Free Essays on Witchcraft

Witchcraft, term for the principal means by which humans have been thought to work magic, that is, to bring about practical changes by their own will and employing supernatural means. Witchcraft needs to be distinguished from religion, in which humans are totally dependent upon divine beings to grant their wishes, and sorcery, in which supernatural skills are acquired by a process of study, usually involving books and apprenticeship to a master. Most human societies have believed in witchcraft, and indeed the modern Western societies are unusual in their refusal to do so. Traditionally, people have treated witchcraft in two very different ways. On the one hand they have resorted to specialists in it for their benefit: to be freed from suffering, to injure enemies, or to obtain what they desire. On the other, they have blamed it for their own misfortunes, and set out to identify and punish the witch responsible for using the power against them. Most societies, also, have had a well-developed idea of what a witch should be like; They are most often thought of as ugly old women, though references to beautiful young female witches exist. In Europe witches are portrayed as thin and gaunt, much like the Wicked Witch of the West as she appears in the Oz story with her black robe and conical hat. In Central Africa witches are thought of as fat from eating human flesh. In Europe they fly around on broomsticks, a popular Halloween depiction. In Central Africa they travel in saucer-shaped baskets. They often employ animals as assistants in their evil deeds. The witch of Oz had flying monkeys. In Europe they use cats, dogs, or weasels; in Japan, hyenas or owls; in Africa, baboons. Some witches even turn into animal forms. Witches are believed to use supernatural powers, in the form of magic, for evil purposes. Witches are usually regarded as possessed of evil spirits or under the guidance of some undetermined compulsion. . Many have believed in... Free Essays on Witchcraft Free Essays on Witchcraft Witchcraft, term for the principal means by which humans have been thought to work magic, that is, to bring about practical changes by their own will and employing supernatural means. Witchcraft needs to be distinguished from religion, in which humans are totally dependent upon divine beings to grant their wishes, and sorcery, in which supernatural skills are acquired by a process of study, usually involving books and apprenticeship to a master. Most human societies have believed in witchcraft, and indeed the modern Western societies are unusual in their refusal to do so. Traditionally, people have treated witchcraft in two very different ways. On the one hand they have resorted to specialists in it for their benefit: to be freed from suffering, to injure enemies, or to obtain what they desire. On the other, they have blamed it for their own misfortunes, and set out to identify and punish the witch responsible for using the power against them. Most societies, also, have had a well-developed idea of what a witch should be like; They are most often thought of as ugly old women, though references to beautiful young female witches exist. In Europe witches are portrayed as thin and gaunt, much like the Wicked Witch of the West as she appears in the Oz story with her black robe and conical hat. In Central Africa witches are thought of as fat from eating human flesh. In Europe they fly around on broomsticks, a popular Halloween depiction. In Central Africa they travel in saucer-shaped baskets. They often employ animals as assistants in their evil deeds. The witch of Oz had flying monkeys. In Europe they use cats, dogs, or weasels; in Japan, hyenas or owls; in Africa, baboons. Some witches even turn into animal forms. Witches are believed to use supernatural powers, in the form of magic, for evil purposes. Witches are usually regarded as possessed of evil spirits or under the guidance of some undetermined compulsion. . Many have believed in... Free Essays on Witchcraft I am a witch, now please kill me! Many innocent women happily welcomed death by confessing to witchcraft in order to end their excruciating torture during the witch hunt craze between 1450 and 1750. Since many records were lost, destroyed or never kept, the best estimation of the total deaths is several million (4). The main cause of the witch hunts was the Church inflicting fear upon the common and educated man by lying to them about what witches do and who they are. The Church also directly and indirectly increased the pain that accused women would go through during their torture. The Church made it clear, to all those who would listen, that all women were evil and capable of witchcraft. â€Å"The Bible’s Apocrypha states, ‘Of woman came the beginning of sin / And thanks to her, we all must die.’(Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus 25:13-26.)† (2). Vicious comments like this caused even women themselves to fear what other women may do. This fear only lead to the di strust of woman. A book written by two German men, titled Malleus Maleficarum, â€Å"The Hammer of Witches†, only furthered peoples fear of women’s evil. It states that women are more likely to become witches: â€Å"‘Because the female sex is more concerned with things of the flesh then men; because being formed from a man’s rib, they are only ‘imperfect animals’ and ‘crooked’ where as man belongs to a privileged sex from whose midst Christ emerged.’(Malleus Maleficarum, 1486)†(2). The men that wrote Malleus Maleficarum refer to the bible for reasons to why they consider women evil, so if the Church had never incorporated such things into the bible such things may have never been thought. Many ancient myths portrayed goddess’s as evil. Consequently those images of evil were kept and later attached to witches who kept goddess worship alive centuries later (4). Even devotion to the Virgin Mary (who is the biolog ical mother of Jesus) was considered an indication of e...