Source: The Missourian
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/10/27/local-witches-host-educational-panel/
A witch is an ugly old woman, with warts on her face, dressed all in black with a pointy hat who rides a broomstick and performs evil spells, right? Wrong.
Hearthfires, the Mid-Missouri Pagan Spiritual Alliance, presented a panel discussion on Sunday titled, "Which Witch is Which?" at the Columbia Public Library. The panel consisted of several members of the mid-Missouri Pagan community who spoke about the reality of witchcraft, in particular Wicca, as opposed to the popular culture image of witches. They also spoke about the origins of some of the traditions associated with Halloween.
According to the panelists, witches don't necessarily dress in black, they are not involved in any form of devil worship and they definitely don't perform the extraordinary acts of magic seen in movies and television.
"We do this forum because we want to make a distinction between the stereotypical little old lady riding around on a broomstick with a wart on her nose," said Steven Galbreath, a high priest of Wicca, board member of Hearthfires and a committee member of Pagan Pride Day.