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WHITE WITCHCRAFT: AN INTRODUCTION
WITCHCRAFT -
THE TRADITION
Traditionally,
witchcraft has always been viewed as malevolent,
anti-religious and deviant. Manifestations of it have existed
from the earliest times, well before the Christian era.
Undoubtedly it arose and gained prominence out of the
ignorance of the majority who grew to fear the apparent powers
of certain people in their midst. Much later the Christian
(RC) Church came to see it as a threat to its influence and
saw witches as beings who had gained a pernicious power by
means of making a pact with Satan (or the Devil). In time, the
grievous charges of heresy and sorcery were levelled at
so-called witches, damning them fatally.
Originally,
“witches” were people who had probably more initiative and
maybe more intelligence than their fellows and developed
certain fundamental skills in the area of health and nature,
so that they were resorted to when things went wrong.
Eventually, these same people came to be regarded with a
degree of awe and suspicion and the perception grew among the
ordinary people that not only could the “witch” be depended
upon for beneficial action but that they could also work
“black magic” by means of spells and rituals. “White magic”
was believed in by the populace, therefore, as long as
rudimentary medical aid, herbal and folk remedies were
obtained from these “wise” people of the village. Possibly
these practioners came to view their skills as a gateway to
power and influence over their neighbours and this realisation
marks the beginning of so-called black witchcraft and
attendant black magic. In time, the belief that black magic
was to be blamed for most of life`s disasters, death, bad
luck, crop failure, bad weather, was accepted. Clearly, it was
a time of confusion, exacerbated by universal superstition.
This
facet of dubiety was eliminated by the unequivocal stance of
the ruling Church who saw in it a diabolical element,
believing that all “special” people, i.e. those exhibiting
abilities out of the ordinary were devotees of the Devil who
had rejected the Christian faith. This aspect assumed more and
more moment, to the extent that “maleficia” (evil deeds) were
in the eyes of the Church less reprehensible than the fact
that perpetrators were in league with Satan.
Perhaps
the most enduring image of “witches” for most people is that
depicted in Shakespeare`s play MACBETH written about 1600, in
which three witches are referred to as “secret, black and
midnight hags”. It is this portrayal of witches as always
female, old crones, of hideous aspect that colours our
perception. Indeed, some may have been, but many were not. It
was easier to suspect someone of practising black arts if she
were cantankerous and repellent than if she were young and
attractive. When he comes upon the witches on the heath,
Banquo describes them as “withered” and “wild”; he alludes to
their “choppy “ fingers and “skinny lips” who seemed like aged
men, because of their “beards”. Later the “filthy hags”, as
Macbeth calls them, are seen gathered round a cauldron where a
noxious brew is boiling, while they enact their spells –
malevolent, of course. Undoubtedly, witches were feared by the
people and by the Church which led to the centuries of
persecution. They were regarded as evil and in league with the
devil. Witchcraft and paganism went hand in hand in the eyes
of the Catholic Church, which believed that so-called witches
had magical powers and thus were under supernatural (diabolic)
control. So great was this fear by Church and State, that
Henry VIII instituted the first decree against witchcraft in
1542. Another decree followed in Elizabeth`s reign whereby the
practice of sorcery (as it was alluded to) was punishable by
death. James I enacted the third statute. In his reign the
famous Bible was issued which contained the seeds of a quite
fundamental mistake. The extant English version contained the
words (translation) “Thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to
live”; but this was altered, or mistranslated, into the words
“thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” – which had
catastrophic consequences for unfortunates suspects in the
following years. Just being accused of witchcraft was
terrifying, as there was no escape from torture and almost
inevitably death.. Anyone who was different, or envied or
simply seemed a ripe suspect (perhaps being old and/or
wealthy) could be accused.
Many
of the people suspected of being witches were often it must be
said in some way out of kilter with the normal society of the
time; they could be for example, local “wisewomen” (or men)
with an unusual knowledge of say herbal remedies; or even
malcontents, or in some way marginalised by the community.
Because they were different and because they did not seem to
be overy religious in the conventional sense, possessing, it
seemed, strange powers, they came to the notice of the Church.
As a result the early and medieval Church began its insane
persecutions. These persecutions were fuelled by the belief of
Churchmen that witches were guilty of heresy (rejection of
Christian dogmas) and especially of sorcery, the practice of
witchcraft, by which harm could be wreaked on people, animals
and communities with the aid of the power of the Devil.
Ironically in the first millenium, the RC Church insisted that
witchcraft did not really exist; however as nature worship (as
it was perceived) flourished the Church grew apprehensive and
reversed its policy! By the beginning of the fourteenth
century, persecutions of “witches”were authorised by Pope John
XXII. This fear grew apace, so much so that in the year 1484,
in the papacy of Innocent VIII, a momentous,but truly evil
book was issued, purporting to show exactly how suspects
should be apprehended and tortured. This was the infamous
MALLEUS MALEFICARUM (Hammer of the Witches) by Heinrich Kramer
and Jacob Sprenger whose basic aim was to explain the devil
worship of witches. The latter were pagan, adherents of Satan,
motivated by him, and possessed of a power that was diabolic
in its nature. This was the burden of the MALLEUS, given
authorisation by a Bull of Pope Innocent VIII, in 1484.
The
targets of the witchhunters were, as it was supposed, the
practitioners of “black” magic, of malevolent intent. These
people were variously known as sorcerers, conjurers as well as
witches. They possessed all manner of incredible powers, such
as the ability to change shape, fly through the air, bring
misery to another by means of the “evil eye”, allied to their
general magical abilities, and were usually accompanied by
“familiars” – cats, dogs, or toads, mainly – who aided them in
their nefarious practices.
A
major element in the persecution of witches was their
perceived sexual laxity, in which (female) witches indulged in
sexual congress with the Devil. In the eyes of the Church all
pleasure is/was suspect especially carnal activity. If not
actively conscious of sexual acts, it was believed that
demons, known as incubi, (those who lay on) who were the
henchmen of the Devil, visited the witches when asleep and had
intercourse with them. Fantastic though some of these ideas
were, it has to be remembered that it was an age when belief
in demons and magic was universal. Females of course were the
favourite suspects because they could have congress of a
sexual nature with the Devil and demons, who were
irretrievably associated with pagan deities. According to the
Bible, witches were people who had dealings with unholy
spirits and therefore should not be permitted to live, as
Exodus says 22;18. They were regarded as owing their powers to
a compact with the Devil and hence were in the eyes of the
Catholic Church damned. As early as AD 306, (at the synod of
Elvira) witchcraft was condemned by the Church as a grave sin.
Equally, in the view of civil authorities, the practice
negated or violated the rights of others.
A
great development in the attitude to witchcraft (by the
Authorities and by the Church) occurred approximately in the
mid 13th to mid 15th centuries. Heresy appeared to be
proliferating, hence the growth of Inquisition methods and
attention to the study of demonology. Many books were (or came
to be) written on the subject reinforcing the evil of
witchcraft and advocating “remedies”. The Inquistion provided
most of these! Its mission was to extirpate what it saw as
malevolent activity (maleficia, as it was called) : “black”
witchcraft and concomitant “black” magic. The Inquisition in
Spain was particularly active. By means of diabolical tortures
“confessions” were extracted from victims. The 17th century
was when witch trials in England were in their heyday,
although trials and executions continued into the 18th
century. Of course, persecutions of so-called witches were not
by any means confined to England, or Britain, but were much in
evidence throughout the western world, especially France and
perhaps above all, Germany. In America there was the
celebrated (if this is the right word!) case of the Salem
witches, in 1691; executions also took place in South America.
Modern computation methods suggest in the region of half a
million people lost their lives in these “burning times”. This
murderous delusion was however not without its critics,
despite severe penalties handed out by Church and State.A few
brave souls went public in criticising belief in the powers of
witches. On the other hand, some witches really did believe in
their own powers, and victims (of witchcraft) usually did
believe in the witches` powers. Credulity and exaggerated
tales increased the ordinary person`s fear of the witch.
Hallucination on the part of both witch and victim played a
confusing part in the accusations and subsequent trials.
What
must be stressed however is that the picture of witchcraft
painted by the Renaissance Church (and earlier) is undoubtedly
a distortion of the facts and is perceived so by present day
practitioners of witchcraft. I believe categorically that
there never was any such thing as a “witch” – at least in the
sense that witch-hunters of ther time would maintain.This is
not to deny that certain individuals did have unusual talents,
employed for good or malice. But that they were in league with
the “Devil” is a nonsense – a perception of the medieval
Church which saw itself threatened. “Confessions” extracted
under torture were useless; of course the victims would say
anything to end their agonies. Witchcraft was heresy
punishable by death. Not only was witchcraft viewed as a
traducement from the teaching of the Church, but also as a
type of adherence to a pagan religion of very ancient origin.
This ancient religion had always connoted magical powers –
something to be feared and abhorred by organised religion. The
evil witch image was created.
Cults
did flourish which worshipped certain “deities” (e.g. Diana)
which naturally were anathema to the Church. This fired the
flames of persecution of course.In the tenth century the
Church (RC) issued a document in which they alluded to “wicked
women” who are “perverted” by the Devil and obey Diana`s
commands….(Canon Episcopi). Later on, attention ceased to be
focused on Diana and was directed to devil worship. In 1310,
however, the Council of Trier associated witchcraft with the
worship of Diana. Over two centuries later in his treatise “On
witches”, Grillandus writes that “Witches think that Diana and
Herodias are true goddesses so deeply are they involved in the
error of the Pagans.” Consequently. Witches brought to trial
were only questioned about “witchcraft” (as the inquisitors
perceived it) and not about pre-Christian adherence to the
goddess, Diana. (Modern thinking is that witchcraft as a
survival of a pre-Christian religion is erroneous and not
consonant with the facts.) However, there is material in
writings on withcraft which does suggest elements of a
pre-Christian belief system. Most victims were probably
“misfits” in a certain way, but maybe some were members of the
“Old Religion”, as it may be referred to.)
Perhaps
in order to put the Church`s attitude to witchcraft firmly
into context, it might be instructive at this juncture to
indicate some of the beliefs of the Church which were claimed
to be absolute fact. Remember the Pope`s word was regarded as
infallible.
The claims:
failure to believe in the
existence and powers of witches amounted to heresy;
female witches had intercourse
with the Devil;
witches could change men into
beasts;
witches injure and kill cattle
by magic;
witches raise hailstorms ;
witches use spells to injure;
witches can cause people to
fall sick;
witches can cause storms at
sea;
witches can prevent men from
fullfilling the sexual act;
witches can fly to meetings,
aided by the Devil;
witches kidnap babies and
murder them;
witches can cause crops to
fail
There
are many others: these are some of them.
(List
taken from information supplied by Peter Mills, High Priest of
the Sacred Coven of Hecate. Very illuminating are the articles
written by Peter Mills, such as “Is it Witchcraft or Wicca” ;
“The Beliefs and Customs of Wicca” in the magazine
“Prediction”.)
Of
course all this nonsense was a figment of the imagination of
the cleric questioners, “confirmed” by the “confessions” under
torture of innocent victims: valueless evidence, fuelled by
visions of material gain from the death of the accused, the
urge to control and let`s admit it, sadism on the part of the
interrogators. Although Pope Alexander IV had in 1258
sanctioned the prosecution of those suspected of sorcery
(black magic) it was not until 1320 that Pope John was
persuaded that witchcraft was heretical. After this date,
persecutions began in earnest with a series of witch-hunts,
usually accompanied by torture. Evidence for a pact with the
Devil was the major concern, and such absurdities as the
discovery of witches` marks, and Devil`s mark was damning.
Often there then followed (or preceded the interrogation) the
ludicrous “Trials” by “Ordeal” which can be summed up in the
current phrase, “Heads, I win; tails, you lose.”. Once
accused, there was no escape. The most significant date,which
we have mentioned above, in the development of the witchcraft
mania was the Bull of Pope Innocent VIII, in 1484, which
effectively sanctioned any methods for the pursuit and
questioning of suspects. This witchcraft hysteria lasted for
three hundred years (at least) from about 1450 to 1750 in
which some half million innocent people were put to death.
The
witchcraft mania lasting centuries had several phases when the
emphasis was on differing aspects (of persecution). Early on,
it was mainly a political aspect when prominent figures were
accused, mainly of sorcery, with diabolism a comparative
rarity. Later on, trials of important personages were quite
infrequent: this takes us to about mid fourteenth century.
From approximately that date to about mid fifteenth century,
diabolism assumed significance, with witchcraft generally.
Most cases occurred in France, Germany and Switzerland.
During
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries theologians and the
legal profession, started to view witchcraft as a form of
heresy. The maleficia of witches was considered to entail
idolatry and apostasy. Harmful magic was closely allied to
these, so that often a plausible suspect was identified for
persecution. Such a person was generally seen as antisocial
deserving of enmity. In days when very little could be
explained, misfortune could be/was attributed to witchcraft.
In viewing the whole aspect of witchcraft, Darren Oldridge`s
words in THE WITCHCRAFT READER, (p.56), are truly relevant:
“It is only by considering the belief system of early modern
people as a whole that we can start to understand the meaning
of witchcraft.”
© A.B. Finlay Ph.D |
