Beginning Witchcraft Even More Very Basics

Questions:

1. Who first practiced witchcraft, is there a certain group?
2.Can witches actually read minds, or is there a trick, and can they tell the future?
3.Can witches make objects fly, or is that another one of them make believe fairy tales?
4. I hear that witches have certain names. Is that for a certain reason?
5. Can you do a spell to make yourself a better person? How about to have someone like you, or get money, etc.
6. How does the Three Fold Law work? If you pick on someone youll have it back on you three times? Or does it only work for spells?
7. I have practiced witchcraft before, now you said that that makes you a witch. What if that spell doesnt work? How do you know if a spell did?
8. Youve probably answered this but not in those wordsCan you be born into witchcraft?

Answers:

1) Nobody really knows. It is believed by many scholars that forms of Paganism were amongst the first religions ever practiced. Though those Pagans are quite a bit different than those of today. Wicca, on the other hand, is a fairly new religion originating with Gerald Gardner in 1939.

2) Can witches read minds or tell the future... That is an interesting question. People claim that I can read minds. I think it has more to do with understanding how people in general think (applied psychology) than anything else. As for telling the future, I have been told I am very good with a Tarot deck, and I've predicted events. Someone examining the events very closely may put it up to coincidence or educated guesses, but I've been correct too often to get that lucky.

3) Make things fly? In my experience, that's a tale. Some people will tell you differently.

4) Often witches go by a second name. For some, it is a way to feel more magickal, or to get into a specific mood. Just like many people use different names on the Internet. In many cases, a second name is also used to protect their legal name if they are afraid to give out their real name.

5) Yes. We'll need to go into the concepts behind how spells work. Some you can expect to work better than others. Spells for things like self-improvement are almost always the strongest.

6) The three-fold law is based on how you treat others, and your intent when working magick. This could also use some further discussion. But if you try to emotionally hurt someone, than you're very likely to get hurt even worse. Of course, the opposite is true. If you help someone, it's likely that you'll get help in return. (Yes, this is one of the reasons why Pagans and Wiccans like doing nice things!) In my experience, Pagan or not, the rule of three applies in the world.

7) The real question is, do you consider yourself a Witch? How do you know if it worked? Depends on the spell!

8) Can you be born into Witchcraft? Just as much as you can be born into Christianity or Judaism. Any religion or practice requires some teaching. However, some people are more likely to accept one set of beliefs over another regardless of what their parents brought them up as.

Bright Blessings

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

Tom Peete Cross - Witchcraft In North Carolina
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George Lyman Kittredge - Notes On Witchcraft Ocr Version

The Calling To The First Of Witch Blood An Invocation Of Cain

Book: The Calling To The First Of Witch Blood An Invocation Of Cain by Michael Ford

A short dedication to the Luciferian Sabbat and those seeking their own light within the gnosis of the Adversary. The initiation of the witch into the Circle of Cain, the living Son of Satan and Lilith, the great Harlot and Demoness, the Adversarial deific force of dark instinctual desire and willed continual existence.

Download Michael Ford's eBook: The Calling To The First Of Witch Blood An Invocation Of Cain

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In The Devil Snare The Salem Witchcraft Crisis Of 1692

Book: In The Devil Snare The Salem Witchcraft Crisis Of 1692 by Mary Beth Norton

Every historian dealing with the Salem witchcraft episode has attempted to explain "why Salem?" in terms of their own times. Reasons why have ranged from sheer fakery to mass hysteria to land greed or medical causes. Noted historian Mary Beth Norton has throughly combed through the surviving original records to arrive at a new and convincing explanation of the infamous 1692 witch crisis: the very real fear of Indian attacks on settlements in Massachusetts and Maine. Norton explores the news and letters of the times before and during 1692 to discover that Essex County MA residents were primarily concerned with the hit and run attacks on homes and settlements by Native Americans(some with French support). She bases her thesis on what she has found in original documents, rather than use the records to support her thesis. Puritans and others had very real reasons to be obsessed with the Devil in Massachusetts as they considered Native Americans Satan's agents.... Norton's narrative is most absorbing in relating the cause and effect of Native American attacks on colonial settlements.

The story of the Salem witchcraft trials is well known, from both historical accounts and dramatic retellings, such as Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. Cornell historian Mary Beth Norton now offers a significant reinterpretation of the events that (by her count) led to legal action against at least 144 people, 54 confessions of witchcraft, 19 hangings, and one "pressing to death ... by heavy stones." Norton's contribution is to contextualize what happened. She studies not just Salem itself, but all of Essex County and Northern New England, because so many of the people involved in the witchcraft crisis didn't live in Salem proper. She also says these grim events must be understood in relation to King William's War, which the early Americans called the Second Indian War. This frontier conflict and the religious interpretations thrust upon it created the conditions for what happened in Salem and the surrounding region, which, says Norton, would not have occurred in the war's absence. As might be expected, her narrative does not proceed along traditional lines. It is driven more by the academic imperative to break scholarly ground than by the urge to tell a harrowing story. For readers interested in knowing what really happened at Salem, though, In the Devil's Snare may be the best source.

Two factors in Norton's work are most striking: 1)Just about everyone involved in the Salem witch episode had or knew of someone who had suffered losses in the eras now called King Philip's and King William's Wars, and 2)Nearly everyone involved was related to everyone else in some degree.

Norton rights many historical fallicies concerning the Salem witch episode(which she accurately terms Essex County witchcraft), focusing on the Andover area which had the highest concentration of witchcraft accusations and confessions, as well as Salem Town and Salem Village. Norton brings to light some "lost" information on accusers and accused as well, however noting that many documents may be forever lost due to deliberate destruction by either the originators and/or decendents of both accused and accusers, all wanting to preserve their families good names.

This fascinating and informationally dense book kept me up late two nights running to finish it. Norton also provides nearly 100 pages of notes and source materials, mostly of interest to serious amateur and professional historians, but full of interesting facts and further explanations.

The only real flaw in this best book I've encountered of the 1692 Witch Crisis(and I've read all of them, I believe) is that Norton uses the "they must have thought such and such" language of many of today's historians, rather than write "may" or "might", instead of "must"or "should". Norton does back up these "must" conclusions with evidence, however the reader may silently disagree upon rare occasion.

Altogether, this is a must-have book for those interested in "Salem 1692."

Buy Mary Beth Norton's book: In The Devil Snare The Salem Witchcraft Crisis Of 1692

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Witchcraft In Yorkshire

Book: Witchcraft In Yorkshire by Patricia Crowther

Patricia Crowther`s witchcraft in Yorkshire was originally published in the UK in 1973. A small book of the region`s lore, this important and detailed book described customs, legends, spells, and beliefs of the Yorkshire area of the UK. This facsimile reproduction of the original 1973 book is now available as a limited edition, yet at an affordable price, with all the original language, observations, and commentary intact. Even the back cover photo is from that era. The front cover alone has been updated in tribute to the importance of this very influencial work. The foreword to this new edition puts this book in modern perspective, stating, "The small book you are now holding in your hands was an early effort by one of the first publicly announced practitioners to contribute to a fuller picture of the witch, and of witchcraft. The text provides samplings of how witchcraft and folk-magic manifested themselves, over many years, within the borders of Yorkshire."

Buy Patricia Crowther's book: Witchcraft In Yorkshire

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Wishcraft

Based on my experiential knowledge, I have found that Wishcraft, or the act of conscious wishing, is real; I have used it for most of my life. But, as with any Craft practice, take it with a grain of salt; there are no absolutes. In this article, I hope to give a clearer view of Wishcraft so the reader could better understand how it operates as well as present its place in magic.

The difference between a wish and a spell is that a wish can be used on a smaller scale than a spell. There are typical mundane props which are used in a spell. With a wish, nothing mundane is used. Think of the difference between a wish and a spell like the difference between a full three course meal and a sandwich and drink. Both would fill you up and both would be healthy. But a sandwich is much more convenient; it could be eaten anytime.

Here is a barebones definition of Wishcraft. According to dictionary.com: to "wish" is to “feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future”; "craft" is a “skill in doing or making something, as in the arts; proficiency.” Thus, Wishcraft is an informed individual expressing an active desire through the force of will—in other words, making a “smart wish.” For example, instead of randomly wishing for money, the caster would consider how the money would be achieved. Rather than accidentally kicking off Aunt Bea for her inheritance, take into consideration the wording of your wish. There are many ways of wishing and many things for which one might wish, but caution must take precedence.

How does Wishcraft work? You would focus your energy and thoughts into one simple sentence, say “I wish…” and let loose the wish. Energy wise, I will explain the process of a wish. One example is the annual occurrence that we experience—a birthday. Remember the cake with all its candles and icing? The moment your parent said “Make a wish!” was the moment you first did magic, pagan-style. The intricacies of your wish can be explained in a simple manner. The cake was the focus point and the candle-blowing was where you focused Energy. The Wish was your will becoming a conscious entity. This is using Wishcraft in its simplest form.

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Witches Potions And Spells

Book: Witches Potions And Spells by Kathryn Paulsen

Witches have great knowledge of how to make magical potions and charms. A potion is a drink that causes a desired effect in a person's behavior. A charm is a magical incantation that helps to bring about a spell. Witches also are believed to be able to see into the future.

According to tradition, witches are said to be masters of the supernatural world. They conjure and command spirits. They may have special helping spirits called familiars, who take the form of animals, particularly cats, snakes, owls, and dogs.

Most witches practice in secrecy. Some do so because they believe that is the tradition. Others do so because they wish to avoid persecution. Because of secrecy, it is difficult to estimate how many people practicewitchcraft.

Download Kathryn Paulsen's eBook: Witches Potions And Spells

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The Christian Eucharist And The Pagan Cults

Book: The Christian Eucharist And The Pagan Cults by William Mansfield Groton

Publisher: London, Longmans, Green, and co. Publication date: 1914 Subjects: Lord's Supper Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text.

Download William Mansfield Groton's eBook: The Christian Eucharist And The Pagan Cults

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The Dark Powers

I felt (once again) the need to submit this article based on the fact that there is little known about this aspect of The Craft. I have recieved many questions about this subject and will try to cover as much of it as possible in this article.

The dark powers I refer to are the dark aspects of the Goddess and God. These powers come from the Crone and Lord of Shadows; the Hag and the Hunter. These are the two dark forms of the Lady and Lord. These powers are not only about the negative in our lives, but also very potent with the negative aspects in the universe. It is possible, in time, to turn these negatives to positives and apply them to your spellcraft. By accepting that the dark powers are in balance with the light powers, you are able to utilize the wholeness of the power. Shadow and light must be equal in our lives. Energy can be drawn to either light or dark, so when we die, the energy we have drawn will provide the soul's passage.

Dark powers are not something we should fear. When you are able to utilize the dark powers in balance with the light, you are able to take control of the power in whole. The unity you make with light and dark offers wholeness and peace, which may then be transferred to external energies and spells. Dark moons, however, are not very productive in spells and rituals. These signify a time not to call on the Lady and Lord, but to have quiet time or sleep and dreamtime.

Using dark power in meditation and spellcraft is very useful. You can call upon this power and use it's strong negativity for good, not for an increase of anger or rage. Casting a circle for a dark aspected spell or meditation is done deosil (N-W-S-E) or counter-clockwise. Call the elements and begin your practice. You can also use some of your tools for dark and dark only. Some of these are: a black mirror, gourd rattle, athame (if you can afford to), and cauldron. I use all the same for both light and dark. Some witches have seperate for each power.

Dark power colors are as follows:
Black - absorb/block negativity; remove negativity; focus on Shadowland/Underworld
Gray - Feary paths; neutralizing negativity; veiling
Purple - spiritual development; power, cleansing and intuition; progress
White - protection/truth; peace
Red - Power, energy and strength
Lavender - Sidhe magics, psychic growth and spiritual development
Silver - lunar energy

Dark powers are extremely strong and very useful. I do recommend that one know their own strength and know their Craft before one attempts working with them. Being that they are dark, and negative at that, it is possible to misuse them. Be careful what you do, and blessed be!

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Salem Possessed The Social Origins Of Witchcraft

Book: Salem Possessed The Social Origins Of Witchcraft by Paul Boyer

This is a wonderful book. Boyer and Neissenbaum take you to society and the time right before the witch trials took place. They give you all the information you need to feel what life was like there and to understand the underlying tensions and disputes, jealousies and arrogance. Things were changing. Some people wanted --and benefited from the changes-- others didn't want, and were antagonistic to, the changes. The ideal of the community was being tested by economic opportunity, which was fostering economic greed. An increasing stratified society was coming into being. Meanwhile, there was no mechanism available for petty disputes to be resolved via the courts or other public venues -- this is just a short list of the variety of problems that sat unresolved and which eventually broke loose in the hysteria of a witch hunting. This is an amazingly complex and fascinating story--the research and scholarship here is extraordinary. If you want to know what lead up to the witch trials this is the book you want to read.

Provides an admirable illustration of the general rule that, in Old and New England alike, much of the best sociological history of the Twentieth Century has only been made possible by the antiquarian and genealogical interests of the nineteenth...This sensitive, intelligent, and well-written book will certainly revive interest in the terrible happenings at Salem.
--Keith Thomas (New York Review of Books )

The authors' whole approach to the Salem disaster is canny, rewarding, and sure to fascinate readers interested in that aberrant affair. (The Atlantic )

This is an 'inner history' of Salem Village that aims to raise the events of 1692 from melodrama to tragedy...It is a large achievement. This book is progressive history at its best, with brilliant insights, well-organized evidence, maps, and footnotes at the bottom of the page.
--Cedric B. Cowing (American Historical Review )

This short book is a solid contribution to the understanding of the 1692 witch trials. The authors use impressively rich demographic detail to support the thesis that the witch trials are best explained as symptoms of typical social tensions in provincial towns at the time. According to Boyer and Nissenbaum, Salem villagers played roles determined by economic, geographic, and status interests.
--Richard Ekman (Canadian Historical Review )

An important, imaginative book that brings new insights to the study of the 1692 witchcraft outbreak in Massachusetts. Building on Charles Upham's Salem Witchcraft (1867), Boyer and Nissenbaum explore decades of community tension and conflict in order to explain why Salem was the focus of this episode. The authors reveal a complex set of relationships between persons allied with the growing mercantile interests of Salem Town and those linked to the subsistence-based economy of outlying Salem Village.
--Carol Karlsen (Journal of Women in Culture and Society )

A provocative book. Drawing upon an impressive range of unpublished local sources, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum provide a challenging new Interpretation of the outbreak of witchcraft in Salem Village. They argue that previous historians erroneously divorced the tragic events of 1692 from the long-term development of the village and therefore failed to realize that the witch trials were simply one particularly violent chapter in a series of local controversies dating back to the 1660s. In their reconstruction of the socio-economic conditions that contributed to the intense factionalism in Salem Village, Boyer and Nissenbaum have made a major contribution to the social history of colonial New England...[They] have provided us with a first-rate discussion of factionalism in a seventeenth-century New England community. Their handling of economic, familial, and spatial relationships within Salem Village is both sophisticated and imaginative.
--T. H. Breen (William and Mary Quarterly )

An illuminating and imaginative interpretation... of the social and moral state of Salem village in 1692. A sensitive, intelligent, and well-written book. (New York Review of Books )

A large achievement. This book is progressive history at its very best, with brilliant insights. (American historical Review )

Salem Possessed is a provocative book. Drawing upon an impressive range of unpublished local sources, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum provide a challenging new interpretation of the outbreak of witchcraft in Salem Village... A major contribution to the social history of colonial New England... Sophisticated and imaginative. (William and Many Quarterly )

Buy Paul Boyer's book: Salem Possessed The Social Origins Of Witchcraft

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Witchcraft As A Means For Subduing Female Influences

The subservience of women to men was a common theme in early Christian writings -- an outgrowth of both traditional patriarchal attitudes and the extreme hierarchical nature of the church itself. Groups which did not hold to hierarchy in any form were attacked immediately. There is no shared authority between the genders in traditional Christianity, either in the church or in the home. Homosexuality would be particularly threatening to this ideology, as it raises the potential of redefining gender roles, especially in the home.

Witness how the recent attacks upon homosexuality in society has progressed hand-in-hand with the mindless promotion of vague "traditional family values," particularly those which "put women in their place" and reinforce male dominance in the home. With a married couple of two women or two men, who exactly is supposed to be in charge and who meekly obedient? Never mind that the Christians who fear such relationships will never be asked to make those decisions themselves -- the mere fact that people are making such decisions on their own rather than obeying someone else's religious proclamations is quite enough to give them fits of apoplexy.

The perception of women as inferior to men, and possibly the enemy of proper religious or social order, has survived down through this day in the most conservative and fundamentalist religious movements around the world. Religious institutions and doctrines are a primary repository for ancient beliefs about the social, physical, political, and religious inferiority of women. Even if the rest of society is moving on and improving women's status, religion remains a main source of beliefs and attitudes which retard that progress in the hopes of reversing it completely. And, where women cannot be attacked directly, they are attacked indirectly through negative stereotypes about "feminine" values as compared to positive stereotypes of "manly" or "masculine" traits.

It would be a mistake to assert that the Christian persecution of witches and witchcraft was nothing but an attempt to suppress women and feminine influences. Christian society, politics, and theology at the time simply wasn't that simplistic. At the same time, it's hard to overestimate the role misogynistic attitudes and repressed male sexuality played in the persecution of witches. It seems likely that if they didn't exist, the extreme violence directed at women and alleged witches probably wouldn't have occurred.

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Witchcraft And The Inquisition

As the Inquisition proceeded through the 1400s, its focus shifted from Jews and heretics towards so-called witches. Although Pope Gregory IX had authorized the killing of witches back in the 1200s, the fad just didn't catch on. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a bull declaring that witches did indeed exist and thus it became a heresy to believe otherwise. This was quite a reversal because in 906 the Canon Episocopi, a church law, declared that belief in the existence and operation of witchcraft was heresy.

The additional persecution of anything which resembled feminine religiosity went to interesting lengths in that devotion to Mary became suspect. Today the figure of Mary is both popular and important in the Catholic church, but to the Inquisition it was a possible sign of overemphasizing the feminine aspect of Christianity. In the Canary Islands, Aldonca de Vargas was reported to the Inquisition for nothing more than smiling at hearing mention of Mary.

As a result of this, church authorities tortured and killed thousands of women, and not a few men, in an effort to get them to confess that they flew through the sky, had sexual relations with demons, turned into animals, and engaged in various sorts of black magic. The image here depicts what Christians imagined went on at a court of witches where Satan presided.

People typically fear that which they don't understand, so witches were doubly damned: they were feared because they were allegedly agents of Satan seeking to undermine Christian society and they were feared because no one really knew what witches did or how. In the place of real knowledge or information, Christian leaders made things up and created stories which were certain to cause people to hate and fear witches even more.

People trusted their religious and political leaders to provide them with accurate information, but in reality the "information" provided was simply whatever furthered their leaders religious and political goals. Creating an enemy of out witches served the goal of increased religious and political cohesion because people would want to draw closer together in order to confront the enemy who wanted to destroy them. Isn't that ultimately more important than whether the stories were true or not?

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Witchcraft And Sorcery

Witchcraft and sorcery are almost identical terms as both use the magic spells, mystical or paranormal means to harness occult forces to produce desired results. Ideally speaking, persons pursuing witchcraft do not aim at producing evil results. Somehow the term sorcery is used pejoratively to denote the use of supernatural powers to produce unnatural and negative course of events.

Another factor that differentiates witchcraft from sorcery is that while sorcery can be learnt and practiced by anyone, witchcraft is considered to result from inherent mystical powers and is practiced by invisible means. Modern witches, however, claim that witchcraft can be acquired through learning as well.

Both Witchcraft And Sorcery have existed since times immemorial in all the societies and cultures around the world. In ancient Greece, witchcraft existed as early as the time when Homer lived. The legendary Medea was considered as the best known sorceress in classical times. The Roman Horace describes two witches in his famous Satires. There are several references to witches in Bible. Saul (1 Samuel 28) consulted Witch of Endor.

Though witches were hounded and persecuted as being aligned with evil spirits in the past ages, Witchcraft has acquired respectability with the passage of time. It has washed away the stigma attached to it and cleared many popular misconceptions about it.

In twentieth century, witchcraft movement termed as wicca the Craft, the Wisecraft is professed and practiced as religion.
The term wicca comes from an old English word wicca which has its origin from the Germanic root ‘wic’ and means ‘to bend or turn’. A witch is supposed to bend or turn the course of events for a good cause. Earlier the female practitioners of witchcraft were called witches, while their male counterparts were called wizards. But now the term witch is used both for male and female practitioners of witchcraft.

Witchcraft as a religion was developed in the United Kingdom by Gerald B Gardner, a British civil servant. Gardner had a life long interest in occult and supernatural forces. Witchcraft is now openly and proudly practiced in almost all the English speaking countries including the United States of America besides many traditional societies and cultures around the world. In Africa people seek medical aid for external physical problems and consult witch doctors for internal illnesses.

It is now widely believed that witches cast their spells for good objectives like love, health and wealth. Genuine believers in witchcraft do not cause harm to others. They worship God or deity or Mother Nature which is believed to possess both male and female aspects. They, however, emphasize on the female aspect or the Goddess side of the deity. Wicca is a religion of fertility. It celebrates the seasonal cycles of the nature that are central to the farming communities. The religious rites are tied to the cycles of moon which is the symbol of the power of the Goddess and also the seasons of the year.

Religious witches use their craft for the benefit of the people. They religiously follow their golden rule called The wiccan Rede which says: "An' it harm none, do what ye will.” They believe in the theory of karma that any act of witchcraft will return to its practitioner magnified three folds, whether it is good or evil.

Wicca is the most democratic and free religion in the world. There is no central authority. The witches work in loosely organized groups called covens. Some covens are made up exclusively of women, some of men while others have mixed membership. There are witches who do not join any coven at all and practice their faith alone as solitaries.

Modern witchcraft is a recreation of pagan, folk and magical rites selected from the major cultures and societies across the world such as Babylonian, Celtic, Egyptian, ancient Greek, Roman, and Sumerian Buddhism, Hinduism, and the rites of American Indians.

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Welsh Fairy Tales And Other Stories

Book: Welsh Fairy Tales And Other Stories by Peter Henry Emerson

In olden times fairies were sent to oppose the evil-doings of witches, and to destroy their power. About three hundred years ago a band of fairies, sixty in number, with their queen, called Queen of the Dell, came to Mona to oppose the evil works of a celebrated witch. The fairies settled by a spring, in a valley. After having blessed the spring, or "well", as they called it, they built a bower just above the spring for the queen, placing a throne therein. Near by they built a large bower for themselves to live in.

Download Peter Henry Emerson's eBook: Welsh Fairy Tales And Other Stories

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The Sin Of Witchcraft

"Unfortunately, by the Bible's standards, many of the practices done by pagans dishonor Elohim. Again, I do believe this is using the Bible when and where convenient, while completely ignoring the rest."

I'm sure you would agree that we ALL do things from time to time that dishonor the Divine to some degree. A passage in the OT lists the sin of "witchcraft{" right up there with getting a tattoo and shaving or trimming a beard. The fact that most people today do not consider getting a tattoo or shaving a sin, seems to prove your statement about ignoring the parts of the Bible that are not convenient. I'm just curious ... do you feel that shaving dishonors Elohim too?

It would be very helpful if you would clarify exactly what behavior you mean when you say "many of the practices done by pagans dishonor Elohim". . In our previous posts we have already covered prophecy and fortune-telling, but quite honestly, very few of the Pagans or wiccans I know claim to do this anyway. MOST are drawn to these paths simply because of their love for nature and animals. They have a deep respect for our Mother Earth and all living things. Like Moses, John the Baptist and Jesus, they feel closer to God on a mountain top, in the wilderness or even in the desert, and they prefer to seek divine guidance in these places. I understand and share these feelings, and I'm fairly sure it's not this love for nature that you feel dishonors the Divine.

I honestly can't think of anything significant the average pagan or wiccan does that Christians don't also do. When I began to follow the Wiccan path, I asked several Christians I knew to let me know if they caught me doing anything that the Bible said I shouldn't. So far, no one has identified ANY behavior in my life that is condemned by the Scriptures. You seem to feel that Wiccans and Pagans are living a sinful life. Perhaps you could clarify for me what practices we actually do that dishonors God.

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Native American Witchcraft

Native American witchcraft was basically allied with the religious beliefs of the natives of the region. In fact religion and witchcraft were alike in many ways. Both the witchcraft and the religious beliefs held the nature sacred. Many of their symbols and ideas came from nature. Old religion was closer to the spirit of the Native American traditions and witchcraft.

Each region of Native America had its unique kind of witchcraft which used different kinds of amulets and charms. They had their own rituals and masks. The practitioners of witchcraft wore costumes specific to the region. They had their own carvings, totem poles and performed ceremonies according to the area where they lived. In spite of all these regional differences they all shared a sense of awareness and oneness with their land, plants and creatures of Native America.

They looked to their land for providing them the raw material for their magic and witchcraft. The material included herbs, stones, feathers and bones besides Articles for preparing the medicines, tools and other instruments such as charms, costumes and masks. The witches had deep faith in the power of nature and tried to maintain a sense of unity with its invisible forces.

The witches and medicine men used several methods and tools to diagnose the ailments of the patients such as crystal rocks and using their trembling hands in a state of trance. Some times they chanted some sacred hymns while diagnosing the diseases.

The shamans, usually women, served the community by performing ceremonies to cure several diseases and ward off evil influences over the weather and the harvest. Herbs used to be an important medium of curing the sick persons.

There is also a reference to a sacred pipe which was very important symbol of witchcraft. Sacred pipe symbolized the medicine wheel and all the four directions in the same space. Pinches of tobacco along with some grains were placed in the pipe which was also used for lamenting.
Owl had a very important place in the witch craft of those days. Owl was considered a symbol of bad luck. An owl sent by a witch could not be killed.

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Paul Huson - Mastering Witchcraft

How To Break Witchcraft Spells

Witchcraft is the use of supernatural powers and dates back to ancient societies. As with any power, real or imagined, the person possessing such skill may use it for good or evil. These are usually subjective ideas and practitioners of "black" magic rarely see themselves as "evil." But if you believe you have been the target of a spell, there is a method that may help to protect yourself and break the spell.

How to Break a witchcraft spell Instructions

Things You'll Need:

* Name and birth date of the person you believe placed the spell on you
* 2 candles, 8 inches long, black and white
* 2 knives
* Safety pin
* Bag of charcoal
* Knight of Swords or Queen of Swords tarot card

Step 1. Find a spot where nothing grows and dig a hole 12 inches deep and 12 inches wide. Fill the hole with charcoal.

Step 2. Find a piece of land with green grass near a tree.
Make seven circles in the white candle with the knife, each 1 inch apart. Place the white candle in the green grass.

Step 3. Using the other knife, make seven circles in the black candle. On the bottom of the black candle, etch the name and birth date of the person you believe cursed you, along with the word "drevida."

Step 4. Light the white candle and light the black candle. As the candles burn, repeat the phrase, "Creo del macres ete prestwer" until both candles have burned down to the first circle. Put out the candles. Etch the name and birth date of the person who hexed you on the tarot card (knight card for a male, queen card for a female). Bury the card and the black candle in charcoal.

Step 5. Bury the white candle next to the tree. This method will remove the curse within seven days.


Tips And Warnings

* Use caution when lighting or extinguishing the candles. Use caution when drawing the circles with the knives.




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Against The Neopagans

Book: Against The Neopagans by Julius Evola

Extracted from "Grundisse" by Julius Evola The Misunderstandings of the New "Paganism".

It is perhaps appropriate to point out the misunderstandings that are current at the moment in some radical circles, who believe that a solution lies in the direction of a new paganism. This misunderstanding is already visible in the use of terms such as "pagan" and "pagandom". I myself, having used these expressions as slogans in a book that was published in Italy in 1928, and in Germany in 1934, have cause for sincere regrets. Certainly the word for pagan or heathen, paganus, appears in some ancient Latin writers such as Livy without an especially negative tone. But this does not alter the fact that with the arrival of the new faith, the word paganus became a decidedly disparaging expression, as used in early Christian apologetics. It derives from pagus, meaning a small town or village, so that paganus refers to the peasant way of thinking: an uncultured, primitive, and Superstitious way. In order to promote and glorify the new faith, the apologists had the bad habit of elevating themselves through the denigration of other faiths. There was often a conscious and often systematic disparagement and misrepresentation of almost all the earlier traditions, doctrines, and religions, which were grouped under the contemptuous blanket -term of paganism or heathendom.

To this end, the apologists obviously made a premeditated effort to highlight those aspects of the pre- Christian Religions and Traditions that lacked any normal or primordial character, but were clearly forms that had fallen into decay. Such a polemical procedure lead, in particular, to the characterization of whatever had preceded Christendom, and was hence non-Christian, as necessarily anti-Christian.

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Carl Liewellyn Weschcke Bringing Magick To The Masses

Book: Carl Liewellyn Weschcke Bringing Magick To The Masses by Michael Night Sky

Who is Carl Weschcke? you may ask. Let me give you a clue: his full name is Carl L. (for Llewellyn) Weschcke. Now you may have a better idea, for Carl is the man who brought Paganism to the masses, through his leadership of Llewellyn Worldwide. If you are Pagan and have not heard of Llewellyn publications, you must have spent the last few decades stranded on an island in the Pacific with the passengers and crew of Oceanic Flight 815. Llewellyn has published a veritable A-to-Z list of well-known Pagan authors too exhausting to include here. Among the best-known of these include Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, Isaac Bonewits, Raymond Buckland, Z. Budapest, Dan & Pauline Campanelli, Scott Cunningham, John Michael Greer, Mary K. Greer, Raven Grimassi, Amber K, Sirona Knight, Donald Michael Kraig, Diana L. Paxson, Silver Ravenwolf, and Robin Wood. Carl’s publishing career began when paganism was spoken of in whispers, if at all, and believed to be an occult art known only to a few. Today, Llewellyn’s titles dominate the magickal publishing world and are ubiquitous in bookstores both mainstream and magickal. We are pleased to present this exclusive Interview with an (heretofore) unsung hero of the Pagan Renaissance.

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Demonomania And Witchcraft

Book: Demonomania And Witchcraft by Joseph Workman

JOSEPH Workman, hardware merchant, newspaper writer, medical teacher, and the most influential psychiatrist of his day in Canada was so highly regarded by his medical contemporaries that he was elected President of The Canadian Medical Association in 1877, first President of the Ontario Medical Association in 1881, and first President of the Toronto Medical Society (the forerunner of the Toronto Academy of Medicine) in 1878.

Workman remarked that even after the repeal of the witch laws in England in 1738, John Wesley was deploring in 1768 the loss of faith in witches, and in 1773 the divines of the presbytery of Scotland declared their belief in witchcraft. He concluded the paper with a very interesting point, viz. how important the early training of the individual is with regard to the mode and content of thought of the adult, including the Delusions of the mentally ill; indicating that the acceptance of an idea, for instance, of being "possessed", is one made possible by the type of early training.

This book is microfilm from a copy of the original publication held by the Metropolitan Toronto Library, Social Sciences Department. Ottawa : Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions, 1985.

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The Traditional Witches Broom

The traditional Witch's Broom is made of an ash handle and bristles from birch twigs. The twigs are tied onto the handle with thin pieces of willow wood. There have been a few written accounts of early Witch's decorating their brooms with flowers of the season tied on With Some type of decorative string or later using colored ribbon. A practice that is continued today by modern Witches.

Early Celtic pagans associated the broom with Faeries, possibly because of it's relation to the wood and a common belief in forest sprites. Some stories tell of a Witch entering a forest and asking the Faeries to lead her way to the perfect tree where she can collect a staff for a broom. The idea is to enlist the help of the magikal folk and ensure the Enchantment of the broom once it has been fashioned.

The Witch's broom is one of the few tools that is seen as a balance of Divine forces. It is both part of masculine energies (the phallic handle) and female energies (the bristles). Because of this, the broom was and still is commonly used in Handfasting rituals (marriage ceremonies). It is also used as a gate or door before a ritual space. A witch would draw a magikal circle, enter the circle and then place the broom over the doorway to keep out unwanted energies or people as an example.

While being used for clearing an area for ritual work was the earliest use for a broom, it became an important tool for Witch's during The Burning Times of Europe. During this era Witches would use a broom to hide one of their most important tools, the wand. It is also a Tradition that brooms have been used by some as receptacles to harbor a particular spirit temporarily. This could be done to remove an unwanted spirit from one area and then release it far away in another place. Or it could be used to utilize the energy of a spirit for a specific spell when the broom is used as a wand.

A few ancient brooms have been discovered to have hidden compartments in the handle. These small hidden places held combinations of herbs, oils, feathers and a variety of other things thought to be part of a ritualistic spell. The hidden concoctions added to the energy of the intent that the broom was to be used for.

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