Witchcraft was once widely accepted across communities around the world but is now often dismissed or misunderstood. Despite this, it continues to be practised by people who see it not as something sinister, but as a way of connecting with nature, healing and long-held traditions.

For one Manx woman now living in rural Australia, witchcraft is rooted in family history and the landscape of her childhood on the Isle of Man.

Rhonda Roberts, 49, moved to Adelaide more than 20 years ago and now runs Witch of the Woods Wellness & Adelaide Witch School, where she offers practices including psychic development, herb magic and sound baths.

She said her early years on the Island, spent outdoors among forests and glens, played a key role in shaping her path.

‘We were always playing in the forest, making potions out of flowers and pond water,’ she said. ‘At the time it felt like imagination, but later I realised it was something more.’

Rhonda believes her interest in healing runs through her family. She said her great, great grandmother was a herbalist and folk healer on the Isle of Man, and one story in particular has stayed with her.

She recalled how her grandmother performed a spell when her newborn son was critically ill.

‘He lived into his 90s,’ she said, adding that he went on to survive war and imprisonment. ‘Things happen too often for it just to be a coincidence.’

After moving to Australia in 2014, her practice began to change in response to the environment.

‘The land has a very different feel to it,’ she said, explaining that working in the southern hemisphere meant relearning seasonal cycles and adapting to local plants.

‘I like to use what’s local to the land. In the UK, the rowan tree symbolises protection. In Australia, the gum tree represents protection and purification.’

For many years she practised quietly, but that shifted after she trained in Reiki.

‘I realised that a lot of what I’d been doing was already energy manipulation and energy healing,’ she said.

Teaching followed, although she said misconceptions still exist.

‘There are people who are terrified of witches and think we’re all evil,’ she said.

Rhonda sees her work as part of a long-standing tradition.

‘Originally, witches were the village wise woman. She was there to help people.’

She describes herself as a hedge witch, working closely with herbs and the spirits of the land. Her practice includes seasonal rituals, energetic cleansing and intuitive healing.

She is clear about boundaries, stressing that her work does not replace medical care.

‘What I do doesn’t replace going to a doctor - it complements it,’ she said, adding that on occasion she has encouraged clients to seek medical advice.

One of her most personal experiences involved helping her daughter conceive after months of trying.

‘A couple of weeks later, she was pregnant,’ she said, laughing. ‘It’s now a family joke that I got my daughter pregnant.’

Despite occasional criticism online, Rhonda said she remains focused on education and openness.

‘I want people to feel safe being who they are,’ she said. ‘Witchcraft, at its heart, is about care, awareness and living in harmony with the world around us.’