&vercz | seeeee were doing macbeth, and the teach wants us to research a background area from the text, i chose the witches.
Well hows this for an opening-sort-of-type-thing. Too much, too little?
Witchcraft. From the old English word “wiccecraeft.” Meaning ‘the power or practices of witches; black magik. The craft of the wise.’
Witchcraft is a religion, and a way of life. It is a branch of the religion Paganism. Witchcraft respects all living things, seen and unseen in the divine universe, and is a religion based on honour and respect for all living things. People who practice witchcraft have a belief in reincarnation, karma, connecting with the energy that lives in all things, ghosts and spirits.
Now to dispel a common myth: witchcraft is not Satanism. Pagans do not worship the devil, nor do they even believe in its existence. It’s impossible to worship something that you don’t believe exists.
Witchcraft has been around since near the dawn of human existence on Earth. The hunter-gather cultures used to pray to Gods and Goddesses of the harvest. This is the era that sacrifices first appeared in rituals.
however I would re-word the last bit to reflect that these early humans were trying to win the favour of the Gods and Goddesses so that they would be provided with rich harvests, and offered them gifts. Re-wording as thus would provide a better, more easily understood seque into any bit about sacrifices.
[color=\"#41211C\"]It takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it
Witchcraft. From the old English word “wiccecraeft.” Meaning ‘the power or practices of witches; black magik. The craft of the wise.’
Witchcraft is a religion, and a way of life. It is a branch of the religion Paganism. Witchcraft respects all living things, seen and unseen in the divine universe, and is a religion based on honour and respect for all living things. People who practice witchcraft have a belief in reincarnation, karma, connecting with the energy that lives in all things, ghosts and spirits.
Now to dispel a common myth: witchcraft is not Satanism. Pagans do not worship the devil, nor do they even believe in its existence. It’s impossible to worship something that you don’t believe exists.
Witchcraft has been around since near the dawn of human existence on Earth. The hunter-gatherer cultures used to pray to Gods and Goddesses of the harvest, in order to win their favour so they would receive rich harvests for their community, gifts were offered to the gods for their service. Most commonly the gifts were human lives, which we now know as sacrifice.
During the 13th century, the court known as “The Inquisition” is established, this court deals only with cases related to witchcraft. Many people lose their lives as a direct result of The Inquisition being established. Anglo-Saxons begin to form groups, known as “Covens” and begin calling themselves by the name “Wicca” meaning “The Wise Ones.”
The time period in witchcraft history from the 8th-19th century is known as the “Burning Times” for obvious reasons. When a person had been found guilty of studying witchcraft, they were sentenced to death; usually they would be burned alive at the stake. Even though they had been technically active for 700 years, 1490 was the year that the burning times really began.
In the late 16th/early 17th centuries, the fear of witches was at its peak. The church begins creating false information concerning Pagan ways and beliefs, and connecting Pagans and the Devil. This misinformation further sides the common people of Europe against the Pagan community.
It's important to note that anyone who did not inherently follow the church's dogma and even those who showed signs of mental illness, were branded as heretics and put on trial as a witch. Many others also saw this as a way to get rid of their enemies-real or imagined.
[color=\"#41211C\"]It takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it
vercz i see a couple of possible inaccuracies, ada could probably confirm this if im right?
Anglo-Saxons begin to form groups, known as “Covens” and begin calling themselves by the name “Wicca” <<< this bit im not sure if its right as Wicca (the faith path) was only established fairly recently (early 1900's) as far as the faith goes.
usually they would be burned alive at the stake <<< this im sure isnt true, very few people were burned at the stakes, more were drowned or hanged, i think there were less then 100 actual recorded burnings?
The church begins creating false information concerning Pagan ways and beliefs, and connecting Pagans and the Devil <<< I dont think this was initially deleberate, they initially tried to convert pagans to christianity by incorperating holidays such as christmas being based during Yule to celibrate christs birth and common symbols such as the cross being taken from pagan religions to form some kind of common ground / compromise. the connection with the devil might have come from early christians witnessing wordship of the horned god (commonly misinterpreted as the devil).
also: i dont believe "black magik" has ever been noted in an accurate definition of witchcraft as few witches believe in magick being either black or white, mearly being colourless, it only becomes bad or good on the intentions of the caster
It must also be noted that anyone who did not strictly follow the Church’s dogma, or those who showed signs of a mental illness, was branded a heretic by the Church, and trialled as a witch. Early Christian missionaries also found it easier to convert the Pagans by gradually altering their stories, as most of their traditions were oral, not written, and could be easily manipulated.
so out of ideas... spose i could work on some form of conclusion paragraph
Is it true about the shape of a witches broom at the end where, for want of a better word, the "brushy" bits are and that a witch allways leaves her broom with the "brushy" bit pointing up?
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[align=center][color=\"#CC0000\"]"You may give a toad a wart, but a toad will never give you a wart"[/color][/align]
i think you missed the point... the point was that the stereotype of witches (re: fairy-tales) is not really an accurate description, moreso a story made up by the Church so that their faith would have no opposition. Thus the "fairy-tale" witch evolved from there.
Is that to me? Its just that I saw a program that was on about withcraft where they went to a museum of withcraft in the UK, I cant remember the area, definatly down on the south coast. I found the program very interesting. The presenter went out and picked her wand and such and she ended up using bracken for hers if memory serves right. Then she added a crystal to the end and used it when chanting over a cake mix she was using to help her friend get over a fear of snakes. I only asked the above questions because in the program, the curator of the museum said that a proper broom has a phalic shape at the brushy end, and that as a result of this phalic shape the broom is allways brushy side up. Incidently to anyone here in the UK, the show was called "Jane Goldman Investigates" where each week she chose a differant subject to investigate, from withcraft to fortune telling through tarou and such, as well as going on ghost hunts etc. And just incase you didnt know Jane Goldman is Jhonathan Ross's wife.
[align=center][/align]
[align=center][color=\"#CC0000\"]"You may give a toad a wart, but a toad will never give you a wart"[/color][/align]
This is what a traditional witch's broom or besom usually looks like:
[attachment=2407]attachment[/attachment]
They are used for protection against evil as well as in handfasting ceremonies as they are also a fertility symbol. They are both feminine and masculine in nature.
Some are hung with bristles pointed up, some are hung crossways above a door and some a hung bristles pointed down. Still others are simply laid on the ground, it depends on the tradition being followed and the use it is being put to.
Wands are entirely different from brooms, and not all witches use them. They are simply an aide in focusing energy and are believed by some to add more power to the rituals, while still others have one for rituals and one for working.
Note for those who may be offended by this thread; compare the tools of the witch with those of the Church, and you will find that they are no different.
Vercz I think your dissertation is good so far; please let us know what your teacher felt about your writing.
Alex, there were tens of thousands of burnings in Europe, the bulk of which took place in Germanic territory and generally began with the Cathars.
While the word "wicca" can be traced to Old English, the faith "Wicca" is considered to be NeoPagan, as Gerald Gardner founded this path by borrowing and reshaping the practices of other, older Pagan paths in the mid-20th century. Another NeoPagan path is that of Dianism, which is a predominantly feminist path. A common misconception is that Wicca and Witchcraft are the same thing, which they aren't. To borrow a popular adage - all Wiccans are Witches, not all Witches are Wiccans. Wicca is a specific path with its own traditions, practices and beliefs. Witchcraft is non-specific, and it has no set traditions or deities - this is where "magick has no intent of its own, it is the intent of the caster" came from. Just as some in the Christian (or other faiths) can use their religions for "evil" so too can those who practice Witchcraft. It does not matter what faith or path a person follows; whatever is within them will lead where they go. Just as people say Power Corrupts - it is not the Power which corrupts, it is the nature within and how a person uses it - and maintains it. It is only when those less desirable, and very human traits of lust, greed, avarice, etc. begin to take hold that a "good" person turns "bad". It is not necessarily because they are in a powerful position, it is because they have fallen to the "darker side" of their humanity - and there are always those who are looking to exploit those traits in others while appearing to offer all that is good. All those people are doing is drawing on the traits which exist in every human, and it is always up to the individual as to which path they choose to follow.
Last edited by Tami on Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
[color=\"#41211C\"]It takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it
Essays lookin good vercy. Some interesting information, I wasnt alowed to do a speech topic if witchcraft, as it was against my schools religion <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... #>/cry.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':(\' /> Had some really neat stuff too
well this has turned into rather a productive thread. oh and ada; ive handed that piece in... waiting for a response from my teacher, dont have english again till thursday. results/c+c will be posted <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... igwink.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\';)\' />
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