Witch
A witch is a person who practices witchcraft. A Warlock is not a male witch, Warlock means traitor or devil. The stereotypical witches are commonly portrayed as wicked old women who have wrinkled skin, pimples, and pointy hats. They wear clothes that are black or purple. They also have warts on their noses and sometimes long claw-like fingernails.
The belief in witchcraft is in many cultures worldwide. Witches have often been seen outside accepted cultures and faith. As a consequences, people often made witches feel unwanted in their societies.
In the Bible, the punishment for witchcraft is death (Exodus 22:18, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," meaning "you should not let a witch live"). "Witch" in the Bible means summoner of spirits, so it might really mean warlock. In Europe in the early modern period, persecution of witches (witch hunts and witchcraft trials) took place. Many Christians were scared of witches and witchcraft at that time. As a result, about sixty thousand people[source?] were tried for witchcraft, and executed. Most were hanged. Some were burned at the stake (tied to a long pole and burned alive). Especially in the early modern period, this punishment was often applied.
The Salem trials were among these trials. Gilles Corey was one of the people accused of witchcraft. Because he knew that he had done no wrong, Corey simply refused to speak. He was pressed to death.
Women were burned at the stake for simply sweeping their porches on Sundays[source?] or putting herbs in a soup.
Among those punished were people who did not live peacefully with their rulers, like Joan of Arc. Queen Anne Boleyn was accused of being a witch and was said to have had a large mole on her neck and a sixth finger, though this was likely invented by her ennemies.
There were some men (for example, Johann Weyer, Friedrich Spee and Anton Praetorius) who protested against torture and against the chase of witches.
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[change] Common ideas about witches
During the early Modern Age, the (mostly Catholic) Church developed a whole set of teachings and beliefs about witches. These beliefs were centered around the following:
- Witches are able to fly around on brooms, sticks, animals, demons, or using special ointments
- Witches meet with other witches, and with the devil on occasions called witches' sabbath.
- Witches have a pact with the devil
- Witches can use magic spells to do bad things to others
[change] How people were identified as witches
People believed that a witch had certain things that clearly identified her as a witch. Some of these were:
- What was called Diabolical mark. It was a mark of the devil. Most of the time, this was a mole or birthmark. If the examiner found no mark, often he would say he had found an invisible mark
- A pact with the devil
- Being denounced by another witch. This was common. Often, witches who told about other witches were punished less severely. For example, they were strangled before being burnt at the stake.
- A relationship with other known witch(es)
- Blasphemy
- Taking part in Sabbaths.
- To harm someone with sorcery
- To have some of the things needed to do black magic
- To have one or more witches in the family
- To be afraid during the interrogations. Most often the interrogations involved torture.
- To not cry when tortured
- To have red hair
- Another common methode of test was the `Swim` test the suspected witch would have a rope tied around the waist and rocks (on ropes as well) attached to their feet. The suspected witch was then thrown into the water if they drowned (which is more than likely) they were wrongly accused, if they floated they were a witch and a trial would be held.
[change] The mark of the devil
People believed that witches had a pact with the devil. The diabolical mark (or mark of the devil) was a token left on the skin of the witch.
Most of the time, this was believed to be a mole or birthmark. It was said that since this was a sign of the devil, touching (or picking) it would not hurt the person. People also though that this mark could not bleed.
This soon developed into a safe test for witchcraft. Most often, special techniques were used by those doing the test, so that the pricked spot would not bleed, or hurt. Some needles were also found that were special. When touching the skin, the needle would go into its shaft. In that way it could not be felt, and did of course not bleed. Many innocent people were wrongfully convicted because of this test.
[change] Modern-day understanding of Witches
In the 20th century, a new attempt has been made at understanding witchcraft. Many people say that witches were in fact wise women who were hunted down by the church (mostly for their knowledge of herbs to treat certain diseases). This has led to a new movement. Some of it is known as Wicca. Some of it is known as Shamanism. Often, women understand this as a way to express themselves. Sometimes feminists have also spoken about it. Some of the rites have also been used as a form of protest.
[change] Famous Witches
All of the following persons were real people.
- Child-Witch, Agatha Gatter
- The Witches of Salem, Massachusetts. The trials of 1692 contributed to the title of "the Witch-city", Salem has today.
- Elisabeth von Doberschütz, beheaded and burnt outside the gates of Stettin, on 17th December, 1591
- Anna Roleffes, better known as Tempel Anneke was one of the last witches to be executed in Braunschweig. She was executed 30th December,1663.
- Hester Jonas, known as The Witch of Neuss. Beheaded and burnt on Christmas Eve 1635. She was about 64 years old. The complete proceedings of the trial is still available in Neuss.
- Catherine Monvoisin, close to Marquise the Montespan, a lover of Louis XIV. She delivered poisons, and held black masses, against payment. Burnt with some others on the Place de la Grève in Paris, in 1680.
- Maria Holl, also known as The Witch of Nördlingen. She was one of the first women to withstand being tortured during her Witch-trial of 1593/1594. It was through her force that she rid the town of Nördlingen of the Witch-craze. Her act led to doubts quelling up about the righteousness of witch-trials. She was cleared of the accusations. She died in 1634, probably from the plague.
- Anna Schnidenwind, one of the last women to be publicly executed for Witchcraft in Germany. Burnt after being strangled, in Endingen am Kaiserstuhl, 24th April,1751
- Anna Göldi (or Göldin). Last witch to be executed in Europe. This happened in Glarus, Switzerland, in the summer of 1782.
[change] Other websites
- The Sator Formula engraved on a human skull
- Bibliography for the Study of Magic Witchcraft and Religion, James Dow, Professor of Anthropology at Oakland University
- Some historical notes on the witch-craze from historian Trevor Roper
- Kabbalah On Witchcraft - A Jewish view (Audio) chabad.org
- Over One Hundred Free Articles On Witchcraft
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Witchcraft
- Witchcraft in the Catholic Encyclopedia on (New Advent)
- Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands, 1886, by John Linwood Pitts, from Project Gutenberg
- A Treatise of Witchcraft, 1616, by Alexander Roberts, from Project Gutenberg
- The Witches' Voice 1997-2007 The Witches' Voice Inc
- [1] Traditional British witchcraft site.
