Witchcraft & Sorcery Chapter 6 Lehman & Myers

Witches Witches vs. Shamans Similarities Fly Heal/harm through magic spells Communication with supernatural or spirit world Differences Evil/harmful Destructive Responsible for misfortune Escape goats

Historic Overview of Witchcraft Missionaries 9 th century Europe 13 th century Inquisition 1347 The Black Plague 15 th century witch hunts 1450 organized witch hunts 1486 Malleus Malefacaran standard Witchcraze Salem witchcraft 1700’s Enlightment period “Age of Reason”

Witchcraft & Sorcery Poverty & Magic Explanation for crises African traditions Witch qualities Sorcerer vs. Witch Historic Overview 16 th & 17 th century 1692 Salem 200 arrests

Witchcraft & Sorcery Evil Eye Middle east, Europe, Central America, & Africa Voluntary & involuntary Perpetrators Victims or most vulnerable people Protective measures

An Anthropological Perspective on the Witchcraze J. Brain

Image of the Witch Two Universal constants 1. Witches represent people’s deepest fears of selves & society 2. Witches represent a reversal of all normal behavior

Image of the Witch Divinely ordained Authority & power struggles Patrilineal/patrilocal societies Matrilineal/matrilocal societies Women as manipulating Myths of women inferiority Aristotle Darwin Ritual pollution Sexual pollution

Mobility as a Factor in the Nonexistence or Decline of Witchcraft Beliefs Non-western & small-scaled societies Sedentary agriculturalists Unilineal descent Pastoralists Mobile societies Environment control The church & witchcraft

In Class Activity Use the information from the lecture and the films to answer these questions: What caused the end of the witch craze? Why do we see a change in the existence of witchcraft beliefs in various societies? Is there witchcraft in your society today? Describe it and give examples

Wicca & Witchcraft by Denise Zimmerman & Katherine Gleason

All about Wicca & Witchcraft Wicca- witch –wicce- “someone who uses magick in everyday life” Image of the witch Basic Witchcraft Principles Practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces. Recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment Acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is apparent to the average person. Conceive of the creative power in the universe as both masculine and feminine. We value neither gender above the other Recognize both outer worlds and inner, psychological worlds, and see in the interactions of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal and magickal exercises. Don not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy.

All about Wicca & Witchcraft Basic Witchcraft Principles (continued) See religion, magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives in it. Calling oneself a “witch” des not make a witch, but neither does heredity itself, or the collection of titles, degrees, and initiations. A witch seeks to control the forces within that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with nature. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy of life, is that its institutions have claimed to the “the onne true, right, and only way” and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practices and beliefs. We are not threatened by debates on the history of the craft but concerned with our present and our future. We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as “Satan” or “the devil” as defined by Christian traditions We work within Nature for that which contributes to our health and well-being.

Beliefs The Goddess Venus of Willendorf Coven or solitary Idea of “original sin” Threefold law Wiccan Rede “An in harm none, do what ye will”

History of Wicca & Witchcraft Emergence of supernaturalism Cave paintings & Venus figurines Rise of rituals Pagan Shamanism & witchcraft The Druids- 350 B.C.E. The Roman Empire & Christianity- 371 B.C.E. Pope Gregory I- “The Great” ( ) Pope Innocent VIII- Papal Bull (1484) Joan of Arc (1431) Malleus Malleficarum- Witches’ Hammer by H. Kramer & J. Sprenge

History of Wicca & Witchcraft Enduring and surviving the crucible King James I’s Witchcraft Act (1604) Salem, MA (1692) Poland Gerald Gardner published Wtichcraft Today National Public Radio reporter Margot Adler published Drawing down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and other Pagans in America Today. Starwhawk’s best selling book The Spiral Dance Laurie Cabot founded the Witches’ League for Public Awareness, Witches Anti-discrimination Lobby

Practicing Wicca & Witchcraft Today Social acceptance or discrimination? Witches’ Coven Traditions of the Craft Gardnerian Wicca Alexandrian Wicca Georgian Wicca Algard Wicca Seax-Wicca Traditions (cont.) Feri Reclaiming** Dianic British Traditional Celtic Wicca Blue star Wicca Strega Witches Black Forest Clan Solitaire