Western Europe got the idea for witches because they were ignorant and isolated, and in their ignorance they were scared of pagan priestesses.
Witches were said to get their power from Satan because pagan priestesses worshipped pagan polytheistic gods.
And because The Bible forbids the worship of polytheistic gods, people equated these polytheistic gods with Satan.
Let's put it this way.
The Bible says to not worship Tom Hanks.
That does not make Tom Hanks the Devil!
Just because the Bible says to not worship someone does not mean that that someone is Satan!
The Bible says to not worship the Twelve Apostles!
Are the Twelve Apostles Satan?
Because The Bible definitely says not to worship them!
The Bible does Not say that pagan gods are Satan, any more than it says that Tom Hanks is Satan!
There is a major logical disconnect happening here!
And it has been happening for over a thousand years!
Hopefully this will restore just a little, tiny bit of sanity into things!
God loves you! Look to God and ignore the Devil! The Devil is not worthy of your attention!
God loves you!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson
P.S. Really, in the scheme of things, most of the pagan polytheistic gods, in the world of a Judeo-Christian One God, are simply personified forces of nature! Poseidon is simply the stormy sea itself! Thor is simply lightning and thunder itself! Aphrodite is the personified force of sexual attraction itself! And these natural forces are certainly not Satan! Some of the polytheistic gods can even be equated with the Judeo-Christian One God himself, like Atum for example!