Devil worshiping, dressing in all black and turning people into frogs – these are only a few of the misconceptions some modern day witches have to deal with. Elizabeth Barrett, a senior at SMU, is one of those people.

When Barrett was in middle school she discovered Wiccanism. She went to a Christian school, and her school did not talk about many different religions, especially Wiccanism.

She said she found the religion when she saw the movie “The Craft.” After Barrett did some of her own research and presented it to a few of her friends, they decided to form their own coven. She said their coven only lasted about a year because some of the kids at her school found out about their practices and didn’t respond well.

Barrett said one student asked her if she was going to turn him into a frog.

“And since there were teachers around I couldn’t kick him,” she said.

“But I wanted to.”

In the modern world, because of the vast amount of information available, a large part of the population is somewhat educated on nature-oriented religions. One of these Wiccanism and the practitioners may be referred to as witches.

Susan Harper-Bisso, a visiting assistant professor of anthropology at UTA, said she does not have too many confrontations anymore. Harper identifies herself as a NeoPagan or a Wiccan, and said she is very open about her religion.

“I am fully out of the broom closet,” she said.

Harper said while she was in college she received a death threat over her religion and has lost a few friends, but there is enough media about Wicca today that most people are pretty receptive. She said people are usually intrigued about her religion and would like to know more.

According to Harper, a witch is someone who recognizes the sacredness of the earth and the power contained within the earth and all living things. She said the definition of witch is different from the definition of a Wiccan. All Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccans. A Wiccan is someone who practices a very specific set of holidays and worships a Feminine Divine.

“A big part of my craft is recognizing my power and worth as a woman,” she said.

Erica Rhodes, a freshman studying journalism at SMU, believes witches are individuals who don’t worship the Devil, but believe in spirits and may invoke them for his own personal self. They are regular people who are very involved in nature, the earth and the spiritual aspect of life.

“Everyone is entitled to believe what they want to. I don’t look down on them for what they believe in, but I, myself, do not practice or participate in their beliefs,” Rhodes said.

Gaston Banks, a student at Cedar Valley College, said when he was in high school he had several people tarnish the name “witch” for him. He first learned about Wicca from a friend who thought it would be cool to be a witch and wanted to stand out, but since then Banks has become a little more knowledgeable on the subject.

Banks said he has a combination of both Taoist and Christian beliefs. He was raised as a Christian, and as he grew older he started researching different religions. This is how he learned more about Wicca. He said while there are some who are “posers” in the Pagan community, there are people in every religion who claim to be something they are not.

“Now I know that it is a serious religion and I think it should be given the same respect as any other religion,” he said.

According to Harper, Wiccans are no different than Christians, Jews or any other religious practitioner. She said Wiccans don’t believe in a “one, true way,” but rather that people should be able to find the Divine in a way that makes sense to them.

“Witches are people just like anyone else,” she said. “And we practice our religion because it makes sense to us.”