Reclaiming the Witch: How Power, Queerness & Rebellion Got Branded Evil

What if the witches we grew up fearing weren’t villains, but visionaries, healers, or queer-coded rebels whose power threatened the status quo?

In today’s rich and revolutionary episode of More Human, More Kind, Heather Hester uncovers the truth behind witch hunts, both historical and modern. From midwives to queer teens, anyone who dared to live outside the norms has been branded dangerous. But when we revisit who the “witch” really was, we open a portal to connection, empathy, and courage.

If your child is drawn to witches, monsters, or magic, this episode will show you why it’s not about rebellion, it’s about belonging, power, and healing. And how you, as a parent or ally, can show up with more curiosity, not control.

• Why witches were originally midwives, healers, and women with ungovernable knowledge
• How LGBTQ+ communities reclaim the witch as a symbol of queer power, survival, and self-trust
• 4 ways you can use this history to better understand and affirm your LGBTQ+ child
• Unlearn the myth that witches = evil and explore what society really fears: truth, autonomy, and joy

Press play to uncover how history, horror, queerness, and allyship collide—and how this ancient archetype can help you raise brave, inclusive, empowered kids today.

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

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At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and grow their capacity for courageous, compassionate connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in, I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive podcast in a heartfelt and empowering space where a mom and advocate offers practical guidance and education to parents and allies, fostering empathy, kindness, love, and strong boundaries while supporting LGBTQ teens and the diverse LGBTQ community—including gay, lesiban, bisexual, trans, transgender, and queer individuals—through conversations about mental health, grief, gender identity, sexual orientation, human rights, social justice, parenting, parent support, and meaningful LGBTQ allyship and allyship in action.

Resource Spotlight

Historical & Theoretical

• The Malleus Maleficarum (1486), Heinrich Kramer & Jacob Sprenger
• Silvia Federici, Caliban and the Witch (2004).
• Anne Llewellyn Barstow, Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts (1994).
• Brian P. Levack, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (2016).
• Lyndal Roper, Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany (2004).
• Mona Chollet, In Defense of Witches (2022).
• Alex Mar, Witches of America (2015).

Feminist & Cultural Reclamation

• Pam Grossman, Waking the Witch (2019).
• Kristen J. Sollée, Witches, Sluts, Feminists (2017).
• Sarah Lyons, Revolutionary Witchcraft (2019).
• Pam Grossman, The Witch Wave Podcast.  The witch became the archetype of anyone reclaiming power denied to them—especially queer and trans people who have also been branded unnatural or dangerous.
• As Grossman says, “To be a witch is to be a person who chooses themselves.”
• The Love Witch (2016), The Craft (1996).
• Queer Witch Podcast.

Academic Articles & Essays

• Marianne Hester, “Patriarchal Reconstruction and Witch Hunting,” Gender & History (1991).
• Deborah Willis, Malevolent Nurture: Witch-Hunting and Maternal Power (1995).
• Smithsonian Magazine, “The Witch Craze That Swept Through Europe” (2018).
• Teen Vogue, “Why Queer People Identify with Witches” (2022).

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