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The Witch trials executed a number of innocent souls. They thought the Sabbaths were a time when the witches consorted with the devils and flew around the country on brooms. In the 1920’s and 30’s a number of people like Alex Sanders, Gerald Gardener and Dr. Margaret Murray tried to discover the ancient witchcraft origins. A number of books were written and published at the time to dissolve the misconceptions related to witchcraft. They discovered that Wicca had deep roots in mythologies of various cultures from Italy, Slavic, and Irish to even African. It was found that Witches were not followers of Satan but simply an ancient pagan religion that continued to flourish after the rise of Christianity.
The ancient origins of witchcraft were delved into more enthusiastically after the repeal of the Witchcraft act of 1735 during the 1950’s. Wicca is now considered to be a Neopagan religion and its origins are widely disputed. Gerald Gardener was a British citizen who brought back the Wicca religion. The term ‘’ Wicca’’ was introduced by one of his rivals who derived it from an old English word meaning Sorcery. A lot of various branches of Wicca religion sprouted thereafter. Some of the popular ones were Gardenerian, Alexandrian, Dianic, or the British traditional witch.
Wicca became popular during the 20th century and it is heavily influenced by the natural pagan rituals. Most of these rituals came out of ancient practises of the northern European people. These rituals were passed down through the ages and were mainly practised in secret. It celebrates the life force on earth and at the time when survival was depended on nature and its produce people created a number of rituals to try and control the natural elements.
The Celtic influence is the strongest in all Wicca’s as seen today. The ancient witchcraft origins are difficult to pin down since the burning times destroyed a lot of important data regarding them. A lot of Wicca’s went into hiding and many important sources have been lost. Today Witchcraft is popular again and people have renewed efforts to rediscover the secrets of these Neopagan rituals.
January 02 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Today people think of Baba Yaga, mother Shipton or the evil witches of Grimm’s fairy tales when thinking of the attributes of a witch. But if one takes the time to delve into witchcraft history then one would realise how far it is from the truth. It’s true that some had the power to cause harm but the good that they did for the society is often forgotten.
The word witch comes from an old pagan term Wicca which means casting a spell. Witches are so diverse in culture, ideas and beliefs that it’s difficult to define the meaning of witches and witchcraft. Various forms of witchcraft exist throughout the world from India to Europe though Africa is where it’s most concentrated.
Witchcraft history can be traced back to societies that relied on shamans or wise women who were seen as healers, soothsayers and advisors. They were an inherent part of society who people believed had a link between the spiritual and the physical world. They could be used as sources to find food, shelter and water or for destructive ends.
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During the twelfth century the churches started eyeing the Wiccan religion suspiciously. The Church believed a secret organization was plotting its overthrow. The once respected wiccans were now seen as consorting with the devil and in Europe witchcraft was now seen in opposition to Christianity. A number of witch trials were held and thousands were convicted based on frivolous accounts of witnesses. They were tortured in cruel ways and if anyone stated that they were a witch then they were doomed. Either they were tortured till they confessed and then executed or were killed for denying the truth. A number of books were burnt on witchcraft during this time and the few remaining witches went into hiding. This makes it even harder to determine the exact history and practises of ancient wiccans. By the seventeenth century witch hunts had spread to America and the terrible witch craft trials ensued.
After the end of the bloody witch trials it took a long time for the witches to come out into the open. But their faith in their craft stayed on and their brave conviction to keep their stories and secrets alive paved a way for the new age witches. Gerald Gardener and Doreen Valeinte revived the Wiccan culture during the 1950’s. Witchcraft popularity has been growing everyday since and so is the belief that a religion such as Wicca can offer a chance to attain a higher spiritual growth.
Technorati Tags: wiccan religion, witchcraft history
December 16 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
A columnist working for The Washington Times named Miss Vicki giving advice to those who request it recently got a letter from a Wiccan mother detailing several issues at her child’s school, which can be read at Dear Miss Vicki. Basically, the woman’s children have been being harassed after others discovered that the family is Wiccan. Not only are these children being harassed by other students but by professors as well as members of upper authority at the school. The mother continues to claim that she has attempted to support her children through this, but the father is afraid of the consequences and the way it might reflect on his Air Force career. The mother is now left with the question on what to do.
The answers of Miss Vicki were as usual relatively good, though she did admit that she did not know very much about Wicca and she agreed that the most important thing was the well being of the children. Her suggestion was to talk to both the family’s Wiccan group for assistance as well as the military for more information. It was not evident if the family participates in an organized group or just practices solely as a family, though if she is in a group which offers support the advice of Miss Vicki should be found to be very useful. Along with this information it was also suggested by Miss Vicki that the children seek some form of counseling in order to help them to deal with the harassment from the other children.
The advice wasn’t bad at all especially coming from a person who is not a part of the Pagan or Wiccan community. I am not sure if the mother who was seeking advice reads this blog, but I will offer my advice to her as well as anyone in a similar situation. I believe that she should seek legal representation with an attorney or someone with affiliation to the ACLU as quickly as possible so that she can be made aware of her and her families rights in regards to this matter in their state. The right to an education in a safe and un-hostile environment is one that every child is promised in this country, and it is obvious that these children are having this right stripped from them. If the professors and other forms of authority are not only neglecting to protect these rights but at the same time participating in violating them then it is up to the mother to take the matter into her own hands, as she clearly is already attempting to do.
If you or someone you know has young children, you may research about the Rights of Pagan Students.
February 06 2009 | Uncategorized | Comments Off
