This has been a topic
that I have wanted to talk about for a while.
Many people have a misconception on the topic of witchcraft, paganism, Wicca
etc. People assume that it is a form
of “Satanism” and is filled with devil worshiping. The question
at hand is what is the history of Witchcraft? Truthfully, Witchcraft is one of
the oldest religions in our world. It
pre-dates Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. What Witchcraft has as a philosophy is the
teachings of nature. These include the
sun, moon, trees, stars, animals etc.
Anthropologist
Dr. Margaret Murray discovered information
that she has traced the beginning roots of witchcraft which took place
about 25,000 years ago. It was shown
that both men and women practiced the art of showing gifts and praise to Deities. This practice involved the giving of food and
use of symbols which further evolved into ritualism. This developed in the thanking of Mother
Nature since most early tribes hunted for their survival. They would thank Mother Nature for her
sacrifice, and honor nature.
There
have been many uncovered stone carvings of a Goddess and a God as a
symbol. There were also moon phases, the
sun, and instructions for seeding.
When
Christianity was first introduced, these two religions viewed each other as
very similar. Both priests and
priestesses of both religions would help out each other for celebrations of seasonal
rites. As centuries passed, temples were
being built for the Goddess “Mary.” Pope
Gregory the Great wanted to make the majority of people convert to
Christianity, and he was able to by building churches on pagan temple
grounds. Many of the churches in these
regions to this day still have statues of the “Horned God” and pictures of Pentacles.
The
rivalry between the two religions started forming. It was difficult to have
people fully convert to Christianity because of their restrictions in their
beliefs. Many covens started being persecuted. The crusades started along with events like
the plague. Joan of Arc was one historical figure that was burned at the stake
because of an accusation of heresy.
The
Medieval Church went forward with their witch hunts. Misogyny was popular in these times where
because women gave birth they were associated with sexuality. Sexuality at this time was viewed as evil and
women were nothing but full of lust. A
book was written called Malleus Maleficarum translated as “The Hammer of the Witches.” About 9 million men, women and children were
tortured and killed during these times.
By
the 17th century most people who still practiced of the Old Religion
went underground. Because of these
secret gatherers, the Church at this time was able to alter the idea of what
their view of Witchcraft was. Demonology
was big during this time as well. The
Salem Witchcraft trials also took place during this century.
In
1921, Dr. Margaret Murray wrote a book on her research on the Western European Old
Religion. In 1949, a man named Gerald
Gardner produced a book where he combined witchcraft and ceremonial
magick. This was the start of
Wicca.
Many
people today want to reconnect with the Old Religion and show its true meaning
and beliefs. The purpose of Witchcraft is the belief in nature and fertility. It
follows the laws of thermodynamics in which something cannot be created out of
nothing. Another basic law would be the
three fold law. Where whatever you do,
good or bad will come back to three fold. This is a form of Karma. One of the biggest rules in Witchcraft is the
Wiccan Rede which stated “Ye harm none.”
One must not harm other people or nature.
http://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/rede.htm
http://shadow.htmlplanet.com/witchcraft.htm
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