Witchcraft of one kind or another has been known in many if not most societies for thousands of years.  Over the ages of history, witches have also been known as healers, gods, teachers, historians, priests and priestesses and shamans.  Other people such as Paracelsus the Swiss physician, Virgil, the Roman poet and Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher were believed, sometimes correctly to be witches.  In the Western culture, the debilitating fear of witches can be traced to the beginnings of persecution in the 1400s when they were first persecuted in Europe.

Witches and those who practice witchcraft have historically been considered people who make magic.  People who change or influence events through superstitious beliefs and practices, nature, and folklore are known as witches. 

In Europe, although many of the ancient pagan religions which included those with practices including magic spells and other practices were strong, Christianity became the dominant religion. The Christian church, believing that magic practices along with no worship of God as seen by the Jewish and Christians, associated the practices of witchcraft and by extension witches with the devil. For over 300 years, even the mere suspicion of witchcraft was enough to result in torture, brutality and execution of hundreds of thousands of people. In most cases, as seen in the 17th century witch trials which occurred in Salem Massachusetts the evidence was faked, obtained through torture and often false.

Often, older women who were widowed or unmarried and lived alone or which only small animals as pets were targeted for the accusation of witchcraft.  These women sometimes owned desirable land which was taken from them.  Other times they were criticized for their use of plants and herbal remedies along with traditions from folklore in order to heal.  Finally, the women often were poor and so made easy targets to the attackers.

Today, witchcraft exists in many cultures and societies.  There was no systematic effort to eradicate witchcraft in Tibet, Thailand, Brazil, India or other countries where it is still respected and practiced.  In Africa witch doctors are numerous who ask ancestors for assistance, heal those who are ill, foretell what will occur in the future and cast spells.

In Tibet, a ritual dance by the Buddhist monks portrays an evil spirit from times which predate Buddhist beliefs includes a Tibetan Buddhist priest.  The dance is an attempt to drive out evil. 

The shamans of Sri Lanka treat maladies by the restoration of energy balance within the body.

The magical art of feng-shui was developed by ancient Chinese cultures and has become most popular in the West, particularly in America.

The best known and most widely practiced type of witchcraft in the West, particularly in the United States is wicca. Somewhere between four hundred thousand and three million devotees now consider themselves wiccan.  It is particularly popular among teenage girls, but others are accepting the beliefs as well.  In addition other popular magical beliefs which may be closely tied together including New Ageism and astrology, aromatherapy are enjoying a strong revival, as are herbalism and alternative medicine.