Changing Worldviews

Announcer: Exposing the changing world views behind the issues that are fundamentally changing our nation and world, the Sharon Hughes show starts now.

Sharon Hughes: Hello friends. Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's podcast. There is so much going on in the world that I am sure you are very well aware of. The news with the Pentagon updating its doomsday plan now requires every single military base to be completely self-sufficient, have its own water supply, have its own electrical and for at least 90 days. Not only that, countries around the world are telling their people to begin to prep, some for just 72 hours, some for 10 days, some for more. And while nobody is telling us why and what for, it has everybody in one of two camps, either not taking it seriously at all or taking it seriously, often very seriously.

Well, all of us are waiting to hear from the governments what's going on. I want to tell you that this is a potentially scary time. I was listening to the director of the Global Prayer Outreach, who was being interviewed on the 700 Club. And from the things that she's been hearing from around the world, she said it is serious. Number one, number two, and this is the first time I heard anybody say what she said is that she is heard sources saying to prepare for war in the next thousand days. It's a little over three months.

Now, I have no personal knowledge, no personal input from others or experts verifying any of that, but that is what is being talked about. And many well-known news outlets such as Fox News, the first to report about the Pentagon, but others that have been on the air for decades, basically watchmen, if you will, on the wall who are not afraid to blow the trumpet, so to speak, and to warn the people of what they see coming. Well, we will talk about this in the future as soon as anything of real information comes forth and we can know what's going on and why nations are telling their people to prepare with things such as water and power and food, food that doesn't have to be cooked.

Well, our regular listeners know that we have over the years reported on survival methods of how to prep and be prepared, whether it's the Red Cross telling us that or the government or it has to do with EMP strike dangers or it has to do with enemies that threaten to annihilate Israel, to wipe Israel off the map and to do away with America, such as Iran calls America the great Satan and Israel the little Satan. Well, like I said, we will keep a watch on this and we will report. And as always, our endeavor is to give you the facts, the real facts, not conspiracy theories and not just theories and certainly not just what we think.

But because it is that time of year, one of the darkest times on the calendar, and that is Halloween, I want to bring you my interview with Katherine Edwards Sanders, author of Wicked Charm, just one element of the growing interest and following of the paranormal, following witchcraft, following everything quote unquote spiritual outside of and apart from the Judeo-Christian faith. So stay with me because this is a very important, well researched, well documented information about Wicked Charm and how it is wooing especially young people across the globe. Stay with me.

Announcer: You're listening to Changing World Views with Sharon Hughes.

Sharon Hughes: This month's special offer is the book How to Overcome the Most Frightening Issues You Will Face This Century. This book has 20 experts in fields of science, politics, warfare, finance, ethics, theology and much more who offer experienced advice. And you can order online at our website changingworldviews.com. Just go to the store donate page and you'll be able to order it there. We'll get it right out to you.

Announcer: In 1776, the difference of one vote gave America the English language instead of German. In 1876, the difference of one vote made Rutherford Hayes president of the United States. In 1923, the difference of one vote gave Adolf Hitler leadership of the Nazi party. Get the idea? One vote, yours, makes a huge difference. Vote. This message brought to you by National Religious Broadcasters.

Sharon Hughes: Thank you for staying with me. All right. So without further ado, let me play for you my previously recorded interview with Katherine Edwards Sanders, author of Wicked Charm. It speaks for itself. Here it is.

Announcer: Dimly lit parlors or new age fairs are no longer the only places to practice secret magic, fortune telling, spell casting or potion mixing. As a result of aggressive marketing campaigns, a wide variety of witchcraft techniques offering powers of control for personal achievements can now be found at bookstores, on the internet, in public schools and libraries and throughout the media.

Sharon Hughes: The good news is that there is always hope that if you find yourself going down a path that is scary, like my friend who was in the new age and doing all these occultic things with crystals and all that, and one night she and her friends saw these demons manifest in their house, shocked her. She ran to church the next day cuz she had a church background and she absolutely gave that lifestyle up. The battle is real. The spiritual war is real. If we believe in Jesus, then we have to believe everything he says, which included that Satan is real and he walks around like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour.

I know, heavy duty. But is it any heavier than the reality that we're all living in right now seeing our culture absolutely crazy?

Announcer: According to a US consumer research survey, over half of all children between the ages of 6 and 17 have read at least one Harry Potter book with thousands reporting multiple readings of all of the books. These volumes range anywhere from 309 to 734 pages. While many parents are thrilled by the prospect of their children taking an interest in reading, other parents and educators view Harry Potter as the latest tool being used to disciple children into the darkest aspects of black magic. Through Harry Potter books and audios, children as young as kindergarten age are being introduced to human sacrifice, the sucking of blood from dead animals and possession by spirit beings.

Sharon Hughes: Katherine is a journalist with experience in radio, television and print journals such as The Weekly Standard, The Washington Times and World Magazine. And she has written for the McLaughlin Group and was the producer of Janet Partial's America Talk Radio program. Katherine, you spent more than a year listening to wiccans and attempt to understand the growth and appeal of Wicca today. So first of all, please describe what wiccans are for those who don't quite know and then why this little known subculture in America is rapidly gaining influence, especially among young people and women today. Would you?

Sharon Hughes: That's a great question. Wicca is what we would call an earth-based spirituality and incorporate nature worship through a revival of the polytheistic worship of ancient gods and goddesses. Wiccans are generally pantheistic. They they see divinity expressed in both masculine and feminine aspects. In other words, they believe in both the god and the goddess. And particularly for women, they find a lot of meaning in in worshiping the goddess. They do believe in the supernatural and engage in ritual and and various different rights and spell casting.

Sharon Hughes: There are those that believe in goddess worship, but there's also this whole thing where they believe they themselves are goddesses.

Sharon Hughes: Yeah, and you know, it's interesting. I mean, it's funny. I I saw an interview with an editor of New Witch Magazine, which is a magazine about Wicca. And she said on MSNBC, she said, well, if you ask four wiccans what Wicca was, you probably get four different answers. And I think that one of the thing that's appealing about it is unlike some other religions, it doesn't really have a traditional orthodoxy. But there are wiccans who would also believe that the divine is in everyone. It is not only to be found in nature, it's also to be found in you.

And so in fact, there are some wiccans when they practice, they would turn to one another and say thou art goddess. And there's this one woman who who said that she embraced Wicca because the whole the phrase I found the goddess within myself and I loved her fiercely. So it is this sort of idea of embracing the goddess within.

Sharon Hughes: So is this whole movement so big that it can actually persuade and affect Hollywood?

Sharon Hughes: That's a great question, you know. It's our culture has sort of always been fascinated by the supernatural. And you know, Hollywood has tapped into that for years. I'm sure your listeners remember things like Rosemary's Baby and movies a long time ago, even, you know, Bewitched. And you know, with with Wicca, it's interesting. There's several things that play here. Some publishers I talked to told me the the success of Harry Potter really sort of propelled people to want to grab a piece of that monetary pie as it were. Ooh, look at the books, these books on witchcraft that are making a lot of money.

You know, Hollywood, I think saw that as well. And and also Wicca has been around in the US for a while. And I think that people who are are savvy in Hollywood saw that it was growing and getting popular and you know, the internet really fueled a lot of its growth. And I think they jumped on that bandwagon early on.

Sharon Hughes: Now, when we're talking about this, we are talking about people that consider themselves witches.

Sharon Hughes: You know, most wiccans that I spoke to would would consider themselves witches, comfortable with using that term. They said they kind of liked the idea of the word witch. It sort of evoked this sort of powerful woman. Most people that practice Wicca would consider all of it to be they would say that there's some dark there's dark elements to it, but they try to stay away from that.

Sharon Hughes: I think many people would be shocked to learn that hundreds of thousands of people practice Wicca and other forms of modern pagan religions in America today. Even our military and our prisons are having to deal with freedom of religion cases because of witches in their ranks who want to freely practice.

Sharon Hughes: Yeah, it's interesting. There's the American Religious Identification Survey, which is done out of the City University of New York, did a survey in 1990 and there were 8,000 reported wiccans then. And they did it again and the same survey reported 134 adult wiccans.

Sharon Hughes: We're going to take a break here. When we come back, I want to talk more about that as well as what about Halloween rituals? Are they okay? And and then how about disturbing encounters that many have experienced that told Katherine about these things when she was interviewing them? This one, we come back. Stay with us.

Announcer: You're listening to Changing World Views with Sharon Hughes.

Guest (Male): I remember a kid in Bosnia that didn't have a coat and it was winter time and we were in a school and the windows were blowing out and it was cold. His box had a coat in it.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: It's child to child, it's person to person, it's church to church.

Guest (Male): It's a simple project. Churches love it because this is a tremendous opportunity for evangelism. And and we ask families as you pack a box, put that box in the middle of your living room and pray.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: Delivering millions of shoeboxes every year is not an easy task.

Guest (Male): How do you distribute a million anything?

Katherine Edwards Sanders: We've done it by plane, by boat.

Guest (Male): Camels, donkeys.

Guest (Male): Helicopters and then seeing them just up on people's heads.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: Canoes, river boats.

Guest (Male): And so the churches are giving up boxes and we are distributing them through the churches so that whenever those boxes arrive, trust me, it is Christmas for their kids when those boxes arrive.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: This is Christmas. This is the first time they have got the gifts ever in their lifetime.

Guest (Male): We need more churches, more individuals, more volunteers.

Guest (Male): I want the children of the world and I want the parents to know that God loves them, he hasn't turned his back on them. He cares for them and he wants them to be with him in heaven. That's what it's all about. Absolutely. Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child, it's about evangelism.

Sharon Hughes: With an increase in child abduction, there's three things that parents can do to ensure the safety of their kids from strangers. Number one, help change the laws. Number two, talk to your kids. And number three, know your neighborhood. Tell your kids about strangers. There's a great DVD out that tells kids the truth about safety around strangers, educates them about potential dangers with a non-scary approach. Producer of the Baby Einstein videos and DVDs, Julie Clark, has come out with the Safe Side Strangers Safety DVD that keeps kids engaged while teaching them seven hot tips for personal safety around people they don't know and those they kind of know.

The information is understandable and never scary. Winner of numerous awards, 10% of the gross proceeds of the Safe Side goes to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. You can go to www.thesafeside.com to read more about this.

Announcer: You're listening to Sharon Hughes talking straight on the issues concerning our nation, our troops, our families and our world. For materials related to today's show, please visit our website at www.changingworldviews.com.

Sharon Hughes: Katherine, you and I were talking during the break about teen witchcraft. Why don't you go ahead and tell our listeners what you were telling us?

Sharon Hughes: Silver RavenWolf, that's her wiccan name. She's the author of a the book Teen Witch and she also has this thing that she markets called a Teen Witch Kit, which is this sort of very slick little box that you can buy. And it's full of all kinds of wiccan ritual tools and wands and herbs and things like that. Also has a little sort of cardboard pop-up pagan altar that you can have in the corner of your bedroom, in your closet or you know, in your desk. It's cool, you know.

Sharon Hughes: This is not pretend. This is the real deal.

Sharon Hughes: Right. I mean, and this is just not sort of in some dusty occult shop somewhere. I mean, this is it's been brightly lit shopping malls and and big stores all across the country.

Sharon Hughes: Yeah. You know, I have to share this real quick story. One of my doctors, actually the wife of one of the doctors, and she was standing in for one of the nurses who was absent doing the different allergy testing. And we would strike up conversations and I felt like I should invite her to lunch. And so a few weeks later we met and went to lunch. And it was really funny because she was telling me about the difficulties that they were having with their teenage daughter. And I asked questions and she says no. I said is she into this?

Is she into that? Cuz I knew what their background was. I knew they were into some things that weren't very good. As a matter of fact, she was telling me how that they went to this new age church and they would go down in the basement and they would be casting demons out of one another, but the demons would go from one person into the next person and it was just it was weird and wasn't Christian to something else. Anyway, so I asked her, well, does your daughter do this and that and so forth? No.

And she says, well, you know, she is into witchcraft. She really is like that. And I said that could be a source of your problem here, you know. So even though there's this new moray or a kind of moral value thing they're sticking into the teen witch thing, the the fruit of it is not going to be good as seen in many of these young people.

Sharon Hughes: Yeah, you know, it's interesting. Um I I have several thoughts. Wicca as promoted in Teen Witch is they promote that book sort of comfortably within our our society, which a lot of what we believe is is based on sort of Judeo-Christian values of right and wrong. But Wicca is is sort of is a pagan a pagan religion that doesn't really rest on that. I mean, I think that you know, paganism on its own probably would not actually appeal to many practicing pagans today. With Wicca, human beings have no particular value. So you know, as a woman you might say, oh, I'm wiccan because it honors me as a woman and but an an actual fact, for instance, within Wicca there's no actual basis to condemn anything that that rape is wrong.

All these things that are decreed by our creator is wrong because we are made in God's image. And therefore to do something against each other is wrong like that. That they really don't have any basis for that. And I think, you know, a lot of young kids don't really think that far as to what basis they really have for what they believe.

Sharon Hughes: Yeah, I understand that they don't acknowledge right and wrong. Well, you know, one other thing that you were talking about that reminded me when Dwayne and I, my husband, were in New Orleans about five years ago, we were in a taxi and the cab driver struck up a conversation and he said that he was a Christian, but in the conversation he also said, well, the voodoo was okay. And And so there is this thing what what what's it called, split?

Sharon Hughes: Split-level Christianity. Yeah, they go to church. You know, they also visit sort of the shaman or the astrologer. And so you know, they're trying to tap into this spirit world, but they're neglecting this a third part of the Trinity within Christianity, the Holy Spirit, who ministers to us daily in in the details of life. You know, instead of tapping into these spells and omens and traditional folk religions like voodoo and Wicca, in fact, Christianity has the Holy Spirit, which is very powerful and very real. And so often, especially since the enlightenment has has been sort of neglected somewhat in some Western churches, not all, but when churches I've found, particularly in my research into Wicca, when churches do neglect the the spiritual, the Holy Spirit and ministering to people at that level of life, people want something else.

And you know, in fact, George Gallup wrote a book where he was assessing the 21st century church. And what he found was that people when they are going to church, they want to sense that there's something supernatural going on, that people's lives are being changed and that they're excited about their faith. And when those things aren't happening, they want to look elsewhere. You know, Orthodox Christianity, all those three things should happen, you know, all the time. I found that a lot of people were sort of content to have caricature of Christianity, sort of a caricature of the Bible, sort of a book of rules.

They hadn't really read it. You know, I I would tell them some, well, you know, before you make an assumption it's probably a good idea to actually read it.

Sharon Hughes: Well, you know what? We're going to take a break here. When we come back, we've got a couple of other issues that we do want to cover. Specifically, I want to hear about Katherine's Halloween visit to Salem, Massachusetts. Stay with us.

Announcer: I often sit with people who are discouraged and have have gone to the sidelines and withdrawn from the political process. But I think part of the discouragement is we have had unrealistic expectations. If I need if if I have a medical problem and I need critical surgery, do I want a competent doctor or a Christian doctor? Well, the answer's yes. But if I have to choose, I prefer a competent one rather than an incompetent Christian. And when I go to vote, I'm voting for competence. I'm voting for the of the choices I have, who do I trust to provide leadership?

And I would strongly encourage, implore the the people of faith not to avoid the process and don't let your disappointment keep you on the sidelines. Your vote matters. So please prayerfully exercise the privilege that you've been given.

Announcer: If you like what you're hearing on today's show, you could get even more information from our website at changingworldviews.com. If you appreciate what Sharon is doing, please help her. Our show is solely funded by the donations of friends like you. So please help Sharon continue to keep her online programs free to listeners. And we thank you.

Sharon Hughes: And I want to let you know that this whole witch and Wicca phenomena is growing in the celebrity realm. You may know Lana Del Rey, who when asked if she put a hex on Donald Trump, she said, yeah, I did it. Why not? You remember we've reported on this and once Donald Trump announced that he was going to run for president, which is across the nation and even around the world, began to do hexes against him. We've displayed pictures, photos of them literally doing curses and spells against Trump and his family. And this particular celebrity participated in that.

So here's a crazy law. The Illinois State Capitol Rotunda allowed to happen. I'm talking about the Satanic Temples holiday display in the Capitol Rotunda in Illinois that stands alongside other religious exhibits. Last year's installment featured the Satanic figure Baphomet, really mocking the baby Jesus. The Satanic Temple says that Baphomet's message is of harmony. But what's really the truth here? If anyone knows their Bible, they know that Satan wanted to exalt himself above God in heaven and be worshiped. So here we are on Earth. The Satanic Temple now has gained access legally to the Illinois Capitol Rotunda and who knows where else to be displayed during Christmas time alongside the nativity scene with baby Jesus.

It's an effort for Satan to get the worship he's wanted all along. You tell me a teenager that was telling you about an experience when she and her friends had gotten together. I think they were doing a seance or something.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: She kept telling me a story about how she and her friends were engaged in a in a ritual one night and they all of a sudden just felt this sort of all four of them felt this sort of frightening presence amongst them. They they became terrified and and all felt it, ran outside. Then she told me she said it followed us. It followed us and we ran further outside and she said it was just completely frightening. And she said that they couldn't get away from it. And they finally did. And she said that her two other friends refused to even discuss Wicca anymore.

They're so scared. She said that she can't sleep without the light on. She has to have the light on now when she sleeps.

Sharon Hughes: Well, that's real. It is definitely real. There are spirits of darkness and they want to have access to your life. Well, you made a Halloween trip to Salem, Massachusetts.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: I did. I did. You know, it was interesting. I think that Salem, I would say, is sort of a microcosm of a macrocosm of what's going on in the United States. Of course, you know, it's famous for the the witch trials and such, but you know, the the people in the the stores in Salem had actually you had historical books on the witch trials. And then next to them were books on Wicca and paganism and sort of how-to books and spell kits and stuff like that. And it's like, you know, there's sort of it's just another way to sort of market this.

And I asked the the woman several women in these stores, I said, well, now are people coming to Salem for these things? And she said, oh, well, no, they just said they sell really well. So that's why we're selling them here. And so a lot of wiccans actually meet every year in Salem. They come there because there are other people like them that they can talk to and meet. And it was very interesting. I found that it really just gave me an insight as to one of the sort of appeals of Wicca, which is people are seeking community.

There's one man came up to me and said, I'm a male witch and I came here and I'd had a death in my family and these people made me feel loved. And you know, that is a a real draw. People, you know, will find that that there are others that that care for them and they might not have anyone like that in their lives.

Sharon Hughes: Yeah, well, we know Hitler cared for those that cared for him just like Saddam Hussein cared for those that cared for him as long as they cared for him.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: You know, they I actually went to this this ritual for their pagan holiday. Wiccan holiday is called Samhain and it was on Gallows Hill where these the hangings in Salem, you know, years ago. Of course, witchcraft had been condemned back then, but it was a very different scene that night that I witnessed. It was they were calling out to pagan gods and goddesses. They were casting spells. The man ran around the circle with antlers on his head. 400 witches drumming. In fact, I was standing in the shadows and I saw that there was a crew from the Discovery Channel that had come as well.

I hadn't seen them before. It was just so dark. And I remember the cameraman said to me, you know, we've been doing some things on the wiccan wiccan religion, but this is the strangest thing we've ever seen. But you know, it's really not that strange anymore. It's growing.

Sharon Hughes: Well, you know what? Katherine, we are out of time. I would really like for you to tell our folks a website where they can get a hold of your book.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: That would be great. Yeah. I mean, they can get it on Amazon and places like that and also on my website, which is katherinesanders.com. And that's Katherine with a C.

Sharon Hughes: Okay. Terrific. Thank you for being with us, Katherine.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: Oh, you're welcome. Thanks for having me.

Sharon Hughes: Well, and to close out today's show, I want to play just a small segment of an interview that I had with Audrey Russo when she was a co-host with me for our Friday Woman Talk edition of the show because it's relevant to what we've been talking about with Katherine Sanders. Here it is. You didn't mention to me that some believe that they can still be a Christian and practice these pagan rituals.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: Well, I had on one side of our family, which really was not discussed, my aunt's brother was the very in that world the very famous Herman Slater, who founded the Warlock Shop in Brooklyn Heights over 30 years ago. And then the Magical Child on West 19th Street, which is Greenwich Village after that. And he to look at him, you'd never believe that he was a witch. Um he used to come to the bar mitzvahs and the weddings and but we never discussed his business. They just said something we don't talk about because there was a lot of shame about it.

Sadly because of the lifestyle that's involved in it, because there are no limits, he died of AIDS in 1992. And And the other side of the family there was a spiritualism that was more deceptive because that, as I said, was cloaked in elements of Christianity, respectable, you know, reverends, hymns, their meetings, but they say this is a gift from God. Of course, the Bible clearly condemns this, contacting the dead, in Deuteronomy. Anything with witchcraft, who's saying, conjuring up the spirits of the dead, so to say that is is a gift is absurd. So I used to sit in the meetings and when they would come to me I was very confused by what they were saying to me.

It didn't make any sense. And I have to say that was God protecting my mind. But I'll tell you it did have consequences. And this is what nobody ever really speaks about. I was plagued with fears, some of them not rational, panic attacks. I had to sleep with the light on. I was fearful all the time and I didn't connect the two.

Sharon Hughes: Parents are supposed to be coverings for their children or for their spouses or whatever they let in basically lifts the roof off and lets anything else come in and everybody in the house gets affected. And And it's very very real. But I would like to encourage you to write an article about this and we'll post it on our website so that so that our listeners can get more information.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: I will do that. Absolutely. I will do that.

Sharon Hughes: Well, Audrey, it's good to have you with us.

Katherine Edwards Sanders: Thank you. It's great being with you.

Sharon Hughes: Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you will take to heart what we brought to you today and use this information to help other people come to understanding, if they don't already know, about some of these things that are going on right now, right here in America. And if we think that these things are not going to affect our nation, well, they will and they do. Okay. So let me just wrap this up with a few thoughts. From a biblical standpoint, witchcraft and sorcery is forbidden by God. He tells us in Ephesians 5:11 have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather to expose them.

And that's what we have tried to do on today's show. So we want to have discernment. We want to distinguish between as some of the resources online talk about. You want to distinguish between harmless cultural traditions and actual occult practices. So if the controversy surrounding this is new for you, you might want to do some research on your own to find out what actually goes on in these practices. But for now we're out of time. So until I see you next time on the show, this is Sharon Hughes saying it like it is.

Announcer: Thank you for tuning into this episode of Changing World Views. You can follow Sharon on social media or listen to her on many online platforms. Just go to our website changingworldviews.com for all the links. And until next time, stay informed, stay alert because we are indeed living in a changing world.