Witchcraft

== Regional perspectives ==
{{Cleanup lang|section|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Witchcraft beliefs around the world in the present.png|thumb|upright=1.8|right|Prevalence of belief in witchcraft by country<ref name="10.1371/journal.pone.0276872"/>]]
[[File:Socio-demographic correlates of witchcraft beliefs.png|thumb|upright=1.8|right|Socio-demographic correlates of witchcraft beliefs<ref name="10.1371/journal.pone.0276872"/>]]
{{anchor|Demographics and surveys}}
{{anchor|By region}}
A 2022 study found that belief in witchcraft, as in the use of malevolent magic or powers, is still widespread in some parts of the world. It found that belief in witchcraft varied from 9% of people in some countries to 90% in others, and was linked to cultural and socioeconomic factors. Stronger belief in witchcraft correlated with poorer economic development, weak institutions, lower levels of education, lower [[life expectancy]], lower life satisfaction, and high [[religiosity]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Witchcraft beliefs are widespread, highly variable around the world |url=https://phys.org/news/2022-11-witchcraft-beliefs-widespread-highly-variable.html |access-date=17 December 2022 |work=Public Library of Science via phys.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name="10.1371/journal.pone.0276872">{{cite journal |last1=Gershman |first1=Boris |title=Witchcraft beliefs around the world: An exploratory analysis |journal=PLOS ONE |date=23 November 2022 |volume=17 |issue=11 |pages=e0276872 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0276872|pmid=36417350 |pmc=9683553 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1776872G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

It contrasted two hypotheses about future changes in witchcraft belief:<ref name="10.1371/journal.pone.0276872"/>
* witchcraft beliefs should decline "in the [[progress|process of development]] due to improved security and health, lower exposure to shocks, spread of education and scientific approach to explaining life events" according to standard modernization theory
* "some aspects of development, namely rising inequality, globalization, technological change, and migration, may instead revive witchcraft beliefs by disrupting established social order" according to literature largely inspired by observations from Sub-Saharan Africa.

=== Africa ===
{{main|Witchcraft in Africa}}
[[File:A Niam-Niam medicine man or shaman, equatorial Africa. Halft Wellcome V0015964.jpg|upright|thumb|right|An [[Azande]] witch doctor, who is believed to cure bewitchment]]

African witchcraft encompasses various beliefs and practices. These beliefs often play a significant role in shaping social dynamics and can influence how communities address challenges and seek spiritual assistance. Much of what witchcraft represents in Africa has been susceptible to misunderstandings and confusion, thanks in no small part to a tendency among western scholars since the time of the now largely discredited [[Margaret Murray]] to approach the subject through a comparative lens vis-a-vis European witchcraft.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Okeja |first=Uchenna |title='An African Context of the Belief in Witchcraft and Magic,' in Rational Magic |date=2011 |publisher=Fisher Imprints |isbn=978-1848880610}}{{page?|date=January 2023}}</ref>

While some colonialists tried to eradicate witch hunting by introducing legislation to prohibit accusations of witchcraft, some of the countries where this was the case have formally recognized the existence of witchcraft via the law. This has produced an environment that encourages persecution of suspected witches.<ref name="Igwe">{{Cite magazine |last=Igwe |first=Leo |author-link=Leo Igwe |date=September–October 2020 |title=Accused Witches Burned, Killed in Nigeria |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]]}}</ref>

In [[Cameroon]] among the [[Maka people]], witchcraft is known as "djambe" and encompasses occult, transformative, killing, and healing aspects.<ref>{{cite book |last=Geschiere |first=Peter |title=The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa |year=1997 |publisher=University of Virginia Press |isbn=0813917034 |translator=Peter Geschiere and Janet Roitman |page=13}}</ref> In the [[Central African Republic]], hundreds of people are convicted of witchcraft annually, with reports of violent acts against accused women.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The dangers of witchcraft |url=http://blogs.reuters.com/africanews/2010/02/04/the-dangers-of-witchcraft/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312100813/http://blogs.reuters.com/africanews/2010/02/04/the-dangers-of-witchcraft/ |archive-date=2010-03-12 |access-date=2010-03-26}}</ref> The [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] witnessed a disturbing trend of child witchcraft accusations in [[Kinshasa]], leading to abuse and exorcisms supervised by self-styled pastors.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2009 |title=Kolwezi: Accused of witchcraft by parents and churches, children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being rescued by Christian activists |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/september/27.62.html |website=Christianity Today |access-date=2011-10-14 |archive-date=2011-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114201647/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/september/27.62.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ghana]] grapples with accusations against women, leading to the existence of [[witch camp]]s where accused individuals can seek refuge, though the government plans to close them.<ref name="Camps">{{Cite news |last=Whitaker |first=Kati |date=September 2012 |title=Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19437130 |access-date=September 1, 2012 |archive-date=October 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020122329/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19437130 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Kenya]], there have been reports of mobs burning people accused of witchcraft, reflecting the deep-seated beliefs in the supernatural.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kanina |first1=Wangui |date=2008-05-21 |title=Mob burns to death 11 Kenyan "witches" |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL21301127 |access-date=2016-09-15 |archive-date=2017-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620210627/http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL21301127 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Malawi]] faces a similar issue of child witchcraft accusations, with traditional healers and some Christian counterparts involved in exorcisms, causing abandonment and abuse of children.<ref>Byrne, Carrie 2011. Hunting the vulnerable: Witchcraft and the law in Malawi; Consultancy Africa Intelligence (16 June):</ref> In [[Nigeria]], [[Pentecostal]] pastors have intertwined Christianity with witchcraft beliefs for profit, leading to the torture and killing of accused children.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stepping Stones Nigeria 2007. Supporting Victims of Witchcraft Abuse and Street Children in Nigeria |url=http://www.humantrafficking.org/publications/593 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017185346/http://humantrafficking.org/publications/593 |archive-date=2012-10-17 |website=humantrafficking.org}}</ref> [[Sierra Leone]]'s [[Mende people]] see witchcraft convictions as beneficial, as the accused receive support and care from the community.<ref>West, Harry G. ''Ethnographic Sorcery'' (p. 24); 2007. The University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|978-0226893983}} (pbk.).</ref>

Lastly, in [[Zulu people|Zulu]] culture, healers known as {{Lang|zu|[[sangoma]]}}s protect people from witchcraft and evil spirits through divination and ancestral connections.<ref name=Cumes>{{cite book |last= Cumes |first= David |year= 2004|title= Africa in my bones  |publisher= New Africa Books|location= Claremont|isbn=978-0-86486-556-4|page=14}}</ref> However, concerns arise regarding the training and authenticity of some sangomas.

In parts of Africa, beliefs about illness being caused by witchcraft continue to fuel suspicion of modern medicine, with serious [[healthcare]] consequences. [[HIV/AIDS]]<ref name="HIVwitchcraft">{{Cite news |last1=Kielburger |first1=Craig |last2=Kielburger |first2=Marc |date=18 February 2008 |title=HIV in Africa: Distinguishing disease from witchcraft |work=[[Toronto Star]] |publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. |location=Toronto, Ontario, Canada |url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/columnists/2008/02/18/hiv_in_africa_distinguishing_disease_from_witchcraft.html |access-date=18 September 2017 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019221301/https://www.thestar.com/opinion/columnists/2008/02/18/hiv_in_africa_distinguishing_disease_from_witchcraft.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Ebola]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 August 2014 |title=Ebola outbreak: 'Witchcraft' hampering treatment, says doctor |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28625305 |website=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC |location=London|quote=citing a doctor from [[Médecins Sans Frontières]]: 'A widespread belief in witchcraft is hampering efforts to halt the Ebola virus from spreading' |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192649/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-28625305 |url-status=live }}</ref> are two examples of often-lethal [[infectious disease]] [[epidemic]]s whose medical care and [[Isolation (health care)|containment]] has been severely hampered by regional beliefs in witchcraft. Other severe medical conditions whose treatment is hampered in this way include [[tuberculosis]], [[leprosy]], [[epilepsy]] and the common severe [[bacterial]] [[Buruli ulcer]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Social stigma as an epidemiological determinant for leprosy elimination in Cameroon |url=http://www.publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/view/jphia.2011.e10/html_19 |journal=Journal of Public Health in Africa |access-date=2014-08-27 |archive-date=2017-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731190043/http://www.publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/view/jphia.2011.e10/html_19 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Akosua |first=Adu |date=3 September 2014 |title=Ebola: Human Rights Group Warns Disease Is Not Caused By Witchcraft |work=The Ghana-Italy News |url=http://www.theghana-italynews.com/index.php/component/k2/item/955-ebola-human-rights-group-warns-disease-is-not-caused-by-witchcraft |url-status=dead |access-date=31 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903134240/http://www.theghana-italynews.com/index.php/component/k2/item/955-ebola-human-rights-group-warns-disease-is-not-caused-by-witchcraft |archive-date=3 September 2014}}</ref>

=== Americas ===

====North America====
{{main|Witchcraft in North America}}
The views of witchcraft in North America have evolved through an interlinking history of cultural beliefs and interactions. These forces contribute to complex and evolving views of witchcraft. Today, North America hosts a diverse array of beliefs about witchcraft.<ref name=Games>{{cite web | url=https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jar254 | doi=10.1093/jahist/jar254 | title=Witchcraft in Early North America | date=2011 | last1=Breslaw | first1=E. G. | journal=Journal of American History | volume=98 | issue=2 | page=504 }}</ref><ref name=BergerBook>Witchcraft and Magic: Contemporary North America; Edited by HELEN A. BERGER; Copyright: 2005; Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press; https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fh7kf</ref>

[[Indigenous people of North America|Indigenous communities]] such as the [[Cherokee]],<ref name=Kilpatrick-Cherokee>{{Cite book |last=Kilpatrick |first=Alan |title=The Night Has a Naked Soul - Witchcraft and Sorcery Among the Western Cherokee |date=1998 |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]}}</ref> [[Hopi]],<ref name=GeertzHopi>{{cite journal |last1=Geertz |first1=Armin W. |title=Hopi Indian Witchcraft and Healing: On Good, Evil, and Gossip |journal=[[American Indian Quarterly]] |date= Summer 2011 |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=372–393 |doi=10.1353/aiq.2011.a447052 |pmid=22069814 |issn=0095-182X|oclc=659388380|quote=To the Hopis, witches or evil-hearted persons deliberately try to destroy social harmony by sowing discontent, doubt, and criticism through evil gossip as well as by actively combating medicine men. ... Admitting [he practiced witchcraft] could cost him his life and occult power}}</ref> the [[Navajo]]<ref name="PerroneStockel1993">{{Cite book |last1=Perrone |first1=Bobette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ApJayEh43ZcC&pg=PA189 |title=Medicine women, curanderas, and women doctors |last2=Stockel |first2=H. Henrietta |last3=Krueger |first3=Victoria |date=1993 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0806125121 |page=189 |access-date=8 October 2010 |archive-date=23 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423165056/https://books.google.com/books?id=ApJayEh43ZcC&pg=PA189 |url-status=live }}</ref> among others,<ref name="Simmons-SW">{{cite book |last1=Simmons |first1=Marc |title=Witchcraft in the Southwest: Spanish and Indian Supernaturalism on the Rio Grande |date=1980 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0803291164}}</ref> included in their folklore and beliefs which malevolent figures who could harm their communities, often resulting in severe punishments, including death.<ref name="Navajo Dictionary">Wall, Leon and William Morgan, ''Navajo-English Dictionary''. Hippocrene Books, New York City, 1998 {{ISBN|0781802474}}.</ref> These communities also recognized the role of [[medicine people]] as healers and protectors against these malevolent forces.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

The term witchcraft arrived with [[Europe]]an colonists, along with [[European witchcraft|European views on witchcraft]].<ref name=Games /> This term would be adopted by many Indigenous communities for those beliefs about harmful supernatural powers. In [[Witchcraft in colonial America|colonial America]] and the United States, views of witchcraft were further shaped by European colonists. The infamous [[Salem witch trials]] in Massachusetts, along with other [[witch hunts]] in places like Maryland and Pennsylvania, exemplified [[Europe|European]] and [[Christian]] fear and hysteria surrounding accusations of witchcraft. These trials led to the execution of numerous individuals accused of practicing witchcraft. Despite changes in laws and perspectives over time, accusations of witchcraft persisted into the 19th century in some regions, such as Tennessee, where prosecutions occurred as late as 1833. 

The influences on [[Witchcraft in Latin America]] impacted North American views both directly and indirectly, including the diaspora of [[Witchcraft in Africa|African witchcraft beliefs]] through the slave trade<ref name=Wallace>{{cite journal |first=Dale Lancaster |last=Wallace |title=Rethinking religion, magic and witchcraft in South Africa: From colonial coherence to postcolonial conundrum |date=January 2015 |journal=Journal for the Study of Religion |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=23–51 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317449743 |access-date=2023-09-15 |via=Acaemdia.edu}}</ref><ref name=Bachmann>{{cite journal | url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mtsr/33/3-4/article-p381_6.xml | doi=10.1163/15700682-12341522 | title=African Witchcraft and Religion among the Yoruba: Translation as Demarcation Practice within a Global Religious History | date=2021 | last1=Bachmann | first1=Judith | journal=Method & Theory in the Study of Religion | volume=33 | issue=3–4 | pages=381–409 | s2cid=240055921 }}</ref><ref name=BergerBook /> and suppressed Indigenous cultures adopting the term for their own cultural practices.<ref name=Silverblatt>{{cite journal | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6362989/ | pmid=6362989 | date=1983 | last1=Silverblatt | first1=I. | title=The evolution of witchcraft and the meaning of healing in colonial Andean society | journal=Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry | volume=7 | issue=4 | pages=413–427 | doi=10.1007/BF00052240 | s2cid=23596915 }}</ref> [[Neopagan witchcraft]] practices such as [[Wicca]] then emerged in the mid-20th century.<ref name=Games /><ref name=BergerBook />

==== Latin America ====
{{main|Witchcraft in Latin America}}
When Franciscan friars from New Spain arrived in the Americas in 1524, they introduced Diabolism—belief in [[Devil in Christianity|the Christian Devil]]—to the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]].<ref name="credoreference2005">{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=Diabolism in the New World |url=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/abcibamrle/diabolism_in_the_new_world |access-date=February 10, 2013 |publisher=ABCCLIO |archive-date=July 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192639/https://search.credoreference.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bartolomé de las Casas believed that human sacrifice was not diabolic, in fact far off from it, and was a natural result of religious expression.<ref name="credoreference2005" /> Mexican Indians gladly took in the belief of Diabolism and still managed to keep their belief in creator-destroyer deities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Young |first1=Eric Van |last2=Cervantes |first2=Fernando |last3=Mills |first3=Kenneth |date=November 1996 |title=The Devil in the New World: The Impact of Diabolism in New Spain. |journal=The Hispanic American Historical Review |volume=76 |issue=4 |page=789 |doi=10.2307/2517981 |jstor=2517981}}</ref>

Witchcraft was an important part of the social and cultural history of late-Colonial Mexico, during the [[Mexican Inquisition]]. Spanish Inquisitors viewed witchcraft as a problem that could be cured simply through confession. Yet, as anthropologist [[Ruth Behar]] writes, witchcraft, not only in Mexico but in Latin America in general, was a "conjecture of sexuality, witchcraft, and religion, in which Spanish, indigenous, and African cultures converged."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Behar |first=Ruth |date=1987 |title=Sex and Sin, Witchcraft and the Devil in Late-Colonial Mexico |journal=American Ethnologist |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=34–54 |doi=10.1525/ae.1987.14.1.02a00030 |jstor=645632 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2027.42/136539}}</ref> Furthermore, witchcraft in Mexico generally required an interethnic and interclass network of witches.<ref>Lavrin, Asunción. ''Sexuality & Marriage in Colonial Latin America.'' Reprint ed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992, p. 192.{{ISBN?}}</ref> Yet, according to anthropology professor Laura Lewis, witchcraft in colonial Mexico ultimately represented an "affirmation of hegemony" for women, Indians, and especially Indian women over their white male counterparts as a result of the [[casta]] system.<ref>Lewis, Laura A. ''Hall of mirrors: power, witchcraft, and caste in colonial Mexico.'' Durham, N.C.:Duke University Press, 2003, p. 13.{{ISBN?}}</ref>

The presence of the witch is a constant in the [[ethnographic]] [[history]] of [[colonial Brazil]], especially during the several denunciations and confessions given to the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] of [[Bahia]] (1591–1593), [[Pernambuco]] and [[Paraíba]] (1593–1595).<ref>{{in lang|pt}} João Ribeiro Júnior, ''O Que é Magia'', pp. 48–49, Ed. Abril Cultural.{{ISBN?}}</ref>

''[[Brujería]]'', often called a Latin American form of witchcraft, is a [[syncretic]] Afro-Caribbean tradition that combines Indigenous religious and magical practices from Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao in the Dutch Caribbean, Catholicism, and European witchcraft.<ref name="Herrera-Sobek">{{cite book|author=María Herrera-Sobek|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bDIwZ8BieWcC&pg=PA174|title=Celebrating Latino Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Cultural Traditions|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2012|isbn=978-0313343391}}</ref>{{rp|174}} The tradition and terminology is considered to encompass both helpful and harmful practices.{{r|Herrera-Sobek|p=175}} A male practitioner is called a {{lang|es|brujo}}, a female practitioner, a {{lang|es|bruja}}.{{r|Herrera-Sobek|p=175}} Healers may be further distinguished by the terms {{lang|es|kurioso}} or {{lang|es|kuradó}}, a man or woman who performs {{lang|es|trabou chikí}} ("little works") and {{lang|es|trabou grandi}} ("large treatments") to promote or restore health, bring fortune or misfortune, deal with unrequited love, and more serious concerns. Sorcery usually involves reference to an entity referred to as the {{lang|es|almasola}} or {{lang|es|homber chiki}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Blom |first1=Jan Dirk |last2=Poulina |first2=Igmar T. |last3=van Gellecum |first3=Trevor L. |last4=Hoek |first4=Hans W. |date=December 2015 |title=Traditional healing practices originating in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao: A review of the literature on psychiatry and Brua |journal=Transcultural Psychiatry |volume=52 |issue=6 |pages=840–860 |doi=10.1177/1363461515589709 |pmid=26062555 |s2cid=27804741|url=https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/f32d1bf6-8b1e-4b0b-ab2b-467700fe5ca6 }}</ref>

=== Asia ===
{{Main|Asian witchcraft}}
[[File:Okabe - The cat witch.jpg|thumb|upright|Okabe – The cat witch, by [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]]]]
Asian witchcraft encompasses various types of witchcraft practices across [[Asia]]. In ancient times, magic played a significant role in societies such as [[ancient Egypt]] and [[Babylonia]], as evidenced by historical records. In the [[Middle East]], references to magic can be found in the [[Torah]], where witchcraft is condemned due to its association with belief in [[magic (supernatural)|magic]].

In [[Chinese culture]], the practice of "''[[Gong Tau]]''" involves black magic for purposes such as revenge and financial assistance. [[Japanese folklore]] features witch figures who employ foxes as familiars. [[Korean history]] includes instances of individuals being condemned for using spells. The [[Philippine]]s has its own tradition of witches, distinct from Western portrayals, with their practices often countered by indigenous [[shaman]]s.

Overall, witchcraft beliefs and practices in Asia vary widely across cultures, reflecting historical, religious, and social contexts.

====Middle East====
{{Main|Witchcraft in the Middle East}}

The practice of witchcraft in southwest Asia, sometimes referred to as the [[Middle East]], has a long history. The ancient cultures of the region had complex relationships with magic, often integrating them deeply into both their religion and wider culture. {{r|HuttonFear|p=47-54}} The ancient [[Hittites]] focused sanctioned mystical power in the hands of the state, and often used accusations of witchcraft to control political enemies.{{r|HuttonFear|p=50-51}} As the ancient [[Hebrews]] focused on their worship on [[Yahweh]], [[Judaism]] clearly separated between with forms of [[magic (supernatural)|magic]] and mystical practices which were accepted, versus those which were viewed as forbidden or heretical, and thus "witchcraft".{{r|HuttonFear|p=51-52}} In the medieval [[Middle East]], under [[Islam]]ic and [[Christian]] influences, witchcraft's perception fluctuated between healing and [[heresy]], revered by some and condemned by others. In the present day diverse witchcraft communities have emerged.

=== Europe ===
{{Main|European witchcraft}}
{{citations needed section|date=October 2023}}
[[File:Sawyer Elizabeth; witch Wellcome L0000656.jpg|thumb|[[Elizabeth Sawyer]], witch executed in 1620]]
European witchcraft is a multifaceted historical and cultural phenomenon that unfolded over centuries, leaving a mark on the continent's social, religious, and legal landscapes. The roots of European witchcraft trace back to [[classical antiquity]] when concepts of [[magic and religion]] were closely related, and society closely integrated [[magic (supernatural)|magic]] and [[supernatural]] beliefs. During the [[Middle Ages]], accusations of [[heresy]] and [[devil worship]] grew more prevalent. By the [[early modern period]], major [[witch hunts]] began to take place, partly fueled by religious tensions, societal anxieties, and economic upheaval. Witches were often viewed as dangerous sorceresses or sorcerers in a [[Deal with the Devil|pact with the Devil]], capable of causing harm through [[black magic]].{{r|Ehrenreich|page= [https://archive.org/details/witchesmidwivesn0000ehre/page/29/mode/2up 29],  [https://archive.org/details/witchesmidwivesn0000ehre/page/54/mode/2up 54]}} A [[Feminist interpretations of witch trials in the early modern period|feminist interpretation of the witch trials]] is that [[Misogyny|misogynist]] views led to the association of women and [[Sorcery (goetia)|malevolent witchcraft]].{{r|Ehrenreich|page= [https://archive.org/details/witchesmidwivesn0000ehre/page/29/mode/2up 29],  [https://archive.org/details/witchesmidwivesn0000ehre/page/54/mode/2up 54]}}

One pivotal text that shaped the witch-hunts was the ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'', a 1486 treatise that provided a framework for identifying, prosecuting, and punishing witches. The burgeoning influence of the [[Catholic Church]]{{cn|date=October 2023}} led to a wave of [[witch trials in the early modern period|witch trials]] across Europe. Usually, accusations of witchcraft were made by neighbours and followed from social tensions. Accusations often targeted marginalized individuals, including women, the elderly, and those who did not conform to societal norms. Women made accusations as often as men. The common people believed that magical healers (called '[[cunning folk]]' or 'wise people') could undo bewitchment. [[Ronald Hutton|Hutton]] says that healers and cunning folk "were sometimes denounced as witches, but seem to have made up a minority of the accused in any area studied".{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} The witch-craze reached its peak between the 16th and 17th centuries, resulting in the execution of tens of thousands of people. This dark period of history reflects the confluence of [[superstition]], fear, and authority, as well as the societal tendency to find [[scapegoats]] for complex problems.

The [[Tsardom of Russia]] also experienced its own iteration of witchcraft trials during the 17th century. Witches were often accused of practicing [[Sorcery (goetia)|sorcery]] and engaging in [[Supernatural|supernatural activities]], leading to their [[excommunication]] and execution. The blending of [[ecclesiastical]] and [[Secularism|secular]] jurisdictions in Russia's approach to witchcraft trials highlighted the intertwined nature of religious and political power during that time. As the 17th century progressed, the fear of witches shifted from mere superstition to a tool for political manipulation, with accusations used to target individuals who posed threats to the ruling elite.

Since the 1940s, [[neopagan witchcraft]] movements have emerged in Europe, seeking to revive and reinterpret ancient pagan and mystical practices. [[Wicca]], pioneered by [[Gerald Gardner]], stands out as one of the most influential neopagan traditions. Drawing inspiration from [[ceremonial magic]], historical paganism, and the now-discredited [[witch-cult theory]], [[Wicca]] emphasizes a connection to nature, the [[Divinity|divine]], and personal growth. Similarly, [[Stregheria]] in Italy reflects a desire to reconnect with the country's pre-Christian spiritual roots. Many of these neopagans choose to self-identify as "witches". Contemporary, neopagan witchcraft in Europe encompasses a wide range of traditions, reflecting a blend of historical influences, modern interpretations, new religious movements, and a search for spiritual authenticity in a rapidly changing world.

==== Ancient Roman world ====<!--this is a summary of [[European witchcraft#Antiquity]]-->
{{Main|European witchcraft#Antiquity}}
[[File:Caius Furius Cressinus Accused of Sorcery LACMA M.82.119.jpg|thumb|''Caius Furius Cressinus Accused of Sorcery'', [[Jean-Pierre Saint-Ours]], 1792]]
During the [[Ancient Roman religion|pagan]] era of [[ancient Rome]], there were laws against harmful magic.<ref name="Dickie">{{cite book |last1=Dickie |first1=Matthew |title=Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |pages=138–142}}</ref> According to [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], the [[5th century BC]] laws of the [[Twelve Tables]] laid down penalties for uttering harmful incantations and for stealing the fruitfulness of someone else's crops by magic.<ref name="Dickie"/> The only recorded trial involving this law was that of [[Gaius Furius Cresimus]].<ref name="Dickie"/>

The [[Classical Latin]] word {{lang|la|veneficium}} meant both poisoning and causing harm by magic (such as magic potions), although ancient people would not have distinguished between the two.{{r|HuttonFear|p=59-66}} In 331 BC, a deadly epidemic hit Rome and at least 170 women were executed for causing it by ''veneficium''. In 184–180 BC, another epidemic hit Italy, and about 5,000 were executed for ''veneficium''.{{r|HuttonFear|p=59-66}} If the reports are accurate, writes [[Ronald Hutton|Hutton]], "then the [[Roman Republic|Republican Romans]] hunted witches on a scale unknown anywhere else in the ancient world".{{r|HuttonFear|p=59-66}}

Under the ''[[Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis]]'' of 81 BC, killing by ''veneficium'' carried the death penalty. During the early [[Roman Empire|Imperial era]], the ''Lex Cornelia'' began to be used more broadly against other kinds of magic,{{r|HuttonFear|p=59-66}} including sacrifices made for evil purposes. The magicians were to be burnt at the stake.<ref name="Dickie"/>

Witch characters—women who work powerful evil magic—appear in ancient Roman literature from the first century BC onward. They are typically [[hag]]s who chant harmful incantations; make poisonous potions from herbs and the body parts of animals and humans; sacrifice children; raise the dead; can control the natural world; can shapeshift themselves and others into animals; and invoke underworld deities and spirits. They include [[Lucan]]'s [[Erichtho]], [[Horace]]'s [[Epodes (Horace)|Canidia]], [[Ovid]]'s Dipsas, and [[Apuleius]]'s [[The Golden Ass|Meroe]].{{r|HuttonFear|p=59-66}}

=== Oceania ===
{{Expand section|small=no|find=Pacific Witchcraft|date=October 2023}}
{{split section|Witchcraft in Oceania|date=September 2023}}
==== Cook Islands ====
In pre-Christian times, witchcraft was a common practice in the [[Cook Islands]]. The native name for a sorcerer was {{Lang|rar|tangata purepure}} (a man who prays).<ref name=Buse>{{Cite book |last=Jasper Buse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AT2ENAHoS28C&pg=PA372 |title=Cook Islands Maori Dictionary |date=1995 |publisher=Cook Islands Ministry of Education |isbn=978-0728602304 |access-date=2016-02-27 |archive-date=2016-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808111050/https://books.google.com/books?id=AT2ENAHoS28C&pg=PA372 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|372}} The prayers offered by the {{Lang|rar|ta'unga}} (priests){{r|Buse|p=471}} to the gods worshiped on national or tribal ''[[marae]]'' (temples) were termed {{Lang|rar|karakia}};{{r|Buse|p=156}} those on minor occasions to the lesser gods were named {{Lang|rar|pure}}. All these prayers were metrical, and were handed down from generation to generation with the utmost care. There were prayers for every such phase in life; for success in battle; for a change in wind (to overwhelm an adversary at sea, or that an intended voyage be propitious); that his crops may grow; to curse a thief; or wish ill-luck and death to his foes. Few men of middle age were without a number of these prayers or charms. The succession of a sorcerer was from father to son, or from uncle to nephew. So too of sorceresses: it would be from mother to daughter, or from aunt to niece. Sorcerers and sorceresses were often slain by relatives of their supposed victims.<ref name=WWG>{{Cite book |last=William Wyatt Gill |title=The south Pacific and New Guinea, past and present; with notes on the Hervey group, an illustrative song and various myths |date=1892 |publisher=Sydney: Charles Potter, Government Printer |chapter=Wizards |author-link=William Wyatt Gill |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/southpacificnewg00gill#page/20/mode/2up}}</ref>{{rp|page=21}}

A singular enchantment was employed to kill off a husband of a pretty woman desired by someone else. The expanded flower of a [[Gardenia taitensis|Gardenia]] was stuck upright—a very difficult performance—in a cup (i.e., half a large coconut shell) of water. A prayer was then offered for the husband's speedy death, the sorcerer earnestly watching the flower. Should it fall the incantation was successful. But if the flower still remained upright, he will live. The sorcerer would in that case try his skill another day, with perhaps better success.{{r|WWG|p=22}}

==== Papua New Guinea ====
A local newspaper informed that more than fifty people were killed in two [[Highlands Region|Highlands]] provinces of [[Papua New Guinea]] in 2008 for allegedly practicing witchcraft.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/png.witchcraft/index.html Woman suspected of witchcraft burned alive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429075819/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/png.witchcraft/index.html |date=2009-04-29 }} CNN.com. January 8, 2009.</ref> An estimated 50–150 alleged witches are killed each year in Papua New Guinea.<ref>"[https://news.vice.com/article/papua-new-guineas-sorcery-refugees-women-accused-of-witchcraft-flee-homes-to-escape-violence Papua New Guinea's 'Sorcery Refugees': Women Accused of Witchcraft Flee Homes to Escape Violence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320052432/https://news.vice.com/article/papua-new-guineas-sorcery-refugees-women-accused-of-witchcraft-flee-homes-to-escape-violence |date=2017-03-20 }}". [[Vice News]]. January 6, 2015.</ref>

Belief and practice of witchcraft are prevalent in [[Milne Bay Province]] of Papua New Guinea.<ref name=Lawrence>{{cite book |first=Salmah Eva-Lina |last=Lawrence |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/43884185 |chapter=Witchcraft, Sorcery, Violence: Matrilineal and Decolonial Reflections |title=Talking it Through: Responses to Sorcery and Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices in Melanesia
|editor1-first=Miranda |editor1-last=Forsyth |editor2-first=Richard |editor2-last=Eves |year=2015 |publisher=ANU Press |place=Canberra, Australia}}</ref> Unlike other provinces, the [[Samarai Islands]] and [[Milne Bay]] particularly sees much less violence against both those accused of witchcraft and women in general than other parts of the country.<ref name=Lawrence /> It is suggested the history of witchcraft in the area contributes to a raise in status of women in the area overall.<ref name=Lawrence />