by Audrey Jeane Wey
What is a witch? An old hag on a flying broomstick, I suppose – cackling all the way as she rides through the dark night with a sleek black cat perched precariously on her shoulder. Mysterious, funny, yet strangely alluring in a way, this imaginary figure has lived in people’s minds for hundreds of years. She is sorceress, enchantress, summoner of supernatural powers and mistress of spells. Literature and folklore simply couldn’t do without her; neither could Halloween parties. But would you be a witch in real life? The picture book version is fascinating, perhaps. But history is indeed something very different. No more pointed hats, not to mention flying broomsticks. Instead of the fairy-tale lightheartedness there was hatred, suspicion, and a morbid fear – directed against human beings who, though accused of practicing witchcraft, had neither spells nor deities in their defense. Driven by what we now know as Gothic Satanism, witch-hunts in Europe reached their peak during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. They were called Burning Times, throughout which about 200,000 people were executed. People were taught by the Roman Catholic Church to believe that there existed evil individuals who had sold their souls to Satan in exchange for the power of black magic, devoting themselves to the Devil and to the enterprise of harming others. Allegedly they killed and ate babies, advocated the Devil, flew through the air and gathered at midnight; they were responsible for epidemics, natural disasters, and, mysteriously enough, the disappearance of male genitals. People were tried, tortured, and finally condemned to death – mostly by hanging in Protestant jurisdictions, and by burning in Catholic countries. The targets, however, could either be men or women, most of whom seemed to have been midwives, native healers, single women (who lived alone), the begrudged, or those who were implied in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Not just old hags, as you can see – but ordinary people, with or without black cats and crooked noses. And then something similar occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, during the 1690s, triggered by the strange behavior of certain young village girls. Again, innocent people were accused of exercising black magic, since the causes of mental illness were still highly obscure. Again there was terror and fear and hatred. Over 150 people were imprisoned, 19 hanged, and one pressed to death with large stones for refusing to enter a plea. This turned out to be the largest witch hunt and the last witch trial in American history. So what remains after that? Despite the marks of terror witch trials have left upon history, magic and witchcraft never seem to lose their allure. Wicca, its name taken from wiccae – a middle-English word meaning witchcraft – is a rapidly growing neopagan religion based partly upon concepts, symbols, and deities from the ancient Celtic society, and its followers sometimes call themselves witches.” Yet the term witchcraft should take on a different meaning here; for Wiccans believe that spells are but intensified prayers, and magick” (magic) the raising and channelling of energy that is already within oneself. 毣n it harm none, do what ye wilt.” Look at the Wiccan Rede and you will understand that Wiccans are totally unrelated to Devilish Biblical witches. Just as Christians are taught to eschew evil,” Wiccans are strictly forbidden any harmful acts, for any evil that one does will return three times over”(the Threefold Law). Nor, on the other hand, do they have anything to do with imaginary, story-book sorcerers – Wiccans are real-world beings; they do not live in an alternate universe. So what is a witch anyway? It is a figure hated by many, feared by many, yet appreciated by many and popular among many. Its existence stays within the human mind. Would you be a witch if you could? a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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