A Short Background on Magick and the Craft

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What is Witchcraft? What is a Witch? What is Magick?

According to the Dictionary a Witch is a woman who is supposed to have evil or wicked magical powers, someone in league with the devil. A Witch was considered very ugly or very beautiful in order to enchant men. depicted as a woman wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick. (jesus christ)

webster dictionary - or less commonly Witch: a practitioner of witchcraft (see WITCHCRAFTsense 3) especially in adherence with a neo-pagan tradition or religion (such as Wicca) (makes me so mad!)

The Witch is an archetype, in order to really define what a witch is we need to dive into history. We'll discuss where the word Witch originated and the troubles of being one.

let talk about magick..

There are many different ways to define magick.. so what is magick? Many systems have been developed over the ages to help us control our thoughts.

Magick (spelled with a ‘k’, used by the famous occultist Alister Crowley) is one of the oldest and most general of these systems. Magick is the study and application of psychic forces. It uses mental training, concentration, and a system of symbols to program the mind (Symbolic Magick).

According to Aleistar Crowley "magic is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity of will" what does that mean? Crowley believed that each person is believed to have true will, their divine life purpose. If your taking actions in alignment with your will you will have the whole universe to assist you. every intention action you take in alignment with your will is considered a magical act.

The purpose of magick is to alter the self and the environment according to your will.

Crowley let out alot of ideas on magick but lets go back further...

Dr. Margaret Murray traced back witchcrafts origins in Paleolithic times, 25 thousand years ago, back when people worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. Cave paintings, that are dated at around 30,000 years old, depict a man with the head of a stag, and a pregnant woman standing in a circle with eleven other people

Most of the magick we see today comes to us from ancient Egypt and Chaldea. The Chinese, Hindus, and Tibetans developed their own unique types of magick. Witchcraft was a fully organized religion throughout western Europe for centuries before the rise of Christianity. Western magick was locked up by the Egyptian priests for thousands of years and then suppressed by the rise of Christianity (shocker).

Christianity grew and the Old religion was pushed back. Not everybody who practices witchcraft and magic are pagans but back in the day if you were non-Christian you were known as a Pagan. At the time when the Old religion was pushed out, people who lived in the outskirts of the country still practiced and they were called Pagan because Pagan comes from the Latin Pagani and that means "one who dwells in the country" so back in the day being called a Pagan was appropriate.

So then you had the whole "burning times" which started around the 1400's and went on for like 300 years. A rough estimate of the total number of people burned, hung, stoned or tortured to death is about 9 million. Most were women, midwifes, healers, and just beautiful women that other women were jealous of because they were desired by men. Basically, If someone had a grudge against someone they accused them of witchcraft to get rid of them.

Actually before the Witch hunts, the word Witch was known as "wise one" "to know" and "seer". People came to see witches for healing and help. So, Why did knowing, and seeing become a threat to Christianity? Interesting.. Interesting...

With the witchcraft act people decided to go into hiding. Probably for the 3 Hundred years. Everyone believed that witchcraft was dead. But that wasnt true, they kept to themselves and stayed in covens made of their family members.

More books on witchcraft started coming out but those books were written by Christians. So obviously they were heavily biased by the old religion. So, back to Dr. Margaret Murray, She came out with her book called The Witch Cult In Western Europe and then another book in 1931 called The God of the Witches.

In 1951 they repealed the last laws they had against Witchcraft. Some witches were finally able to speak up and that's where the famous Gerald Gardner comes in. He wrote his book Witchcraft Today (highly recommend you read it) and this is what he stated... "What Margaret Murray has theorized is quite true. Witchcraft was a religion and, in fact, it still is. I know, because I am a witch myself."

*mic drop*

what-a-boss

Gardner was the first to tell the witches side of the story. He actually believed that witchcraft was dying but because he spoke up many witches in Europe let him know they were still practicing. However, they were still afraid of coming out in the open.

For a long time the Old Religion was an oral tradition. People passed on their spells and traditions through stories and such but when the persecutions started they lost that communication. Covens and Families started meeting in the shadows and they finally started writing down their rituals and this became known as their Book of Shadows. The book gets passed down from coven leader to coven leader. Or parents to children. So Gardner took the Book of Shadows from the old coven he was in, rewrote the rituals and started his own coven which became known as Gardnerian Witchcraft. Some people believe that he actually paid Alaister Crowley to write his Book of Shadows. Regardless, I have huge respect for Gardner for being the first to speak out for witchcraft. The first to speak up for witches in America was Raymond Buckland.

Only during the past hundred years or so has western culture been open minded enough to permit widespread investigation of the subject.

Witchcraft and witches have been incorrectly labeled as evil and unrighteous. Where do these ideas that form so much a part of the history originate? Some believe that the medieval church of the 15th through 18th centuries created these myths. This was done in an effort to convert people to Christianity. Like we talked about, the history of witchcraft contain many stories of the persecution of witches based on so called “evil practices”.

Only since the start of the twentieth century has science shown much interest in it all.

Another theory about the history of Witchcraft is that as medical science became more prominent in society those who did these initial studies did not understand female physiology, especially menstruation. This mystery seemed to fit in with the churches agenda in labeling healers as evil heathens and placing power and respect in the hands of male physcians.

Religion and Witchcraft have come a long way, it has grown to become a worldwide religion, legally recognized. Even the military has to recognized Wicca as a valid religion.

Why did I turn to witchcraft.. heres a quote from Raymond buckland I loved. "The craft is a religion of love and joy. It is not fulll of the gloom of Christianity, with its ideas of original sin, with salvation and happiness possible only in the afterlife. The music of Witchcraft is joyful and lively, again contrasting with the dirge-like hymns of Christianity."

Another quote that I really love and added to my Book of Shadows... "One of the ways in which Witchcraft differs from other religions is that we dont proselytize (try to persuade other people to join our religion). In fact, in the early days of Wicca, there was one tradition that said a person had to ask three times to come to a coven before they were even allowed to attend a ritual. We tend to be a little more relaxed these days and often invite people we think might have Pagan leanings, but we're not, in general, a religious group that tried to recruit people to 'convert' to our way of doing things" okay so I may or may not have personal problems that I need to work on with Christianity. But whatever, I love being a witch. I love working with the elements, the moon energy, working with deity and connecting with my ancestors. I am not Wiccan and I no longer consider myself pagan... Im not really big on labels but if I was going to put a label on it i'd say I am a Modern Traditional Brujeria Folk Practioner (what a mouth full). I'd say almost everyone starts as wiccan, but thats only because the most popular books are Wiccan based. If youre looking to get into the craft... while scott cunnigham is good.. id start off first by Reading The complete book of witchcraft by Raymond Buckland (he goes over lots of different religions) and gives you practices to do. For history checkout Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner. I also think you may want to check out Witchcraft Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente.. but im going to stop there otherwise I can recommend books for days but these are really good starter books to research the history of witches. I do have some books posted on my Instagram so go over there and check those ones out!

The history of Witchcraft is important since it is the persecution of those who practiced it that has led to its current ethics of religious freedom.

Weave the liminal reads "Recent history aside, the word witch has been used for centuries to demonize women, with the direct intent to disempower them and push them into submission. There are a multitude of theories for the cause of witch hunts and trials in the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, such as squashing other religions, and related practices, seizing land and prosperity, ridding a town of unwanted and marginal people, and getting back neighbors, but they all have fear at the heart of them"

Witchcraft requires dedication, a lot of studying and learning, a lot of research and practice. Practice in Psychic abilities to open up those blockages.

Witchcrafts roots lay deep within the earth and its branches grow through the clouds and into the sky. Witchcraft requires its practitioners to be grounded and creative. You dont have to follow a specific deity or go through some sort of initiation. you can live anywhere, you can practice anywhere and You dont need a coven to practice. There are so many possibilities.