It's Just a Cartoon by Holly D. Sands

Children learn what's normal from what they see and hear. Before they can explain what they believe, they've already been formed by the heroes they cheer for and the songs they sing in the back seat. That's why we should be concerned when we see big family entertainment brands peddling spells, potions, and friendly witches as wholesome fun for preschoolers and grade-schoolers.

This is the formula: they take something God calls an abomination, give it big eyes and a catchy soundtrack, and make the witch the kind, brave one. A child doesn't hear "occult"; they hear, "Magic is good, and the girl with the spellbook is who I want to be."

Everyone who has children knows this to be true: kids don't watch something once; they watch it twenty times. They sing the songs, wear the costumes, and act it out with their neighborhood friends. 

I once heard about a woman named Marisa who became a Wiccan witch at eleven years old. She said it started in late childhood with a fascination with Harry Potter, and it grew as she watched show after show that made witchcraft look fun and powerful: Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed, The Worst Witch. 

Everything she saw told her that magic meant power and control. She called herself a "white witch" and thought she was doing good, but came out of it deeply damaged. 

Scripture doesn't provide a cute version of abominations.

"There shall not be found among you anyone who… practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD." (Deuteronomy 18:10–12)

Former psychic Jenn Nizza has an interesting story of how she was introduced to the occult. When Jenn was 13, growing up on Long Island in a culturally Catholic family, her mother hosted a psychic party in their home. The tarot reading told her true things about her past that seemed impossible for anyone to know, and that was the hook. Nobody thought they were doing anything dangerous; it was normal.

That's the danger. It didn't take a dark ritual to open the door, just adults treating it like harmless fun. And know this, friend: our children are watching what we treat as normal. 

"But What About...?"

Not every story with a witch in it is the problem. So instead of a blanket rule, ask a few questions when you're deciding what to allow:

• Who holds the power? Does it come from God (or a clear picture of Him), or from spells, potions, and the self?

• Is the witch the villain or the hero? Is witchcraft presented as something to fear and resist, or something to want and learn?

• Is evil called evil? Or is darkness dressed up as light?

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness." (Isaiah 5:20)

What You Can Do

Watch it before they do. Previews and cover art won't tell you everything.

Explain, don't just turn it off. When they protest, tell them why in words they can understand: "God tells us not to play with that, because it isn't really pretend."

Ask them questions. After a show, ask, "Who was the strongest one in that story? Where did their power come from?" You'll be amazed at what they notice, and you'll be training their discernment without a lecture.

Replace it with better stories. The Bible has real showdowns where God's power wins over the occult, and kids love them:

• Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh's magicians, when Aaron's staff swallowed theirs (Exodus 7:8–12)

• Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20–39)

• Paul casting the spirit of divination out of a slave girl (Acts 16:16–18)

Children aren't born with discernment. They must be taught it and God has assigned that job to the parents.

"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." (Deuteronomy 6:7)

If It's Already in Your House

Maybe you're thinking about the streaming apps on your TV, or the movie your kids watched last night. But don't stop there - look around your house. The Ouija board in the game closet, the tarot deck someone gave you as a joke, the "magic" spell kit from the toy aisle, the crystals for "good energy," or the horoscope app on your phone. All the things you thought were innocent fun, but they're not. 

God doesn't grade witchcraft on a curve, and a cute package doesn't change what's inside it. Scripture is blunt about bringing these things home:

"Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it; but you shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing." (Deuteronomy 7:26)

This isn't about guilt over what you didn't know. But now that you know, you're responsible for what you do next. Don't box it up for a yard sale or donate it to a thrift store. When the believers in Ephesus came to Christ, they gathered their books of magic and burned them publicly, no matter what they were worth (Acts 19:19). Make the same clean break. Get it out of your house, and don't give the enemy a place to stand in your home (Ephesians 4:27).

Then sit down with your kids and tell them why. They'll remember what you removed, but they'll remember even more that you took God at His word.

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About the Author

Holly D. Sands has walked with Christ since 1983. She writes at He is My Song, helping fellow believers walk faithfully through every season with biblical encouragement, sound doctrine, and honest reflection.  She lives in South Carolina, where she and her husband, Shane Sands, are members of a local Baptist church. Shane's been called by God as an evangelist and leads United in Christ Jesus ministry. At home, they're joined by their idiot cat, Mister Bojangles, whose main contribution to the household is sleeping and eating treats.

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