate project.

5. Tell one believer today. Shame grows in isolation and shrinks in daylight. Choose someone gentle who prays.

6. Expect fear, and do not obey it. Former practitioners often report fear, nightmares or a sense of being watched when they leave. Answer it with Scripture, out loud if you need to: Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8).

7. Read the stories of those who walked out before you: Acts 8, Acts 16:16-18, Acts 19 and Mark 5. Read them slowly, as letters addressed to you.

8. Find a church with both power and gentleness. If the first one feels like the form without the power, keep looking. Ask for prayer, as Simon did.

For the church:

1. When someone tells you she practiced witchcraft, do not flinch and do not interrogate. Ask what she was looking for. Then show her where it is really found.

2. Pray with her, not just for her. Simon asked for prayer; give it, in person, by name.

3. Help her clear the house if she asks. Bring a trash bag and a friend, and make it a celebration, not a cleansing ritual.

4. Stay. The first weeks after leaving are often the loneliest. Be the circle she gave up.

The Invitation

Simon of Samaria saw the counterfeit and the real, tried to buy the one he could not earn, was rebuked, and asked for prayer. Scripture leaves him there, standing in an open door.

If you once reached for power that was not yours to hold, and lost it, and woke up this morning of sound mind, you are standing in the same door. Behind you is a craft that ran on transactions. In front of you is a gift that cost everything and costs you nothing. The only thing that closes the door is the assumption that you can walk through it tomorrow.

Come today. Sitting, and clothed, and in your right mind.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Unity in Truth. Love conquers all.

---

*SPINE: 2 Timothy 1:7; 2 Timothy 3:5; Romans 1:20; Acts 8:9-24; Matthew 6:10; Luke 22:42; Isaiah 5:20; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Galatians 5:20; Revelation 18:23; Luke 7:47; 1 Timothy 1:13-16; Mark 5:15, 19; Revelation 9:20-21; Revelation 22:11; James 4:13-14; Hebrews 3:15; 2 Corinthians 6:2; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 Corinthians 6:20; Isaiah 55:1; Acts 19:18-20; John 8:11; 1 John 4:4; Psalm 4:8 (KJV). The Mosaic laws against sorcery (Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:10-12) are treated as type and shadow, not as ordinance.

SCAFFOLD: Wicca's origins follow standard histories of Gerald Gardner, the 1951 repeal of the Witchcraft Act 1735, Witchcraft Today (1954) and Doreen Valiente. England and Wales census figures for Pagan identification (56,620 in 2011; 73,733 in 2021) and the fall of Christian identification below 50% follow the Office for National Statistics as reported. WitchTok view counts follow published press tallies from 2020 to 2024. The peak of the tarot boom around 2020-2021 follows industry commentary; the 2025 decline in tracked online metaphysical sales and the 2025 rise in paid online spellwork follow retail and press reporting. Hallucinogen trends follow Columbia University's analysis of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2002-2019) and the NIH-funded Monitoring the Future panel (2021). The later patristic tradition about Simon Magus begins with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. The Pendle trials (1612) and Matthew Hopkins's hunts (1644-1647) are matters of public record.

CONVICTION: That the potency of the 2020-2023 season was removed at its close; that the present is a season in which the defiant are given space to repent; that those who have glimpsed behind the veil are among the best equipped to repent and finish well.

Companion reading: The Season of Satan's End-Game, 2020-2023, at TheTimeOfTheReturn.com; The Meek Servant of the Most High. Drafted with the assistance of Claude, an AI system made by Anthropic — Ody the Wellkeeper & Claude, MMXXVI.*