'I'm a real-life witch - I own a pointy hat, a wand and a broomstick and cast spells every day'

Many people love the opportunity to dress as something spooky for one night of the year on Halloween.

But for Juanita Margerison, wearing a pointy hat and casting spells isn't something she does for fun. It's part of who she is.

The 41-year-old is a real life witch.

Juanita, from Castlefield, first became interested in Wicca at the age of 11. Wicca is a modern religion that focuses on nature and celebrates events like solstices and equinoxes.

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She later lost her passion for spirituality when she entered the corporate world, then rekindled it when she started practising yoga.

Focusing on each of the seven energy centres – the Root Chakra, Sacral Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra and Crown Chakra – Juanita began using crystals to improve her life.

Noticing the wellness methods were making positive changes, Juanita decided to start doing witchcraft – seeing it as a way to focus on healing and spiritual growth.

“I’ve always had an interest in the way the philosophy of all religions leads you back to one truth,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “You cannot do harm or affect someone else's free will.

“The reason for this is purely and simply because whatever you give, you get back times three. This idea of hexing people or dark sorcery – I don’t subscribe to the idea of a white witch or a black witch.

“Someone practising black magic, to me, isn’t witchcraft. I don’t represent everyone but how I practise and how I live is to ensure a positive outcome.”

While Juanita practises witchcraft for self-empowerment, she also enjoys the “commercial” side of it, too – and there’s a reason she owns a wand and a pointy