From a Witch’s Point of View

For trick or treaters, the witching hour is only on Halloween night, but for one Jackson County woman who identifies herself as a witch, it runs around the clock.
News 25’s Gina Tomlinson reports.
She doesn’t wear a pointy black hat, have green skin or fly on a broomstick, but Ocean Springs resident Trish Causey calls herself a witch. “People have this perception of what a witch looks like. There is no one look for a witch,” said Causey.
Almost like a religion, Causey says practicing witchcraft and being a witch is a life path. Causey says a lot of what witches practice is centered on nature and believing in Karma. If you put out good energy, good energy makes its way back to you. She says it’s a common misconception that witches worship the devil. “Satan doesn’t even figure into our cosmology or anything that we believe,” said Causey.
But people believed the worst from witches before modern times. During the Salem Witch Trials in the 1600s, dozens of women were accused of being witches. Twenty of them were hung and five died in jail. This is according to history professor Dr. Trevor Smith. Dr. Smith spent months researching witch hunts and trials, he says the original witch accusations began in Europe before making its way to North America. “It began about 1450 and over the course of about 200 years, approximately 35,000 people were executed for witch craft.”
Some witches do still celebrate Halloween by observing SamHain, a day designated to those who have crossed over to the other side. “It’s more for us. Supposedly this is when the veil is the thinnest between us and the other world,” said Causey.
As for casting spells and doing magic, Causey says witches aren’t the only ones who can make the supernatural a reality. “Whether you call that magic meditation or you call it prayer because you are creating an intent to direct energy.”