The Witch And The Demoniac In Tudor And Stuart England

Book: The Witch And The Demoniac In Tudor And Stuart England by Stephanie Du Barry

This analysis will argue that that very few of the accused witches in Tudor and Stuart England were in fact insane but that the accusers, whether possessed or otherwise "bewitched" were far more likely to be suffering from some form of mental disorder. witchcraft beliefs in Tudor and Stuart England were seldom employed to attack the mentally ill, instead they were used to explain mental illness in many cases1. Contrary to many psychological textbooks, such as the works of Gregory Zilboorg, very few accused witches were insane by contemporary standards nor by our own standards.

Zilboorg, along with other nineteenth and twentieth century psychologist/writers, confused the witch with the demoniac (possessed) and proclaims that both were suffering from a variety of mental disorders. Alexander and Selesnick in their history of Psychiatry also fail to make a distinction between the witch and the possessed when they stated "Psychotic women with little control of their sexual fantasies and sacrilegious feelings were the clearest examples of demoniacal possession and in turning against them the church increased an already mounting fear of the mentally deranged". The church never turned against the possessed., it turned against the witch - who it saw as a person committing the utmost treason against mankind - trafficking with the Prince of Evil. These psychiatric historians are not simply reiterating the facts of psychiatry's past. They are fashioning only one of many possible views of the past based on their own biased assumptions concerning human nature. At least one modern historian of the witchcraft phenomenon, however, sees the works of Zilboorg et al as an oversimplification to see necessary connections between witchcraft and antisocial behaviour. The psychologists were making a profession out of propagating the medical model of abnormal behaviour but their interpretation proves inadequate when studying the complex history of witchcraft.

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Witchcraft Coverns History

People have been gathering together for centuries. Wither by practical purpose to survive in the harsh world of the time, or for simple kinship. As within society today, people also gathered together in smaller groups for common purpose. This is true of early pagans around the ancient world.

Covens have been referenced in literature as early as the 12th century. In the Polycraticus, John of Salisbury describes organized groups of witches who carry on at wild sabbats. A story popular in the Middle Ages concerns an event with St. Germain (390-448), in which he encounters villagers preparing a dinner for the "good women who walk about at night" dancing with the spirits.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance the existence of covens was taken more seriously. The judges of the inquisition tortured witches into confessions of being part of 13 member covens, and forced them into providing the names of the other participants. The Church believed this would allow them to throw a wide net around these 'criminals'.

The earliest known documented reference (outside of literature) to a coven is from a 1324 witch trial in Kilkenny, Ireland. Dame Alice Kyteler was accused of being part of a 13-member group and was being forced to reveal the other members. Dame Alice refused and was executed for her insolence and being a witch. By the 1700s, the concept of a coven was firmly established in society. But many quickly went under ground and became secret to avoid the persecution of the Church.

Some witches of today claim to be members of covens that date back generations. Sybil Leek's New Forest coven claims to be 800 years old. Some covens may indeed be old, but there is little practical or accepted evidence to indicate that these covens have existed in unbroken lines throughout the centuries. That doesn't mean it's not true, just hard to prove beyond reasonable doubt.

European witches were and are not, the only pagans to gather in groups. The earliest known records of the Druids come from the 3rd century BC and describe Druid Groves. Formal organizations were also known as Bangors. Both of these were groups of Druid Priests who became teachers, leaders and even judges when necessary of their local communities.

In addition to the Druids, and some say prior to their formalization, there were the Irish Clans. Family groups usually, who were lead by a warrior leader and a spiritual Shaman. This is the basic concept of Celtic Shamanism which is slightly different than the Druidic Order. In these groups, Shamans gathered Together With the Clan for ritual work. At times their workings required them to meet alone without the laymen of the Clan. In these cases, the gathers would consist of at least 3 members if possible. But many Shamans of a Clan worked alone. During special events, Shamans from neighboring Clans would also gather together for spiritual workings.

Across the waters, the Norse also had/have their own coven versions called Kindreds. These groups are formed with members, who the existing practioners would want to be in their own family and extended family. This is how many Kindreds are formed today in Vinland. Today the Asatru Alliance promotes the founding and growth of Kindreds, and that through the pages of their publication, Vor Tru, they reach out to many of the Folk, or people of the Kindreds.

For further details about each of these groups, I'll be adding postings to each section listed on the Witchcraft & Shamanism menu. Stay tuned.

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The Witches Clan Of Tubal Cain

The Clan of Tubal Cain was Cochrane’s coven which was active in the 1960s and still exists in a different incarnation within two different lines today. The name came from Bowers’ time as a blacksmith, the practice of which is steeped with folklore. He named his coven after Tubal Cain, the first blacksmith, who is also a masonic deity. They were a robed tradition, practicing rituals mainly outdoors. They observed the Sabbats and Esbats and worshipped the Goddess and God as the ancient powers of nature. Cochrane was enamored with Graves The White Goddess as well as the concept of the Divine King. He was known to his coven members for his love of riddles and mystification of teachings. The tradition usually used a stang instead of an altar; a forked ash staff with an iron nail hammered into the base, decorated with wreaths and crossed arrows for the sabbats. His rituals were unique and effective and have been adapted by many modern traditional witchcraft covens along with his coven’s other practices.

The Birth of 1734

The unique thing about Bowers is that unlike the other witchcraft personalities of the time, he never wrote a single book nor had more than the one coven. He became famous from his letters of correspondence with a young american, Joe Wilson, in the year before his death. From the teachings and religious philosophy within Bowers’ letters and articles, Wilson founded the 1734 Tradition in the United States supplemented with knowledge from both his first craft teacher and Ruth Wynn-Owen of Y Plant Bran. 1734 was founded by Joseph Wilson, and is a separate tradition from Bowers’ own Clan of Tubal Cain. 1734 is a riddle of Cochrane’s, in solving the riddle of the number you will find the name of the Goddess.

Later in his life Wilson started to moved away from 1734 and focused on forming a group, the Toteg Tribe, based on shamanic teachings. Wilson died in August of 2004 and is much missed by the community. The 1734 tradition was continued by Joe’s students and Dave and Ann Finnin who founded The Ancient Keltic Church in California and who travelled to England to meet Evan John Jones.

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The Encyclopedia Of Witches Witchcraft And Wicca

Book: The Encyclopedia Of Witches Witchcraft And Wicca by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

This edition retains the balanced tone and thorough research of the previous two (The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, 1989 and 1999). In more than 480 entries, Paranormal expert Guiley covers both historical witchcraft, such as the Salem witches,Santa Fe witches, and Stamford witches of the seventeenth century, and contemporary issues and concerns. Topics such as different types of witchcraft, fairies, folk magic, the occult, pagan practices, voodoo or vodun, spells, demons, charms, and magic circles are clearly defined. Descriptions of beliefs, and rituals connected to witchcraft, and biographies of individuals, both historical and fictional, living and dead (for example, Aleister Crowley, Morgan le Fay, Margaret Alice Murray, and Starhawk), are included. In addition to updates of contemporary biographies, this edition contains new Wicca-related material, as indicated by the addition of the word Wicca to the title. Short lists of further reading, a number of them updated, follow many of the entries. The lengthy bibliography has been expanded and updated as well. Offering a broader Perspective than many arcane resources on this popular subject, this volume is suited to casual readers and researchers. --Susan Awe --

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Reclaiming The Pagan Worldview The Heart Of Mysticism

Book: Reclaiming The Pagan Worldview The Heart Of Mysticism by Robin Artisson

The more I study mythology and folklore, the more I come to the same conclusion that people from every age of this world have come to: myths are the most precious treasures bequeathed to us by generations long past. It has become very fashionable to look down on mythology and other narratives that feature elements that are seen as “supernatural” or which border on the “irrational” as though they represent failings of human reason in the face of the unknown, but it is my opinion that the true "failing” is found in people who cannot think multi-dimensionally about the things they experience.

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Gendered Alter Wiccan Concepts Of Gender And Ritual Objects

Book: Gendered Alter Wiccan Concepts Of Gender And Ritual Objects by Jesse Daniel Sloan

Many ethnographic accounts within the annals of anthropological literature describe the religious beliefs and magical rituals of peoples throughout the world. Fewer scholars have focused on the relatively young Neo-Pagan religious movement. “Neo-Pagan,” explains Helen Berger in Voices from the Pagan Census (2003), “is an umbrella term covering sects of a new religious movement, the largest and most important form of which is…Wicca” (Berger et al. 2003: 1). This thesis examines the relationship between practice and ideology by analyzing the material culture of Wiccan altars as used by Wiccans in Central Florida, USA. Particular attention is paid to beliefs concerning concepts of gender associated with ritual objects, and concepts of gender and sexuality as understood by practitioners. Many Wiccans see divinity as manifested in two complementary beings: the Goddess and the God. The fertility that these divine beings achieve through sexual union is the subject of an elaborate ritual called the Great Rite. A pair of Wiccans, often a masculine High Priest and a feminine High Priestess, conduct this ritual by manipulating specific objects, which are believed to be strongly gendered. I argue that Wiccan rituals reflect, construct, and reinforce the Wiccan precept of a gender-balanced cosmos through the interaction of these primary ritual actors and the gendered objects they manipulate. As a practicing Wiccan, my theoretical approach is aligned with that of the native scholar. The native scholar faces challenges distancing her or himself from research, but gains opportunities from insider knowledge. Wiccan ideology stands in contrast to heteronormative conventions of gender and sexuality. However, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Wiccans may need to actively negotiate for representation in this movement, where fertility is stressed. Wiccans continuously reinvent established practices in an attempt to create a more satisfying religious community.

This thesis is dedicated to Scott Stearns, Abraham Kooiman, James W. Price, Patrick Stewart, Jerome Birnbaum, Gary Combs, Jan Deanna O’Rourke, A. Douglas Wilkey, John P. Graff, Stephen P. Snowberger III, Jason A. Schumann, Tiffany Stone, Casey Trapani and the over 1,800 self-identifying Wiccans who have served and currently serve in the Armed Forces of these United States. Dedication also extends to their spouses, family, friends and dutiful clergy, who led the effort to have the Pentacle added to the official registry of religious emblems that may be engraved on government-issued memorial markers. May Liberty’s torch shine on us all.

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Civility And The Decline Of Magic

Book: Civility And The Decline Of Magic by Keith Thomas

One of the most puzzling aspects of the emergence of a new kind of world in the last few centuries in the West is the development of what we now call 'science'. The shift from a magical and religious dominated cosmology to a mechanistic and secular one, though far from complete and far from confined to the period roughly between 1550 and 1850, is in general undisputable. Until that time it had not happened in other civilizations such as China, Japan or the Islamic world, which had much earlier reached a higher level of craft knowledge than anything then current in Europe. So why did it happen where it did, when it did, and why did it happen at all? A number of historians, for example Thomas Kuhn and Michel Foucault, have drawn attention to the 'paradigmatic' or 'epistemic' shift manifested in the work of Galileo, Descartes and others. Yet while providing examples of the shift, neither has been able to put forward any plausible explanation of why the shift occurred. Indeed they both specifically state that they leave it to others to explain why. More recently we have been given an excellent, revised, picture of the earlier magic cosmology and its continuity with the later 'scientific' one by Stuart Clark. Yet once again, the author explicitly states that he is not attempting to provide any explanation of why the cosmologies changed over time. Some of the most stimulating suggestions concerning the reasons for the change have, in fact, come from anthropologists, who draw attention to the importance of literacy, the 'trade-travel' complex, Protestantism, the clash of cultures and other factors in the movement to the 'Open society' of modern science and technology.

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