What is Witchcraft and is Witchcraft Real?
Two questions but it is necessary to understand what witchcraft is before forming an opinion on whether witchcraft is real or not. In order to discover what witchcraft is we need to strip away the hype generated by the likes of Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general. Witchcraft does not resemble the commonly portrayed television series such as Bewitched or Charmed, or the blockbuster movies such as Harry Potter. These are just creations of their respective writers and glamorized by the big studios for entertainment value.
Witchcraft itself was originally a way of life practiced over many centuries and not really thought of as witchcraft until the Middle Ages when the Catholic church turned its attention towards Pagan practices. There are quite a few variations of belief systems that were practiced and are now collectively labeled as witchcraft. Some of the more commonly known would be Druidism, Herbalism, and Spiritualism but there are many more. Of themselves the practice of any of them does not make someone a witch as that determination is made by the practitioner. This made little difference to the Catholic church and all such practices were seen as heresy and resulted in the persecution of witches.
Today witchcraft is thought of as a Pagan religion which makes it as legitimate a religion as any other. The more modern variation of Traditional witchcraft, Wicca witchcraft, is far more open and regimented than the older practices and has gained a large following in the western world. Like any religion it is a way of life which is practiced by its members which gather in covens rather than a congregation. The result is the same no matter what terms are used as these groups worship their own particular
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