Witchcraft

that was so prominent in English society. Another reason why elderly women were so vulnerable to the accusations of witchcraft were that as they aged and became more dependent on other people, her neighbors in the community would have to pick up the burden that normally her immediate family would; “The…

In my own description, witchcraft is an ancient imagination that is in play in the minds of people who were raised and have lived through the indoctrination of non-existent magic into their heads, giving them the impression that things can be achieved through supernatural means. The Oxford South African Pocket Dictionary, 2006. 3rd edition, wrongly defines witchcraft as the practice of magic especially the use of spells and the calling up of evil spirits. I don’t understand why they present a…

What I Know Before beginning the research process, my knowledge on witchcraft, Wicca, and Paganism was very limited. I gathered that witchcraft is part of Wicca and that Wicca is part of Paganism. I had no knowledge on witchcraft at all. I struggled to separate fact from fiction regarding the practice of witchcraft. I was familiar with caricatures and fictional portrayals of witches and wizards like Hocus Pocus and Harry Potter, but I knew not to rely on those inaccurate representations of the…

of all of those suspected of witchcraft onto the branches of a sal tree; the name on the branch that withers is condemned as a witch. Rice is also used by wrapping the grain in a cloth labeled with each of the names and placed inside a nest of white ants. The witch is identified by whichever bag the ants eat. An even deadlier method of identifying witches is forcing women to drink potions made of poisonous herbs to prove that they were not witches (McCoy 2014). Physical features such as old age,…

offers a “new interpretation of the witchcraft crisis” of Salem, Massachusetts (101 of 8616). She argues that rather than solely analyzing Salem, scholars must analyze the whole of Essex County, Massachusetts (113,184). She also argues for the need for exploration of the history of the witchcraft crisis as a history of frontier warfare because of the military affairs such as King Williams’ War occurring simultaneously in New England as the rise of the witchcraft crisis (113). She examines the…

Religion and Gender: Witchcraft and Women The general population throughout the world has frowned upon paganism in every form possible since the start and spread of Christianity. Primarily witchcraft, or more modernly known as Wicca. Witchcraft has probably existed since humans first started to band together in groups. Some even argue that witchcraft is the oldest religion to exist on earth, depending on how you look at it. Magic and witchcraft were widely practiced in ancient Egypt, Rome,…

Witchcraft was a very serious topic in Salem. For just one act of witch craft a woman could have been set to prison or hanged. The causes for this were the fact that they were settled in a new area and it was very difficult for them. While adjusting to a place after leaving home can be difficult, I personally think that in the stress of getting their new life settled they started to practice forms of witch craft. Another reason that caused witchcraft was religion. The puritans were so religious…

Wicca frequently uses the god and goddess to perform magical acts. Wicca is one of the true forms where witchcraft is practiced by the ancients. Wicca is where it honors both the god and goddess and the changing of the seasons also known as the Wheel of the Year. They believe in a law that they call the Wiccan Rede where Harm None is their belief. Witches are concerned folk healers as well as mediators who do practice folk magic. They sometimes use magic to manipulate the energy to…

bread--infected with ergot.” (The Witchcraft Trials in Salem). Cotton Mather published one book, "Memorable Providences," which describe the suspected witchcraft of an Irish washerwoman in Boston. The Betty's behavior in some ways reflect that of the suffering person described in Mather's widely read and discussed book. It was obvious that in 1692 in Salem, with an Indian war raging that the devil was close at hand and sudden and violent death occupied minds. About witchcraft people began to…

Anti-Christ's work and deemed it as demonic and sinister. Witchcraft then became illegal since 1563 and hundreds of innocent women were wrongly accused and punished. This kind of event also took place in a small town in Salem, Massachusetts where a collection of girls fell ill and it was not long before the girls, and many other residents of Salem began to accuse other villagers of casting spells. In The Crucible, Arthur highlights the theme of witchcraft through the use of ethos, pathos, and…