Book: Medicine And Witchcraft In The Days Of Sir Thomas Browne by John Knott
The origins of medicine are closely linked to the supernatural. The primitiveview of medicine had more to do with magic than with what is considered medicine today. Witchcraft, or the practice of magic, could be used to inflict illness or to take it away. Hippocrates and later physicians tried to separatemedicine from magical thinking, but the two remained connected until at leastthe 17th century. Until this time, physicians themselves might be just as likely to explain illness as due to supernatural influences as the common man.Their use of astrology is a case in point. In some cultures, the link betweenmagic and medicine persists to today, and people throughout the world use divination, astrology, and other practices to diagnose and treat illness.The practice of witchcraft is tied to the supposed ability of the witch to manipulate nature to his or her own ends. Those ends might be good or evil. Alongside the belief in magical causes and cures of disease existed a more practical side of the so-called witchcraft. Healers both in the past and present use traditional medicines which often include effective herbal and other remedies. The rituals that accompany the remedies can be supportive by providing emotional and psychological comfort to an ill person and those around him.
Labels: witchcraft carolina wiccaning ritual raven grimassi ancients witch christopher marlowe revealed course wicca star life ritual sacred circle traditional witchcraft abyss tabaet study geometrie survival prosecutions south method cards
