The Witch Tests

The Witch Trials are a reminder of what happens with intolerance and ignorance.

 Here are a few methods use by the persecutors.

A Ducking Stool was a medieval torture device which was primarily used to punish and humiliate women. 

The contraption resembled a seesaw with a chair affixed to one end. 

The device was placed along the edge of a river and the offender, who would be strapped into the chair, was repeatedly plunged into the cold river water. 

Witch hunters would use the device to coerce confessions from the accused. 

This method was later simplified - accusers forwent the device and just tossed suspected witches into the water to see if they would drown.

The ultimate no-win situation, some accused witches had their hands and feet bound along with rocks to weigh them down, and then they were thrown into a body of water. 

It was believed that if a person was a witch, the water would spit them out.

However, if they were innocent, they would drown. 

Knowing that their death would clear them of all charges must have been a great source of comfort.  

When we say the accused were "pressed," we don’t only mean for answers. This method was used to manipulate accused witches into admitting their guilt.

 The witches in question had a board laid on top of them and their accusers placed heavy rocks on the board until they either confessed or they were literally crushed to death. 

Medieval wisdom held that witches were incapable of speaking scripture aloud, so accused sorcerers were made to recite selections from the Bible—usually the Lord’s Prayer—without making mistakes or omissions.

While it may have simply been a sign that the suspected witch was illiterate or nervous, any errors were viewed as proof that the speaker was in league with the devil. 

This twisted test of public speaking ability was commonly used as hard evidence in witch trials. In 1712, it was applied in the case Jane Wenham, an accused witch who supposedly struggled to speak the words “forgive us our trespasses” and “lead us not into temptation” during her interrogation. 

Still, even a successful prayer test didn’t guarantee an acquittal. 

During the Salem Witch Trials, the accused sorcerer George Burroughs flawlessly recited the prayer from the gallows just before his execution. 

The performance was dismissed as a devil’s trick, and the hanging proceeded as planned.

June 1, 1563: Witchcraft Laws Go Into Effect In England

England’s Witchcraft Laws were put into effect. 

These laws were put into effect on June 1, 1563, and made the practice of witchcraft illegal and outlawed all witchcraft-related activities. 

It was called An Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts. 

The law was not the first in English history against the practice of witchcraft. In 1401, witchcraft was legally recognized as heresy against the church and government, but it was not technically punishable by death, although killing witches did happen.

Henry VIII passed an act in 1542 that defined witchcraft as a felony punishable by death for the first time. 

The felon’s property, goods, etc., were also forfeited to the crown upon conviction for witchcraft and you can see how ulterior motives would arise from the nature of the law. Edward VI repealed the law in 1547.

If you were living in England on June 1, 1563, the Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts would officially be in effect. 

If you were convicted of practicing witchcraft, you served time in prison. 

If the conviction had the death or destruction of another person attached to it, you were put to death without clergy to take confession, give absolution, or administer last rites.

James I added to the Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts in 1604 to make invocation or communication with spirits a felony punishable by death as well.

Being burned at the stake was actually not very common in Elizabeth I’s and James I’s reigns. 

Only those who committed heresy or treason were burned, and because witchcraft was turned into a felony, the cases moved to common courts and convicted individuals were hanged.

George II changed the law again in 1736 to say that anyone who “pretended” to conjure spirits, tell the future, etc., was a con artist. 

Punishments for con artists were fines and prison time. 

It’s important to note the language of these changes because it shifts the perception of witchcraft in the judicial system from something very real and dangerous to something not so real and less dangerous.

A witch under the law was no longer making deals with the devil but in fact knowingly conning people around them. 

It shows a shift in society around the Enlightenment.

Despite witchcraft technically being illegal in England until 1951 (yes, the 20th century), people were no longer routinely put to death by the mid-1700s. 

Helen Duncan was the last person to do time in prison under George II’s 1736 witchcraft laws. 

She spent nine months in prison for being a clairvoyant, and then she was arrested again in 1956 after the 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act, which was later repealed in 2008.

Witches Wearing Black

What do a Cross, Tornadoes, Witches, Bunny, Dogs and Elvis have in common?

The shape in the sky was described as a "sign from the heavens", with many viewers claiming it proved that "Jesus was coming"

The Rabbi who took the photo also pointed out that on the left-hand side of the cross there appears to be a number 7.

“You could even say the cross in the sky is the ‘sign of the Son of Man’ in the heavens,” someone added.

Others claimed,

“Looks like someone's standing on the cross.”

Some were trying to figure out the meaning of the 7 in the image.

One user said: “I’m not a Biblical scholar but with regard to the Rabbi’s picture aren’t there 7 deadly sins noted in the Bible?”

(Yes, but there are also 7 days in a week)

Then again, there were also plenty of viewers who saw nothing more than an cloud shape.

So, if it is a cross, we are calling it a Pagan sign.

After all, religious symbolism of the cross has its roots in ancient paganism. 

It became a symbol of Christianity only after the time of Constantine. 

The historical record shows that Christianity adapted the influences of pagan worship, which included the symbol of the cross.

Pagan cultures began using the cross long before Christianity.

Crosses were posted near areas where Pagan worshippers congregated. 

They were carved into rocks and walls to represent Sun Gods.  

After the Roman conquest of Europe, the symbol was adopted by members of the Christian faith. Initially, it was drawn as an X, but it was later formed into what we now know as the Cross. 

We do see what appears to be two eyes peering over the cross thing.

That could be a chicken perhaps.

Or maybe , it’s just a cloud formation after all.

But then, there’s a woman in the United Kingdom who recently took this photo that some say is Jesus with his arms stretched out.

We kind of think the above photo looks more like a tornado type corkscrew.

Or maybe it’s a deity with a spinning dance move.

Below we are told this is the Virgin Mary.

Sorry, we’re trying, but we don’t see her.

Perhaps it’s an abstract depiction…

Here we have the canine Gods.

Not too long ago, it was the Winter Solstice and someone discovered Old Man Winter, obviously a Pagan message.

Below could be the Dolphin or Goldfish God.

Could be an airplane.

Then we have the Bunny, God-Zilla and Elephant Gods.

Below we have the Witch cloud.

It wouldn’t be complete without the Elvis cloud/God.

We kind of like the next one…

Lunar Blueberry Pie

Lunar Blueberry Pie

Crust

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅔ cup solid coconut oil
• 6 tbsp ice water

Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. 

Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or a fork until mixture resembles wet sand.

Add ice water 1 tbsp at a time until a shaggy dough forms.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and press into a ball. 

Reserve about ⅓ of the dough for the top design.

Roll the ⅔ portion into a round shape approximately ¼" thick. 

Transfer the dough into an 8" cake pan (line the bottom with parchment paper just to be safe) and flute the edges, ensuring that the dough sits over the edge of the pan to prevent it from shrinking during the blind bake.

Prick the bottom of the crust using a fork. 

Chill bottom crust for about 10 minutes in the fridge before baking.

Blind bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. 

Cool for at least 10 minutes before filling.

Roll out the reserved ⅓ portion of dough into a round shape, again, approximately ¼" thick. 

Cut a half circle and use 2 small circular cookie cutters, one larger one smaller (or bottle caps in my case) and a small star-shaped cutter to create the lunar cycle design. 

Keep the top crust pieces chilled.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 5 cups fresh blueberries, divided
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 refrigerated pie crust (9 inches), baked

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water until smooth. 
• Add 3 cups blueberries. 
• Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
• Remove from the heat. Add butter, lemon juice and remaining berries; stir until butter is melted. 
• Cool. 
• Pour into the crust. Refrigerate until serving.