THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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perception that heretics were undermining the word of God, and were thus servants ofthe
Devil. From the 12th and 13th Centuries, various heretical groups, despite their
asceticism and solemn vows of chastity, were thought to be in league with Satan
(Cavendish, 1977). At the first burning for heresy in Orleans in 1022, the charges
included Devil worship (Scarre, 1987). The witch stereotype that emerged in the late
Middle Ages (15th century) thus included features originally ascribed to heretics:
Witches, like heretics before them, were accused of meeting together at
night in secret places, feasting on the flesh of infants, holding orgiastic
revels (often involving sexual intercourse with demons) and
worshipping Satan. Above all, they were held guilty of making a pact
with him, whereby they promised to become his creatures and do his
bidding in return for temporal goods or demonic assistance in their evil
schemes (Scarre, 1987, p. 15-16).
Cavendish (1977) notes that there have been three recognised forms of Western
witchcraft. The first type of witch was not typically associated with evil, but employed
magic, herbal remedies and Christian prayer to cure disease and infertility, interpret
omens, counsel people on courses of action, and remove the harmful effects of hostile
spells cast by other witches. Although capable ofworking destructive magic, this was not
her calling, and she was an accepted part of the community. The second type was the
unambiguously evil black witch, whose true identity beneath her human disguise was that
of an evil spirit. She was capable of 'shape-shifting', transforming from a human into
some carnivorous creature in order to kill babies and attack adults at night. The third type
was the Satanist witch who, although not an evil spirit herself, allegedly worshiped the
Devil and worked her black magic through demons. She was believed to meet at the
'sabbath' with other witches in order to celebrate unholy rites. Unlike the other two
witches, the Satanist witch was perceived to be a threat to the whole society, rather than
just to individuals (Cavendish, 1977).
Although maleficent sorcery had been recognised and dealt with as a secular offence in
the Middle Ages, the fully developed notion of the demonic witch emerged only when
demonic pacts fell within the jurisdiction ofthe papal Inquisition during the 15th Century.