Part 1: The History of Witches

Part 2: The Witch Hunters 

  The History of Witches

 "In the medieval ages, there was no evidence of how the history of mankind had been effected by witchcraft.
But there is significant factual history of how the brutality and sadism of mankind has been displayed, in the most obscene manner, in the name of the witch-hunt."

Kangana Ranaut

Sadly, we might as well begin this discourse by acknowledging the disheartening fact that ...  it is impossible to compile a true and unimpeachable history of witchcraft!

Figuratively speaking, trying to build a universally accepted history of witchcraft is like trying to build a sand castle while arguing over which grains of sand to use. 

Even amongst witches you are rarely going find two people who will agree on the derivation or even the definition of the word 'witch'. The most common modern explanation is that it comes from an Old English word“wicca”, which is purported by some to have meant witch, though there is however no evidence of the word "wicca" being used until 1920 when it first appeared in ‘An Encyclopedia of Occultism’ compiled by Lewis Spence. The word was later usurped by Gerald Gardner, around 1954, as a label for his Wiccan Movement. Wicca in itself is a modern concoction comprised of elements of ancient Kabbalistic and Egyptian Mystism, mixed in with pre-Christian European folk traditions.

Unfortunately the general public, and many Wiccans themselves, misconceive Wicca as having been brewed up over the millennia in an old witch's cauldron rather than it being a mid-20th Century contrivance.

There is however a another probable origin for the term we think of today as "witch". The Old English word "wit", which meant "wisdom",  is thought to have been used by the ancient Britains to refer to the wise men and women practitioners of the 'Old Religion'.  This may also explain whybe why, amongst the ancient peoples, ‘witchcraft’ was referred to as the 'Craft of the Wise’. Unfortunately, centuries ago the word “witch” stopped being used as a “name” and started being used as a “label”.

“A name is a label, and as soon as there is a label, the ideas disappear
and out comes label-worship and label-bashing, and instead of living
by a theme of ideas, people begin dying for labels...
and the last thing the world needs is another religion.” 

~ Richard Bach ~

This type of “labeling” goes back to even pre-biblical times with certain religious people calling themselves “children or the light”, while calling anyone with a contrary view of life “children of the dark". Things really went spiraling out of control for the simple living heathens when the early Christian churches began sending out their monks, (and their crusaders), to spread the gospel of their “one true God”. These colonizing propagandists needed a new label to stick on anyone they saw as being a threat to their campaign and to intensify their stigmatization of their enemies; so the former title “children of the dark” was replaced by “worshippers of Satan”. This still wasn’t a catchy enough slogan for a good propaganda campaign and so they made the European word "witch" a synonym for "devil worshipper".

Although the term witchcraft originally was applied to magickal practitioners of Celtic Nature/Earth  centered spiritual practices; as Christianity began to colonize the world any shaman, priest, priestess, oracle, medicine man, (or rebel), had the label of “witch” stuck on them. As we have seen in more recent history, this witch label was like the Nazis sticking yellow Stars of David on European Jews. It is a lot easier to round up and dispose of those who oppose you if the rest of society has already been conditioned to see them as bearing a mark of evil.

So, today the Mongolian shaman, the Aztec priest and the Navajo medicine man are all erroneously stamped with the label of witch.  Add to this that many fundamental Christians have added  “feminists” to the witchcraft pantheon and now, in the public's mind, there are  so many grains of sand making up the witchcraft sand castle that there will probably never be any mutual agreement on what witchcraft truly is (or should be).

Witchcraft and its magick have been a part of the story of mankind from its earliest days. If we are to cast any light on the origins of witchcraft we have to go down into the darkness, deep into the ancient caves and look upon the prehistoric cave paintings. There we find recorded the images drawn by early humans. When we go down into those caves today with our floodlights we see them as works of art.  But those ancient “artists”, deep in the earth, working by the dancing light of their fires, were really creating works of magick.

These ancient drawings were of the animals that the early humans not only hunted as food, but also venerated as spirits, and their presence of in the land meant the difference between life and death to the people. In time these early humans came to associate the appearance of these animals with the changing of the seasons, and in time the seasons with the movements of the Sun and the Moon and with this association came the awareness of the cycles of Nature. Before long early humans began to comprehend that there was something big, something “magickal” going on and with that awareness came a desire to be a part of  and to perchance be able create and even control that magic.

In reverence of Nature’s wonders the ancients told stories and painted pictures of the strange, mystical events they experienced and they sang and danced in celebration of these wonders. More importantly, in creating this of art of myth and legend, as expressed within ritual, they were creating a “language” through which they might be able to communicate with the magickal forces of Nature that they were seeking to emulate. So, for all intent and purpose, it was in these ancient deep dark caves that the history of witchcraft began.

“I love the idea that magic and witchcraft
and battles between supernatural creatures
could be raging all around us
but just out of our sight. ” 

Anthony Horowitz

 So the grains of sand started to come together to build the sand castle. At first it took form in the people's spiritual beliefs and practices, which they based on a veneration of their land and all the things native to that land. They were a deeply spiritual people, who worshiped both the god and goddess, (the male and female /yin and yang energies of the Nature). This later grew into what became known as Paganism, and that is when the labeling began.

Although it happened pretty much the same way all over the world, the early Pagan Celts, from whom the modern concept of witchcraft derives, saw the signs of change quite early on.  Around 350 BC, a hieratic fraternity known as the Druids developed among the early Britians and they became not only the priests, but also the teachers, judges, and most importantly, the historians of what became the new Celtic religion. 

 



Here is the key to understanding the story, the people stopped being spiritual and they started being religious. Once “religions” begin the followers of that religion go looking for a label to put on their one true religion, to differentiate theirs from someone else’s one true religion. The problem is that labels do not only define what you are, but what you are not. They define not only what you should believe, but what you should not believe as well. Eventually, as people come to have disagreements about what to believe they begin to splinter off into opposing groups (or sects). Pretty soon these groups not only develop their own individualistic dogma, but their own “history” of the origin of their one true religion, which commonly is more fanciful invention than historic fact. Before long these groups became “churches” which are said to be build of stone, but are eventually revealed to only be out made of sand. These sand "churches" eventually get washed away and then rebuilt by someone else, again with shifting sand that the "new history' will portray as solid rock.

Today, modern witchcraft also has broken off into so many sects, (some prefer to call them covens), that the whole concept of witchcraft has become even more muddled than ever and with each sect offering up its own history (some prefer to call it bullshit), the truth is pretty much buried deep in the sand and most covens would prefer it stay buried.

"We can learn from history, but we can also deceive ourselves
when we selectively take evidence from the past to
what we have already made up our minds to do."

Margaret MacMillan 

Therefore, someone's history of witchcraft is really not the criteria you should use to seek your path, as most of the histories are more fanciful than anything J.K. Rowling has ever written. In truth you will probably gain as much insight from Harry Potter as you will from "The History of Wicca". But, the central principle behind the true essence of traditional witchcraft has always been that you will more likely find your way to the Craft within a grove of trees than within the covers of a book and the trees won't lie to you either.

So in the end, if you find that your personal model of a sand castle is a satisfying framework that works for you and suits your needs, then perhaps you should apply the same principle to your personal model of witchcraft. Be satisfied if that framework works for you, even if your model of witchcraft doesn't satisfy anyone else. This is what most traditional witches do anyway and no two witches will ever end up compiling the exact same 'witch's journal' or Grimore refelecting their own unique journey through the Craft.

The Witch Hunters 

 



During many ages there were witches. The Bible said so. The Bible commanded that they should not be allowed to live. Therefore the Church, after eight hundred years, gathered up its halters, thumb-screws, and firebrands, and set about its holy work in earnest. She worked hard at it night and day during nine centuries and imprisoned, tortured, hanged, and burned whole hordes and armies of witches, and washed the Christian world clean with their foul blood.
Then it was discovered that there was no such thing as witches, and never had been. One does not know whether to laugh or to cry. There are no witches. The witch text remains; only the practice has changed. Hell fire is gone, but the text remains. Infant damnation is gone, but the text remains. More than two hundred death penalties are gone from the law books, but the texts that authorized them remain.

~Mark Twain~



THE WITCH HUNTER'S BIBLE 

Or: The Hammer of Witches

National Geographic Australia

 (Watch Video

One of the most controversial and infamous texts of all time,
The Hammer of Witches put many innocent people to death.

 Full Text: https://sacred-texts.com/pag/mm/

THE HAMMER

The witch hunter’s bible was referred to in Latin as the Malleus Maleficarum, which translates to mean "The Hammer of Witches". This text was written in 1486, published in 1487, and consisted of 256 pages of facts proving that witches were real and must be killed. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, researchers speculate that over 30,000 copies were in circulation throughout Europe, during which time an estimated 60,000 “witches” were put to death. The text contains three separate sections: the first is a philosophical explanation of witches’ existence, the second is a clergy guide to recognize a witch, and the third is a legal manual for the accusation, persecution, and death penalty for witchcraft.

 

THE MAN WITH THE HAMMER 

A man named Heinrich Kramer, one of the most infamous witch hunters in history, eventually became the author of The Hammer of the Witches. His initial motivation for writing the text was to prove his theory to many of his critics because he had, thus far, failed as a witch hunter. The most powerful endorsement the Hammer ever saw was the Papal Bull "Summis desiderantes affectibus", a document signed by Pope Innocent VIII on 5 December 1484, stating an official church opinion, making it the only book on witchcraft to receive this approval. It is said that in order to persuade the Pope to condone the Hammer of the Witches, Kramer brought him a large sum of money.

Like Adolph Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” Heinrich Kramer and c0-author Jacob Sprenger’s “Malleus Maleficarum” is a book that is read for historical importance rather than enjoyment. As such it should form a part of every thinking person's library as a warning beacon, if for no other reason that it is a seminal textbook on the inhumanity of humanity. ... (read full article)

KING JAMES VI & DEMONOLOGY

In 1597, King James VI of Scotland published a compendium on witchcraft lore called Daemonologie or “the Science of Demons. It was also published in England in 1603 when James acceded to the English throne.

The book asserts James’s full belief in magic and witchcraft, and aims to both prove the existence of such forces and to lay down what sort of trial and punishment these practices merit, in James’s view, death. Daemonologie takes the form of a dialogue (popular for didactic works) and is divided into three sections: the first on magic and necromancy (the prediction of the future by communicating with the dead), the second on witchcraft and sorcery and the third on spirits and spectres.

James’s superstitious nature might have provided fertile ground in which a fear of witchcraft might grow. However, the seeds of that fear did not originate in Scotland. Instead, James’s witchcraft issues began to blossom during a trip to Denmark in 1589. That August, James had been married by proxy to Anne of Denmark.  However, when the Princess attempted to set sail for Scotland to formalize her marriage, she found herself driven back to shore by violent storms. So, James decided not to wait for his bride to come to him and instead set sail for Denmark.

The couple remained in Denmark until May 1590. During that time, James met many intellectuals and philosophers of the Danish Court. What the Scottish King learned gave him much food for thought.  For James became aware that belief in witchcraft was widespread in Denmark. The Danish firmly believed that all witches were in league with the devil and that their powers came from a demonic pact. Witches were regarded as a social scourge and widely hunted. Crucially,  however, James learned that the court believed the storms that had prevented his new wife crossing the sea to Scotland were the work of witches. James embarked on the voyage back to Scotland with his new bride. While the royal fleet was at sea, violent storms suddenly blew up. The storm battered the Scottish fleet, and one ship was lost. Shaken by what had happened James grew convinced that witches were at work.

Spurred on by his newfound conviction, in 1590, James instigated a widespread purge of witches. He began by rooting out the witches in Scotland he believed to be responsible for the potentially fatal May storms that he was convinced were part of a wide scale plot to end his life. In all, between 70 and 100 ‘witches’ from the Scottish coastal town of North Berwick were rounded up and accused of using their devilish arts to attempt to kill the King and his new wife.

In 1597, James published his "Daemonologie". In doing so, he became the only monarch in history to publish a book about witches- and how to find them. The eighty-page book was the result of seven years of painstaking research. Like the medieval  Malleus Maleficarum, the Daemonologie was designed to convince readers of the genuine danger of witches- as well as equip them with the knowledge to root them out.

The book became the main point of reference for Matthew Hopkins, the witchfinder general. In the meantime, it equipped Scottish witchfinders with the wherewithal to carry out the king’s will. By the time James left Scotland to take up the throne of England, half the Scottish witches arrested were being convicted and burnt.

In 1604, right after James ascended to the English throne, a new Witchcraft Act was passed, extending the scope of witchcraft-related crimes that could be punished with death. Considering the king’s well-known interest in witches, Shakespeare likely thought James would approve of this content in his Scottish play. As James’s reign continued, he would become more skeptical about the possibility of witchcraft. However, charges of witchcraft continued in Great Britain, with Scotland in particular experiencing a number of witch hunt crazes throughout the 17th century. Later that century, the Salem witch trails rocked New England. Historically, periods of intense concern about witches and witchcraft tend to overlap with periods of political instability, uncertain leadership, and anxieties about power dynamics. By combining the presence of witches with similar themes in the world of Macbeth, Shakespeare used witchcraft to signal to his audience that Scotland was in a vulnerable and unsettled state. What made witches dangerous was their overweaning ambition and willingness to sell their souls in order to achieve power (in their case, supernatural rather than political). Likewise, Macbeth falls prey to the same tendencies.

WITCH HUNTS IN AMERICA

THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS

 

The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. As a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the first convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hanged that June. Eighteen others followed Bishop to Salem’s Gallows Hill, with one other man Giles Corey being crushed to death for refusing to enter a  plea. At least five other people died in jail, with their property then being seized and turned over to their accusers. Some 150 more men, women and children were accused over the next few months, until the autumn of 1692, when word of the executions reached Massachusetts Colonial Governor William Phipps in Boston and he quickly realized what was happening and put an end to the trials.

In January 1697, the Massachusetts General Court declared a day of fasting for the tragedy of the Salem witch trials; the court later deemed the trials unlawful, and the leading justice Samuel Sewall publicly apologized for his role in the holocaust. In 1711 the Court  posthumously annulled the guilty verdicts against the accused witches, restoring the good names of the condemned, if not their good lives, and it provided some financial restitution to their heirs, but the painful legacy of the Salem Witch Trials still endures.

Apart from the apology by Justice Sewall for his part in the atrocity, there seems to have been no real sense of remorse on the part of the perpetrators for their part in what happened and they were never held to account for their actions. Even today, though there were never any true witches involved and the Salem Witch Trials were nothing more than a murderous persecution, the good people of Salem, not wanting to let a slick marketing  gimmick go to waste, have continued to perpetuate the outrage by promoting the image (and the business) of the city as  “The Witch City”, turning it into a witchcraft theme park, not as a way of remembering the victims who were tortured and murdered, but for a chance to continue to profit from the suffering of their innocent neighbors.

Salem has become this ... Mecca for Wiccans, but no witches died here. Aside from Tituba, no one practiced anything like witchcraft near here in colonial times. It was a bunch of bored Puritans who thought killing their neighbors at the behest of teenage girls was a fine, Christian form of entertainment and land acquisition.

Thomm Quackenbush, Pagan Standard Times: Essays on the Craft







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