In history there are few labels with more stigma and emotional reaction than the label of witch. The word itself conjures images of evil doing, curses, and the “dark” arts. The very symbols of both historic and modern witchcraft – the pentacle, athame, chalice, and wand – are surrounded in their own perceived mists that bring anxiety to the unfamiliar. At the very least, we identify with the modern conceptual image that we see most every Halloween; that of a green, wart-nosed, old hag flying around on her broom. There have been a few lovable witches in television, film, and literature over the years, like Samantha from the popular 1960’s television show Bewitched. However, mention witchcraft amongst friends, and the nervous shuffling doesn’t come from the remembrance of a comedic series, but from the depths of anxiety that shadow the very raw emotions embodied by a word that has brought fear to many for hundreds of years.
Although we like to think of ourselves as more enlightened than a 17th century Massachusetts town person, the majority of people will still have a very deep reaction to the sight of say, a pentagram, in the context of normal daily activities. This is a reaction that has been ingrained in us through generations by those in power, namely the Christian Church, and their perpetuation of the associations to evil within the contexts of their own doctrines. By perpetuating the notion of such evil, it asserts its unquestionable position as “protector” and leader, and thus maintains its power over us. Ironically the distortion of the symbol of the pentagram as a symbol of devil worship is a strictly Christian construct for there is no acknowledgment of a “Satan” figure in religious beliefs outside of Christianity. When looked at from this point of view it begs the questions “Is the role of the church to save us from constructs of the church? Hence, is it here to save us from itself?”
Regardless of how well our philosophical musings on the subject seem to shed light on the absurdity of such associations, the reality is we still react because we have been programmed to react in just that manner. There’s no easy way to overcome the problems of perception. The best we can do is admit that there IS a problem, and then try to keep as open of a mind as possible as we seek learning that will hopefully one day supplant the old beliefs. This article is about providing some of that learning; it is up to you to bring the open mind, and compassionate heart.
Although there have been references to “witches” in literature, art, and oral traditions dating back thousands of years, many of the references are actually misrepresentations that came from things as simple as translation differences in language, and cultural differences in people and their roles in the community. Those branded with a title of witch during the Burning Times are no more than people who would have practiced “magic” or held secrets outside that of the normal person of the time. Midwives and country folks (pagans) who had direct knowledge of natural remedies and insights into nature itself, would have been practicing well known techniques amongst people also in close connection to nature, but it would have been nothing short of sorcery to people who had started to assimilate into more urban and disconnected societies. In larger cities where there was a greater diversification of skills and specialties, an increasing reliance on medicine (no matter how archaic at that point), as well as a tightening of power over who would be in charge of the “communications” with the Judeo-Christian God, a commoner holding secret wisdom would have been practicing magic in the eyes of those not able to understand where the “miracles” came from. That person with the “miracles” would have also been a direct threat to the power of those who claimed domain over such things.
The magic was never that of sorcery, it was that of observing, first hand and intimately, the subtle energies of nature and then tapping into those energies to produce a desired effect. In time, as the social structures of civilization shifted to central powers of political significance as well as Church dominance, such closeness with nature and the natural realm was forgotten. Those who still were in touch with the natural world became even farther removed and more mysterious to those in more urban and “educated” areas. This division became the impetus for fear and distrust of those energies and those people who lived “out there”.
The results of the division, fear, and finally hate have been documented in countless works of both historical fact and fiction. We’ve all been shown the images of radically prejudiced trials and witches being burned at the stake. Some of these images are actually incorrect; many weren’t burned at all but hung. No matter the method of extinguishing the perceived evil, the end results were atrocities perpetrated on human beings out of ignorance and hate. Those were truly dark times. The numbers are hard to accurately count, and there have been wild variations in estimates from hundreds of thousands of people to just tens of thousands. In the end, the body count doesn’t matter as much as the fact that we, as a species, could perform these acts out of shear hysteria and not out of reason.
Time doesn’t always heal old wounds, but the march of time is never-ending regardless. Within a generation’s time, new forces were starting to shed light on a different world view. The Age of Enlightenment gave people a whole new perspective on the world. As scientific study and philosophy matured in their own realm, so did a view of a more rational (or so we thought) world. The old superstitions started to be replaced by new understanding of the world. Although we still had a powerful reaction to the thought of such a thing as a witch, based on the associations we’d been programmed with, we no longer believed that they could carry out many of the curses they were blamed for. The idea of a witch became more of a curiosity in a world that counted on scientific proof and reason.
Fast forward a few more generations and we come to the Romantic Period. As science continued to quantify and explain the world based on the principles it was declaring as paradigms, the philosophers, writers, and artists of the age started to question the unbending nature of the new paradigm. They philosophically started to challenge the RATIONAL view of the world in the midst of supposed IRRATIONAL behaviors like creating art and doing seemingly crazy things for love and passion. In literature, paintings, music, and actions, the generations of Romanticism started seeking the beauty in the natural world instead of pure taxonomies. The shifts allowed a renewed interest in, over the persecution of, old ways that had always been in touch with the scientifically irrational aspects of nature, the mind, and the soul outside the context of organized religion.
Partly as a result of this growing questioning of the scientific community as well as a need to be allowed to connect with the irrational, a movement towards the end of the 1800’s sparked a revival of pagan traditions and an interest in the occult. Such figures as Aleister Crowley and Gerald Gardner began claiming knowledge of ancient rites and rituals, while promoting their own brands of the Craft as well as things like ceremonial magic. Although both men, as well as a number of other influential people, made lasting contributions to the modern practice, they also did much to harm the greater acceptance of the Craft beyond the boundaries of a fringe community. Their showmanship and apparent desire to stir controversy and purposely place themselves outside the conventions of normality tainted the beliefs they were trying to promote. Nevertheless, more people started claiming heritage to hereditary lines or traditions revealed by divine guidance. By the early 1900’s there were several well established groups and traditions with their own initiation requirements, hierarchies, rituals, and practices.
In 1951, the Witchcraft Acts of the 18th century were repealed in England. Although public hangings had become a thing of the past, up until this time one could still be persecuted for claiming to practice witchcraft. After the repeal of the Witchcraft Acts, the growth of the Old Religion continued in a more public manner.
Today, one can walk into a Barnes and Noble and find shelves full of books dealing with witchcraft, paganism, and a host of metaphysical topics. Although the way has been cleared in some regards, the history of its evolution will always remain a part of the story. Even with a certain mainstream approval, or at least a tacit acceptance, there are many barriers still to overcome when discussing a modern look at witchcraft.
INTERNAL STRUGGLES
As with many fledgling groups of all kinds, some of the growing pains of the neo-pagan and witchcraft communities are self induced and self perpetuating. Although there still isn’t a complete acceptance of nature based beliefs, one of the greatest threats to the community is the community itself. Partly due to the lack of a real world central figure or doctrine in regards to study, practice, ritual, and religious observance, many times you find tensions within the community itself over issues as minor as whether or not someone can be self initiated, to major philosophical questions over the nature of Deity and the expression of its form. One of the things that leads many to the practice of the Craft or any other neo-pagan religion is that there isn’t the heavy hand of an oppressive hierarchy dictating rules and punishments for not following those rules. That said, however, without an impartial central body to come up with guidance on controversial topics or a set of standards to live by, the community can seem like a quagmire of opposing and often conflicting views and teachings.
To me, I find the whole question a bit troubling in that many of the internal anxieties of the community could be overcome by simply realizing that the questions we debate are truly outside the debatable realm. The reason there has never been one set doctrine is the exact reason most come to the Craft in the first place; a very personal connection with the Divine and the ways in which to allow oneself to attune to those energies. Too many cutting words and judgments are leveled on both sides of any one subject in a practice that is supposed to be about acceptance and personal journeys towards spiritual understanding. The funny thing is, when you talk to people who have set themselves apart from such pettiness, you hear stories of different paths leading to the same enlightenment and revelations.
THE 20TH CENTURY VIEW
The Enlightenment brought us a world view that set a rational paradigm as the foundation for our understanding of the universe. That paradigm existed for well over two hundred years. In the 20th century, however, we started to see cracks in the paradigm starting to emerge.
As early as the 1800’s, such figures as Nikolay Lobachevsky and Georg Cantor started to unravel the steadfastness of our belief in Euclidian geometry as well as our understanding of numbers. These systems were thought to be universal truths and above debate; they turned out to be wrong as proven by the aforementioned great thinkers. By the 1900’s Einstein had already put holes in the paradigm of Newtonian physics with his theory of relativity. Again, those “laws” were never thought to be in question…until they were. Our view of time and space, and thus the rational nature of what we know, became a haven for those not in the laboratory, but in the realm of the mind and philosophy.
To this day we are still dealing with the meaning of the fall of our rational paradigms from the early days of scientific and mathematical thought. The one thing that we can, and need to remember is that our view of the world is still so incredibly small and limited. Although science has put us on the moon and brought us smaller and smaller cell phones with better cameras, we are still no closer to understanding the bigger mysteries of the universe by our current scientific methods or dogmatic religions. From the lessons of the past, we need to finally go beyond our fallible egos and open ourselves to the boundless energies in this world. We need to step outside the confines of religions of the church, religions of the sciences, and religions of consumerism, and reconnect with the greatness of the mysteries that we can experience if we just take the time to listen and feel.
THE 21ST CENTURY NEED
As I said before, find the nearest bookstore and take a look at the shelves of books being written on new-age topics. You will be amazed to find new titles everyday that talk about everything from modern practices of witchcraft to tarot books to ways to make your own wands. You can even browse other sections to find a host of books that talk about returning to the land and backyard homesteading as more and more people become interested in connecting with the land and their spiritual connection to the Earth. Writers like Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, and Robin Sharma give practical advice on how to connect with the mind, heart, and spirit to achieve better understanding of life. Step into a modern medical ward and you will see prescriptions for all sorts of pharmaceuticals as well as doctors recommending centuries old techniques like meditation and yoga.
Why such an intense interest in these topics? I truly believe that much of the reason lies in our desperate need to feel connected to the energies we’ve passively forgotten about or actively tried to squelch. The modern attitudes of divisional disconnect amongst areas of life like work, home, and spiritual wellbeing, as well as a greater disconnect with the universe as a whole, has led us to a spiritual deficiency that is causing crisis within our souls. We can send a thousand text messages and tweets a day, but the message we are so in need of hearing is that of a Goddess or God that lies within subtle energies all around us. We are in need of a message that once again brings light into our true journey.
I think as the world evolves so will old religions with a renewed modern importance. I think witchcraft and neo-pagan practice will once again take on the ancient roles of healing, spiritual journeying, connecting to the divine energies, and showing how powerful the mind can be through “magick”. I think such practices will also evolve beyond the stigmas, internal struggles, and barriers of image to emerge as a viable alternative to anyone looking to find a better understanding of their place in this world.
©2016, 2021 Marcus Everett & The Temple of the Sea Born