Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven

Product Information

But as witches and witchy aesthetics move into the mainstream, some fear that she may lose the anti-corporate potion that gives her the most strength. Historian Ronald Hutton outlined five key characteristics ascribed to witches and witchcraft by most cultures that believe in this concept: the use of magic to cause harm or misfortune to others; it was used by the witch against their own community; powers of witchcraft were believed to have been acquired through inheritance or initiation; it was seen as immoral and often thought to involve communion with evil beings; and witchcraft could be thwarted by defensive magic, persuasion, intimidation or physical punishment of the alleged witch. [1] :3–4 [a] Lewis, Laura A. Hall of mirrors: power, witchcraft, and caste in colonial Mexico. Durham, N.C.:Duke University Press, 2003, p. 13. [ ISBNmissing] This is another small knife used in magical work. While an anthame is used for purely ceremonial work, the boline is a much more practical instrument used to chop herbs and spices used in spell work or to harvest ingredients. During the 20th century, interest in witchcraft rose in English-speaking and European countries. From the 1920s, Margaret Murray popularized the ' witch-cult hypothesis': the idea that those persecuted as 'witches' in early modern Europe were followers of a benevolent pagan religion that had survived the Christianization of Europe. This has been discredited by further historical research. [24] :45–47, 84–85 [1] :121 [80] [81] [82]

Kelly, Aidan A. (1992). "An Update on Neopagan Witchcraft in America". In James R. Lewis; J. Gordon Melton (eds.). Perspectives on the New Age. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 136–151. ISBN 978-0791412138.World Report on Violence and Health" (PDF). World Health Organization. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2014 . Retrieved 7 June 2014.

While most cultures believe witchcraft to be something willful, some Indigenous peoples in Africa and Melanesia believe witches have a substance or an evil spirit in their bodies that drives them to do harm. [1] :19–22 However, such substances are described in other accounts as being able to act on their own while the witch is sleeping or unaware. [19] The Dobu people believe women work harmful magic in their sleep while men work it while awake. [1] :18-19 Further, in cultures where substances within the body are believed to grant supernatural powers, the substance may be good, bad, or morally neutral. [22] [23] Hutton draws a distinction between those who unwittingly cast the evil eye and those who deliberately do so, describing only the latter as witches. [1] :10 Forget what she may tell you. The basic witch is bourgie. Still, don't give up on the basic witch yet Witches are believed to work in secret, sometimes alone and sometimes with other witches. Hutton writes: "Across most of the world, witches have been thought to gather at night, when normal humans are inactive, and also at their most vulnerable in sleep". [1] :19-22 In most cultures, witches at these gatherings are thought to transgress social norms by engaging in cannibalism, incest and open nudity. [1] :19-22 Witchcraft beliefs are widespread, highly variable around the world". Public Library of Science via phys.org . Retrieved 17 December 2022.Societies that believed in witchcraft also believed that it could be thwarted in various ways. One common way was to use protective magic or counter-magic, of which the cunning folk were experts. [1] :24-25 This included charms, talismans and amulets, anti- witch marks, witch bottles, witch balls, and burying objects such as horse skulls inside the walls of buildings. [42] Another believed cure for bewitchment was to persuade or force the alleged witch to lift their spell. [1] :24-25 Often, people would attempt to thwart the witchcraft by physically punishing the alleged witch, such as by banishing, wounding, torturing or killing them. "In most societies, however, a formal and legal remedy was preferred to this sort of private action", whereby the alleged witch would be prosecuted and then formally punished if found guilty. [1] :24-25 This often resulted in execution. One pivotal text that shaped the witch-hunts was the Malleus Maleficarum, a 1486 treatise that provided a framework for identifying, prosecuting, and punishing witches. The burgeoning influence of the Catholic Church [ citation needed] led to a wave of witch trials across Europe. Usually, accusations of witchcraft were made by neighbours and followed from social tensions. Accusations often targeted marginalized individuals, including women, the elderly, and those who did not conform to societal norms. Women made accusations as often as men. The common people believed that magical healers (called ' cunning folk' or 'wise people') could undo bewitchment. Hutton says that healers and cunning folk "were sometimes denounced as witches, but seem to have made up a minority of the accused in any area studied". [1] :24-25 The witch-craze reached its peak between the 16th and 17th centuries, resulting in the execution of tens of thousands of people. This dark period of history reflects the confluence of superstition, fear, and authority, as well as the societal tendency to find scapegoats for complex problems.