#british traditional witchcraft

[visardistofelphame]

A trigger warning for the content below. Suicide and abuse are lightly touched upon, so please keep that in mind when reading.

Here is the old article (if you need context)

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“Witchcraft is an old hag, dead and rotting. She sits on a pile of bones, and hides behind the graves of her elders. It is here where she lurks waiting for the right moment. Witchcraft hungers for youth, it hungers for you.”

It is said that the Craft has continued to survive, despite being ‘destroyed’ time and time again. No matter how many times it has been uprooted, it is a weed that will regrow. So why the visceral description? What is it about Witchcraft that invokes such violence and wrath within the imagination? Why link it to death? To cannibalism? To these things that are faux pas in our modern world?

Within the British traditions (as well as others I am certain), there was a push to change the viewpoint of what the Craft was to the general populace. The hope being to reveal it not as some boogeyman cult, but as a private faith as genuine and fulfilling as any other. The idea of acceptance and freedom was forefront, and it can be understandable why. Who doesn’t want those things? 

As a queer woman, I certainly crave acceptance and freedom. I imagine it's what we all want: to live as we will, unafraid of the threat of shame or assault. But what happens when societal mechanisms press down upon you? No one is specifically stopping you from living your life, free and happy. Yet, can anyone truly achieve those if we cannot even afford shelter and food? I can only speak from my understanding of the world, living within the USA. What was once the American Dream has transformed into a nightmare. The paralysis demon that is Despair and Dread, a future with no hope.

I sometimes wonder if my passion for the occult and (more specifically) witchcraft is an act of escapism? It's easy to understand why one would turn to the past for relief from the thought of what the future will bring. A bit of “Yeah, obviously” sort of thing. The idea of nostalgia isn’t new, whether it’s a longing for your childhood or for a history you were never a part of. I feel like it is a perfectly natural thing to experience. I know for me, it is less nostalgia for my childhood and more towards general history. 

I flocked to fairy tales, folktales, old Irish ballads, ghost stories, and was thrilled to learn history. I’ve always been fascinated by how people lived their lives, how the world once was. It seems natural that I would get caught up in the obscured parts of it, into the secret histories of the Occult. Though there was also a hidden side to my interests, an obsession with death. This is what led me to find Witchcraft. I know that not all are drawn to the Craft have experienced trauma in their life, but many I know have. I certainly have. Perhaps it is an aspect of the Craft being counter-culture, being quite attractive to those that are othered.

So what is my point? All I’ve described and talked about isn't revolutionary. These topics have all been discussed by far better writers than I. Yet, we each individually come to our own revelations and realizations about these things in our own time. It is the nature of the mystery, to be experienced. And for me, all this has brought me to the understanding that we aren’t any different from the peoples of the past. The struggles I’ve described have been universal, social society evolving alongside mankind. These feelings of a hopeless future, dread and despair? The only thing that’s different is the specific nuances: technology, our understanding of how the physical world operates, etc etc.

When writing the original piece, it was fueled by my feelings of anger and frustration, fueled by a spiteful hope - The acknowledgement that I will die, traditions die, movements die. Yet, death is part of a greater cycle and that such primal and universally human desires will never be gone for long. They can only be suppressed for so long, before boiling over. 

So I ask myself again, why did I write with such bloody description? I find the modern world to be oppressive when it comes to allowing the presence of healthy feminine rage. I was taught to be quiet and calm, only pleasing to others. The abuse and pain I had experienced was mere inconvenient to everyone else. It is a culmination of the many times that I had tried to end my own life, only to somehow still be alive and learn how to keep on living. A feeling of kinship to peoples long dead. 

Yet with all that said, who I am now is very different from who I was then. It's true of everyone and everything, we’re moments in time: always changing and always becoming. True of people and everything we have and will ever create. The revelation of my own understanding, both as a spiritual and physical creature. The even greater revelation that this is true for every person. 

“The very moment you step within the Sabbat these secrets are made possible. The witches are waiting there ready to teach and pass their secrets; however, are you ready to be dined upon by their wicked cannibalism? For when you are torn apart and thrown into the cauldron, the witch blood truly takes hold.”

I bring my entirety, whether I want to or not. The good and the bad, the love and hatred. No one is exempt from this. Things are not cookie cut perfectly as desired, everything is thrown in both good and bad. To a practice of those who have been othered, one cannot live in the fantasy that being othered prevents them from those same acts. We are all susceptible to misinformation, propaganda, bigotry and hate. The witches have a wicked cannibalism, they dine upon all of me. They dine upon all of those that seek this. And as I said before, “You are what you eat”

So to this diabolical nature, the untamed current of Witchcraft. No one group can ever hope to have ownership, despite some who have tried. No one controls when the witch cult rises and falls, it simply is and will continue to be. 

Please keep in mind that all this said, I do wish to note that all this is more towards the nature of Witchcraft as I understand it and have experienced it. The untamed nature is its own beast, so do not confuse it with the depths that is the well of magic. Even so, I know that the greatest mystery for any who explores these hidden paths: to know yourself.

Hope you all enjoyed going over an older article I had written back in 2018. My current practice has been heavily influenced from my dive into philosophy, so it's good to be able to write a think-piece like this. Nothing like a healthy dose of self analyzing to help get the creative juices flowing, though I hope that I'm not the only one~

[traegorn]

New episode is up for patreon patrons!

(Episode goes public December 31st)

[spiralhouseshop]

Big restock of Troy Books in our shop!

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[pagan-revival]

pagan-revival, notes

Pagan elder here, gathering scraps and memories of the early pagan revival. The idea is to avoid the usual narrative. It was a time of youthful awakenings, feminist activism, and eclectic spiritual exploration. I hope to gather the threads and document aspects of the seminal time that have already become forgotten, dismissed and discarded.  #rowegreentree

[arawnbel]

Thoughts, Ideas, and Stirrings

Thoughts, Ideas, and Stirrings

Has it really been a year? How the time slips away. There was a period there where I managed to post daily and maintain some sort of project. While I confess I did indeed complete the Roderick text, my desire and ability to post about it simply went away. The tasks seemed to grow more personal and directly relevant to events in my life toward the end of the project. In some ways, I regard the…

[haggishlyhagging]

The evidence marshaled by anthropologists showing the effects of Western colonialism on traditional female power and authority is impressive. The work of some writers has led to the conclusion that "the penetration of Western colonialism, and with it Western practices and attitudes regarding women, have so widely influenced women's role in aboriginal societies as to depress women's status almost everywhere in the world." In this chapter two case studies showing the manner in which European influence eroded the bases of traditional female authority are presented.

In one case, the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria, the struggle was between Igbo women and British administrators, with Igbo men playing a passive but supportive role. In the other case, the Iroquois, the struggle was between Iroquoian women and the followers of a charismatic Iroquoian male who, aided by Quaker missionaries, sought to revitalize Iroquoian life and institute a new sex-role plan. In both cases women resisted the forces of change. Igbo female resistance led to the "women's war," in which thousands of women marched against the British and destroyed property. Iroquoian female resistance led to witchcraft accusations, resulting in the execution of some women for following traditional female patterns. The killing and wounding of approximately 100 Igbo women and the token executions among the Iroquois broke the spirit of resistance.

-Peggy Reeves Sanday, Female Power and Male Dominance: On the Origins of Sexual Inequality

[ihearhercalling]

Please like or reblog (ideally reblog so other people in your sphere can find the post) if you post content about any of the following. If you reblog, please say which, or if you just like please reply and say which! I want to be more active on this blog and need people to follow.

- Celtic polytheism (Irish, Welsh, Brythonic, Gaulic, any really)

- Celtic witchcraft and folk magic, particularly Welsh

- British folk traditions

- Druidry

- Proto Indo-European polytheism

- Venus, Aphrodite, Ishtar and Inanna worship

- Actual genuine Wicca as opposed to the random stuff that gets passed off as Wicca in mainstream book shops

- Feri tradition

- Goddess-centric paganism (Dianic tradition, Deanism, Filianism, Reclaiming, Avalonian) and female mysteries

- Arthuriana from a pagan or feminist perspective (or pagan/feminist friendly)

- Sacred sexuality and tantra

- Herbalism, particularly with herbs native to the UK

[breelandwalker]

Hello! I was wondering if you have any resources on changelings in folklore/history, or even just on fae in general? I've been eyeing fae magic for a few years now and am now thinking of taking up study of the topic in earnest. Love ur blog btw, and can't wait for the book!

I don't work with the Good Neighbors myself and fairy magic isn't my area of expertise, but I do have a few older books of related lore and folktales I can direct you to:

British Goblins, Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, by Wirt Sikes (1880)

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, Edited and Selected by W. B. Yeats (1888)

Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, by Thomas Crofton Croker (1827)

The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries, by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (1911)

The Fairy Mythology, by Thomas Keightley (1870)

The Magic of the Middle Ages, by Viktor Rydberg (1865)

The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs, by T. Sharper Knowlson (1910)

The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies, by Robert Kirk (written 1691, pub. in print 1893)

West Irish Folk-Tales and Romances, by William Larminie (1893)

All of these titles are in the public domain and should be available for free on sites like Project Gutenberg or Global Grey Ebooks. (There may also be some other titles there that you can use for historical lore reference.)

While they may not be resources for modern versions of fae magic, they definitely provide a lot of background information that was written and published BEFORE the rise of modern witchcraft, which means the authors were just recording the folklore as they found it, rather than trying to bend it into a witchy shape. (It's pretty much invariably viewed through a Christian lens, but one should keep in mind that this is part of the culture of the countries of origin when it comes to fairies and spirits.)

I also have this list of JSTOR articles related to the history of witchcraft, occultism, witch trials, and related folklore - including fairies.

Thanks for tuning in! Hope this helps!

[elegantshapeshifter]

Hey!! I want to know more about Traditional Witchcraft.

I have been reading Aradia and the Gospel of Witches and I want to know if there is a Northwestern European, British or Scottish idea of Aradia and her mother and father??

Thank you so much!! I can’t wait to convert to the Traditional Witch Path!

Aradia is Herodias, which is, according to Carlo Ginzburg, a Christianization of the Goddess Hera, but according to Sabina Magliocco, also a remains of Hecate, because she flights in the night.

She is a Deity which is not only Italian, but pan-European, in fact in the Canon Episcopi we read about women who dreamt/imagined to fly with both Diana and Herodias.

Herodias became Redodesa in Veneto, Araja/Arada/Sa Rejusta in Sardinia, Arada and Irodeasa in Romania, and so on.

The point is that probably she wasn't always the daughter of Diana, but assimilated/synchretized to her. In fact, Herodias is actually the name of the mother of Salomé, which in the Gospels killed John the Baptist. In the medieval folklore he blows from the mouth of the cut head and from that moment on Salomé is condamned to fly forever, especially in the night. In many folklore tales, both the mother and the daughter, Salomé and Herodias, are seen together, and Herodias of the Canon is actually Salomé called with her mother's name.

Probably, therefore, the legend that Leland writes and re-elaborates to create the Aradia (because the original legends are found both in Etruscan Roman Remains and in Legends of Florence, so we know that Aradia is just a re-elaboration of original folk legends from Florence and Tuscany-Romagna region) is influenced by this idea of Salomé seen with her mother Herodias. So Salomé (called Herodias for the medieval conflation and mispelled Aradia by the people) is the daughter of Diana like she is the daughter of Herodias in other legends (and in the original Gospel tale).

We also have the original legend about Diana seducing his brother, but here there is no daughter, and instead of going to the "Fathers and Mothers of the beginning", in the original tale she goes to other witches.

Moreover, in the original tale from Legends of Florence, the brother isn't called by name.

However, in many trials in Northern Italy, the Domina Nocturna (ex. Lady of the Game) is paired with the Devil. Moreover, many folk magicians in Italy prayed to the "Star Diana"... which is Lucifer. So Lucifer is both the Devil and Diana herself, and the Devil could be associated with Diana as his partner because the same happened to the Lady of the Game (and overseas with the Queen of Elphame).

We also know from The Strix by Della Mirandola that nearby the areas in which Leland found the folktales from which he will elaborates to make the Aradia, people still associated Diana with the Moon. So if Diana is the Moon, for symmetry Lucifer should be the Sun.

So this brother for symmetry could be seen as both the Devil and associated with the Sun, but also with stars for the Stella Diana which is Lucifer. In fact, in Aradia he is the God of the Sun, the Light and the Stars.

So Diana is associated with Aradia for the Salomé-Herodias pair and with Lucifer because of the Stella Diana, the pair with the Devil and the folk idea that the Sun is the brother of the Moon.

However, Lucifer is still a name for Apollo, even in Orphic Hymns (where it's Phosphoros), but I don't think it's been done willingly, it's a coincidence, or better a synchronicity.

For the British context, in Sir Orpheo, Dame Heurodis is kidnapped by the King of Fairies, and Heurodis is a variation of Herodias.

Also the Canon is quoted a lot in Britain while they talk about the idea of the Fairy Queen or Queen of Elphame.

So probably in Great Britain both Diana and Herodias are synchretized with the Queen of Elphame. The Queen, which is usually called Nicnevin (or Titania/Mab in Shakespeare) is the spouse of the King of Elphame, Oberon, who is sometimes demonized, and sometimes is also called Christsonday.

I hope having answered :)

[darkforestfae-tea]

How Studying Witchcraft Changed Nature

This ended up being way longer than I was anticipating.

Grab a tea or coffee (I’m a both girl, depends on the mood!) and a snack and buckle in! I promise it’s worth the read. 

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊ CHILDHOOD ₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊ I’ve always loved nature. Being outside, playing outside as a kid, it was always so magical. Growing up me and my friends would go into these woods that were behind my grandparents house and just hang out literally all day. I remember we would clear out this small spot by the creek and just sit and read books or just talk. I remember once we brought a pot and a box of Mac and cheese and tried to start a small bonfire to cook it. yes the fire was contained and safe. We knew fire safety. There was this one fallen tree that landed perfectly to create a bridge crossing over the creek. We called it the ��Bridge to Terabithia” I know I’m aging myself here.

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊ Religious Searching

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊

When I started researching around religiously, I came upon Bohemian Christianity first. I was raised in a household that was predominantly Christian, but it wasn’t for me.

Upon further researching, I decided that route wasn’t for me either. It was slightly better; I was interested in the history of the Romans but it was all still heavily involved with Christianity.

Absolutely no hate on either religion, it’s just not for me.

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊ Stumbling Forward

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊

Not long after deciding I was going to keep looking, I stumbled onto Wicca. I don’t exactly remember how- this was when I was 16, so 12 years ago. I want to say I was looking up nature based religions to see what came up.

I started out just reading whatever I could. I’d lay in bed scrolling through articles on my phone when I was supposed to be sleeping. I’d get books about Wicca & watch YouTube channels. I took notes before I discovered what a Book of Shadows or a Grimoire even was.

I knew grimoire but only from pop culture.

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊ Was Wicca what I was searching for?

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊

I loved almost every aspect of Wicca. I loved the nature based, how the deities were, simply put, just personifications of the elementals & nature. I loved how relaxing it was. I loved how everything was green… and white.

Now I’m not one to use the terms “white magic” or “black magic”. Or good and bad. Chaotic or Orderly. This was one of the things I didn’t like about Wicca. I don’t believe magic is only good or only bad. I believe there is just- magic. A balance.

Another thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was honestly the Wiccan Rede. As a poem itself, it was nice. I liked the way it read. I liked what it stood for. However, there is a lot of Wiccan practitioners that are taking that rede to the letter and if you research it a certain amount you will find that some Wiccan don’t even use the Wiccan Rede and there’s definitely different eclectic versions, but a high majority balances off of that we can read, and it gave me impressions of the Bible with Christianity.

I also am not bashing on Wicca. I’m not bashing on the rede. I wanna make that clear.

I followed Wicca for almost 6 years. I studied the different types. I studied the Celtic Wicca and the British traditional Wicca, even though I’m not British and I studied the Gardenarian & the Alexandrian. And eventually just the Eclectic Solitary. I then realized that what I am following could be classified as an eclectic solitary Wiccan. or I could not use Wiccan at all in the title and it wouldn’t make a difference because what I wasn’t what would traditionally be called “Wicca”.

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊ Still Following Nature

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊

During all of my religious searching I was still sticking to what I knew and what I enjoyed. I went on nature-walks on a weekly basis. I gathered things I found from outside to use on my altar (which was a windowsill at the time- and currently.)

When gathering things from outdoors on my walks, it wouldn’t be any specific item. I didn’t go out and say “I need to find a pinecone today. My altar needs a pinecone.” Instead I let it speak to me.

I very distinctly remember this one item I gathered. I was walking along this wilderness trail in my hometown, and I was looking up ahead of me mostly, as it was a rocky terrain and I didn’t want to trip. I had an urge to look down suddenly, and when I did I spotted this leaf. It was bright red, and it was the only one that was that color. It was perfectly preserved- no hungry bug holes, or rips or tears. I decided to pick it up and carry it with me for the remainder of the walk.

Generally I would gather things during the walk, and then at the end of the trail, go over what I gathered and see which ones I should bring home. The ones I didn’t end up keeping I left at the base of a tree for the Guardians to keep, along with something from my bag. As long as it was nature friendly.

Before researching witchcraft I was never had that intuition with nature. That random pull to look, or stop, or keep going.

I never stopped to feel the trees, the breeze, the rocks. The energy that pulled through them. That got me started on Energy work.

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊ Energy Work

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊

Energy work, when starting, is difficult. You have to have a grounded state of mind, and balanced energy points to really grasp control. as someone who suffers with depression believe me this was no easy task.

I am planning on making some Energy Work projects specifically, so I won’t go too in depth here. But I highly suggest sitting with your back to a tree, and just seeing if you can feel it. Try to sync your breathing or your own energy flow with that of the tree.

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊ I Found Home

₊‧ʚ・︵︵ ₊˚๑ ᕱᕱ ꒱✦ ₊ ︵︵・₊﹆ɞ‧₊

Eventually I found home. I found where I felt the most comfortable. And some may argue and say it’s still Wicca, or it’s this label or that label. But to me, it’s just mine. And It’s just Nature.

And if I never would have stumbled upon Wicca & Witchcraft & Paganism I never would have found the difference it can make with how you view the natural world around you.

Thank you so much for reading! This took me a few days to put together and I am so happy of how it turned out.

if you read all of it, leave a comment of your favorite thing about Nature, or your favorite thing to collect! I’d love to hear them.

— All pictures from Pinterest.

Thank you for Reading! I absolutely love sharing my knowledge & learnings with others. I try to make posts a few times a week! & they are all organized on my profile.

Until we cross paths once more! Best wishes to all you wonderful witches! Warm regards, Tea.

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦

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Pagans & Witches Amino @ darkforestfae

[visardistofelphame]

"Wicca is the modern manifestation of the Traditional British Witchcraft that was popularized in the mid to late 1950s and has since become a world-wide religious phenomena. This is extraordinary because in western culture Witchcraft was outlawed, villified and persecuted by the church and state authorities alike from times immemorial. Yet perhaps because of all this persecution Witchcraft has persisted in folk tradition as a 'Religion of Protest' against those self-same authorities." - VII Foreword, A Witches' Canon part 1, Roy H Blunden

Coming into this book, I knew that the history and focus would be specifically around BTW and Traditional Wica. Its nice that the author goes out of his way to set the tone as such, making sure readers don't confuse his specifics to encompass all of the craft.

Also anytime I see Witchcraft being a practive of protest, I'm just in love haha

[spiralhouseshop]

New in the Spiral House Shop!

Cloven Country: The Devil and the English Landscape by Jeremy Harte

Uncover the dark origins of England's idyllic countryside with Cloven Country. Explore the legends and myths that paint a sinister picture of the rolling hills and country lanes, believed to have been created and shaped by the Devil himself. From tales of rocks hurled into place and valleys carved out by infernal labor to the devilish origins of great roads and scars on the land, these medieval folklore stories paint a picture of an ogre-like Satan, easily fooled by humankind. Learn about how clever individuals outwitted the Devil, striking a blow for the underdog and discover the stories of those who were beyond redemption. Dive into the fascinating world of these distinctly English tales with Cloven Country, a captivating exploration of the dark side of England's pastoral landscape.

Hardcover 1.7" H x 8.1" L x 5.7" W 336 pages

[sag-dab-sar]

I wrote a post trying to figure out why on earth some Pagans & Witches refer to Imbolc (an Irish spring agricultural holiday associated with St Brigid, a potential Christianization of the Goddess Brigid/Bríg) as Candlemas, the completely Christian holiday celebrating The Purification of Mary & Presentation of Jesus at The Temple— which originated in the eastern part of the Roman Empire (which the only "pagan" aspect was it competing with Roman Lupercalia for celebrants).

Many pagan & witch spaces online have a constant disdain for Christianity thus I could not wrap my head around them using such an important point of Jesus' & Mary's life as one of their festivals/'sabbats'.... then, after writing a bunch of stuff, I stumbled onto the answer on Wikipedia's Wheel of The Year page, which has citations for its claims:

Margaret Murray (very early 20th century scholar) in her now discredited witch-cult hypothesis said that the Scottish "witch" Issobell Smyth in 1661 confessed to attending meetings for witches on the cross quarter days included Candlemas. Robert Graves (oh how I loathe you ehem I mean: poet folklorist), mentioned that Candlemas was part of the 8 ancient British agricultural festivals. And Doreen Valiente ("The Mother of Wicca") included Candlemas in her list of Greater Sabbat Fire Festivals, while also listing "Gaelic counterparts," in this case Imbolc.

Sigh.

Early (read: 19th-20th century) paganism and witchcraft, or scholarly work about it, really was just: put every claim regardless of accuracy from any culture in this jar, shake it up real good, see what pops out from the mix, then pretend its historically attested to and traditional despite any and all evidence.

Also whatever Wikipedia writer wrote this, I appreciate your sassiness ... even if it was unintentional:

Due to early Wicca's influence on modern paganism and the syncretic adoption of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic motifs, the most commonly used English festival names for the Wheel of the Year tend to be the Celtic ones introduced by Gardner and the mostly Germanic-derived names introduced by Kelly, regardless whether the celebrations are based on those cultures.

EDIT: To be clear, not all neo/pagans, witches, wiccans, occultists, people-who-use-wheel-of-year are anti-Christian! I'm not trying to say that. But as a worshipper of Mary now, I notice it more and more. Nor am I saying all those people follow Murray/Grave/Valiente blindly but published works and trusted blogs often seem to. This is simply an observation, I've taken notice of, its not the entire communities.

[windvexer]

What would a different form of magic be that isn't witchcraft? I know this is probably a dumb question but I'm honestly just trying to learn 😅

This is what bums me out about people insisting that it's okay and not harmful to call literally everything witchcraft!

It's erased an entire world of magic!

People! Literally! Don't! Know! Other! Stuff! Exists!

So let me tell you from the bottom of my heart, Anon: this is NOT a dumb question. This is a really important question, and not enough people ask it, and that's how we get to people tagging literally anything nonwhite and/or nonchristian as #baby witch #witch tips #witchblr #witchcraft 101.

Witchcraft has, until very recently, been a term to denote bad, harmful, or malicious magic. This is in contrast to good, helpful, or benevolent magic.

In a community, you can have a cunning person who practices good community-oriented magic, and you can have a witch who practices stealing delicious milk from the teats of cows.

This implies that it is more than likely the good cunning person and the bad witch were more or less practicing the same variety of bioregional folk magic, just to different ends.

In this context, witchcraft is any application of magic which is culturally subversive or harmful.

But there's so much more to the story!

In the mid 20th century, there was a witchcraft revival movement in England. Long story short, small groups of people worked to create a cohesive religious practice which they claimed was authentic British witchcraft. These practices are called Wicca and Traditional Witchcraft (2 separate things).

These practices were mostly ceremonial, involving elaborate rituals, magic wands, four elements, circle casting/compass laying, and so on.

These magical practices fueled and were fueled by an exploding culture shift in the western world and became so popular that they dominated perceptions of, and understandings of, what magic was.

Witch stopped being a person who used magic in bad ways, and started being a word for any person who uses magic.

Unfortunately, this is a problem, because now we have one word being used too many ways:

On one hand, witch is still a word that to many people denotes an evil or bad person who uses magic in evil or bad ways.

And, on the other hand, witch is now a word that refers to practitioners of a modern British magical tradition and its offshoots and variations, regardless of that person's maliciousness.

And, on the third hand, because Wicca had become so danged popular, witch has become a word that is applied to any person who practices magic, whether or not their practice is British and whether or not it is malicious.

The topic is further confused because witchcraft is so personal that one witch's witchcraft may look nothing like another witch's witchcraft.

What witchcraft is exists, and must be understood, contextually. In modern usage, a person claiming they practice witchcraft may mean any of the following (not a cohesive list):

"I am Wiccan."

"I practice magic derived from the British witchcraft revival period, but I am not specifically a Wiccan or follow any particular system."

"I practice magic which isn't derived from that British stuff, but I believe the title 'witch' best fits my practice."

"I practice magic that isn't witchcraft, but I call myself a witch as a term of convenience."

"I practice magic and I thought the word for that is 'witch', but if I put some thought into it I might realize I don't think that label suits me."

"I do not practice magic or Wicca but I enjoy nature and I pray to the moon."

With a word stretched so thin, outlining exactly what is and is not witchcraft can be a bit of a chore. However there are things which we can pretty safely say are just down right not witchcraft.

Before we go on, it's vital to mention that witchcraft is a term people get to choose, or reject, for themselves. So if someone from the following traditions is like, "nope, it's witchcraft to me," you should listen to them.

Anyway, here are some things that are not witchcraft:

Jewish mysticism (I've even seen posts about straight up Judaism, not even mysticism, just like, Judaism, being tagged as witchcraft)

Voodoo

Pow-wow

Folk magic

Chaos Magick

Santeria

Palo

Ancestor veneration

Praying to saints, angels, Mary, etc.

Faith healing (for example, as seen in Evangelicalism)

New Age

Spirit keeping

Worship of any nonchristian god or goddess

Heka

[thewitcheslibrary]

Brief history of wicca

A brief history:

Gerald Gardner, an English civil servant, novelist, and magician, is credited with establishing the religion that would become known as Wicca. Gardner, born in 1884, travelled much as a child and developed an interest in anthropology, archaeology, folklore, and, finally, spiritualism and other esoteric issues. He belonged to a number of groups and associations relating to his hobbies, including the Rosicrucian Order, which he joined in 1939. Gardner met other acquaintances who were members of an even more hidden inner group, and they confessed to him that they were a witch coven. He was inducted into the coven in September of that year.

Several years prior, in the early 1920s, a popular hypothesis circulated in anthropological circles about an old pagan religion that had been largely eradicated by Christianity but was still practiced in secret enclaves across Western Europe. Margaret Murray, the anthropologist who pushed the thesis, referred to the religion as a "Witch-cult," claiming that the remaining practitioners were organised into 13-member covens. When Gardner encountered the New Forest group, he knew they were one of the last vestiges of this old pre-Christian religion, and he intended to help assure the Witch-cult's survival into the twentieth century.

Throughout the 1940s, Gardner remained interested in a variety of religious and spiritual traditions and concepts, but his encounters with the New Forest coven had a profound influence. He eventually formed his own coven, Bricket Wood, and began to create a new incarnation of the ancient Witch-cult, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, including the New Forest coveners, elements of Freemasonry and ceremonial magic, and the work of other occult figures such as Aleister Crowley and Cecil Williamson. Gardner's primary innovation eventually became one of Wicca's most fundamental elements: the worship of a Goddess and a God who were equal in every aspect. This was very unusual after millennia of male-dominated, patriarchal faiths!

Gardner never referred to his relatively young religion as "Wicca." He did occasionally refer to his coven members as "the Wica," an Old English name for sorcerers and diviners. However, the tradition was usually referred to as Witchcraft, or "the Craft," or "the Old Religion." It didn't become recognised as Wicca until at least a decade later, when it expanded to the United States and Australia.

By then, Gardner's disciples and other occultists had produced new versions on his idea, some of which bear little resemblance to the original Bricket Wood coven. In reality, many people in the UK who continue to practise Gardner's rituals as they have been passed down from covener to covener refer to it as British Traditional Witchcraft. These Witches see "Wicca" as something altogether distinct, often referring to it as an American creation. Gardnerian Wicca is the name given to the original version of Wicca in other parts of the world.

Although Gardner is regarded as the founder of the contemporary Witchcraft movement and was undoubtedly one of its most vocal public supporters, he clearly did not do it alone. Indeed, there are several notable personalities throughout Wicca's history. Many of his friends and colleagues participated in the partnership, including Patricia Crowther, Lois Bourne, and Doreen Valiente, as well as mid-century occultists Robert Cochrane and Raymond Buckland. Indeed, the complete history of Wicca and its growth may fill books, but the entire narrative would most likely never be recounted!

Furthermore, Gardner and others took inspiration from information, beliefs, and practices produced by various previous organisations dating back to the British occult resurgence of the late nineteenth century, and even earlier, to the thirteenth century. And those Middle Age occultists did, in fact, deal with ideas and materials from ancient civilizations.

So, even though no evidence for Murray's Witch-cult theory has ever been discovered, and no unbroken tradition of occult practice dating back to antiquity appears to exist, it is possible to argue that there was some kind of spiritual "lineage"—perhaps an eternal divine essence—strong enough to survive centuries of Christian dominance and reappear in modern times. Whatever the case, for individuals who practise Wicca, the experience is really timeless.

[hadit93]

Why do you think people still practice Wicca and other so-called Witchcraft branches that obviously influenced by Wicca since all the Murray’s claims are disputed like witch-cult thing? How people see this as a legitimate and real religion or practice? I ask that from a personal faith crisis, not trying to judge people or undermine the practice.

Well Gardner created Wicca from many sources, the bulk of it is some witchcraft lore from spurious sources fleshed out with the teachings of Aleister Crowley and the Golden Dawn. I personally do not believe his story of the new forest coven, there is little evidence, and Cecil Williamson also disputed it.

I genuinely know little about Murray, I know she claimed witchcraft to be an ancient religion which has continued for centuries. This is obviously false. The truth is witchcraft, or magical practices, in the British Isles varied from region to region. There were similarities, but many differences also. The Horned God and the Lady is but one variation, and how old that combo is, I do not know.

What makes a 'real' religion?

Religions are just explanations and aesthetics that people use to connect with the divine. If Wicca works for them, it works for them. I must also point out public Wicca is very different from proper initiatory Wicca. For example the God and Goddess in books are stated to be every god and every goddess- an idea probably stemming from Dion Fortune and the idea of Nuit and Hadit from Crowley. In initiatory Wicca the God and Goddess have specific names and are specific deities- at least that is what I have been told by a Gardnerian initiate.

Gardner derived his religion from many sources that do have established history in magical practice. Some may be a little spurious, but there is definitely a magical thread in his system and thinking. I don't see there being a problem, again, if it works, it works. It isn't for me, but neither are any of the major world religions.

What I do take issue with is when Wiccans begin to speak as authorities on witchcraft. For example 'There is no devil in the craft'. This is inherently false historically. The truth is the majority of British witchcraft traditions we actually have historical evidence for shows evidence of dual observance of local pagan gods, Christian saints, and the devil. As well as the use of grimoires. There is very little to no mention of a horned god and goddess in British witchcraft in comparison.

He made it up. But aren't most religions essentially made up? They are all stories and mechanisms to connect with the divine. I am of the opinion that a person needs to find their own way, form their own religion. Others like someone else to lay the way for them, and that is okay. As long as they develop as a person who are we to judge?