Article printed from World Book INFORMATION FINDER.

WITCHCRAFT (Introduction)

     WITCHCRAFT is the use of supposed magic powers, 
     generally to harm people or to damage their 
     property.  A witch is a person believed to have 
     received such powers from evil spirits.  From 
     earliest times, people in all parts of the world 
     have believed in witches.  According to some 
     scholars, more than half the people in the world 
     today think witches can influence their lives.  
     
     Through the centuries, witchcraft as practiced in 
     countries with a European culture has differed from 
     witchcraft elsewhere.  European witchcraft is 
     anti-Christian and involves an association with the 
     Devil.  For example, a person wanting to be a witch 
     might sell his or her soul to the devil in exchange 
     for magic powers.  
     
     On the other hand, witchcraft in Africa and the 
     West Indies and among the Indians of North America 
     does not involve the Devil.  Most of the time, such 
     non-European witchcraft seeks to harm people.  But 
     it may also be used to help people.  For example, a 
     person in love may ask a witch for a love potion 
     (drink) to give the loved one.  Drinking the potion 
     will supposedly make the loved one return the 
     giver's love.  
     
     The word witch comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 
     wicca, meaning wise one or magician.  Originally, a 
     witch was either a man or a woman who supposedly 
     had supernatural powers.  Through the years, 
     however, only women came to be considered witches.  
     Men with similar powers were called sorcerers, 
     warlocks, or wizards.  
     
                    The Powers of Witches 
     
     People who believe in witchcraft think a witch can 
     harm people in various ways.  By giving someone a 
     magic potion, for example, a witch can make that 
     person fall in love against his or her will.  In 
     another form of witchcraft, the witch makes a small 
     wax or wooden image of the victim.  The witch may 
     put something from the victim's body into the 
     image, such as fingernail clippings or hair.  The 
     witch then destroys the image by cutting it, 
     burning it, or sticking pins into it.  The victim 
     supposedly suffers severe pain or even death.  
     
     Sometimes a witch casts a spell by reciting a magic 
     formula.  The spell makes the victim suffer.  The 
     witch usually mutters the victim's name while 
     casting the spell.  In some societies, people use 
     false names so that witches can have no power over 
     them.  
     
     People once blamed witches for any unexplained 
     misfortune, such as illness, a sudden death, or a 
     crop failure.  Many persons accused witches of 
     marrying demons and bearing monster children.  
     Witches might make cows go dry by stealing their 
     milk or cast a spell on a churn to prevent butter 
     from forming.  People also thought witches could 
     raise storms and turn people into beasts.  In 
     addition, witches could ride through the air on a 
     broom, and make themselves invisible.  In ancient 
     times, many people believed that witches and 
     warlocks assembled on October 31 to worship their 
     master, the devil.  Today, children dress up as 
     witches and goblins on this date to celebrate 
     Halloween (see HALLOWEEN).  
     
     Witchcraft has led to many widely believed 
     superstitions.  For example, many people in 
     southern Europe and the Near East fear a power 
     called the evil eye.  This power enables witches to 
     cause harm or bring bad luck to others by merely 
     looking at them.  According to another 
     superstition, a black cat brings bad luck if it 
     crosses a person's path.  This superstition came 
     from the belief that every witch had a personal 
     demon called a familiar.  Many familiars, which 
     lived with and served their witches, existed in the 
     form of a black cat or some other animal. 
     
                           History 
     
     Ancient Times.  A number of witches appear in 
     ancient Greek and Latin literature.  In the epic 
     poem, the Odyssey, the witch Circe had the power to 
     turn people into animals.  Medea, another famous 
     witch, used magic spells to help the Greek hero 
     Jason obtain the Golden Fleece.  See CIRCE; MEDEA.  
     
     The Old Testament includes several references to 
     witches and witchcraft.  For example, the 
     commandment "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" 
     appears in Exodus (22: 18).  Hundreds of years 
     later, witch-hunters accepted such Biblical 
     statements as proof that witches existed.  They 
     also used the statements to justify the persecution 
     of persons accused of witchcraft.  
     
     From the 1400's Through the 1700's.  Some scholars 
     regard witchcraft as an extremely old system of 
     organized religious worship.  They trace it back to 
     pre-Christian times in many parts of Europe.  From 
     the 1400's through the 1700's, church authorities 
     tried to stamp out witchcraft.  But people in many 
     parts of the world continued to practice witchcraft 
     as a religion.  
     
     Church persecution of witches occurred in England, 
     France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, and Spain.  In 
     1431, Joan of Arc, the French national heroine, was 
     condemned to death as a witch by the English and 
     was burned at the stake.  From 1484 to 1782, 
     according to some historians, the Christian church 
     put to death about 300,000 women for practicing 
     witchcraft.  Many of these women suffered such 
     terrible torture that they confessed to being 
     witches simply to avoid further torment.  
     
     People used many kinds of tests to determine 
     whether a woman was a witch.  For example, they 
     looked for moles, scars, or other marks on the 
     woman's body where a pin could be stuck without 
     causing pain.  Such devil's marks were said to be 
     places where the devil had touched the accused 
     woman.  Devil's marks also included birthmarks.  In 
     another test, people tied the suspected woman's 
     arms and legs and threw her into deep water.  If 
     she floated, she was considered guilty of being a 
     witch.  If she sank, she was innocent.  
     
     During the 1600's and 1700's, an almost hysterical 
     fear of witchcraft swept most of Europe.  Thousands 
     of persons were tried and executed as witches.  The 
     courts allowed gossip and rumor to be used as 
     evidence.  Many children testified against their 
     own parents.  
     
     The American colonists brought the belief in 
     witchcraft from England.  Suspected witches 
     suffered persecution in Connecticut, Massachusetts, 
     and Virginia.  The most famous witch hunt in 
     American history occurred in Salem, Mass.  Many 
     historians believe that Cotton Mather, a colonial 
     preacher, did much to stir up public feeling 
     against the supposed evil deeds of witches.  In 
     1692, the Massachusetts colonists executed 19 
     people as witches and one person was pressed to 
     death for refusing to plead to the witchcraft 
     charge.  In addition, about 150 others were 
     imprisoned.  See MATHER; SALEM (Mass.).  
     
     Witchcraft Today.  Belief in witchcraft exists in 
     many societies today.  Such societies include those 
     of the Hopi and Navajo Indians of the southwestern 
     United States, the Maori of New Zealand, and many 
     peoples of southern Africa.  In the West Indies and 
     elsewhere, the beliefs and practices of voodoo 
     closely resemble those of witchcraft (see VOODOO).  
     Some groups believe a person may inherit witch 
     powers from a parent.  Such people do not have to 
     deal with evil spirits to become witches.  
     
     Witchcraft may serve as a means of social control 
     among the members of a community.  For example, a 
     person who becomes too rich or powerful may be 
     accused by neighbors of using witchcraft.  The fear 
     of being called a witch could keep such a person 
     from acquiring too much wealth or power.  
     
     During the mid-1900's, a new interest in witchcraft 
     occurred in Europe and the United States.  As a 
     result, witchcraft as an organized religion has 
     attracted large numbers of believers.  These people 
     meet regularly in local covens (groups of 13 or 
     fewer members).  Witchcraft festivals called 
     Witches' Sabbaths take place four times a year, one 
     in each season.  The most important festival occurs 
     on Halloween.  
     
     Books, motion pictures, and television shows have 
     done much to lessen the fear of witches and 
     witchcraft.  Today, many witches are portrayed as 
     attractive, slightly unusual persons whose 
     supernatural activities do harm to no one.  
     
     Contributor: Alan Dundes
     
     See also EVIL EYE; HECATE; MAGIC; SEWALL, SAMUEL.  
     
                    Additional Resources 
     
     Ashley, Leonard R. The Wonderful World of Magic and 
       Witchcraft.  Dembner, 1986. 
     
     Hoyt, Charles A. Witchcraft.  Southern Illinois 
       Univ. Press, 1981.  The background and history of 
       witchcraft.  
     
     McHargue, Georgess.  Meet the Witches.  Lippincott, 
       1984.  For younger readers.  
     
     Russell, Jeffrey B. A History of Witchcraft: 
       Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans.  Peter Smith, 
       1983.  First published in 1980.   
     
                  ----  end of article  ----

Copyright (c) 1991, 1990 by World Book, Inc.

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