HISTORY

Magic- A Short History (The interesting stuff!)

The practice of “magic”, has been around for a very long time. Before the advent of Christianity, Pagan people worshipped all forms of Gods and Goddesses, the most common being the Sun (God of the day) and the Moon (Goddess of the night). They were more in tune with nature and relied on their Gods to bring them fruitful harvests, better health, better lives, love and so on and so forth.
 

Magic was a practical art that embraced nature, medicine, religion and astrology. It was all about balance. Male and female, yin and yang, etc,etc.The natural law of the universe. The people would turn to their local “witches” for help, for healing and for fortune. These “witches” were better known as magicians, diviners, sages, astrologers, herbalists and necromancers, to name but a few. As time progressed, there were also priests and priestesses (these were common in Rome, Greece and Egypt) attached to the religious, ritualistic side of magic.

The word “witch” itself was not used as a term for all practitioners of magic until mediaeval times, and is derived from the Old Saxon word “wicca” or “wic-cha” which generally meant “wise”. Wicca later came to mean male witch as opposed to wiccie (no, not wookie!) female witch. It is now described (according to the Oxford Dictionary) as someone practising modern witchcraft.
"Wicca", or "Wica" as a religion, was a phrase first used by Gerald Gardner in his book "The Meaning of Witchraft" in the late 1950's.

As Christianity thrived, the Christian priests incorporated many of the pagan festivals into their religion, so that the people would accept Christianity more readily. Christian leaders began to see all practitioners of magic as a threat and therefore all forms of “witchcraft”, as it became known, were banned and only people that created “miracles” in the name of the Church would be accepted, and, in the view of the Church, anyone who healed or divined in the name of any other God or Goddess must surely be in league with the devil (a concept created by the church, as pagans had no concept of the Devil) and were therefore thought to be “evil”.  The word "devil" itself is a play on the word "evil". And as for the traditional images of the Devil, these were constructed on the description of the horned God, a nature spirit often associated with sex and pleasure. (Also known as Pan.)

So, many of the Pagan “witches” became Christians, and continued to practise their craft. Others who would not give up their beliefs were condemned and sentenced to death.

Who has not heard of the witch-hunts? During the late 15^th century through to the 17^th century, all forms of magic began to be seen as a threat, not only to the church but also to physicians, whom people did not entirely trust. “Witches” were hunted down, and after having “confessions” tortured out of them, were tried and executed. Let’s face it, being faced with torture, or having already been tortured, confessing to being in league with the Devil would begin to look very attractive!
 

Most of these “witches” were men and women who would not conform to the rules of the church, were heretics, or women who were accused by members of their society because they were either young and were seen as temptresses; midwives and healers, who the physicians wanted rid of; or cantankerous old women, purely because they WERE cantankerous old women!

Often the female members of a family were accused, mother, daughter and grandmother. Thus was born the legend that witches were of three types, maiden, mother and crone and as a collective formed a coven. Thanks to William Shakespear's "Macbeth", this was reinforced into the publics mind with his three witches crying,"Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble". Which, incidentally, ties in with the triple-faced Moon Goddess, and also the Fates of Greek mythology.
 

Hysteria ensued. No one was safe. Let’s say for example, Mrs Miggins grew herbs and kept a cat. Let’s say that Mr Smith had said something bad about Mrs Miggins and later that day her cat wandered into Mr Smith’s garden. A few days later his son got sick. It must have been Mrs Miggins fault! Therefore she must be a witch!
 

Let’s say that the upstanding (and married) Rev. Jones takes a fancy to young Betty the milkmaid, a very pretty and buxom young wench, and has an affair with her. On being found “in flagranti” with Betty, the Rev. Jones, knowing full well that adultery was illegal, and that the people knew him to be a God-fearing man, surely must have been bewitched by young Betty. Therefore she must be a witch!
 

Then there were the young Black sisters, who had cooked and eaten some wild mushrooms and were later found running around naked and claiming they could fly! Definitely witches!
 

Basically, anyone who acted differently, anyone whom others were jealous of, anyone who had a mishap with hallucinogenic plant life, or anyone who people just didn’t like could be accused of witchcraft.

One of the worst cases of this is to be found in Suffolk where on the 27^th August 1645, no less than 18 “witches” were hanged at Bury St. Edmunds, thanks to one of the most evil men in history, Matthew Hopkins, “The Witchfinder General”. Amongst them was The Rev. John Lowes of Brandeston, who had tried to save the “witches” and was accused of being in league with them for doing so.

It was estimated that during his reign of terror from 1644-1647 no less than 400 “witches” had been murdered thanks to him. Some may have been healers, herbalists and midwives, most were not. 

The Scottish Witches did not fare any better.One of the most famous trials was that of the North Berwick Witches in East Lothian. One of the cruellest trials happened in Pittenweem, Fife.

And in America there was the most famous and written about witch trial. That of the Salem Witches

Because of all this persecution, genuine practitioners of magic had to go “underground” and hide their craft. And so it has been until this century. Practitioners are able to be more open these days, but still, in 1999 a teacher was suspended from his job for practising “witchcraft”.  The story continues…
 

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