Page 52 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Febrary/March 2020 Edition

52 Witchcraft, Magic and Satanism

Witchcraft, Magic surrounding love potions and other magic
potions.
and Satanism Over the past few years alone, there has
been an incredible number of books and
manuals written on “White Magic.”
These books offer recipes designed to
Continued from Page 50 seduce the object of your affection, get rid of
people you don’t want in your life and even
increase your luck.
Now again, the issue might be contamination, in It is nearly impossible to trace the origins
one particular case, Professor Kent received of the modern Wicca movement but when you
collaboration by a person who “was not a family dig into the roots of this Wicca movement, one
member, who was involved, she said, in the name quickly comes to mind as the promoter of
same kind of rituals.” modern magic, Gerald B Gardner.
In this case, Kent said, “it was a very Opinions on Gerald B Gardner are far
bad police investigation.” from unanimous. Several critics see him as an
In one instance, a woman gave Kent opportunist, a con artist, the importance of
access to a hospital so he could pick up medical nudity in his rituals brought on the wrath of
pictures of burns on her cervix that she claimed those who opposed his views. Then there are
had been perpetrated by a Satanic leader. those who are far from offended by his practices
Kent is quick to point out that he does and in fact consider him to be the Father of
not know how the burn marks occurred and Wicca or modern witchcraft.
speculates that they could have occurred in Chapters of witches like the one founded Either way, without this eccentric
many ways but he claims that these photos are a by Laurie Cabot exist throughout the western individual who was so passionate about magic
level of evidence. world with followers numbering in the and witchcraft Wicca might not have grown to
In another case, Kent said that he had thousands. be so popular.
multiple family members of different ages Some groups claim that they are What was a marginal phenomenon
coming forward with accounts. descendants of the Druids while others are during Gardner’s time is now a major movement
So as Kent explains, it is not that there is descendants of witches from the middle ages or practiced by thousands.
no evidence in a lot of these cases but the goddesses from ancient Greece. Satanism, magic and witchcraft, three
evidence needed to take investigators to the They all have one thing in common, words that designate above all, human desire to
point where charges could be laid and the their celebration of Mother Earth. control invisible forces in order to have the
perpetrators brought to trial. However, the The major distinction between these two upper hand over someone else or to control the
evidence required by law was never there. modern western groups is in each being linked future, a combination or superstition and
Each year, hundreds of individuals to the witchcraft of yester year and the clear religion.
gather around Stonehenge in England at every division between practicing magic and Historically speaking the common
summer and winter solstice. They make the worshipping the devil, although witches and denominator of all these doctrines is a lot less
pilgrimage to Stonehenge to watch the sun rise warlocks were suspected of working with the supernatural. It boils down to one single word,
between the large stone arches that were placed forces of evil in the middle ages and the “fear.”
in alignment with the stars. Renaissance, this affiliation with the devil no Women and borderline members of
Among the visitors and pilgrims are men longer exists. society have always struck fear in the hearts of
and women known as Druids, dressed in long Devil worshipping is now associated the powers to be, both inside the church and the
white robes. with Satanists who have no connection state, a fear of the unknown and anyone who is
They harken back to a magical religious whatsoever with practitioners of so called neo- different from them.
movement of ancient Celtic origin. pagan rituals. In the middle ages face with the rise of
In ancient times, Druids worshipped Movies like Harry Potter, Lord of the matriarchal societies the church felt the need to
gods of nature and believed in reincarnation. Rings, have revived an interest in witchcraft and take action. It was dangerous to let the situation
The Druids were persecuted by Roman invaders magic. continue. Fear of the devil was real but fear of
who perceived them as savages, then by the Unfortuneately for magic lovers, women was much more tangible.
church who viewed their practices as heresy. folklore and reality are two different things. If we take a look at today’s society, are
Despite this persecution, Druids Today’s witchcraft doesn’t have much in witch-hunts really something of the past?
managed to survive by keeping a low profile up common with the witchcraft of the middle ages When women must cover themselves from head
until the present. or the stereo types depicted in movies. Experts to toe, to ensure that they are not an object of
They were not the only survivors of the in the field prefer to speak of paganism or neo- temptation despite themselves, isn’t that a
famous witch-hunts. paganism rather than witchcraft. modern day version of the prisons that women
In Salem where the most famous witch- Incidentally, modern day witches no were held in during the middle ages?
trial in history was held, a handful of men and longer use the word “witchcraft,” a term that has Too often we forget that women were the
women dressed in black and wearing a pentacle been too stigmatized throughout history. victims of one the greatest genocides in history.
around their neck gather for occasional events, Instead, they prefer the Old English term, During the witch-hunts of the Renaissance
such as seasonal solstices and equinoxes, lunar “Wicca” and practitioners themselves prefer to period, close to 100,00 women were burned at
cycles and such. be called Wiccans rather than witches. the stake.
In a field just outside of the city, they Dr. Shelley Rabinovich adds, “Wicca is For centuries the Christian world treated
participate in celebration and ritual dances. drawing on what we understand, pre-Christian women as second class citizens, deprived of
The High Priestess is Laurie Cabot, the religion in the British Isles, primarily to have power, which men tried to keep for themselves.
Official Witch of Salem. She was given the title been, polytheistic meaning that it has many Nowadays, movements like Wicca give women
in 1977 by the Governor at the time. Cabot gods and goddesses instead of one “G”od. There back their place of honour in the spiritual
claims to possess psychic powers and genetic is a reverence for nature, not necessarily the evolution of society, but it’s still very little.
memory that links her to witches of the past. worship of nature, and it has a number of The Catholic Church made the devil into
Laurie Cabot and her followers are practices, for example more night practices than public enemy number one, society the mentally
members of cult called “Link to Mother Earth.” day practices, it doesn’t have a single building ill, and terrorists have all blamed their actions on
They honour nature and their spiritual and like a church or a mosque. It’s pre-Christian and the devil.
esoteric aspects. The devil is not involved in it’s become very popular and fast growing But perhaps the devil is not the real
their rituals and they do not place curses on family of faith in Canada, the US and Europe.” culprit, but rather an anonymous façade behind
anyone. Wicca includes all of the folklore which the true villain is hiding, Man. []