Wicca Witchcraft

Overall, the Wiccan religion is generally theistic, and centered on the existence of one God and the one superior Goddess, which would be considered dualistic. In contrast, other groups of Wiccans are polytheistic, believing in several different deities that serve different functions in their religion. Finally, other groups may suppose that all goddesses are one Goddess, and all gods are one God. Some may suppose gods and goddesses to be real and existing with personalities, while others may see gods and goddesses as more of a thought or part of consciousness. A commonly held belief among the majority of Wiccans is that each member is a priest or priestess, as well as a witch,

They follow the Wiccan Rede, “a rule that instructs Wiccans to do what they will, as long as it harms none,” (Pike, 2016, Online). It is this rule that shapes the foundation for the Wiccan ethical systems, healing practices, and rituals. Wiccans revere deities both in the male and female aspect, however, the female aspect tends to hold the most power. Their goddess is depicted in three female forms that represent the three stages of a woman’s life: the maiden, the mother, and the old woman. Their god is portrayed with horns and is believed to be the deity that represents nature. This deity’s portrayal with horns leads to the common misconception that he represents the Christian devil. Another basic principle describes how this misconception could not be further from the truth while at the same time bringing up another difference between the Wiccan religion and Christianity, “We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as “Satan” or “The Devil” as defined by Christian traditions,” (Zimmermann & Gleason, 2000, p. 11). In the Christian religion, they believe there is only one God. Unlike Wicca, they do not hold the elements sacred. The Christian form of sacred is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Their deities are both believed to have three manifestations; Christians have the Father, the Son, and

Lastly, Wicca does not follow any particular book like Christianity and the Bible, or Islam and the Koran. One book does exist (The Book of Shadows) but it is just a collection of spells which has been updated and extended over

In early January of 1692, cries of witchery flew through the town of Salem. Allegations surrounded two young girls, Abigail Williams, age 11, and Elizabeth Parris, age 9. These girls would spend their free time listening to their slave, Tituba, reminisce about her life back in Barbados. Soon after the girls started to have convulsive fits and outcries. Once the local doctor deemed it spiritual doing and not physical, the trial’s wheels were set into motion, rolling over many of

The Salem Witch Trials are one of the best known outbreaks of hysteria and fear in American history. This event began when Betty Parris, who was a daughter of Salem’s church’s minister, and Abigail Williams, who was her cousin, experiences several occasions of odd, violent behavior that they blamed on witchcraft. They accused two white women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, as well as a slave, Tituba, of practicing witchcraft in the village. The three women were arrested, interrogated, and kept in jail (Plouffe 1587). Hysteria and fear quickly spread throughout the village. Eventually, nineteen people were executed for witchcraft, about one hundred people spent time in jail, and about two hundred people were accused (“Salem Witch Trials”). Although the reasons behind this massive burst of terror seem clear and simple, there are actually several aspects of the trials that should be more closely examined. Topics that need to be analyzed include the ties between Puritanism and witchcraft, the difficult and obscure nature of the witchcraft accusations, and the socioeconomic factors within the village that led to the witch trials themselves.

In the 1600’s a town known as Salem underwent a horrible fate. The year of 1692 was a year filled with death, accusations, and betrayal, but that was just the start of their story. During that time, 150 townspeople were accused of performing witchcraft, but of those 150 only 31 of them actually went to trial, 16 of them were male. Although rumor would disagree, no witches were actually burned at the stake, but were rather stoned to death and hung. The studying of the Salem Witch Trials is done to further understand how the witches were treated during and after the trials, along with the responsibilities of the townspeople to protect their homes and community from a perceived threat. The horrible ways that the accused were treated along with the ease in which anyone could suddenly become a witch showed how little the townspeople actually valued human rights and the well-being of others.

In a sentence though, Wicca is a positive nature-based religion, but is commonly mistaken for a form of Satanism. Odd that people link it to satanism in my opinion, when actually one of the key beliefs of this religion is the phrase 'Harm None'.

Between June 10th and September 22nd, 1692, 20 people were put to death and 141 people were arrested in Salem, Massachusetts. All but one of these people were believed to be witches (Background Essay). Prior to the hearing in Salem witch trials were carried out in several different towns. “In 17th century New England witchcraft was a serious crime (Background Essay).” Two girls aged nine and 11, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, identified a slave name Tituba and two other local women as witches. This led to the accused women being carted off to jail starting the Salem Witch Trials. Without the girls having accused Tituba and two other local women the Salem Witch Trials would have never started. The Salem Witch Trials was the first step

Witchcraft means “Craft of the Wise Ones” and is also recognized as the Old Religion. Its practices can be traced back to Stone Age cave images. In earlier times, a Witch was the resident lawyer, psychologist, and physician. The field of current medicine can discover its roots to the herbal remedies of the Witch. Not different from the Native Americans shamanism, Witchcraft exists as a nature religion. As the perceptions of male and female take place throughout life, most Witches regard Deity as the male and the female or the God and the Goddess. The Goddess is viewed as Mother Nature or Mother Earth and is embodied by the Moon. The Goddess is perceived in the fruitfulness of the animal, plant as well as human kingdoms. Her

Beliefs vary on many aspects of the Wicca religion. It is a religion that accepts many ideas and concepts. There is no true guide lines unlike many other religions that are very strict and unaccepting of different ideas. This means that the wiccan is able to have many different beliefs and that it doesn't have to follow guidelines. The religion is a very spiritual one that varies greatly is ideas, spirituality and practices.

Wicca: More Than Witchcraft “Wicca is an eclectic religious belief system centering around gods, goddesses, and nature worship(2).” Like Christianity; there are many different spiritual paths within the Wiccan religion. Unlike Christianity; there is a belief in more than one god. The details of these deities vary among individuals.

Though modern Wicca is often viewed as a new age religion, very similar practices can be traced back to the paleolithic age in the form of shamanism. Like Wiccans, “the shamans were the power wielders, male and female. They wrought magic and spoke to the spirits of nature” (Cunningham 3). However, in contrast to shamanism, Wiccans have shied away from “the ordeals of pain and the use of hallucinogens in favor of chanting, meditation, invocation, and ritual”(4). The religion was also drawn from the later concentrations of paganism in Northern Europe. Wiccans were viewed to be the heirs of the pre-christian era folk religions in England and Ireland. Modern day Wiccans, however, do not accredit their

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.

There are two common religious beliefs that have confused people are Baptist Christians and Jehovah Witness. Both organizations believe in God, but they tend to have controversy over biblical readings and comprehension. Baptist Christians believe that there is a single creator, God, has a son, Jesus Christ, born to a human mother by the name of Mary, and that Jesus’ crucifixion by the Romans brought salvation to all. Baptist Christians believe that after death, human remains go back to dust and their spirits remain asleep until judgement day. Baptist Christians are true believers of the revelation of Jesus Christ. They believe that some people will go to heaven, while others go to hell, a place of infinite torment, to never return. This judgement is according to their works here on Earth.

The Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600’s were an outburst of irrational chaos and paranoia that lead to the execution of about twenty people in the Puritan town of Salem Massachusetts. First, the Witch Trials begin with Abigail Williams and a few of her accomplices, who affirmatively participate in witchcraft, but when given the power to make accusations, she utilizes Tituba as a scapegoat for her deranged actions. Secondly, the witch-hunt escalates due to hysteria, past grudges, animosity, jealousies, and self-interests which ultimately causes the collapse of the town. Lastly, the Puritan society of Salem enables the witch trials to advance because the status of one’s religious life and moral laws are a concern to the town; if Salem’s Tree of Knowledge, religion, is threatened, then the culprit is associated with the devil. Salem is torn apart by accusations lead by irrational fear which are fueled by self-interests.