The religion of Witchcraft dates back about 25,000 years, to the Paleolithic Age, where the God of Hunting and the Goddess of Fertility first appeared. Out of respect for the overwhelming power of Nature grew a belief in beings, gods, who controlled the winds, the seas, the earth and the fires (Rinehart). People have been slaughtered for ages because they had different belief systems or they simply were not liked. Whether they were witches or not, hundreds of thousands of people have been burned at the stake, dunked in freezing rivers, or otherwise tortured because people accused them of being witches. People have been moving over to get a better life Shortly after Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic trying to get to India and unknowingly bumped into South America. People started moving over very quickly after finding that gold was present in South America. Several countries moved into various parts of South America, Central America, what is now Mexico, North America, and Canada. This new place was ripe for the taking there was gold, plenty of game and a lot of farmland. In 1620, a group of Separatist Puritans called Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in the Mayflower seeking religious freedom. Once the pilgrims got settled down in various villages people started accusing each other of practicing witchcraft. Whether it was new people from another separatist group or just jealousy the accusations flew. The people who were often thought to be the accusers of witches were commonly believed to be men wishing to suppress unruly women. This may be true, but is far more indirect and subtle than popularly believed. The responsibilities held by a housewife had immense importance in her role in society. Women were responsible for preserving the boundaries of social and cultural life. When this process was disrupted, the authority and identity of the housewife were put into question, she could no longer control the processes needed to fulfill her role. Instead of admitting this loss of control, it may have been easier for the housewife to blame a witch, usually someone who had wronged her. (Starkey 24) Female accusers may have felt the need to prove their own “normality” and their willingness to accept the restrictions and assumptions of a religious society. Accusing another may also have been a way of diverting attention away from themselves. It may ... ... middle of paper ... ...ft or Wicca is more widespread than one might think. But it is actually quite popular, especially around teenage youths. Sources “Cerridwen's Retreat” http://www.angelfire.com/ky2/cerridwen/index.html.. Site 1 George Malcolm. 1692 Witch Hunt the layman’s guide to the Salem witchcraft trials. Heritage books, in 1992. “The History of Witchcraft and The Salem Witchcraft Trials” http://www.angelfire.com/mi/WitchHistoryReport/index.html Site 2 “The Inner Sanctum” http://www.witchway.net/.. Site 3 Starkey L. Marion. The Devil In Massachusetts. Anchor Books NY New York, 1949. “Naidra's humble abode” http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/2903/ Site 4 “Nemain” http://nemain.virtualave.net/. Online, July 18 2000 Site 5 Trask B. Richard. “The devil hath been raised” A documentary of the Salem village witchcraft outbreak of march 1692. Yeoman Press, Danvers Massachusetts, 1992. Marshal Richard. Witchcraft The history and Mythology. by Random house publishing, Avenel, New jersey 1995. Rinehart, Catara. Personal interview, 19 July 2000 “Witchcraft in Salem village” http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/ Site 6 9
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft is a concise, 231 page informational text by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum. Published in 1974, it explores the economic and social conditions present in the Salem village during the 1600s that led to the hysteria surrounding witchcraft. Multiple graphs and illustrations are present, as well as an average sized font, an abundance of footnotes typically on the left page, and a prominent voice from the authors. The book was written to serve as a more comprehensive informational piece on the Salem witch trials due to the authors finding other pieces written about the same topic to be inaccurate. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum wanted to create something that utilized
Starkey, Marion L. The Devil In Massachusetts: A Modern Inquiry Into The Salem Witch Trials. London: Robert Hale Limited.
Most of the accusations were made against innocent people for reasons of economic conditions, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies. Of course there was also the fact that people weren’t aware of the certain mental illnesses caused by their environment. For example the one of the first people to be accused of witchcraft was a young girl named Betty Paris who one day became very ill with convulsive erogtism. Ergot is a fungus that invades growing kernels of rye, so it is very likely that she got sick from simply eating bread. Since people were scientifically unable to explain her sudden seizures and hallucinations she was accused of witchcraft.
Edward, Bever, 'Witchcraft Prosecutions and the Decline of Magic', Journal of Interdisciplinary History vol.11 no.2 (Autumn 2009)
Kent, Deborah. Witchcraft Trials: Fear, Betrayal, and Death in Salem. Library ed. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2009. Print.
“The contagion would engulf at least twenty-two Massachusetts villages, culminating in the arrest of over one hundred and fifty people. Fifty-nine were tried, thirty–one convicted, and nineteen hanged (Foulds vi-vii).” Women were the majority of the accused, because in that time witchcraft was mostly a female perversity. The over one-hundred and fifty accused in 1692 were from all backgrounds, ages and genders. “Persons who scoffed at accusations of witchcraft risked becoming targets of accusations themselves (Linder).”
Kocic, Ana. (2010). Salem Witchcraft Trails: The Perception of Women In History, Literature And Culture. Linguistics and Literature, Vol. 8 (Issue N1), 1-7. http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/lal/lal201001/lal201001-01.pdf
"A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2014. .
Puritans believed in the devil and his role as strong as they believed in God and his role. For many centuries, Puritans had the idea that the weakest individuals in society often committed diabolical acts and sins. Furthermore, Satan selected the most vulnerable individuals to do his bidding, among these individuals, women were often held responsible for many sins, including witchcraft. (Godbeer 12). According to Richard Godbeer, in his book, The Salem Witch Hunt, “it was Eve who first gave away to Satan and seduced Adam.” (Godbeer 12). In 1692, witchcraft became a panic among Puritan society. Even though both men and women were accused of witchcraft, women were seventy-six percent more likely to be accused in Salem than men. (Godbeer 12). Puritan society was a male dominate society and men looked down upon women. There were two particular reasons to why women were often accused of being witches. The first reason, was in due to the Puritan belief that women were the source of evil. The second reason was because of certain events that associated with accusations. These events were being of relatively low social status and income, being rich or financially independent and being a midwife or nurse.
Cunningham, Scott. Wicca: A Guide of the Solitary Practitioner. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1988.
Witchcraft was relentlessly thought as the work of the devil with only sinful and immoral intentions. Julio Caro Baroja explains in his book on Basque witchcraft that women who were out casted from society and unable to fulfill their womanly duties became witches as a way to compensate for her failed life. They were thought to be a threat to society as they dwindled in evil magic. This misunderstanding may have originated from the literary works of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, in their published book, “Malleus Maleficarum”. Accusations of being adulterous, liars and dealing with the devil materialized because of the...
The Salem witch trials happened in Colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were suspected of being involved with witchcraft or the “Devil's magic” and more than 19 were executed. Ultimately, the society confessed the trials were an inaccuracy and remunerated the families of those who were found guilty. Since then, the tale of the trials has become indistinguishable with fear and discrimination, and it remains to lure the general mind more than 300 years later. These rare trials intensely change the way that people look at their world. These witchcraft trials in Salem during the summer of 1692 did just that. The misfortune of Salem, which saw nineteen alleged witches hanged and some more accused witches die in prison, caused colonists to reconsider both their association with the supernatural world and the sort of procedural devices necessary to protect accused persons. It is commonly assumed that madness similar to that seen 308 years ago in Massachusetts could never again poison our justice system.
First, witchcraft has a very fascinating history, which is fairly important to discuss. Because much of its history is shrouded in superstition and has not properly been recorded, its exact history is hard to explain. It is easier to see witchcraft as a mindset or belief than an organized institution. According to Montague Summers, 'witches can be described as heretics and anarchists,'; most of which follow the chief of demons, also known as the Devil. Obviously Mr. Summers, along with many other people, takes a pessimistic view towards the realm of witchcraft. Among these anti-witch enthusiasts was Henry VIII, who was the first king of England to pass Statute against the practice of witchcraft. Many kings who ruled after Henry VIII also created statutes against witchcraft. James I made one in 1604, which was repealed over a century later in 1736. Throughout the centuries in England, strict laws and numerous trials were held against suspected witches. Some of the more notable trials include the Chelmsford trials in 1566, 1579, and 1589, the trials in Lancashire in 1612, and the Staffordshire trials in 1597. Some cases even tried people posing as witches like Thomas Darling, John Smith, and William Perry. Many books had been written at the time about the subject of witchcraft like Demonology, Discovery of Witches, Discovery of Witchcraft, and Dr. Lamb's Darling. (Wysiwyg://7/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2962/witchcraze/time_england.html)
The practice of Wicca is controversial, primarily because many Christians find the idea of a religion based on witchcraft objectionable. Some Christians associate the form of witchcraft with the worship of Satan. This, however, would be difficult, as Wicca does not acknowledge the existence of a “Satan”. Satan and the Devil are Judeo-Christian inventions. Others fear that Wicca might be tied to modern cults. This is not true. Wicca is a religion, legally recognized as such. The U.S. Army, with the publication of the Army pamphlet 165-13, A handbook for Chaplin’s recognizes Witchcraft as a
After many centuries of witchcraft continually being practiced, a religion was created. It is known as Wicca and includes both men and women. They believe nature is superior to humans and there are no sins, therefore no need for forgiveness. Witches believe in karma and reincarnation instead of heaven and hell. Witchcraft is still practiced by many through the use of rituals, spells, and chants.