That is slowly changing, due to the work of many dedicated people and organizations who have worked hard for years to communicate the truth about our religion. The fact that I’m on this panel for Newsweek and the Washington Post is one example of progress.

Witches, of course, are also figures that capture the popular imagination—and in the realm of fantasy, there have recently been many books and films that at least treat Witches and magic positively, if entirely unrealistically.

The Harry Potter books have little or nothing to do with our theology, but most of us read them avidly and enjoy them immensely. And the movies have certainly popularized Witch fashion—the cloaks, the flowing robes, the pointy hats.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer—a series much loved by many Pagans—has had at least one episode where a techno-Pagan rescues Buffy from a demon in a computer system. And Buffy herself is an exaggerated icon of the real dilemma many Witches face—living an outwardly normal life while concealing a rich, mythic Otherness.

And, of course, how could we forget Bewitched? Recently, I even caught part of an episode of Wife Swap that involved a Pagan family who were made to look no more ridiculous than anyone else on the show.

Perhaps its not surprising that the fantasy and the archetype of the Witch are far more prevalent than the reality in the mass media. Real Witchcraft is far less dramatic than fantasy witchcraft—and our powers, alas, are much more circumscribed. While Harry Potter is racing on his broomstick, Wanda the Real Witch is more likely getting the Toyota Smog checked so she can take the kids to soccer practice.

For Witches and Pagans who feel underrepresented in the mainstream media, the world has never before offered so many avenues through which we can make our own media—and I encourage you all to write, speak, blog, post pictures, videos, publish, draw, sing and in every way creatively express your truth.

Over time, that will be the most powerful magic—in the way occultist Dion Fortune defined the word, as ‘the art of changing consciousness at will.’