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Although reading palms has been reduced to my party trick and a way to flirt with boys, my curiosity about witches and their power lingers. What is it about the idea of a witch that instils awe and fear into little children, that caused hundreds to be burned at the stake and spawned a modern religion?
The witch craze

There are numerous theories to explain why Europe was riddled with witch accusations from the 15th century through the 17th century. Some theorists believe that the church perpetuated witch-hunts in order to subdue pagan religions and, simultaneously, line the church’s pockets with money. Others point to the emerging male-dominated profession of doctors, who wanted the people to be dependent on their own services rather than those of midwives and herbalists.

Superstition, a reaction to the Enlightenment and religious reformation, and even a response to the little ice age that affected crops during the period, are all reasons that have been used to explain the witch craze.

Don’t forget the role of the newly invented printing press, either, which made witch-hunting manuals such as the Malleus Maleficarum readily available. First published in 1486, this book, and others like it, instructed inquisitors on how to spot a witch and which questions to ask in order to elicit the “right” answers.

Combined with torture — or sometimes merely the threat of torture — people confessed to doing all the things witches were thought to have done and pointed the inquisitors towards new victims.

A “confessor” would admit to committing the stereotypical witch crimes in order to stop the torture. In turn, the inquisitors would use these “confessions” to confirm the already prevalent superstitions, which would lead to further accusations. This vicious cycle enabled the witch-hunts to continue for three centuries.

It was believed that witches ate infants, using the fat as an ingredient in an ointment that was rubbed all over their bodies. This ointment rendered a witch invisible and gave her the ability to fly to secret sabbats, where numerous witches would meet.

Once there, Christian children were sacrificed, and the whole coven would feast, drink and dance. There would be indiscriminate orgies. Incest taboos, gender roles and other sex norms were disregarded. Witches were thought to have had sex with animals, demons or even the devil himself.

It was also believed that initiation ceremonies involved all of the above-mentioned acts, as well as the oath by the inductee to renounce God and Christ. The witch then promised to worship the devil instead.

After abdicating Christianity, the new witch had to kiss the devil’s buttocks or anus. The devil would then assign the witch a familiar. A familiar was not necessarily a black cat but could also be a dog, bat, toad or other creature usually thought of as loathsome. A witch’s familiar fulfilled the roles of companion, assistant in magical practices and communicator with the otherworld.

In return, the witch had to feed his or her own blood to the familiar from a teat, which could be anywhere on the body. Inquisitors would search for this mark on an accused witch as proof of having made a deal with the devil. Any mark, from a mole to a pimple to a spot insensitive to a pricking pin, would be considered a witch’s teat.

These “witches” ignored conventional social codes, and not just at their sabbats. The authorities were able to apprehend witches on the charge of practising maleficia (magic causing harm). Whenever a crop failed, a farm animal died, a person got sick or any misfortune happened, it was possible that a witch had caused it.

Their magic gave them control over nature and the weather. Storms, insect infestations and natural disasters were commonly blamed on witches practising maleficia. Their magical powers, combined with their disregard for the rules of society, made witches a threat. If everyone started acting this way, what rules would be broken next?

While there were many factors that contributed to the witch hunts of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, a belief in and a fear of witches’ powers helped to propagate the hysteria that caused hundreds of innocents to be tortured to death, hanged or burned at the stake.
Wicca and the modern witch

Modern witches are the followers of the religion Wicca. The religion’s main aspects are spiritual growth, the use of pagan deities, a respect for the environment and, in many traditions, feminine empowerment.

Wicca’s origin myth involves the history of the witch craze and the theories of anthropologist Margaret Murray. The myth claims that the people accused of witchcraft during the craze had in fact been practising the religions of pre-Christian Europe.

Although scholars have condemned Murray’s work for not being thorough enough, Gerald Gardner used Murray’s work as a basis for his new religion. Gardner claimed that in 1939 he had been initiated into one of the last remaining witch covens in Britain. Gardner, along with Doreen Valiente and others, created rituals for the burgeoning religion. Murray even wrote the introduction to one of Gardner’s books, claiming that Gardner’s claim about surviving pagan practices was proof that her witch craze theory was correct.

While this may sound like Wicca is based on a series of falsehoods, the religion’s origins are unimportant to most practitioners. Although it is difficult for many to understand, Wicca’s tenet is not one of belief, but rather, one of ritual.

Wicca is a religion free of dogma and, as a result, the sects within it are innumerable. While some traditions focus on the female deities, others stress the importance of the deity’s duality. Agnostics and atheists have been known to join because they view the religion as symbolic of the changes in the seasons and in life. There are few, if any, taboos, and each coven (and each individual) is free to create, modify or disregard a ritual.

The only tenets in Wicca that seem to have a role in nearly all sects are the use of magick (spelled with a k to distinguish it from performance magic), the “Threefold Law,” and “The Wiccan Rede.” Magick is used in rituals to induce a heightened sense of self and the world. Chanting, dreams, hypnosis, meditation and various other methods can bring on this heightened awareness.

Both the “Threefold Law” and “The Wiccan Rede” are similar to the “Golden Rule.” The “Threefold Law” is the understanding that what one does is returned to him or her multiplied by three, while the “Rede” states that “if it harms none, do what you will.” Both of these tenets provide freedom for Wiccans to do as they wish, with a reminder to consider the effects of their actions.

Wicca is a religion that gives its followers the freedom to believe what they want, to create rituals and to follow their own rules — freedoms that allow one to feel that they have power over one’s own life and destiny.

The Manitoban Online

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Folberth, 40, was a graphic artist for more than six years at U.S. Surgical Corp. in North Haven. She said she was fired because she began requesting unpaid Wicca holidays off. The holidays include the Celtic New Year, known as Samhain — or Halloween as it is more widely known.

“If the investigation is decided in my favor, the state can force my reinstatement on the job, which I’m not interested in,” the Derby resident said. “Or they can compensate me with back pay from the time I was fired to the time the decision is made. “I’m definitely interested in that. I feel I’m owed that.”

Commission officials could not comment on specifics of the case, but confirmed they are working on it.

“Once there is a finding, there will be an attempt to conciliate the matter between the two parties,” said Lena Ferguson, spokeswoman for the commission. “If that fails, there will be a public hearing with referees to determine whether discrimination has occurred and we’ll make appropriate remedies.”

U.S. Surgical officials did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

In the meantime, Folberth has been working as a tarot card reader at her friend Rapid Freeman’s witch store in East Haven, called SubRosa Magick.

She has also made appearances on Freeman’s public-access cable show, “The Witchin’ Hour,” to drum up support for her campaign for legislation protecting religious freedom in the workplace for all faiths. The show is no longer aired in the Valley but is broadcast in the New Haven area.

“I haven’t gotten much support for my campaign for religious freedom,” Folberth said.

But she said she is trying to get legislators to pass a law providing unpaid religious days off in the workplace.

Christians, Jews, Muslims, and believers of other faiths would benefit from the law as much as any Wiccan, Folberth said.

Wiccans are pagans who follow the Celtic traditions of pre-Christian England. They have a pantheon of goddesses and gods, much like ancient civilizations including Greece, Rome and Egypt. They have roughly eight significant holidays, including Samhain today.

They get a chuckle out of all the attention paid to Halloween, which has become a multibillion-dollar consumer holiday.

“I laugh about it,” Freeman said. “There are so many pagan elements that nobody thinks about. Samhain [pronounced sow-wen] is our Celtic New Year, the day to honor our ancestors, and the day the barrier between the living and the dead is thinnest.”

The Connecticut Post Online – News

Do you believe the original meanings of many festivals have been lost?

THE wheel of the year constantly turning has brought us once more to Hallowe’en, or Samhain (pronounced sow-in), as our Celtic ancestors would have known it.

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Scotsman.com News – Opinion

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The self-described witch said she planned to join Wiccans and followers of similar faiths in Adrian to mark Samhain.

The number of adult adherents of Wicca grew from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.

Wiccans make up one of the faiths classified as Pagan. Other Pagan groups include Druids and Shamans.

Wiccans say their religion is based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons.

“For most Wiccan practitioners, (Samhain) is the New Year, and a time for letting go of the old and looking ahead to the new,” according to the Web site of Circle Sanctuary, a Mount Horeb, Wis.-based spirituality resource center and Wiccan church.

Samhain “marks the end of the harvest season. Since ancient times, Pagans have paid their respects to departed loved ones, ancestors, and guides in the Spirit World at Samhain,” according to the Web site. “The Goddess manifests as the Crone and the God as the Horned Hunter and Lord of Death. Sacred colors are Black and Orange. It is the festival of endings and transformation.”

Many Pagans keep their beliefs secret because they fear losing families or jobs, said Kimberly Varela, a Druid from Wyandotte.

Denessa Smith told The Detroit News that her 12-year-old daughter Tempest killed herself about five years ago in her Lincoln Park home after her classmates teased her about her Wiccan beliefs.

The 40-year-old said people worldwide have sent her letters and gifts. She said she founded the Tempest Smith Foundation to promote religious tolerance.

“I want to make sure I can help make other children safe in this world,” said Smith.

On the Net:

Circle Sanctuary: http://www.circlesanctuary.org

American Religious Identification Survey: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922574.html

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Information from: The Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com

Wicca has become incredibly popular in the past ten years,” one witch in Salem, Massachusetts, told Catherine Edwards Sanders, author of Wicca’s Charm : Understanding the Spiritual Hunger Behind the Rise of Modern Witchcraft and Pagan Spirituality. In her book, Sanders tries to find out just how big Wicca is (you’ll find them in Salem but also in Topeka), what the attraction is, and what others can learn from them.

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National Review Online