| On the history of modern witchcraft |
| One of the most debated points in modern Paganism, is whether or not we are truly practicing an 'old religion'. The actual history of witchcraft and Pagan practice is not something I am qualified to discuss, I recommend however the written works of Ronald Hutton as the most reliable and well referenced texts on the subject. There are several schools of argument when the topic rears it's head. There are those who will rant about persecuted witches being 'burned at the stake' (historically false), there are those who say that it was all invented by Gardner (many of the practices of Wicca certainly were) and there was nothing before. There are those who speak of Cunning folk, or the love of the land that is instilled in the vast majority of human beings all over the world, of beliefs that arise merely by experiencing the world around us. The following was originally written by myself on a Wicca UK forum. It seemed to go down very well, so I am preserving it here: When people talk about historical 'witches' it can get confusing on both sides. It is hard to doubt that 'witchcraft' did exist, because the 'craft' of a witch includes healing/herbalism, divination/soothsaying, weather/harvest magic etc which at one time were just a way of life. People practiced this 'craft' because in the times when science and medicine were in their infancy, this was the only/best way they knew to get the most out of life. It is very easy to slip into the mistake of assuming that the people skilled in these things (practicing witchcraft in our modern understanding) were 'witches' (witch = someone who practices witchcraft). It is even easier to assume if we apply the term 'witch', that we mean witches similar to our modern understanding. This is of course not necessarily the case. They were likely just getting by the best they knew how, most, if not all, were christians, and the Pagan gods or ideas of spirituality probably didn't come into it, magic was their best shot at science. As a modern witch you may be trying to reconnect with the earth, your ancestors or dying arts, you may be trying to find spiritual enlightenment, an alternative way to what has become the norm, it is a concious choice, to make this our way of life, not a necessity. Kash 2004 Home |