Wicc The Religion Of Witchcraft

It is unknown who founded the Wiccan religion. There is no holy text they follow that offers direction and guidance into the religion. It has no central authority and Wiccans can either practice alone as solitaries or in groups called covens. The practitioners of Wicca create order and meaning within their belief system

Witches have been around for centuries and everyone has either seen them or even dressed up as them for Halloween. It is a common thought that witches are bad and that they are the stereotypical look with the pointy black hat, broomstick, or the horrid looking face. Yet it is not common to know that it is believed that witches are tightly tied with the Devil and that was one reason that they would be executed. It is now a normal idea that all witches are women but why is that? Is it because women have always been subjugated to be worse than men or is it just another way that women were being controlled? To demonize something or another group it allows some to show them as a threat and this was an easy way for those who held the power to not let anyone rise above or to have the entire community go against one singular group or person. When someone was demonized between the 14th century to the 18th century it was common to call them a witch or state that they were associated with the Devil. During this set of time religion had most control over people so stating that they were associated with the Devil instantly set that they were evil and needed to be killed.

Most modern concepts are much more used to the idea that Witchcraft is focused on learning how to be a witch with the more advanced users learning spells for love and other magic spells that are satanic and evil in nature. Thanks to popular television and movie shows, Wicca has become synonymous to Witchcraft, most of the time exchanging the two ideas. Fact is, Witchcraft is but a mere part of the Wiccan religion, and it is a religious belief that focuses on the understanding of an individual regarding earth and nature which affirms and recognizes the divinity in all living things. It basically teaches individuals that while external forces matter, it does not constitute to our own being and therefore is not to be blamed for anything that is happening to us individually. It teaches responsibility for our actions, therefore ensuring a harmonious balance between the earth and

Witchcraft is a religion. Wicca is one type of Witchcraft, but the term "Wicca" is occasionally applied to Witchcraft in overall. In the United States, most people who practice this religion call themselves Witches or Wiccans. It is an earth-based religion and in some ways is similar to Native American spirituality. Wicca (sometimes called Wicce, The Craft, or The Old Religion) is based on an ancient religion of love for life and nature. The religion of Witchcraft or Wicca is recognized by most state governments, the federal government, and the United States Armed Forces. The courts have recognized the right of even prisoners to practice this religion on an equal basis with other religions. In ancient times, people appreciated the great forces of Nature and celebrated the seasons’ cycles and the moon. They saw spirituality in the sun and moon and in the Earth Herself. Basically, in all life.

As Peter S Beagle says, “You ever want to see real witchcraft, you watch people protecting their comfort, their beliefs.” This quote is saying if you want to truly understand someone, learn about what they believe in. It all began in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The accusations toward people who were thought to be witches was on the rise. These would not be the kind of witches a person would think about in today 's world, but women and men who were put on trial for witchcraft hysteria, which in turn caused mass hysteria. Based on the excerpts from Carol Karlsen and Laurie Winn Carlson, there are two main theories about the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria. One theory about the “witches” was crafted and explained by Carol Karlsen. She believed

During the 1600’s there were many opinions and lifestyle changes because of witches, this time period is slightly before and during the Salem Witch Trials. In any group of people with large numbers, there are always going to be outcast, whether it’s just a birthmark or a personality tweak. That’s just life. Well in the 1600’s if you were born with red hair and freckles and both ur parents were brunette and brown eyes, then you were considered and outcast and possibly even referred to as a witch. If you were socially awkward in any way or any kind of a social outcast then you would fall into the category of a witchcraft person. If accused of being a with many things were possible to happen, killed banished. Neither are very good alternatives but it is a choice. Most people think of a witch as an older women with a huge wart, tall black hat, and riding on a broom. However this is not

When people hear about the Wiccan religion they think of potions, magic spells, and pointy hats. Wiccans have suffered through many tortures of non-pagan religions for thousands of years. Yet they never gave up on their rituals and beliefs. Wiccans are often depicted as atrocious beings who only wish to harm people. It is important for people with such prejudice beliefs to know about all of the common misconceptions, the origin, and the beliefs of Wiccans.

“Have you ever wondered if Magic or witches and wizards really exist in this modern world? Well yes, they do exist, and they are quite active in the modern world. There are more than 10 million witches in the United States, with new practitioners on the rise daily.”(Caine) Being a witch is much different than what you may have seen in the movies. There is real magic to the craft, but witches or wizards don 't walk around turning people into to frogs with a flick of their magic wands. They don 't disappear into thin air, nor do they fly around through the night on broomsticks. They also don 't live in a big castle or mansion. They walk around as normal people and you wouldn 't be able to tell them apart for anyone else. The art of real witchcraft is one of the oldest practices in the world. “The oldest instruments of the real craft that have been discovered date back to 40,000 years ago, while the practice of real witchcraft dates back to paleolithic times. It is very much a way of life, as you may have heard from the modern followers of Wicca. During the middle ages, and in the event known as The Inquisition, the practice of witchcraft became outlawed throughout most of the Christianized world, an offense punishable by death.”(Caine) A witchcraft frenzy broke out in the early colonial history of America in Salem, Massachusetts. Insane torture tactics were put in by the church to draw out confessions. This period of time is often cited as the start of "the burning times."

The notion of witchcraft has been around long before the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. Different cultures have different images and stereotypes on what a witch is and what “magical” abilities he or she may possess. Many people however, did not look at these “magical” men and women as bad until the Holy Roman Empire began to look negatively on those people who were different, and opposed the norm set by the elites. Driven by fear, those living under the control of the Holy Roman Empire would began to blame other people for diabolical actions, or malicious activities. Women and some men, were tortured and tested in cruel ways in attempt of finding evidence or gaining a confession that the accused was a witch. Laws about how which were persecuted

Wicca is a positive, harmonious, nature-based religion, and the largest within Neopaganism (Neopaganism refers to all Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and so on). Wicca, is also known as Pagan Witchcraft and as the name says, it is the practice of white Witchcraft and the worship of nature and it’s seen as a religion that’s based on pre-Christian traditions. It is relatively modern, it has been around for only about 50 years and was developed in England by Briton Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant, in the 1940’s and 50’s.

Witches have been feared by man since the 14th century in Europe when they believed women were given evil powers for loyalty to the devil. Although some others believed it was the result of consuming the fungus “Ergot” which was found in rye, wheat and other cereals. According to Jess Blumberg multiple people were caught using witchcraft as he mentions in her post “More than 200 people were accused of witchcraft and twenty were executed”. Later in colonial times there was a widespread of witchcraft throughout the new pioneer villages. People believe that it became worse from all the anxiety from the fear of death from disease, savages, smallpox and the after war effects of the British war with France. All this anxiety was driving the Puritans

Witchcraft exists. Whether we choose to believe or not, its existence in worldwide cultures is undeniable. Its form takes many shapes that can be determined by the religion, economics, politics, and folk beliefs in each individual culture where it may take place. Its importance in our own, American, history should not go understated: Witches were a major dilemma for people who lived in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, and as a result women (and men) were hanged due to undeniable belief in the power of Witchcraft. Today, belief in magic and witches has diminished with the increasingly secular nature of our culture, but we must accept there was a time when witches “existed”. While American culture has drifted away from ideas such as witchcraft, others have certainly not, with the primary example being Africa. Witchcraft in African culture accounts for many of the issues found within many of the continents communities. Correcting these issues, at least for a time, usually results in a community being “fixed” (examples are made in Adam Ashford’s account of witchery, Madumo, a Man Bewitched and the anthropological accounts being used for this essay). What is fascinating; however, are the parallels that can be made between witchcraft in different cultures. In a previous essay I touched on this topic by incorporating my definition of witchcraft as “a cultural means of being able to create particular moral boundaries by means of ‘magic’ thinking” (Brian Riddle, 2015). In this essay, I

Witch craft was a disorderly act that women were accused of. Elderly women who were poor and powerless were more likely to be accused(p62). A woman named Ann Hutchinson was one of many to be against its disgusting accusation. She believed that you don’t have to follow all the rules to be a good Christian. You don’t have to put on an act all the time so you won’t be accused of witch craft. (p63-64).

The first ‘witch’ is believed to have originated from ancient Egypt around 2000 B.C. Many things about Egypt are still unexplainable in the 21st Century. The language alone was misunderstood to those who tried to comprehend it. Who’s to say the word ‘witch’ itself wasn’t misunderstood or the person(s) accused of being a witch was suffering from something that was undiscovered at the time? Andrew Smith said it best “People fear what they don’t understand and hate what they can’t conquer”. One instance was during the late 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts. A mother, canary, orphan, child, grade-schooler, deceiver, delinquent, martyr, servant, and a lost soul, ten lives seized for the simple reason that an inscrutable incident occurred. The blatant

There are many who are Wiccan today that do not believe that the origin of their religion is in Witchcraft; while others believe that these religious practices are part of the foundation of Wicca. Because paganism was not an organized religion and was primarily passed on through oral traditions, there is questionable historical evidence to support a direct connection between the two.