In the history of witchcraft are there enough pr oven evil witch characters to definitely define witches as evil or is that a generalization created during the Salem witch trials. If Wicca are not witches per say then why do people associate them with witches?
the last person tried of witchcraft in the Uk was a spiritualist medium called Helen Duncan .. she was not Wicca
but many wonderful and unfortunate people have been tried under this act due to doing work that is misunderstood and considered evil
fortunately due to the treatment of Helen and the fact that no one could prove her to be false .. the act was repealed ( too late for Helen who died as a result of her injuries during the trial )
most stories about witches are just that .. stories
real witchcraft used in modern day Wicca is using nature as potions etc ( much the same as scientists do in medicine )
The Salem Witch trials had nothing to do with Wicca or Witchcraft. It was mass hysteria, stemming from a frightened child. Real Wicca has nothing to do with any form of evil, and most Wiccans don't like to be called Witches.
I am an Eclectic Wiccan, and have no problem being called a Witch. Both Wicca and Witchcraft come from Paganism, and so often get interlinked and confused. Witchcraft is also not evil. The evil conducted in any religion is not the religion, it is what is in the heart of the person.
Wiccan is another term for a witch. I think you're mixing up the word witch (Wicca) with a Satanist. A satanist believe in the devil while the witch does not.
A witch is not going to do anything bad, because it will come back 3 times worse on him/her. The only time we can do "harm" is when harm is done to us....and we call that retribution.
Wiccans, witches, pagans, what ever the term you would like to use.....are not evil hags, it's a misconception.
As for the Salem Witch Trials.....innocent people were put to death. They were accused of being witches by people with alliterative motives. The girls that went into convulsions and started the whole mess probably had ingested a form of LSD from eating bread. I have never read one instance where any of the accused was actually a witch.
There are great resources and books. Check them out!!!
Don't believe how Hollywood deposits us or the conservative "christian" community.
I am not Wiccan anymore, so I hope I have your permission. If not I'll withdraw my answer.
In the 19Th century a romanticizing of thing Pagan began. Godfrey Leland forged a spurious book called Aradia:Gospel of the Witches that implied that witches were pagans who worshiped Diana (and Lucifer). He plagiarized materials from two previous books he wrote (Etruscan Remains and Gypsy Sorcery). Although the word Wicca isn't mentioned, it was the great-great daddy of the whole thing.
Later on quack anthropologist Margret Murray hatched her own theory about the witches of the European witch trials actually being survivors of a Pagan cult in her books. These inspired Gardner to create his own witch cult witch he called "Wicca" (at first spelled in lower case and with only one "c"). Gardner insisted Witch meant "Wise one" claiming the word derives from the Old English word "Wicca". "Wicce" actually means "to bend", and this is where the word "wicker" comes from. The word "wicked" also comes from "Wicca" (as in a wicked person being "bent").
The word "witch" has a nefarious meaning in every language on earth,including English, but for some reason Wiccans still insist on calling themselves "Witches" (with a capital "W") and their religion "Witchcraft". They feel that the reason people are afraid of them is centuries of "xtian propaganda" meant to defame them. But even if they went to Vietnam ( a predominantly Buddhist country) and said they were a Phuy Tay (Vietnamese for witch), people would still be afraid of them. Of course, a tiny few Wiccans have stopped calling themselves witches, but most probably enjoy the shock value wether they admit it or not.
There were examples of witches who did evil deeds in history (such as the Weirs and LaViosin) but Wiccans don't equate themselves with such people since they were Devil worshippers.
The people killed at Salem were Christians killed by other misguided Christians probably due to Ergotism (since they even hung a dog as a witch, I'm convinced they weren't in their right minds). And even though some Wiccans will admit the "witches" killed weren't Wiccans, they still treat them as Wiccan martyrs. There is a large Wiccan population in Salem, with Laurie Cabot as it's "official witch".
I love all you Wiccans, but I just have a different opinion than you do. If people only want to hear answers they agree with, they should only talk to themselves.
For the wicca in the group....?
