Question by felisha c: How has the history of witchcraft came to be and the affects on us and our practices today.?
this is for pagans or people who have knowlege of pagan history.
Best answer:
Answer by Reality Check
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Yes it does:
Women were accused of witchcraft solely because they were taking over the “unpractical” medicinal careers of the men.
Today women are allowed the freedom to become nurses and doctors, because it was their remedies that worked best. However:
Notice that most nurses are women? They are given lower posts than men? Nurse, is not a job for men? More men are doctors than women?
These are some questions we have to ask.
Wicca and Pagan are two different things. Julius Ceasar was intrigued by the French traveling to Great Britain to study Wicca. Ceasar was not a Wicca but he was a Pagan, later diefied. Julius astounded a platoon of soldiers afraid to chop down the trees in a sacred grove by taking an ax out of one their hands and starting the first cutting.
The last vestage of anything wicca is, of course, the misteltoe. Funny how that plant’s symbol was interwoven with the Christmas festival.
“I compare it to science vs. witchcraft. In science, the whole system builds on people looking at other people’s results and building on top of them. In witchcraft, somebody had a small secret and guarded it — but never allowed others to really understand it and build on it.”
-Linus Torvalds (father of linux). His quote is a parable to contemplate. It’s a story of why Windows and why OpenSource.
Well don’t believe all you read as been historically correct, as people write books on witchcraft will manufacture facts to fit their beliefs,their are many different kind of Wicca.
It is better to find a good coven and learn from those around you in Wicca now is a lot different from the past.Wicca was handed down verbally from generation to generation, so search for someone with knowledge of the old ways and added to by experience.
On the other hand if you are a sole practitioner, you need to apply what you want to do.
Witchcraft is about freewill
Hi there,
You are asking about how hthe history of witchcraft has affected practices.. whose practices? I’ll give you a brief history here in the limited space I have. Please note that this is in no way comprehensive.
Witchcraft has its roots in ancient shamanic practices and animism, which date back 40,000 years (as of this past week’s discovery of an ancient ritual site).. it is older than any mainstream religious practices today (I’m not talking about Wicca, a relatively new religion founded by Gerald Gardner)
Early tribal societies worshipped nature and were goddess-centric. Their healers were tasked with a holistic approach, in that they had to heal mind, body and spirit. They believed that all creatures had a spirit and that the spirit should be honored. For example, if one killed an animal, they gave thanks to that animal’s spirit for its sacrifice. They gave thanks to the Goddess for providing them with food. Many cultures were well-versed in the cycles of nature, living so close to the land, and also had very detailed knowledge of the planets and stars (as evidenced by such structures as Stonehenge and the Mayan calendar, which is more accurate than ours is today)… they observed the “turning of the wheel” of the seasons by various forms of ritual. The healers had a vast knowledge of the plant life around them to use for medicinal purposes.. healers were both men and women.
Many tribal societies were matriarchal.. ruled by women. In many Celtic tribes, women fought as warriors as well as owned property, chose their own husbands, etc…
Witches were considered the wise ones (one of the roots of the word witch).. and had a vast knowledge of herbs, plants, etc…
All of these tribal societies had many gods and goddesses .. some believed that the gods/goddesses were higher beings than themselves.. others believed that they were of equal status.. helpers and assistants in life.
When the Romans began invading these areas and forcing their religion on the indigenous people (convert or die), they also began persecuting witches… in addition to jews, muslims, pagans of all kinds, etc… The church began to realize how entrenched paganism was in the lives of the indigenous people, and began to marry the two together in an attempt to slowly convert the pagan people. (ie, Brighid, one of the favorite goddesses was turned into St. Bridget because the pagans refused to give her up)
When this didn’t work to the satisfaction of the church, the Maleus Maleficarum (Witches Hammer) was written and a disinformation campaign began. Witches began to be placed on trial and killed en masse, and were then associated with “Satan”, who was likened to the pagan Horned God (kill two birds with one stone). Women were considered evil in general because they were associated with sexuality by the virtue of giving birth. By the late 17th century, witchcraft was being practiced underground, but many of the pagan ways had been so incorporated into the church that they are still practiced today. Witchcraft and paganism are closely related to one another, but there are many witches who do not practice pagan beliefs. One does not need to worship a god or goddess to practice witchcraft.
Much of western medicine has witchcraft to thank for the drugs of today. Holistic practioners have witchcraft to thank for many of their remedies as well.
I could go on about the history and contributions witches have made to society, but time and space do not permit it.
Please see links below for more information
Well, Witchcraft was Witchcraft back in the day. Then Gerald Garder came along and changed it into a religion with silly creeds. Wicca came along Gardner in the 40’s and 50’s, a sort of pacifist religious movement. Real Witchcraft had nothing to do with Gardner’s philosophy, it was just plain old magic, with blessings and cursings.
A good bit of Witchcraft(not Wicca) is founded in Shamanism, but is NOT Shamanism. Therefore, it is not the most ancient of religions. We really DON’T know how far back it goes, though people like to say 40,000 years…Thing is, all we have to go on is a painting of a guy hopping around in animal skins. And even if it is a Shaman, that shows that Animism is much older than Witchcraft. Wicca is just the new kid on the block. Neo-Paganism is a reconstruction of past religions.
Well first of all witchcraft was the first religion. Pagans believe that all Gods are one God so yes they even believe in the Christian God. Most holidays today have origionated from Pagan holidays and have evolved. Christmas is actually a Pagan holiday and was decided to be worshipped as Christ’s birth in order to wipe out Pagan practices. Overall this day and time are merely reflections of what the Pagans started.