Is Being a Witch and Practicing Witchcraft Illegal in Texas?

Practicing witchcraft can have some negative connotations to it. Movies and TV shows will depict witches as summoners of evil or casters of spells that can harm another person. Yes, that is all fiction. There is no one who can wave their fingers, shoot out some kind sparkly dust from their fingers and poison the air around us. However, there is a group of people who do practice a form of witchcraft, it's just not as dramatic or sensationalized like in the movies or on TV. But is it legal to practice in Texas? Let's take a look at the laws around it.

History of Witches

Stories of witches have been around since biblical times. These were women believed to have mystical powers to seduce, heal or cast spells. But most of these stories were just that, stories, or myths, passed down over the centuries. But real women were considered witches and it was for a completely innocent reason, they were earning a living. Before the Spanish Inquisition, women held the duties of the home. One of those responsibilities became brewing ale. These women were known as alewives.

These alewives would wear tall, pointed, black hats so they would stand out in a crowd and let people know they were selling ale. They also kept cats around their home to keep rodents from eating their grain. They would brew their ale in black cauldrons and placed a broom outside their home to let people know they had ale. Men would get drunk from the ale and become uncontrollable. In those days, that meant they had consumed some kind of potion, or witches brew.

That's a General History of How Witches Came to Be

So is it legal to practice witchcraft in Texas?

The Short Answer is...Yes

Practicing witchcraft is actually upheld by the First Amendment. Having said that, there are some limitations to it. For instance, tarot reading for the purpose of fortunetelling or predicting the future could be against the law. There is no federal or state law regarding this, it is left up to local municipalities to determine. But if it is advertised as a form of entertainment, it is legal no matter what. It is also not legal to advertise things like charms, potions, stones or other items as having health benefits. They would need to be advertised as religious artifacts, works of art or even craft supplies to be sold legally.

The best thing to do if you wish to practice witchcraft is to check with local ordinances to make sure everything you're doing falls within the laws of your area.

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