Witches and Witchcraft

Witchcraft, referred to as The Craft, it is utilizing energy and one’s own personal power (the desire) to influence the environment around them and the outcome of situations to the desired expected results.  

This can be done by directing a person’s personal power (the desire) to achieve a desired result.  

This direction of power can be achieved with visualization, mantras, positive thinking, and rituals designed to place a person in the desired emotional, spiritual and energetically powerful mindset to achieve their goal.  

The use of herbs, stones, colours, candles, natural objects, divination tools and other objects, that will empower an individual, are often used to enhance one’s ability to reach this energetically powerful mindset.

The Witch commits his or her life to the ‘Ancient Ways’, in the practice of Witchcraft and in using all the natural paths available to enhance the energies around them.

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WITCHES

TRADITIONAL WITCH

Traditional witches focus on the old ways–the ways that came before witchcraft based religion. Ancestral folklore and the historical accounts of witchcraft are important to traditional witches, as they want to honor the old ways of practicing their craft.

ECLECTIC  WITCH

The eclectic witch draws inspiration from the many different types and styles of witchcraft and infuses them into their craft in a wonderfully blended mixture. An eclectic witch tends to make their own path, and it varies depending on the individual witch.

KITCHEN WITCH

Kitchen witches work much of their magick in the home or in the kitchen, and love to bake, cook and welcome new guests. The home is the focal point of their magick, and the offer a warm, nurturing and beneficial environment for anyone in it.

GREEN  WITCH

Green witches are drawn to the energy of earth more than most. They use plants, herbs and flowers in much of their magick and are often practicing their craft in gardens, wooded areas and anywhere that contains natures essential energies.

SOLITARY WITCH

A solitary witch chooses to practice their craft alone. Where many witches will be drawn to gather in a coven. Generally, solitary witches choose to work their magick alone, because they feel a strong connection to their craft early on and have less of a need to work with others.

 HEDGE  WITCH

Hedge witches practice astral projection and other forms of communication to “jump the hedge” between this world and the spirit world. They send and receive messages between both worlds more easily than other witches.

ELEMENTAL WITCH

Elemental witches work their craft heavily based on the four elements of water, fire, earth and air. They call on the elements to bring about their magick and incorporate these elements with various items that represent each element respectively.

DIANIC  WITCH

Dianic witches worship the Goddess Diana through three aspects of the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. Typical Dianic witches have heavily feminist values and infuse their craft with these values as well.

SEA WITCH

A sea witch practices their magick as they draw power and inspiration from the ocean and the moon. It’s the deep mystery and steadfast energy that draws many sea witches to this type of witchcraft and they often use elements of the ocean as tools in their practice.

 CEREMONIAL  WITCH

Many witches prefer the aspect of ritual more than others. These witches are often referred to as ceremonial witches, and they invoke many different spiritual aspects in their ceremonial magick to assist them in their practice and spellwork.

SECULAR  WITCH

Witchcraft doesn’t ask for any specific belief system to be followed, and that goes for witches who are secular by their nature as well. Secular witches don’t attach spirituality to their craft or worship spiritual aspects to gain power from them.

HEREDITARY WITCH

The hereditary witch is one that is born into witchcraft is one way or another. They are part of a lineage of witches and the craft has been passed down and accepted by them.

 COSMIC  WITCH

Cosmic witches use the stars, cosmos astrology and astronomy to work their craft and look to celestial energy to bring power and purpose to their work. Cosmic witches are generally infatuated with cosmic events.

CORRELLIAN WITCH

Correllian witches follow Wiccan tradition of the line founded by Caroline High-Correll. The tradition is based upon the teachings of members of the High-Correll family.

GARDNERIAN WITCH

Gardnerian witchcraft is a Wicca school of witchcraft that became know in the 1950s when Gerald Gardner began teaching what he had learned in his own journey. Gardnerian witches generally have strong ties to nature and strongly ritual based.

ALEXANDRIAN WITCH

Alexandrian witchcraft is a Wiccan tradition that was founded by Alex and Maxine Sanders Maxine Sanders in the 1960s. Alexandrian Wicca is similar in many ways to Gardnerian Wicca, and receives regular mention in books on Wicca as one of the religion’s most widely recognized traditions.

WHAT KIND OF WITCH AM I?

By now, you’re probably feeling a bit of information overload.

If this is you, take a deep breath, trust your intuition and allow time for your journey to unfold.

You’ll find yourself being drawn toward elements and tools from each type of witchcraft above, and maybe even elements that aren’t included!

The beauty is in the process, and you’re in the right spot if you’ve opened your mind to the possibility that there’s something more for you in this world and that you can make a bigger impact with your craft.

Experiment, learn, grow and use your heart to guide you over the next several months. And as you do these things, keep your mind open to these different types of witchcraft to cultivate a new level of respect for yourself, the earth and the power that you have inside you.

Source: The Witchcraft Way.

Mummified cats, ‘witch markings and boots in your walls: The secret hidden magic to trap evil spirits

 

Newcastle University historian Ian Evans was finding mummified cats, children’s shoes and anti-witch symbols known as hexafoils and merels, and ritually burnt marks hidden on and in the walls of homes and other buildings around Australia.

Why?

It seems the houses built before 1935 and secret marks and “ritual magic” objects were part of a secret known by early Australian settlers.

These items (mummified cats, children’s shoes and anti-witch symbols) were placed under floorboards, in walls and roofs in homes afraid of evil spirits from the underworld, which brought death and destruction.

 

 

Dr Evans believes this stems from medieval times where objects were hidden and the symbols written to fool witches and devils.

“The use of magic appears to have been an aspect of cultural practices brought from England by settlers, convicts, the military, and members of the Colonial administration,” Dr Evans said.

“The fear of attacks by escaped convicts, bushrangers and Aborigines is also thought to have played a part in the use of protective magic.”

 

Dr Evans said shoes and dead cats, which have been turning up in houses in Europe, the UK and the US for centuries, “represents colonial settlers’ belief that misfortune and evil spells could be warded off by secretly placing the objects in an inaccessible spot”.

He said shoes were used because they retained their human shape after being taken off, and cats because they were “the witch’s companion and catcher of vermin, to trap or decoy an incoming witch”.

Witchcraft and You

Witches and the craft is understanding nature, the Old Religion.

Witchcraft is the essence that’s binds the Earth’s magic together with our daily lives.

Throughout history Witches and their craft has been practiced for the benefit of all.

Enchantments is the oldest Witchcraft store in New York

For more information you can visit their website: Click Here

Enchantments is the oldest witchcraft store in New York. It's located in the East Village, it's been in business over 34 years.

Even though spell casting isn't available in the store, you'll find carved candles, apothecary, custom oils and incense, tarot cards, jewelry and a large selection of books.

Witch and store owner Stacy Rapp (photo below) says the shop is successful because it puts out positive energy, so positive energy comes back to it.

Customers come from all walks of life, “we get doctors, lawyers, bartenders, people who have been practicing pagans for 20 years and people who have never done any of this before in their life,” says Rapp. She says Witchcraft is popular because people are looking for a spiritual practice that gives them a measure of control.

Nothing can be created out of thin air, so lighting a candle or burning some incense won’t create a million dollars, but it can help give a boost to a job search, she explains. "The idea of magic is that it is a proactive spirituality."

Rapp also credits part of witchcraft’s attraction to its emphasis on the strong female role, which can often be lacking in other spiritual practices. "It is much more balanced in terms of male and female energy and you have strong female energies."

Witchcraft in the Philippines

In the Philippines, this folk medicine woman is reading candles, also known as candle wax or candle drip reading. 

It's a form of scrying where the candle wax is either dripped or dropped into water where it forms a shape that's interpreted by the Witch.

This Filipino medicine woman has been reading candles as a living and is visited by locals for all kinds of reasons - sometimes it's about dwarves and other beings which have been disturbed by people. 

The psychic rituals are meant to satisfy the dwarves or whoever, so that they may forgive the human victim and reverse the punishment.

There are several methods practitioners use in TAWAS:

The Egg

A raw egg is cracked into a glass of water and gently shaken, the egg white starts taking on different forms. The egg-

white is examined for any change in shape that might suggest the nature of the illness.

The Paper

A piece of blank paper, about 4- by 4-inch square, whispered with prayers (bulong), is "crossed" over the body of the patients area of affliction then examined for an shadows or shades for clues to determine the cause of the illness.

Cigarette rolling paper

The paper is smudged with coconut oil; then the healer breathes on it while whispering his prayers chosen. The paper is then brought up to a light to "read" the shapes that have formed that will suggest the diagnosis or cause of the condition.

Candles

A piece of candle is heated and melted on a spoon, then placed in water. 

The shape taken by the candle on the water will suggest the nature of the medical issue to the healer. 

Very often. shapes of dwarfs or elves are seen, and treatments are prescribed.

There is an awareness of Witchcraft and Voodoo in the Philippines that has brought the craft into the mainstream.

Although these practices have been considered taboo since Catholicism was introduced in the 15th century, many Filipino witches are still practicing their ancient customs.

Richard Quezon, the mayor of Siquijor town, the capital of the province, remembers being terrified by stories of evil witches in the mountains that rise from the middle of the island.

“Before, everyone went to healers for things like liver problems or cancer,” he said. “But now, with modern medicine, only those who can’t afford to go to the hospital seek out healers.”

Quezon defends witchcraft. Last month he went to a witch because of a skin condition that wouldn’t go away.

“The medicine from the pharmacy didn’t work, but the herbs and spells from the healer worked right away,” he said. “Some things science can’t explain.”

Wicca, Witchcraft or Paganism?

Questions we are asked a lot are "what exactly is a Pagan?"

"What about the differences between Pagans, Wicca and Witchcraft?"

We really like Patti Wigington's explanation sorting all this out. She has nearly thirty years of experience in studying modern Pagan belief systems. She works as an educator in the Pagan community, and in 2008, formed her own group, Clan of the Stone Circle.

Read the following by Patti:

"There is a great deal of debate among the Pagan community about whether or not Wicca is truly the same form of Witchcraft that the ancients practiced. Regardless, many people use the terms Wicca and Witchcraft interchangeably. Paganism is an umbrella term used to apply to a number of different earth-based faiths.

Wicca falls under that heading, although not all Pagans are Wiccan. So, in a nutshell, here's what's going on. All Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccans. All Wiccans are Pagans, but not all Pagans are Wiccans. Finally, some witches are Pagans, but some are not - and some Pagans practice witchcraft, while others choose not to."  READ MORE

Are You A Witch?

Witches are men or women who use the energy of the universe to accomplish what they desire to do.

The Old Religion is the magic of Nature itself. It is the essence which binds all things together.

Are you a Witch?

Let's take a look at the signs and characteristics that you may recognize within yourself.

Witches, don’t create or fix problems, they work with nature and energy to bring things into alignment.

You Are Connected With Nature

This is one of the most revealing signs. Witches work with the energy of the magic of the earth and nature. 

They align many of their practices to the lunar and solar phases. 

Have you ever felt unexplainable energy on a full moon or new moon? 

Have you ever felt more at peace in nature—deep in a forest or near a body of water—than inside a crowded place?

Feeling at peace in nature says a lot about that you.

You feel alive and your senses are essentially heightened when you are in nature.

You Have Rituals

Rituals can be anything from smudging your environment on a certain lunar phase or feeling the need to ground yourself with the soil beneath your feet.

If you use herbs regularly or use essential oils simply because you have a natural tendencies to do so, you are likely connected to the Earth’s energy.

You Communicate With Animals

You already know if this describes you.

Animals are drawn to you and are you drawn to them.

You may have discovered that many animals find you and you find them during your lifetime. 

This is a good sign.

Your Intuition Is Strong

Have you ever felt the vibes and energy from people, places or situations?

This may be because you are likely in-tune with universal energy. Trusting your intuition means you have a strong feeling in your "gut." This extra sense often leads you to the right answer about a situation, the right path, person, or thing whether present, past, or future.

You Have a Familiar

In the Dark Ages, "familiars" were taken more seriously than they are today and were actually thought to be demons by Christians.

Pagans and Witches however, have a much different view, and often refer to their household animal compnaion as their familiar. Familiars can be your cat, dogs, rabbits, wolves, toads and frogs, owls, or other wildlife.

What Is a Familiar?

Familiars are special animals that connect with the Witch they are drawn to and they tend to be smarter, deeper and more attuned with you.

You Collect Natural "Tools"

Rocks, shells, feathers, precious stones, crystals, abalone shells, or natural anomalies. If you have collected these items over the years, you may have been collecting them to "do work." Learning how to use them will often require the guidance of an experienced witch or research by you.

You Have an Understanding of Herbs

Herbs are very important to witches. Herbology is simply the use of herbs to cure or treat physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or psychic ailments.

You're Introverted by Choice

Many Witches stay busy and avoid distractions and negativity for peace of mind, protecting or keeping your energy positive and healthy. 

Some people can be energy vampires, and Witches much prefer to be in peaceful environment, away from chaos, negativity and mindless activities.

You can feel the energy of people and the places that surround you. 

Witches often can assess an environment or an object's energy.

If something is dark and negative, they will know.  If something has positive energy, a Witch will know.

You Are Open-Minded

Witches are attracted to other unusual, obscure, or atypical individuals. 

The have a deeper appreciation for the arts, tarot, astrology, energy healing, and EARTH, AIR, FIRE, and WATER, the four elements. 

Storms and Natural Events Energize You

If you feel excitement with rainstorms, lightning, the sound of thunder, the crashing of waves or the rush of heavy winds, this is a strong indication of you being a witch.

Some Final Thoughts 

Even though Witchcraft can be taught, Witches often inherit their ability from Grandmothers, Aunts and Mothers.

Perhaps in your family history, someone, somewhere at sometime was a Witch.

Regardless, there is a reason you are attracted to Witchcraft.

If you were drawn to this post it's probably because you have this gift, perhaps it's calling for you.

350 Year Old Scottish Witch Trials Book

The pages of a 350-year-old book used to record the names of those accused of witchcraft in Scotland have been published.

The Names of Witches in Scotland, 1658 collection, was drawn up during a time when the persecution of supposed witches was fever pitched.

The book also lists the towns where the accused lived and includes the confession.

It is believed many were healers, practicing traditional folk medicine. 

Some of the notes give small insights into the lives of those accused. 

A majority of those accused of witchcraft were women although the records reveal that some men were also persecuted. 

Folk medicine was Witchcraft 

The passing of the Scottish Witchcraft Act in 1563 made witchcraft, or consulting with witches, capital crimes in Scotland.

It is estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 women were publicly accused of being witches in 16th and 17th Century Scotland.

The outbreak of witch-hunting in the years 1658-1662, the period in which the list of names was created, is generally seen to be the height of persecution against witches in Scotland.

In many cases, the victims were healers, part of a tradition of folk medicine. Their treatments sometimes helped poor communities but accusations of witchcraft could crop up if they did not work.

Miriam Silverman, Ancestry senior content manager, said: "In the 17th century, people believed that the unholy forces of witchcraft were lurking in their communities, and those accused of being witches were persecuted on the basis of these dark suspicions."

"This might mean charms and spells, or the use of healing herbs and other types of folk medicine, or both. We'll probably never know the combinations of events that saw each of these individuals accused of witchcraft.

"It's a mysterious document: "It gives us a fleeting view of a world beyond orthodox medicine and expensively trained physicians, in which people in small towns and villages looked for their own routes to understanding the world and came into conflict with the state for doing it."

The Witch Tests

As we approach the Witch Trials Season we wanted to share with you the methods use by the persecutors.

It’s a reminder of what happens with intolerance and ignorance.

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.

Meet the author of Craft: How to Be a Modern Witch

Gabriela Herstik wants you to believe in magic. 

Not the abracadabra kind, but your own personal magick. 

In her first-ever book, Craft: How to Be a Modern Witch, Herstik completely demystifies modern-day witchcraft with a fresh, emboldened approach. 

She transforms witchcraft into an approachable form of self-care that can be practiced by anyone willing to learn. 

She says, Witchcraft is a nature-based spiritual path that works with magick and ritual, and honors the earth and her cycles (as well as honoring the cosmos). 

It often honors the divine feminine as well, though since witchcraft isn’t a religion for everyone.

 It means reclaiming our power as wise women, as healers, as magicians, as creators, witchcraft means reclaiming our magick. 

We do this through spells, through working with energy and the subtle body, through meditation and cleansings, through being conscious of the energy we give and receive, among many other things. 

Gaze at the moon, learn about what it means when she waxes and wanes, talk to the natural world, listen to your intuition, and believe in your own magick!

Witchcraft

Known by many names in many times and places: Hekate in ancient Greece, Isis in ancient Egypt, Baba Yaga in Eastern Europe, Ceridwen in medieval Wales, Freya in Norse mythology. 

Whether as a healer, or crone, the witch has existed in cultures across the earth for thousands of years. 

Witches have inspired the likes of Shakespeare, Goya, and Dalí, and have been cast as the evil in countless fairy tales, legends, books, films, artworks, and songs. 

A new book, Witchcraft (Taschen) co-edited by Jessica Hundley and Pam Grossman, discusses the witch’s history, symbols, and depictions across time through more than 30 essays and hundreds of full-color illustrations. 

Witchcraft explores the witch’s lasting hold on our imagination, and the current-day witchcraft.

The witch has long been a crucible for mainstream society’s darkest fears. 

One of the first recorded instances of the word ‘witch’ was in the Old Testament, where a merciless verse from Exodus commands, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” 

The story of the witch is horribly linked with the brutality and persecution of the Reformation era. 

It’s estimated that 50,000 to 80,000 suspected witches were killed in Europe between 1500 and 1660. 

Some 70 to 80% of the victims were women, the majority being poor and elderly. 

Witches became the target scapegoat for all sorts of ills at the time, including disease, death, bad weather, and shipwrecks.

The highly publicized trials and accused evil deeds spread in books, pamphlets, and other propaganda thanks to the birth of the printing press.

It’s impossible to know how many of those accused were actually practitioners, but the mere threat of witchcraft — or of women acting independently outside of established norms — was enough to drive those in power to murderous hysteria. 

By the 1680s, witch hunts faded in Europe. But they continued in the New World, where they were used to villify Indigenous people, survivors of the translatlantic slave trade, and famously resulted in the execution of 19 villagers in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. 

Today, witchcraft is an adaptable spiritual practice embraced by a wide range of people. 

In light of still being misunderstood in the world, this book, Witchcraft offers readers a study of an empowered individual that continues to evolve.