The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

270 witchcraft
good. However, “white witches” practicing folk medicines
and spells are consulted for protection and for
ensuring good fortunes.
In the West, witchcraft was especially feared during
the Middle Ages and during the Inquisition, in conjunction
with fears about the DEVIL and demonic influences.
Witches were regarded as servants of the Devil, who made
PACTs of worship in exchange for FAMILIARs and malevolent
supernatural powers.
In 1484, the Catholic Church, in a bull issued by Pope
Innocent VIII, declared witchcraft to be a heresy, thus enabling
inquisitors to persecute any enemy of the church.
The charge of witchcraft was nearly impossible to refute,
and the accused usually were severely tortured until they
confessed to having familiars, worshipping the Devil,
having sex with DEMONs, and casting evil spells. Witch
hunting became a profitable pursuit and an effective way
to take revenge on one’s enemies.
In the 16th-century, the Protestant Reformation continued
the campaign against witches; MARTIN LUTHER
called them “the Devil’s whores.” The witch hysteria affected
Europe, including Britain, and America. It died
down by the end of the 18th century, but prejudices
Satan holds court for new witches. (AUTHOR’S COLLECTION)
against witches and fears of their malevolent powers remained.
Nonetheless, “folk witches,” people who possessed
magical skills, especially for healing, fertility, luck,
and divination, continued to function especially in rural
areas. “White witchcraft,” or good magic, still flourished
from the 18th century on.
The stain of the Inquisition was impossible to remove,
however, and many people still perceived a “witch” as
a malevolent person in league with the Devil, and antiwitch
sentiment continued. In England, continental Europe,
and even America, there were outbreaks of violence
against suspected witches all through the 19th century
and into the early 20th century. The worst case in North
America was the SALEM WITCHCRAFT HYSTERIA in Salem,
Massachusetts, in 1692–93, which led to the imprisonment
of hundreds of accused witches and the deaths of
19 people.
Witchcraft the Religion
In the 1950s, witchcraft was reinvented as a religion, a
movement that started in England and gained popularity
through the efforts of Gerald B. Gardner and others.
Gardner followed the work of the British anthropologist
Margaret A. Murray, who, in the 1920s and 1930s, had
claimed that witchcraft comprised the remnants of an
“Old Religion” based on pagan beliefs and practices centered
around the Horned God, a Pan-like deity.
Gardner claimed to be initiated by a coven of “hereditary
witches,” followers of the Old Religion. He feared
that Witchcraft, spelled with a capital W to distinguish
it as a religion, not a sorcery, was in danger of dying out
through its lack of young members. Until 1951, witchcraft
was still a serious crime in England, according to an
old law still on the books. The law was repealed in that
year, enabling people to be witches openly.
Gardner formed his own coven. He said his fellow
Witches had given him a framework of rituals, including
initiations. He obtained additional rituals from ALEISTER
CROWLEY, whom he met in 1946. He borrowed additional
material from ritual magic practiced by such orders as
the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Freemasons,
and the Rosicrucians, as well as sex magic rituals from
the Ordo Templi Orientis, of which Crowley had been a
leader in England. Gardner also mixed in Eastern mysticism
and magic.
In 1953, he initiated Doreen Valiente, with whom he
collaborated in writing and revising the rituals. Under
Valiente’s influence, the “ancient laws” of Witchcraft
took on a more Christian flavor, with an emphasis on
using magic only for good and avoiding associations
with the demonic. The religion of Witchcraft was an immediate
sensation and attracted adherents around the
world. Murray’s theory of the unbroken existence of an
Old Religion was disproved, but that did not discourage
potential initiates from joining covens. For many, the
new religion was a refreshing change from traditional
faiths.