{"id":166,"date":"2018-07-15T02:06:40","date_gmt":"2018-07-15T02:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/?p=166"},"modified":"2018-09-16T01:27:18","modified_gmt":"2018-09-16T01:27:18","slug":"witchcraft-today-chapter-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/?p=166","title":{"rendered":"Witchcraft Today: Chapter 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Notes made while reading \u201cWitchcraft Today\u201d by G.B.G.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>What is a witch?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Men and women with knowledge of spells (via charms, potions etc) for healing, love, harming<\/li>\n<li>Can affect the weather<\/li>\n<li>Communicated with spirits, the dead, small gods<\/li>\n<li>Power or craft ran in families<\/li>\n<li>Reps of small gods who will help small folk, vs e.g. Christian priests\/gods and the nobility<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Wild dancers&#8221; &#8211; evocative imagery! In a world of staid covered-up Xtians sitting in stone churches, witches are dancing naked under the sky, careless of the laws of men &#8211; natural and free.<\/li>\n<li>Identifies myth of witches flying on broomsticks as fertility charm performed by straddling a pole and jumping, to make crops grow.<\/li>\n<li>Persecution myths of witches: flying on brooms, fertility magics, women, children initiated by parents, young or aged especially likely, crazy, has pet animals, unpopular in community<\/li>\n<li>Scandinavian sagas: riding on staffs, wild wavy hair, soul leaving body, shape changing<\/li>\n<li>Mexican witch cult: Women naked but for necklace, and\/or short cape, men wearing skin flap loin cloth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>History of witches<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GBG clearly well-read in anthropology of his time, and has built up a legit-sounding theory of Stone Age witch craft. I suspect it felt right and there wasn&#8217;t evidence to gainsay him so he was comfortable writing it uncited, as whole theory.<\/li>\n<li>Witch as priest\/magician and center-pin of community during matriarchal age.<\/li>\n<li>Tribal religion: male god, priestesses and husbands managing magic. Chief priest dominant during tribal meetings but priestesses ruled individual tribes.<\/li>\n<li>GBG links this theoretical history to modern craft: &#8220;My witches speak of him&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Discusses witches in the Bible, then links to Church-led subjugation of women and sexuality<\/li>\n<li>Cave of Adullam &#8211; retreat or refuge. GBG identifies historical persecuted witch cult as psychological refuge for women not helped by Church: &#8220;emotional women, repressed women, masculine women, and those suffering from personal disappointment, or from nervous maladjustment&#8230;&#8221; Overtones of judgement here? TBD<\/li>\n<li>Craft became hereditary to avoid spies, and unsuitable recruits. Comparison of cunningman &#8220;ignorant herbalist and charm-seller&#8221; and witch &#8220;priest\/ess of old religion&#8230; initiated into the circle&#8230; recipient of certain ancient learning&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Church ignoring witches initially, but transition to rivalry and persecution. Causes suggested for persecution of other Xtians: suppression of heresy, money directed away from Church, hedonism.<\/li>\n<li>GBG includes estimate of 9 million people tortured to death in Europe during witch hunts; an out-of-date estimate, now.<\/li>\n<li>Considers linking Celtic Druid\/esse\/s to witches: &#8220;priests, doctors and teachers&#8221;, reincarnation, shape changers, weather control, initiation required &#8211; but acknowledges more info required.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;primitive hunters&#8217; cult&#8221; infiltrated by Celtic goddess myths, or orthodox Celtic cult affected by primal hunters&#8217; cult following Xtian\/Roman invasions? &#8220;We must take into account the effects of the Greek and Roman mystery religions.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Under Saxon Xtianity, witches driven to smaller communities, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany. Intermarriage with Picts led to &#8220;the Little People&#8221; or Pictsies, esp. in comparison with big Saxon bloods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Gods<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Great Mother: caves, trees, moon, stars as Her emblem and women as Her priestesses.<\/li>\n<li>Hunter god: animals.<\/li>\n<li>Desire for paradisal afterlife, and then reincarnation into same tribe, leading to god of Death, wearing the horns of the hunted animal slain for life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Death<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paradise for worshippers, to prepare for reincarnation into tribe<\/li>\n<li>In time, become might ones\/mighty dead\/demi gods\/saints &#8211; ancestors(?)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Notes made while reading \u201cWitchcraft Today\u201d by G.B.G. What is a witch? Men and women with knowledge of spells (via charms, potions etc) for healing, love, harming Can affect the weather Communicated with spirits, the dead, small gods Power or craft ran in families Reps of small gods who will help small folk, vs e.g. Christian priests\/gods and the nobility &#8220;Wild dancers&#8221; &#8211; evocative imagery! In a world of staid covered-up Xtians sitting in stone churches, witches are dancing naked under the sky, careless of the laws of men &#8211; natural and free. Identifies myth of witches flying on broomsticks as fertility charm performed by straddling a pole and jumping, to make crops grow. Persecution myths of witches: flying on brooms, fertility magics, women, children initiated by parents, young or aged especially likely, crazy, has pet animals, unpopular in community Scandinavian sagas: riding on staffs, wild wavy hair, soul leaving body, shape changing Mexican witch cult: Women naked but for necklace, and\/or short cape, men wearing skin flap loin cloth History of witches GBG clearly well-read in anthropology of his time, and has built up a legit-sounding theory of Stone Age witch craft. I suspect it felt right and there wasn&#8217;t evidence to gainsay him so he was comfortable writing it uncited, as whole theory. Witch as priest\/magician and center-pin of community during matriarchal age. Tribal religion: male god, priestesses and husbands managing magic. Chief priest dominant during tribal meetings but priestesses ruled individual tribes. GBG links this theoretical history to modern craft: &#8220;My witches speak of him&#8230;&#8221; Discusses witches in the Bible, then links to Church-led subjugation of women and sexuality Cave of Adullam &#8211; retreat or refuge. GBG identifies historical persecuted witch cult as psychological refuge for women not helped by Church: &#8220;emotional women, repressed women, masculine women, and those suffering from personal disappointment, or from nervous maladjustment&#8230;&#8221; Overtones of judgement here? TBD Craft became hereditary to avoid spies, and unsuitable recruits. Comparison of cunningman &#8220;ignorant herbalist and charm-seller&#8221; and witch &#8220;priest\/ess of old religion&#8230; initiated into the circle&#8230; recipient of certain ancient learning&#8221;. Church ignoring witches initially, but transition to rivalry and persecution. Causes suggested for persecution of other Xtians: suppression of heresy, money directed away from Church, hedonism. GBG includes estimate of 9 million people tortured to death in Europe during witch hunts; an out-of-date estimate, now. Considers linking Celtic Druid\/esse\/s to witches: &#8220;priests, doctors and teachers&#8221;, reincarnation, shape changers, weather control, initiation required &#8211; but acknowledges more info required. &#8220;primitive hunters&#8217; cult&#8221; infiltrated by Celtic goddess myths, or orthodox Celtic cult affected by primal hunters&#8217; cult following Xtian\/Roman invasions? &#8220;We must take into account the effects of the Greek and Roman mystery religions.&#8221; Under Saxon Xtianity, witches driven to smaller communities, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany. Intermarriage with Picts led to &#8220;the Little People&#8221; or Pictsies, esp. in comparison with big Saxon bloods. Gods Great Mother: caves, trees, moon, stars as Her emblem and women as Her priestesses. Hunter god: animals. Desire for paradisal afterlife, and then reincarnation into same tribe, leading to god of Death, wearing the horns of the hunted animal slain for life. Death Paradise for worshippers, to prepare for reincarnation into tribe In time, become might ones\/mighty dead\/demi gods\/saints &#8211; ancestors(?)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[43,36,37,42],"class_list":["post-166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-notes","tag-gerald-gardner","tag-wicca","tag-witchcraft","tag-witchcraft-today"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":167,"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166\/revisions\/167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/witch.mooncrowned.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}