The Salem Witch Hysteria

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The Salem Witch Hysteria

Hundreds of years ago something, that was considered one of the darkest and most tragic events in all of American history, began in 1692; The Salem Witch Hysteria.

In the beginning, before the trials ever began or were even thought of was something every witch is greatly aware of, The Inquisition. It was the catholic tribunal's way of exposing and punishing those that they called 'Religiously Unorthodox'. By 430 AD there came a civil code that ordered death sentences and cruel punishments to anyone who believed in something that was supposedly against the beliefs of Roman Catholicism. Sorcery was considered great heresy. Many years later this so-called civil code of the Inquisition was made law and so began The Salem Witch Hysteria.

It was the year 1692, §alem Village Massachusetts, the actions taking place there were quite ironic. Before the Salem witch trials were ever even speculated about, the Puritans had been coming to America to escape the harsh religious persecutions undergoing in England. They came here to be able to live and worship freely, without fear but they ended up doing something I believe to be most unthinkable. The Puritans caused the English persecutions, that they had been running from, to occur all over again only this time it was Salem Village and the Puritans were the persecutioners. They punished people for worshiping a religion that was not evil, just simply different from theirs, and of course that religion was Witchcraft.

It all began with a group of young girls who became enwrapped in the stories of Tituba. She was a West India slave to the village minister Samuel Parris, and she was very conversant in the lores of magic. Tituba told the girls many stories...

... middle of paper ...

...eliefs of Witchcraft can be a harmonious and beautiful thing if you only know what it's really all about, instead of believing the speculations that people portray upon it. Living in peace with yourself and the things around you, knowing what you want and knowing exactly how you feel is something that most people never achieve.

If this is the way to find it then I give my respects to everyone that takes that chance of being seen as different to find pure bliss or what they witches call " The Devine".

Bibliography:

Witchcraft

I. The Tragic History

A. The Inquisition

B. The Salem Witch Trials

II. Witchcraft Defined

A. The definition of Witchcraft

B. Early Witchcraft

C. Modern Witchcraft

III. Types of Witchcraft

A. Wicca

B. Paganism

IV. Magic of the Craft

A. Basic Terms and Elements

B. Tools of the Craft

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