coven
at night. St. Germain, expressing the dominant view of the Catholic Church, discredited these sabbats of covens as deceits of the Devil. It was not until the Inquisition that the existence of covens was taken more seriously. Accused witches were tortured into confessing that they were members of secret, subversive organizations, and were forced to implicate others see torture . British anthropologist MARGARET A. Murray held that covens were far more prevalent and organized than the Church was...
See Bamberg Witches Further reading
Kors, Alan C., and Edward Peters. Witchcraft in Europe, A Documentary History 1100 1700. Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972. Robbins, Rossell Hope. The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft amp Demonology. 1959. Reprint, New York Bonanza Books, 1981. Kabbalah also Cabala, Kabala, Qabalah A Jewish system of theosophy, philosophy, science, magic and mysticism founded on the Torah, developed since the Middle Ages and comprising an important part of Western occultism. Kabbalistic studies and...
Further reading Eet
Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. Revised ed. New York Viking, 1986. Murray, Margaret A. The Witch-Cult in Western Europe. London Oxford University Press, 1921. -. The God of the Witches. London Sampson Low, Marston and Co., Ltd., 1931. Russell, Jeffrey B. A History of Witchcraft. London Thames and Hudson, 1980. Murrell, James 1780-1860 One of England's greatest CUNNING MEN, widely sought for his magical powers for healing, divining lost objects and the future, and casting spells and...
Further reading Kzg
Robbins, Rossell Hope. The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft amp Demonology. 1959. Reprint, New York Bonanza Books, 1981. Scot, Reginald. The Discoverie of Witchcraft. 1886. Reprint. Yorkshire, England E.P. Publishing, Ltd. 1973. Summers, Montague. The Geography of Witchcraft. London Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner amp Co. Ltd., 1927. Salem Old Witch Jail The jail that housed the accused SALEM WITCHES during the witch hysteria of 1692-93 was a cold, foul, rat-infested dungeon located near the North River....
FuRTHER reading Fpo
Heindel, Ned D. Hexenkopf History, Healing amp Hexerei. Easton, Pa. Williams Township Historical Society, 2005. hex signs hexenfoos Round magical signs and symbols used by the Pennsylvania Dutch, primarily to protect against witchcraft but also to effect spELLs. Hex signs are both amuletic and talismanic see amulets TALisMANs . Traditionally, hex signs are painted on barns, stables and houses to protect against lightning, ensure fertility and protect animal and human occupants alike from...
Further reading Dlw
Seymour, St. John D. Irish Witchcraft and Demonology. Dublin Hodges, Figgis amp Co., 1913. nightmare An ugly DEMON or HAG, who sits on a person's chest during the night, causing great discomfort, a sensation of heaviness and suffocation and bad dreams. It also is the term for the bad dream itself the definition that prevails in current popular usage. In centuries past, demons were believed to bring erotic dreams as well as terrifying ones, tempting their victims with forbidden lust. Mare is Old...
Hermes
she turns into a bear or boar and kills her own son, then brings him back to life. In her dark aspect, she wears a necklace made of testicles her hair is made of writhing snakes which petrify, like the Medusa. Hecate is the goddess of all CROSSROADS, looking in three directions at the same time. In ancient times, three-headed statues of her were set up at many intersections and secret rites were performed under a full moon to appease her. Statues of Hecate carrying torches or swords were...
The Cabot Tradition
This tradition holds that Witchcraft is a science as well as a religion and an art. As a science, it may be applied to harness and expand psychic potential. The key to extrasensory perception is the harnessing of light energy and the sensitivity to alpha waves, which are part of the aura surrounding every living thing. Cabot says her method of controlling alpha waves is based on an ancient Pythagorean method of using colors and numbers. Cabot teaches that each individual is responsible for all...
Crowther Patricia C
Crowther, Patricia C. 1927- A Witch and high priestess of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, and one of the last surviving high priestesses initiated by GERALD B. GARDNER. Patricia Crowther has, since the 1960s, been a leading spokesperson for the Old Religion in books, the media and lecture appearances. Initiated formally into the Craft by Gardner, she is regarded by many as Gardner's spiritual heir. She has formed covens all over the United Kingdom. She was born Patricia Dawson on October 27,...
Further reading Fth
Macfarlane, A. D. J. Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England. London Routledge amp Kegan Paul Lt., 1970. Guazzo, Francesco Maria. Compendium Maleficarum. Secau- cus, N.J. University Books, 1974. Marlbrough, Ray L. Charms, Spells amp Formulas. St. Paul Lewellyn Publications, 1987. Remy, Nicolas. Demonolatry. Secaucus, N.J. University Books, 1974. Chelmsford witches Four major witch trails in the 16th-17th centuries that resulted in numerous convictions and executions. The first trial occurred in...
Cernunnos
Witches stirring up brew in cauldron ABRAHAM SAUR, ein kurtze treue warning, 1582 Witches stirring up brew in cauldron ABRAHAM SAUR, ein kurtze treue warning, 1582 also appear in some shamanic traditions. In Norse mythology, the patriarch god, Odin, drank magic blood from a cauldron of wisdom to obtain divine power. In Greek mythology, the witch goddess, Medea, could restore people to youth in a magic cauldron. The cauldron is linked to the chalice of the Holy Grail, which became incorporated...
Further reading Dpl
Evans-Wentz, W. Y. The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. 1911. Reprint, Secaucus, N.J. University Books, 1966. Moon Since ancient times, the Moon has been associated with woman and her fertility, monthly cycle, powers of nurturing and powers of darkness. The Moon, ruler of the night and the mysteries of the dark, represents wetness, moisture, intuition, emotion, tides, the psychic, moods and madness. It embodies time, for its phases provided humankind with the first calendar. In contemporary...
Further reading Dws
Maple, Eric. The Dark World of Witches. New York A.S. Newton, Florence ca. mid-17th century One of the most important witch trials of Ireland was that of Florence Newton, the Witch of Youghal, who was tried at the Cork assizes in 1661. Newton was accused of bewitching a young girl, Mary Longdon, into fits, and of bewitch ing one of her jail sentries, David Jones, to death. Unlike many of the witch trials conducted at the time on the Continent, the trial of Florence Newton involved no TORTURE....
Carmoney Witch See Mary Butters
Carpenter, Dennis 1954- Prominent American Pagan scholar and, with his wife, sELENA Fox, codirector of Circle Sanctuary in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. Since the mid-1990s, Dennis Carpenter has served as a leading academic Pagan spokesperson, participating in interdisciplinary and interfaith networking and dialogue around the world. Carpenter was born on January 16, 1954, in Hillsboro, Wisconsin, a farming community in southwestern Wisconsin, not far from his present home at Circle. He was raised on a...
Further reading Apt
Farrar, Janet, and Stewart Farrar. A Witches Bible Compleat. New York Magickal Childe, 1984. flying A belief during the witch hunts, that the DEVIL, his demons and witches could transport themselves and others through the air. Flying also called transvection was done with the aid of a broom, fork or shovel, according to lore some witches were said to ride demons who were transformed into animals such as goats, cows, horses and wolves see metamorphosis . The Devil had the power to pick people up...
Boguet Henri
those which shall take vengeance on the witches will be blessed by him and will make his anger cease. Even children and invalids were not to be spared torture, as Bodin demonstrated time and again by his own example as judge. Children, he said, should be forced to testify against their accused parents. One of his favored methods was cauterizing flesh with a red-hot iron and then cutting out the putrefied flesh. That torture, he said, was mild compared to the hell that awaited the condemned...
Further reading Uau
Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. London Reader's Digest Assoc. Ltd., 1977. Maple, Eric. The Dark World of Witches. New York A.S. Barnes amp Co., 1962. Pennick, Nigel. Secrets of East Anglican Magic. London Robert Hale, 1995. Museum of Witchcraft The world's largest collection of paraphernalia and artifacts related to folk magic, witchcraft, wiCCA and ritual magic is based in Boscastle, Cornwall, England. The museum was founded by researcher CECIL wiLLIAMsoN and a version of it was owned...
Further reading Yvc
Crowley, Vivianne. Wicca The Old Religion in the New Millennium. Revised ed. London Thorsons Harper Collins, 1996. Farrar, Janet, and Stewart Farrar. A Witches Bible Compleat. New York Magickal Childe, 1984. Harvey, Graham. Contemporary Paganism Listening People, Speaking Earth. New York New York University Press, 1997. Lea, Henry Charles. Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft. Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press, 1939. Russell, Jeffrey B. A History of Witchcraft. London Thames and...
Black Goat See Baphomet
Black Mass An obscene parody of the Catholic Holy Mass firmly entrenched in the popular notion of DEVIL worship. Black Masses are erroneously associated with all witches. They are not performed by Wiccans and Pagans, who do not worship the Devil, and it is doubtful that they were ever performed, at least in any significant numbers, by anyone in centuries past. The Black Mass exists more in fiction and film than it does in reality, though it is performed by various modern satanic groups see...
Foxwood Orion
they settled on land near Barneveld and Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, and created Circle Sanctuary, a nature preserve, organic herb farm and church headquarters. Fox and Alan ended their common-law relationship in 1984, and Alan eventually left Circle Sanctuary to devote himself to a writing career. In 1986, Fox married Dennis Carpenter, a Wiccan priest and former school psychologist and now a renowned Pagan scholar. Fox and Carpenter live on Circle Sanctuary and work together to coordinate Circle...
Newengla N D
And QI -ncvil i1 -' r r hJ j Hl .Sfc-K Kllh OfHill TlfThlfc. Ir- Vm gt I-WH T iIH fr.-r.jc , y-udrJ lm w r, VA . - 1 1 n J tf, 6m bofri Ivt, r ri P, gt J- T-. r rt L v Ji. fcjrtr aJin.i.r pr i-W-iTii ' ' r thufiii ily -J JJti r.Y lid 1 C -im-JlT I-.i T gt Ell LW T iV Tii-ith il I f i HH id I. i -.'b 'n J 4 i rr-1 - , t J,, n fh-,-1 r- J t l r . V.- -, i i.V. I ,i t j. Title page of London edition of Cotton Mather's witch pamphlet, 1693 along with Mary Walcott, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Jr....
bewitchment See blasting curse hex illwishing maleficia spell
bibliomancy The use of the Bible for divination. The Bible served as an important instrument of magical divination, particularly during medieval and Reformation times in Britain and parts of Europe. It was believed that the Bible, opened at random, would reveal one's fortunes or answer questions. Bibles laid on a child's head would induce sleep. Reading from the Bible to a pregnant woman would give her a safe delivery. Persons accused of wiTCHCRAFT and sORCERY were weighed against the great...
Hertford Witches
power of one's own being. Some of the texts included Christian elements, such as the establishing of a closer relationship with Jesus, the Master of Masters. Members circulated various Catholic and Anglican writings and sermons. These were omitted from the materials published by Regardie. Elements of Golden Dawn rituals, Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry have been absorbed into the rituals of modern Witchcraft. See DION Fortune HERMETICA MAGIC FRANCIS ISRAEL REGARDIE. Gilbert, R. A. Golden Dawn...
bells
ments, claiming she was levitated down her stairs, that objects were lifted as though by invisible hands and that her body was being harmed. She recoiled and fell into fits if any of the accused touched her. Meanwhile, some of the accused confessed to more crimes than tormenting Shaw. They took credit for previous deaths, among them a minister, two children found strangled in their beds and two drowning victims on a ferryboat that sank. On April 5, 1697, a new commission of judges was...
Further reading Azn
Seymour, St. John D. Irish Witchcraft and Demonology. Dublin Hodges, Figgis amp Co., 1913. jack-o'-lantern A phosphorescent light seen in marsh and swamp areas, which in folklore is either the manifestation of a malicious lost soul or a death omen. Jack-o'-lantern is known by various names, including will-o'-the-wisp and corpse light England fairy light and fox fire Ireland . According to most legends, the jack-o'-lantern is a wandering soul who has been denied entry into both heaven and hell....
Further reading Oyo
Leach, Maria, ed., and Jerome Fried, assoc. ed. Funk amp Wag-nall's Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. New York Harper amp Row, 1972. Opie, Iona, and Moira Tatem. A Dictionary of Superstitions. New York Oxford University Press, 1989. Ishtar The great mother GoDDEss of ancient Assyrian and Babylonian mythology. Ishtar was said to be either the daughter of the sky god, Anu, or the MooN god, Sin. Over the course of time, Ishtar absorbed the characteristics of other goddesses...
Gypsies
The Gypsies' lack of religious creed is explained by an interesting Turkish legend When religions were distributed to the peoples of the earth a long time ago, they were written down to preserve them. Rather than write in books or on wood or metal, the Gypsies recorded their religion on a cabbage. A donkey came along and ate the cabbage. The Gypsy universe is populated with various deities and spirits. Del is both God and everything which is above the sky, heavens and heavenly bodies. Pharaun...
Hermes Trismegistus
he was charged with escorting the souls of the dead to the underworld. The dog is associated with Hermes for its intelligence and devotion. According to myth, Hermes was born of Zeus and Maia, daughter of Atlas. He was a shrewd thief from his earliest hours. Before nightfall on his first day of life, he stole most of Apollo's heifers. Zeus made him return the heifers. In contrition, Hermes invented the lyre and gave it to Apollo. Hermes continued to play malicious tricks but also was generous...
benandanti
testified to being transported through the air to sABBATs on the backs of demons or the Devil, and to being thrown off to fall to the ground when a church bell sounded in the night. Thunder and lightning storms were believed to be the work of witches and demons, and church bells also would be rung at an approaching storm in an attempt to dispel it. At someone's death, the tolling of the church bells helped the departing soul on its way to heaven and prevented evil spirits from interfering with...
Further reading Lzg
Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1999. Leek, Sybil. The Complete Art of Witchcraft. New York World Publishing Co., 1971. -. Diary of a Witch. New York NAL Signet Library, Legba also Eleggu Not the oldest, but perhaps the most important, orisha god in the African spirit pantheon is called Legba in VODUN and Eleggu in SANTER A. He is the god of doors and entryways, of gates and paths, of CROSSROADS, SORCERY and trickery....
Further reading Aqa
Demos, John Putnam. Entertaining Satan Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England. New York Oxford University Press, 2004. Hansen, Chadwick. Witchcraft at Salem. New York New American Library, 1969. Mather, Cotton. On Witchcraft Being the Wonders of the Invisible World. Mt. Vernon, N.Y. The Peter Pauper Press, 1950. First published 1693. Upham, Charles. History of Witchcraft and Salem Village. Boston Wiggin and Lunt, 1867. Bury St. Edmonds Witches Of the various witch trials of Suffolk,...
Further reading Wsn
Foxwood, Orion. The Faery Teachings. Areata, Calif. RJ Stewart Books, 2007. -. The Tree of Enchantment Wisdom of Faery Seership. York Beach, Me. Samuel Weiser, 2008. Frost, Gavin 1930- and Yvonne 1931- Witches, authors and founders of the Church AND SCHOOL OF WlCCA, located in Hinton, West Virginia. The Frosts have steadfastly followed their own path in the Craft, and whenever that took them out of mainstream views, they have weathered much criticism from others in the Wiccan Pagan communities....