Humanities & Classics 3270
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Sixties Forum
Humanities & Classics 3270 |
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In Reply to: Learning about Witchcraft posted by Shannon May on May 14, 1998 at 12:21:47:
I too have read several books on Wicca/witchcraft, both fact and fiction. Traditionally, we think of witches as people who are after their own selfish, evil needs. They dress all in black and are akin to vampires and the devil. Many witches are said to be mistresses to the devil. On Halloween, kids dress up as evil scary witches and carry broom sticks. This interpretation has less to do with real witches than the overactive imaginations of those who wish to persecute them. When we think of the persecution of witches, the salem witch trials come to mind. I have no doubt that none of these women were true witches. Salem was a puritan village where any slightly deviant behavior was not only frowned upon, but brutally punished. Some young girls caused the mass hysteria that led to the exectution of several "witches" in the village, as well inspiring other villages to do some cleansing of their own. The women who were mostly targeted by the girls attacks were old widows or spinsters. Their only actual crime was that they lived lonely lives. Some considered these women eccentric, but that was probably due to the lack of constant human companionship.
One fictional series of books that I read had an interesting twist on the Salem issue. There was actually a coven of witches in the village during the trials. But they could not be distinguished from anyone else. They had families and lots of children, were upstanding citizens, and wealthy. They just also happened to be witches. The trials hit a little too close to home and they decided to start their own village. Non-witches also moved into their village, but they ran it. The books were quite interesting.
True witches are actually very concerned with self-improvement and being true to themselves. They are nothing like the devil. In fact, they are more like what we consider to be angels. They have healing powers that they gladly use on others. They use herbs and spices to create spells, not rats tails and other such things. While they may happen to own a cat, it is because cats make excellent pets for people who live alone. Some witches use candles and crystals to enhance spells. It depends on the spell and the effect that the witch is trying to achieve. And yes, boys can be witches. They are not called warlocks.
Covens are hard to break into. They are hard to find and not every coven is suited to the needs of the individual. Many choose to practice alone so that they do not have to bend to others' decisions and ideas. However, there are a covens here in Duluth, which may surprise you. It is not just something that we read about. Witches are among us.
Just a funny thought: I'm sure that everyone has been visited at one time or another by the door-to-door Jehovah's Witnesses encouraging you to hear them out. A friend of my dad's was very into witchcraft. She had several books and paraphenalia. She invited them into her home to talk to them. Then she sprung her witchcraft values upon them. They were horrifiedand left in a hurry. I'm sure they thought that they had walked right into the devil's lair.