tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33807632136586511332024-03-07T21:02:33.288-08:00Blog das Bruxas ( The Witche's Blog)Francesca Giessmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353048775587877523noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3380763213658651133.post-7628902412047554882007-12-24T10:18:00.001-08:002007-12-24T10:29:57.917-08:00Bruxas!<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft#Overview">Witch!</a><br /><p>Practices and beliefs that have been termed "witchcraft" do not constitute a single identifiable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">religion</a>, since they are found in a wide variety of cultures, both present and historical; however these beliefs do generally involve religious elements dealing with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit" title="Spirit">spirits</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity" title="Deity">deities</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife" title="Afterlife">afterlife</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_%28paranormal%29" title="Magic (paranormal)">magic</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual" title="Ritual">ritual</a>. Witchcraft is generally characterised by its use of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic" title="Magic">magic</a>.</p> <p>Sometimes witchcraft is used to refer, broadly, to the practice of indigenous magic, and has a connotation similar to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamanism" title="Shamanism">shamanism</a>. Depending on the values of the community, witchcraft in this sense may be regarded with varying degrees of respect or suspicion, or with ambivalence, being neither intrinsically good nor evil. Members of some religions have applied the term witchcraft in a pejorative sense to refer to all magical or ritual practices other than those sanctioned by their own doctrines - although this has become less common, at least in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world" title="Western world">Western world</a>. According to some religious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine" title="Doctrine">doctrines</a>, all forms of magic are labelled witchcraft, and are either proscribed or treated as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition" title="Superstition">superstitious</a>. Such religions consider their own ritual practices to be not at all magical, but rather simply variations of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer" title="Prayer">prayer</a>.</p> <p>"Witchcraft" is also used to refer, narrowly, to the practice of magic in an exclusively <i>inimical</i> sense. If the community accepts magical practice in general, then there is typically a clear separation between witches (in this sense) and the terms used to describe legitimate practitioners. This use of the term is most often found in accusations against individuals who are suspected of causing harm in the community by way of supernatural means. Belief in witches of this sort has been common among most of the indigenous populations of the world, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" title="Africa">Africa</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas" title="Americas">Americas</a>. On occasion such accusations have led to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_hunt" title="Witch hunt">witch hunts</a>.</p> <p>Under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheism" title="Monotheism">monotheistic</a> religions of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant" title="Levant">Levant</a> (primarily <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Islam</a>), witchcraft came to be associated with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresy" title="Heresy">heresy</a>, rising to a fever pitch among the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholics" title="Catholics">Catholics</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestants" title="Protestants">Protestants</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular" title="Secular">secular</a> leadership of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">European</a> Late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval" title="Medieval">Medieval</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern" title="Early Modern">Early Modern</a> period and sometimes leading to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt" title="Witch-hunt">witch hunts</a>. Throughout this time, the concept of witchcraft came increasingly to be interpreted as a form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_worship" title="Devil worship">Devil worship</a>. Accusations of witchcraft were frequently combined with other charges of heresy against such groups as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathars" title="Cathars">Cathars</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldensians" title="Waldensians">Waldensians</a>.</p> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum" title="Malleus Maleficarum">Malleus Maleficarum</a>, a witch-hunting manual used by both Roman Catholics and Protestants, outlines how to identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely to be a witch, how to put a witch to trial and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and typically female.</p> <p>In the modern Western world, witchcraft accusations have often accompanied the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Ritual_Abuse" title="Satanic Ritual Abuse">Satanic Ritual Abuse</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hysteria" title="Hysteria">hysteria</a>. Such accusations are a counterpart to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_libel" title="Blood libel">blood libel</a> of various kinds, which may be found throughout history across the globe.</p><br /><p>Practices to which the witchcraft label have historically been applied are those which influence another person's mind, body or property against his or her will, or which are believed, by the person doing the labelling, to undermine the social or religious order. Some modern commentators consider the malefic nature of witchcraft to be a Christian projection. The concept of a magic-worker influencing another person's body or property against his or her will was clearly present in many cultures, as there are traditions in both folk magic and religious magic that have the purpose of countering malicious magic or identifying malicious magic users. Many examples can be found in ancient texts, such as those from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonia" title="Babylonia">Babylonia</a>. Where malicious magic is believed to have the power to influence the mind, body or possessions, malicious magic users can become a credible cause for disease, sickness in animals, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luck" title="Luck">bad luck</a>, sudden death, impotence and other such misfortunes. Witchcraft of a more benign and socially acceptable sort may then be employed to turn the malevolence aside, or identify the supposed evil-doer so that punishment may be carried out. The folk magic used to identify or protect against malicious magic users is often indistinguishable from that used by the witches themselves.</p> <p>There has also existed in popular belief the concept of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_witch" title="White witch">white witches</a> and white witchcraft, which is strictly benevolent. Many neopagan witches strongly identify with this concept, and profess <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_code" title="Ethical code">ethical codes</a> that prevent them from performing magic on a person without their request.</p> <p>Where belief in malicious magic practices exists, such practitioners are typically forbidden by law as well as hated and feared by the general populace, while beneficial magic is tolerated or even accepted wholesale by the people - even if the orthodox establishment objects to it.</p> <p><a name="Spellcasting" id="Spellcasting"></a></p> <h3><span class="mw-headline">Spellcasting</span></h3> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_%28paranormal%29" title="Magic (paranormal)">Magic (paranormal)</a></i></div> </dd></dl> <p>Probably the most obvious characteristic of a witch was the ability to cast a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spell" title="Spell">spell</a>, a "spell" being the word used to signify the means employed to accomplish a magical action. A spell could consist of a set of words, a formula or verse, or a ritual action, or any combination of these.<sup id="_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft#_note-2" title="">[4]</a></sup> Spells traditionally were cast by many methods, such as by the inscription of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runes" title="Runes">runes</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigils" title="Sigils">sigils</a> on an object to give it magical powers, by the immolation or binding of a wax or clay image (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppet" title="Poppet">poppet</a>) of a person to affect him or her magically, by the recitation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incantations" title="Incantations">incantations</a>, by the performance of physical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rituals" title="Rituals">rituals</a>, by the employment of magical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbs" title="Herbs">herbs</a> as amulets or potions, by gazing at mirrors, swords or other specula (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrying" title="Scrying">scrying</a>) for purposes of divination, and by many others means.<sup id="_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft#_note-3" title="">[5]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Conjuring_the_dead" id="Conjuring_the_dead"></a></p> <h3><span class="mw-headline">Conjuring the dead</span></h3> <p>Strictly speaking, "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necromancy" title="Necromancy">necromancy</a>" is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divination" title="Divination">divination</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy" title="Prophecy">prophecy</a> - although the term has also been applied to raising the dead for other purposes. The Biblical 'Witch' of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endor_%28village%29" title="Endor (village)">Endor</a> is supposed to have performed it (1 Sam. 28), and it is among the witchcraft practices condemned by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfric_of_Eynsham" title="Ælfric of Eynsham">Ælfric of Eynsham</a>:</p> <p>"Yet fares witches to where roads meet, and to heathen burials with their phantom craft and call to them the devil, and he comes to them in the dead man's likeness, as if he from death arises, but she cannot cause that to happen, the dead to arise through her wizardry."</p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft#Overview"> </a>Francesca Giessmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353048775587877523noreply@blogger.com0