Witchcraft

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Witchcraft Many religions have been misunderstood by people. Sometimes their ignorance and beliefs cannot be opened up to the truth. Witchcraft is one of those religions. The majority of people have sometimes compared Witchcraft to Satanism or any religion dealing with the occult. In fact, Witchcraft is sometimes referred to as the "Old Religion", and is completely different from the misconceptions of people. It is certainly one of the most misunderstood religions. It will continue to remain to be misunderstood if people insist on keeping a closed mind on the subject and believe the stories and rumors that have been misconstrued over the years. Witchcraft is considered to be one of the oldest religions dating back to Pre-historic times. Its practices were found painted on the walls of caves long before Christianity was established. Witchcraft had all but disappeared until an Englishman by the name of Gerald Gardner revived it in the 1940's. While on a trip to Asia he became overwhelmed by magic and the worship of the Mother Goddess. In 1939 he was initiated into witchcraft by a woman named Old Dorothy Clutterbuck, the heir to the ancient tradition. When he returned to England he began a coven, and from this coven he wrote rituals and published books on Witchcraft, his grimoire, or bible, is still in existence and is located in the Ripley's collection in Toronto. Gardner soon became a part of many covens and spiritualist organizations. He was influenced by a man named Aleister Crowley, an earlier occultist who styled himself as "The Great Beast". Crowley was a part of an occultist group named the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an occult that Gardner would later join. Gardner took the complicated rit... ... middle of paper ... ... Religion Factor: An Introduction to How Religion Matters. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. Lehmann, Arthur C., and James E. Myers. Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural. Chico, California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997. Russell, Jeffrey B. A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1991. "A Real Witch..." http://www.oro.net/~remmus/modern.html (18 Nov. 1998). "The Do's and Don'ts of Witches." The Witches' League for Public Awareness 1997. http://www.celticcrow.com/basics/doos.html (12 Oct. 1998). "One Witch's View. The Witches' League for Public Awareness 1997. http://www.celticcrow.com/basics/witchview.html (12 Oct. 1998). "Witchcraft: Crash Course." http://www.eccentrica.org/untouched/witchcraft101.html (18 Nov. 1998).

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