Witchcraft Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! {{pp|small=yes}} {{Short description|Practices believed to use supernatural powers}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}} {{use American English|date=July 2023}} {{this|worldwide views of witchcraft|an overview of Neopagan witchcraft|Neopagan witchcraft|the modern pagan religion|Wicca|other uses|Witchcraft (disambiguation)}} {{redirect|Witch|other uses|Witch (disambiguation)}} {{witchcraft sidebar|all}} {{magic sidebar|Forms}} '''Witchcraft''', as most commonly understood in both historical and present-day communities, is the use of alleged supernatural powers of [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]]. A '''witch''' is a practitioner of witchcraft. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning.<ref name=HuttonFear>{{Cite book |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |title=The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present |date=2017 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |author-link=Ronald Hutton}}</ref>{{rp|ix}}<ref name=Thomas>{{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Keith |title=Religion and the Decline of Magic |date=1997 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0297002208 |location=Oxford, England |page=519 |author-link=Keith Thomas (historian)}}</ref> According to ''Encyclopedia Britannica'',<!--summarizing recent sources--> "Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination of contemporaries than in any objective reality. Yet this stereotype has a long history and has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first1=Jeffrey Burton |last1=Russell |first2=Ioan M. |last2=Lewis |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Witchcraft |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/witchcraft |access-date=2023-07-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628125818/https://www.britannica.com/topic/witchcraft |archive-date=2023-06-28 |quote=Although defined differently in disparate historical and cultural contexts, witchcraft has often been seen, especially in the West, as the work of crones who meet secretly at night, indulge in cannibalism and orgiastic rites with the Devil, or Satan, and perform black magic. Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination of contemporaries than in any objective reality. Yet this stereotype has a long history and has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world.}}</ref> The belief in witchcraft has been found in a great number of societies worldwide. [[Anthropologist]]s have applied the English term "witchcraft" to similar beliefs in [[occult]] practices in many different cultures, and societies that have adopted the English language have often internalised the term.<ref name="Singh">{{Cite journal |last=Singh |first=Manvir |date=2021-02-02 |title=Magic, Explanations, and Evil: The Origins and Design of Witches and Sorcerers |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349617609 |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=2–29 |doi=10.1086/713111 |s2cid=232214522 |issn=0011-3204 |access-date=2021-04-28 |archive-date=2021-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192653/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349617609_Magic_Explanations_and_Evil_The_Origins_and_Design_of_Witches_and_Sorcerers |url-status=live }}</ref>{{r|Thomas}}<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> In [[Europe]], belief in witchcraft [[European witchcraft|traces back to classical antiquity]]. In [[Middle Ages|medieval]] and [[early modern Europe]], accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used [[black magic]] or ''[[Maleficium (sorcery)|maleficium]]'' against their own community. Usually, accusations of witchcraft were made by their neighbors and followed from social tensions. Witches were sometimes said to have communed with evil beings or [[Deal with the Devil|with the Devil]], though anthropologist [[Jean La Fontaine]] notes that such accusations were mainly made against "enemies of the Church".<ref>{{cite book |last=La Fontaine |first=J. |year=2016 |title=Witches and Demons: A Comparative Perspective on Witchcraft and Satanism |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1785330865 |pages=33–34}}</ref> It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by [[Apotropaic magic|protective magic or counter-magic]], which could be provided by the '[[cunning folk]]' or 'wise people'. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European [[witch-hunt]]s and [[witch trials in the early modern period]] led to tens of thousands of executions. While magical healers and [[midwife|midwives]] were sometimes accused of witchcraft themselves,<ref name=DaviesPopular>{{cite book |title= Cunning-Folk: Popular Magic in English History |last= Davies, Owen |author-link= Owen Davies (historian) |year= 2003|publisher= Hambledon Continuum|location= London |isbn=978-1-85285-297-9}}</ref>{{rp|pages=7–13}}{{r|Thomas|p=519}}<ref name="Riddle">{{cite book |last1=Riddle |first1=John M. |title=Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West |date=1997 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Mass. |isbn=0674270266 |pages=110–119}}</ref><ref name="Ehrenreich"> {{cite book |last1=Ehrenreich |first1=Barbara |last2=English |first2=Deirdre |title=Witches, Midwives & Nurses: A History of Women Healers |date=2010 |publisher=[[Feminist Press]] at CUNY |location=New York |isbn=978-1558616905 |edition=Second}}</ref>{{rp| [https://archive.org/details/witchesmidwivesn0000ehre/page/30/mode/2up 31-59]}} they made up a minority of those accused. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. Many [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] belief systems that include the concept of witchcraft likewise define witches as malevolent, and seek healers and [[Medicine man|medicine people]] for protection against witchcraft.<ref name=Demetrio>Demetrio, F. R. (1988). Philippine Studies Vol. 36, No. 3: Shamans, Witches and Philippine Society, pp. 372-380. Ateneo de Manila University.</ref><ref name="tan">{{Cite book |last=Tan |first=Michael L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EktzHrfup1UC |title=Revisiting Usog, Pasma, Kulam |publisher=University of the Philippines Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-9715425704 |access-date=2020-09-17 |archive-date=2021-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126013249/https://books.google.com/books?id=EktzHrfup1UC |url-status=live }}</ref> Some African and Melanesian peoples believe witches are driven by an evil spirit or substance inside them. [[Modern witch-hunts|Modern witch-hunting]] takes place in parts of Africa and Asia. Today, followers of certain types of [[modern paganism]] self-identify as witches and use the term [[Neopagan witchcraft|witchcraft]] for their beliefs and practices.<ref name="Doyle White 1">{{cite book |last=Doyle White |first=Ethan |title=Wicca: History, Belief, and Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft |publisher=Liverpool University Press |pages=1–9, 73 |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-84519-754-4 }}</ref><ref name="DJBaC">{{Cite journal |last1=Berger |first1=Helen A. |last2=Ezzy |first2=Douglas |date=September 2009 |title=Mass Media and Religious Identity: A Case Study of Young Witches |journal=Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=501–514 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01462.x |jstor=40405642}}</ref><ref name=NewAgeWitchcraft>{{cite contribution |contribution=An Update on Neopagan Witchcraft in America |last=Kelly |first=Aidan A. |author-link=Aidan A. Kelly |title=Perspectives on the New Age |editor1=James R. Lewis |editor2=J. Gordon Melton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/perspectivesonne0000unse_m6u6/page/136 136–151] |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany|year=1992 |isbn=978-0791412138 |url=https://archive.org/details/perspectivesonne0000unse_m6u6 }}</ref> Other neo-pagans avoid the term due to its negative connotations.<ref name="Lewis 376">{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=James |title=Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft |date=1996 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |page=376}}</ref> {{TOC limit|3}} ==Concept== [[File:Baldung Hexen 1508 kol.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|''[[The Witches (Hans Baldung)|The Witches]]'' by [[Hans Baldung]] (woodcut), 1508]] The concept of witchcraft and the belief in its existence have persisted throughout recorded history. According to the [[United Nations Special Rapporteur]] on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions there is "difficulty of defining 'witches' and 'witchcraft' across cultures{{--}}terms that, quite apart from their connotations in popular culture, may include an array of [[traditional medicine|traditional]] or [[faith healing]] practices and are not easily defined".<ref>https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/ie-albinism/witchcraft-and-human-rights</ref> The most common meaning of "witchcraft" worldwide is the use of harmful magic.{{r|HuttonFear|p=3–4}} Belief in malevolent magic has been found in cultures worldwide, regardless of development.<ref name="Singh" /><ref name=AnkarlooClark>{{Cite book |last1=Ankarloo |first1=Bengt |title=Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Biblical and Pagan Societies |last2=Clark |first2=Stuart |date=2001 |publisher=[[University of Philadelphia Press]] |isbn=978-0826486066 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania}}</ref>{{rp|page=xiii}} Most societies have feared an ability by some individuals to cause supernatural harm and misfortune to others. This may come from mankind's tendency "to want to assign occurrences of remarkable good or bad luck to agency, either human or superhuman".{{r|HuttonFear|p=10}} Historians and anthropologists see the concept of "witchcraft" as one of the ways humans have tried to explain strange misfortune.{{r|HuttonFear|p=10}}<ref name="Moro" /> Some cultures have feared witchcraft much less than others, because they tend to have other explanations for strange misfortune.{{r|HuttonFear|p=10}} For example, the [[Gaels]] of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands historically held a strong belief in [[Aos Sí|fairy folk]], who could cause supernatural harm, and witch-hunting was very rare in these regions compared to other regions of the British Isles.{{r|HuttonFear|p=245}} Historian [[Ronald Hutton]] outlined five key characteristics ascribed to witches and witchcraft by most cultures that believe in this concept: the use of magic to cause harm or misfortune to others; it was used by the witch against their own community; powers of witchcraft were believed to have been acquired through inheritance or initiation; it was seen as immoral and often thought to involve communion with evil beings; and witchcraft could be thwarted by defensive magic, persuasion, intimidation or physical punishment of the alleged witch.{{r|HuttonFear|p=3–4}}{{efn|An extract from Hutton's ''The Witch'' covering this topic can be read online at https://yalebooksblog.co.uk/2017/07/31/five-characteristics-of-a-witch-an-extract-by-ronald-hutton/ {{r|HuttonFear|p=3-4}}}} It is commonly believed that witches use objects, words, and gestures to cause supernatural harm or that they simply have an innate power to do so. Hutton notes that both kinds of practitioners are often believed to exist in the same culture and that the two often overlap, in that someone with an inborn power could wield that power through material objects.{{r|HuttonFear|p=19–22}} One of the most influential works on witchcraft and concepts of magic was [[E. E. Evans-Pritchard]]'s ''Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande'', a study of [[Azande witchcraft]] beliefs published in 1937. This provided definitions for witchcraft which became a convention in anthropology.<ref name="Moro">{{cite book | chapter-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1915 | doi=10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1915 | chapter=Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Magic | title=The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology | date=2017 | last1=Moro | first1=Pamela A. | pages=1–9 | isbn=9780470657225 }}</ref> However, some researchers argue that the general adoption of Evans-Pritchard's definitions constrained discussion of witchcraft beliefs, and even broader discussion of [[magic and religion]], in ways that his work does not support.<ref name=Mills /> Evans-Pritchard reserved the term "witchcraft" for the actions of those who inflict harm by their inborn power and used "sorcery" for those who needed tools to do so.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans-Pritchard |first=Edward Evan |url=https://archive.org/details/witchcraftoracle00evan/page/8 |title=Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande |date=1937 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0198740292 |location=Oxford |pages=[https://archive.org/details/witchcraftoracle00evan/page/8 8–9] |author-link=E. E. Evans-Pritchard}}</ref> Historians found these definitions difficult to apply to European witchcraft, where witches were believed to use physical techniques, as well as some who were believed to cause harm by thought alone.{{r|Thomas|pages=464–465}}<ref>Ankarloo, Bengt and Henningsen, Gustav (1990) ''Early Modern European Witchcraft: Centres and Peripheries''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 1, 14.</ref> The distinction "has now largely been abandoned, although some anthropologists still sometimes find it relevant to the particular societies with which they are concerned".{{r|HuttonFear|p=19–22}} While most cultures believe witchcraft to be something willful, some Indigenous peoples in Africa and Melanesia believe witches have a substance or an evil spirit in their bodies that drives them to do harm.{{r|HuttonFear|p=19–22}} However, such substances are described in other accounts as being able to act on their own while the witch is sleeping or unaware.<ref name=Mills>https://www.jstor.org/stable/42002806 The opposite of witchcraft: Evans-Pritchard and the problem of the person Martin A. Mills The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 19, No. 1 (March 2013)</ref> The Dobu people believe women work harmful magic in their sleep while men work it while awake.{{r|HuttonFear|p=18-19}} Further, in cultures where substances within the body are believed to grant supernatural powers, the substance may be good, bad, or morally neutral.<ref>https://www.nigerianjournalsonline.com/index.php/najp/article/download/1925/1881</ref><ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.4314/afrrev.v9i3.9 | title=Socio-Missiological Significance of Witchcraft Belief and Practice in Africa | date=2015 | last1=Gbule | first1=NJ | last2=Odili | first2=JU | journal=African Research Review | volume=9 | issue=3 | page=99 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Hutton draws a distinction between those who unwittingly cast the [[evil eye]] and those who deliberately do so, describing only the latter as witches.{{r|HuttonFear|p=10}} The universal or cross-cultural validity of these terms are debated.<ref name="Moro" /> Hutton states: {{blockquote|[Malevolent magic] is, however, only one current usage of the word. In fact, Anglo-American senses of it now take at least four different forms, although the one discussed above seems still to be the most widespread and frequent. The others define the witch figure as any person who uses magic{{nbsp}}... or as the practitioner of nature-based Pagan religion; or as a symbol of independent female authority and resistance to male domination. All have validity in the present.{{r|HuttonFear|p=10}}}} Dr. Fiona Bowie notes that the terms "witchcraft" and "witch" are used differently by scholars and the general public in at least four different ways that must be treated separately.<ref name="Moro" /> Neopagan writer [[Isaac Bonewits]] proposed dividing witches into even more distinct types including, but not limited to: Neopagan, Feminist, Neogothic, Neoclassical, Classical, Family Traditions, Immigrant Traditions, and Ethnic.<ref name=AdlerDrawing>{{Cite book |last=Adler |first=Margot |title=Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today |date=2006 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=New York City |oclc=515560 |author-link=Margot Adler}}</ref>{{rp|65-68}} == Etymology == {{Further|Witch (word)}} The word is over a thousand years old: [[Old English]] formed the compound {{Lang|ang|wiccecræft}} from {{Lang|ang|wicce}} ('witch') and {{Lang|ang|cræft}} ('craft').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |title=witchcraft (n.) |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=witchcraft&allowed_in_frame=0 |access-date=29 October 2013 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |archive-date=5 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105052512/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=witchcraft&allowed_in_frame=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> The masculine form was {{Lang|ang|wicca}} ('male sorcerer').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home : Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://oed.com/start;jsessionid=5EF3CA6F4DB30EFC0E4768781B858944?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F229574 |website=oed.com |access-date=2021-07-18 |archive-date=2021-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192633/https://oed.com/start;jsessionid=5EF3CA6F4DB30EFC0E4768781B858944?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F229574 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], ''wicce'' and ''wicca'' were probably derived from the Old English verb {{Lang|ang|wiccian}}, meaning 'to practice witchcraft'.<ref>{{Cite OED|witch}}</ref> ''Wiccian'' has a cognate in [[Middle Low German]] {{Lang|gml|wicken}} (attested from the 13th century). The further etymology of this word is problematic. It has no clear cognates in other [[Germanic languages]] outside of English and Low German, and there are numerous possibilities for the [[Indo-European root]] from which it may have derived. Another Old English word for 'witch' was {{Lang|ang|hægtes}} or {{Lang|ang|hægtesse}}, which became the modern English word "[[hag]]" and is linked to the word "[[curse|hex]]". In most other Germanic languages, their word for 'witch' comes from the same root as these; for example [[German language|German]] ''Hexe'' and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''heks''.<ref>{{cite web |title=hag (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/hag |website=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]}}</ref> In colloquial modern [[English language|English]], the word ''witch'' is particularly used for women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witch|title=Definition of WITCH|website=www.merriam-webster.com|access-date=12 October 2023}}</ref> A male practitioner of magic or witchcraft is more commonly called a '[[Magic (supernatural)|wizard]]', or sometimes, 'warlock'. When the word ''witch'' is used to refer to a member of a neo-pagan tradition or religion (such as [[Wicca]]), it can refer to a person of any gender.{{cn|date=October 2023}} == Beliefs about practices == [[File:Hexenszene 1700.JPG|thumb|''Preparation for the Witches' Sabbath'' by [[David Teniers the Younger]]. It shows a witch brewing a potion overlooked by her [[familiar spirit]] or a demon; items on the floor for casting a spell; and another witch reading from a [[grimoire]] while anointing the buttocks of a young witch about to fly upon an inverted [[besom]].]] Witches are commonly believed to cast [[curse]]s; a [[Incantation|spell]] or set of magical words and gestures intended to inflict supernatural harm.<ref name=LevackOxford>{{cite book |last1=Levack |first1=Brian |title=The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>{{rp|54}} Cursing could also involve inscribing [[runes]] or [[sigil (magic)|sigils]] on an object to give that object magical powers; burning or binding a wax or clay image (a [[poppet]]) of a person to affect them magically; or using [[herb]]s, animal parts and other substances to make [[potion]]s or poisons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Luck |first=Georg |title=Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds; a Collection of Ancient Texts |date=1985 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |isbn=978-0801825231 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |pages=254, 260, 394 |author-link=Georg Luck}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kittredge |first=George Lyman |title=Witchcraft in Old and New England |date=1929 |publisher=Russell & Russell |isbn=978-0674182325 |location=New York City |page=172}}</ref><ref name=DaviesWitch>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Owen |url=https://archive.org/details/witchcraftmagicc00davi |title=Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 1736–1951 |date=1999 |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |isbn=978-0719056567 |location=Manchester, England |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{r|HuttonFear|p=19-22}} Witchcraft has been blamed for many kinds of misfortune. In Europe, by far the most common kind of harm attributed to witchcraft was illness or death suffered by adults, their children, or their animals. "Certain ailments, like impotence in men, infertility in women, and lack of milk in cows, were particularly associated with witchcraft". Illnesses that were poorly understood were more likely to be blamed on witchcraft. Edward Bever writes: "Witchcraft was particularly likely to be suspected when a disease came on unusually swiftly, lingered unusually long, could not be diagnosed clearly, or presented some other unusual symptoms".{{r|LevackOxford|p=54-55}} A common belief in cultures worldwide is that witches tend to use something from their target's body to work magic against them; for example hair, nail clippings, clothing, or bodily waste. Such beliefs are found in Europe, Africa, South Asia, Polynesia, Melanesia, and North America.{{r|HuttonFear|p=19-22}} Another widespread belief among Indigenous peoples in Africa and North America is that witches cause harm by introducing cursed magical objects into their victim's body; such as small bones or ashes.{{r|HuttonFear|p=19-22}} [[James George Frazer]] described this kind of magic as [[sympathetic magic|imitative]].{{efn|"If we analyze the principles of thought on which magic is based, they will probably be found to resolve themselves into two: first, that like produces like, or that an effect resembles its cause; and, second, that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. The former principle may be called the Law of Similarity, the latter the Law of Contact or Contagion. From the first of these principles, namely the Law of Similarity, the magician infers that he can produce any effect he desires merely by imitating it: from the second he infers that whatever he does to a material object will affect equally the person with whom the object was once in contact, whether it formed part of his body or not."<ref name=Golden>{{Cite book |last=Frazer |first=James |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3623/3623-h/3623-h.htm#c3section1 |title=The Golden Bough |date=1922 |publisher=Bartleby}}</ref>}} In some cultures, witches are believed to use human body parts in magic,{{r|HuttonFear|p=19-22}} and they are commonly believed to [[Infanticide|murder children]] for this purpose. In Europe, "cases in which women did undoubtedly kill their children, because of what today would be called [[postpartum psychosis]], were often interpreted as yielding to diabolical temptation".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burns |first1=William |title=Witch Hunts in Europe and America: An Encyclopedia |date=2003 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |pages=141–142}}</ref> Witches are believed to work in secret, sometimes alone and sometimes with other witches. Hutton writes: "Across most of the world, witches have been thought to gather at night, when normal humans are inactive, and also at their most vulnerable in sleep".{{r|HuttonFear|p=19-22}} In most cultures, witches at these gatherings are thought to transgress social norms by engaging in cannibalism, incest and open nudity.{{r|HuttonFear|p=19-22}} Witches around the world commonly have associations with animals.{{r|HuttonFear|p=264-277}} [[Rodney Needham]] identified this as a defining feature of the witch archetype.<ref>Rodney Needham, Primordial Characters, Charlottesville, Va, 1978, 26, 42</ref> In some parts of the world, it is believed witches can [[Shapeshifting|shapeshift]] into animals,{{r|HuttonFear|p=264}} or that the witch's spirit travels apart from their body and takes an animal form, an activity often associated with [[shamanism]].{{r|HuttonFear|p=264}} Another widespread belief is that witches have an animal helper.{{r|HuttonFear|p=264}} In English these are often called "[[familiar]]s", and meant an evil spirit or demon that had taken an animal form.{{r|HuttonFear|p=264}} As researchers examined traditions in other regions, they widened the term to servant spirit-animals which are described as a part of the witch's own soul.{{r|HuttonFear|p=269}} [[Necromancy]] is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for [[divination]] or [[prophecy]], although the term has also been applied to raising the dead for other purposes. The biblical [[Witch of Endor]] performed it (1 Samuel 28th chapter), and it is among the witchcraft practices condemned by [[Ælfric of Eynsham]]:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Semple |first=Sarah |date=December 2003 |title=Illustrations of damnation in late Anglo-Saxon manuscripts |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/3709/1/3709.pdf |journal=Anglo-Saxon England |volume=32 |pages=231–245 |doi=10.1017/S0263675103000115 |s2cid=161982897 |access-date=2018-10-26 |archive-date=2020-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731181142/http://dro.dur.ac.uk/3709/1/3709.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Semple |first=Sarah |date=June 1998 |title=A fear of the past: The place of the prehistoric burial mound in the ideology of middle and later Anglo-Saxon England |journal=World Archaeology |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=109–126 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1998.9980400 |jstor=125012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pope |first=J.C. |title=Homilies of Aelfric: a supplementary collection (Early English Text Society 260) |date=1968 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |volume=II |location=Oxford, England |page=796}}</ref> "Witches still go to cross-roads and to heathen burials with their delusive magic and call to the [[devil]]; and he comes to them in the likeness of the man that is buried there, as if he arises from death."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meaney |first=Audrey L. |date=December 1984 |title=Æfric and Idolatry |journal=Journal of Religious History |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=119–135 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9809.1984.tb00191.x}}</ref> == Witchcraft and folk healers == {{Main|Cunning folk}} [[File:Diorama of a Cunning Woman in the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic.jpg|thumb|[[Diorama]] of a cunning woman or wise woman in the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic]] Most societies that have believed in harmful or [[black magic|black]] magic have also believed in helpful magic. Some have called it [[white magic]], at least in more recent times.{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} Where belief in harmful magic exists, its use is typically forbidden by law as well as hated and feared by the general populace, while helpful "[[white magic|white]]" or [[Apotropaic magic|apotropaic]] magic is tolerated or even accepted wholesale by the population, even if the orthodox establishment opposes it.<ref name=HuttonArthur>{{Cite book |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqPbJQkSo8EC&q=alleged+practices+witchcraft&pg=PA203 |title=Witches, Druids and King Arthur |date=2006 |publisher=[[A&C Black]] |isbn=978-1852855550 |location=London|language=en |access-date=2020-11-22 |archive-date=2021-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192634/https://books.google.com/books?id=QqPbJQkSo8EC&q=alleged+practices+witchcraft&pg=PA203 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|203}} In these societies, practitioners of helpful magic, usually known as [[cunning folk]], have traditionally{{Clarify timeframe|date=October 2023}} provided services such as breaking the effects of witchcraft, [[Traditional medicine|healing]], [[divination]], finding lost or stolen goods, and [[love magic]].{{r|HuttonFear|p=x-xi}} In Britain, and some other parts of Europe, they were commonly known as [[Cunning folk in Britain|cunning folk]] or wise people.{{r|HuttonFear|p=x-xi}} Alan McFarlane wrote that while cunning folk is the usual name, some are also known as 'blessers' or 'wizards', but might also be known as 'white', 'good', or 'unbinding witches'.<ref name=Macfarlane>{{Cite book |last=Macfarlane |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmfuwq0mQMUC&pg=PA130 |title=Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A Regional and Comparative Study |year= 1999 |publisher=Psychology Press |page=130 |isbn=978-0415196123 }}</ref> Historian [[Owen Davies (historian)|Owen Davies]] says the term "white witch" was rarely used before the 20th century.{{r|DaviesPopular|page=xiii}} Ronald Hutton uses the general term "service magicians".{{r|HuttonFear|p=x-xi}} Often these people were involved in identifying alleged witches.{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} Such helpful magic-workers "were normally contrasted with the witch who practiced ''maleficium''—that is, magic used for harmful ends".<ref name=Willis>{{cite book |last1=Willis |first1=Deborah |title=Malevolent Nurture: Witch-Hunting and Maternal Power in Early Modern England |date=2018 |publisher=Cornell University Press}}</ref>{{rp|p=27-28}} In the early years of the witch hunts "the cunning folk were widely tolerated by church, state and general populace".{{r|Willis|p=27-28}} Some of the more hostile churchmen and secular authorities tried to smear folk-healers and magic-workers by falsely branding them 'witches' and associating them with harmful 'witchcraft',{{r|HuttonFear|p=x-xi}} but generally the masses did not accept this and continued to make use of their services.<ref>Ole Peter Grell and Robert W. Scribner (2002). Tolerance and Intolerance in the European Reformation. Cambridge University Press. p. 45. "Not all the stereotypes created by elites were capable of popular reception ... The most interesting example concerns cunning folk, whom secular and religious authorities consistently sought to associate with negative stereotypes of superstition or witchcraft. This proved no deterrent to their activities or to the positive evaluation in the popular mind of what they had to offer."</ref> The English [[Member of parliament|MP]] and skeptic [[Reginald Scot]] sought to disprove magic and witchcraft, writing in ''[[The Discoverie of Witchcraft]]'' (1584), "At this day, it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, 'she is a witch' or 'she is a wise woman'".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scot |first=Reginald |title=The Discoverie of Witchcraft |date=1584 |volume=Booke V |chapter=Chapter 9 |author-link=Reginald Scot}}</ref> Historian [[Keith Thomas (historian)|Keith Thomas]] adds "Nevertheless, it is possible to isolate that kind of 'witchcraft' which involved the employment (or presumed employment) of some occult means of doing harm to other people in a way which was generally disapproved of. In this sense the belief in witchcraft can be defined as the attribution of misfortune to occult human agency".{{r|Thomas|p=519}} [[Emma Wilby]] says folk magicians in Europe were viewed ambivalently by communities, and were considered as capable of harming as of healing,<ref name="Wilby">Wilby, Emma (2006) ''[[Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits]]''.</ref>{{rp|p=51–54}} which could lead to their being accused as malevolent witches. She suggests some English "witches" convicted of consorting with demons may have been cunning folk whose supposed [[fairy]] [[familiar spirit|familiar]]s had been [[Demonization|demonised]].{{r|Wilby|p=123}} [[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}} Likewise, [[Owen Davies (historian)|Davies]] says "relatively few cunning-folk were prosecuted under secular statutes for witchcraft" and were dealt with more leniently than alleged witches. The [[Constitutio Criminalis Carolina]] (1532) of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and the Danish Witchcraft Act of 1617, stated that workers of folk magic should be dealt with differently from witches.{{r|DaviesPopular|page=164}} It was suggested by [[Richard Horsley]] that cunning folk ({{Lang|fr|devins-guerisseurs}}, 'diviner-healers') made up a significant proportion of those tried for witchcraft in France and Switzerland, but more recent surveys conclude that they made up less than 2% of the accused.{{r|DaviesPopular|page=167}} However, [[Éva Pócs]] says that half the accused witches in Hungary seem to have been healers,{{r|Pocs|p=12}} and Kathleen Stokker says the "vast majority" of Norway's accused witches were folk healers.<ref name="Stokker">{{cite book |last1=Stokker |first1=Kathleen |title=Remedies and Rituals: Folk Medicine in Norway and the New Land |date=2007 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press |location=St. Paul, MN |isbn=978-0873517508 |pages=81–82 |quote=Supernatural healing of the sort practiced by Inger Roed and Lisbet Nypan, known as ''signeri'', played a role in the vast majority of Norway's 263 documented witch trials. In trial after trial, accused 'witches' came forward and freely testified about their healing methods, telling about the salves they made and the ''bønner'' (prayers) they read over them to enhance their potency.}}</ref> ==Witch-hunts and thwarting witchcraft== {{globalize|section|date=August 2023}} [[File:Witch Bottles Curse Protection.jpg|thumb|A witch bottle, used as counter-magic against witchcraft]] Societies that believed in witchcraft also believed that it could be thwarted in various ways. One common way was to use [[Apotropaic magic|protective magic or counter-magic]], of which the [[cunning folk]] were experts.{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} This included charms, [[talisman]]s and [[amulet]]s, anti-[[Apotropaic mark|witch marks]], [[witch bottle]]s, [[witch ball]]s, and burying objects such as [[horse skulls]] inside the walls of buildings.<ref>Hoggard, Brian (2004). "The archaeology of counter-witchcraft and popular magic", in ''Beyond the Witch Trials: Witchcraft and Magic in Enlightenment Europe'', Manchester University Press. p. 167{{ISBN?}}</ref> Another believed cure for bewitchment was to persuade or force the alleged witch to lift their spell.{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} Often, people would attempt to thwart the witchcraft by physically punishing the alleged witch, such as by banishing, wounding, torturing or killing them. "In most societies, however, a formal and legal remedy was preferred to this sort of private action", whereby the alleged witch would be prosecuted and then formally punished if found guilty.{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} This often resulted in execution. === Accusations of witchcraft === [[File:There is a flock of yellow birds around her head.jpg|thumb|Alleged witches being accused in the [[Salem witch trials]]]] Throughout the world, accusations of witchcraft are often linked to social and economic tensions. Females are most often accused, but in some cultures it is mostly males. In many societies, accusations are directed mainly against the elderly, but in others age is not a factor, and in some cultures it is mainly adolescents who are accused.{{r|HuttonFear|p=15}} [[Éva Pócs]] writes that reasons for accusations of witchcraft fall into four general categories. The first three of which were proposed by [[Richard Kieckhefer]], and the fourth added by [[Christina Larner]]:{{r|Pocs|p=9-10}} # A person was caught in the act of positive or negative [[Sorcery (goetia)|sorcery]] # A well-meaning sorcerer or healer lost their clients' or the authorities' trust # A person did nothing more than gain the enmity of their neighbors # A person was reputed to be a witch and surrounded with an aura of witch-beliefs or [[occultism]]. ===Modern witch-hunts=== {{main|Witch-hunt|Witch trials in the early modern period|Modern witch-hunts}} Witch-hunts, scapegoating, and the [[shunning]] or [[murder]] of suspected witches still occurs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearlman |first=Jonathan |date=11 April 2013 |title=Papua New Guinea urged to halt witchcraft violence after latest 'sorcery' case |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group]] |location=London, England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/papuanewguinea/9987294/Papua-New-Guinea-urged-to-halt-witchcraft-violence-after-latest-sorcery-case.html |access-date=5 April 2018 |archive-date=11 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211174243/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/papuanewguinea/9987294/Papua-New-Guinea-urged-to-halt-witchcraft-violence-after-latest-sorcery-case.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Many cultures worldwide continue to have a belief in the concept of "witchcraft" or malevolent magic.{{r|AnkarlooClark}} Apart from [[Extrajudicial punishment|extrajudicial violence]], state-sanctioned violence also occurs in some jurisdictions. For instance, in [[Saudi Arabia]] practicing witchcraft and sorcery is a crime [[punishable by death]] and the country has executed people for this crime in 2011, 2012 and 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saudi woman beheaded for 'witchcraft and sorcery' |date=13 December 2011 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/13/world/meast/saudi-arabia-beheading/ |access-date=2014-06-07 |publisher=Edition.cnn.com |archive-date=2020-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521231628/https://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/13/world/meast/saudi-arabia-beheading/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-06-19 |title= Saudi man executed for 'witchcraft and sorcery' |work=BBC News |publisher=Bbc.com |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18503550 |access-date=2014-06-07 |archive-date=2019-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530091343/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18503550 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="di Giovanni">{{Cite news |last=di Giovanni |first=Janine |date=14 October 2014 |title=When It Comes to Beheadings, ISIS Has Nothing Over Saudi Arabia |work=Newsweek |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/24/when-it-comes-beheadings-isis-has-nothing-over-saudi-arabia-277385.html |access-date=17 October 2014 |archive-date=16 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016223514/http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/24/when-it-comes-beheadings-isis-has-nothing-over-saudi-arabia-277385.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Witchcraft-related violence is often discussed as a serious issue in the broader context of [[violence against women]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013 |title=A Global Issue that Demands Action |url=http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/Co-publications/Femicide_A%20Gobal%20Issue%20that%20demands%20Action.pdf |access-date=2014-06-07 |publisher=the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Office |archive-date=2014-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630215522/http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/Co-publications/Femicide_A%20Gobal%20Issue%20that%20demands%20Action.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Diwan |first=Mohammed |date=1 July 2004 |title=Conflict between State Legal Norms and Norms Underlying Popular Beliefs: Witchcraft in Africa as a Case Study |url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/djcil/vol14/iss2/5/ |journal=Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=351–388 |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225231102/https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/djcil/vol14/iss2/5/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |date= 2009 |title=Witch Hunts in Modern South Africa: An Under-represented Facet of Gender-based Violence |url=http://www.mrc.ac.za/crime/witchhunts.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425074549/http://www.mrc.ac.za/crime/witchhunts.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-25 |access-date=2014-06-07 |publisher=MRC-UNISA Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programm |citeseerx=10.1.1.694.6630}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepal: Witchcraft as a Superstition and a form of violence against women in Nepal |url=http://www.humanrights.asia/opinions/columns/AHRC-ETC-056-2011 |access-date=2014-06-07 |website=Humanrights.asia |publisher=Asian Human Rights Commission |archive-date=2014-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625033851/http://www.humanrights.asia/opinions/columns/AHRC-ETC-056-2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adinkrah |first=Mensah |date=April 2004 |title=Witchcraft Accusations and Female Homicide Victimization in Contemporary Ghana |journal=Violence Against Women |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=325–356 |doi=10.1177/1077801204263419 |s2cid=146650565}}</ref> In Tanzania, an estimated 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft or accusations of being a witch, according to a 2014 [[World Health Organization]] report.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Report on Violence and Health |url=https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap5.pdf |access-date=2014-06-07 |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |archive-date=2014-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124045330/http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap5.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Children who live in some regions of the world, such as parts of Africa, are also vulnerable to violence that is related to witchcraft accusations.<ref>Bussien, Nathaly et al. 2011. Breaking the spell: Responding to witchcraft accusations against children, in New Issues in refugee Research (197). Geneva, Switzerland: UNHCR</ref><ref>Cimpric, Aleksandra 2010. Children accused of witchcraft, An anthropological study of contemporary practices in Africa. Dakar, Senegal: UNICEF WCARO</ref><ref>Molina, Javier Aguilar 2006. "The Invention of Child Witches in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Social cleansing, religious commerce and the difficulties of being a parent in an urban culture". London: Save the Children</ref><ref>Human Rights Watch 2006. Children in the DRC. Human Rights Watch report, 18 (2)</ref> Such incidents have also occurred in immigrant communities in the UK, including the much publicized case of the [[murder of Victoria Climbié]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-03-05 |title=Witchcraft murder: Couple jailed for Kristy Bamu killing |work=BBC News |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17255470 |access-date=2014-06-08 |archive-date=2014-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408060045/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17255470 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dangerfield |first=Andy |date=2012-03-01 |title=Government urged to tackle 'witchcraft belief' child abuse |work=BBC News |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17006924 |access-date=2014-06-08 |archive-date=2014-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008203907/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17006924 |url-status=live }}</ref> == Religious perspectives == {{Anchor|Historical and religious perspectives}} ===Ancient Mesopotamian religion=== {{Main|Witchcraft in the Middle East}} Working magic was widely accepted and deeply integrated into the religion and the wider Mesopotamian society.{{r|HuttonFear|p=49}} According to Tzvi Abusch, the early stages of the development of witchcraft (''ipšū'' or ''kišpū''{{sfnp|Reiner|1995|p=97}}) in ancient [[Mesopotamia]] were "comparable to the archaic shamanistic stage of European witchcraft".{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}} In this early stage, witches were not necessarily considered evil, but took white and black forms and could help others using a combination of magical and medical knowledge.{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}} They generally lived in rural areas and sometimes exhibited ecstatic behavior,{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}} which was more usually associated with the ''[[ašipu]]'' (exorcist), whose main function at this stage of development was to battle non-human supernatural forces.{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}} In [[ancient Mesopotamian religion]], witches (m. ''kaššāpu'', f. ''kaššāptu'', from ''kašāpu'' ['to bewitch']{{sfnp|Reiner|1995|p=97}}) eventually{{when?|date=September 2023}} came to be "regarded as an anti-social and illegitimate practitioner of destructive magic ... whose activities were motivated by malice and evil intent and who was opposed by the ''[[ašipu]]'', an exorcist or incantation-priest",{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}} who were predominantly male representatives of the official state religion.{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}} The individuals mentioned in records of Mesopotamian society as witches tended to be those of low status who were weak or otherwise marginalized, including women, foreigners, actors, and peddlers.{{r|HuttonFear|p=49}} By the time of the [[Code of Hammurabi]] (about 2000 BC), the use of magic to harm others without justification was subject to legal repercussions: {{blockquote|If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the [[holy river]]; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him.<ref>The Oldest Code of Laws in the World By C.H.W. Johns https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17150/17150-h/17150-h.htm</ref>{{efn|There is some discrepancy between translations; compare the displayed text with that of the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm article on Witchcraft] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211045956/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm |date=2021-02-11 }} (accessed 31 March 2006)<ref name=CathEnWitch>{{Cite web |date=1912-10-01 |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Witchcraft |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm |access-date=2013-10-31 |publisher=Newadvent.org |archive-date=2021-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211045956/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hamframe.htm L. W. King translation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916163034/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hamframe.htm |date=2007-09-16 }} (accessed 31 March 2006).}}}} The ''ašipu'', in their continued efforts to suppress witchcraft,{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}} developed an [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] anti-witchcraft ritual, the [[Maqlû]], probably composed in the early first millennium BC.<ref name=abusch>{{cite book |title=The Witchcraft Series Maqlû |first=Tzvi |last=Abusch |isbn=978-1628370829 |series=Writings from the Ancient World |volume=37 |publisher=SBL Press |year=2015 |pages=5}}</ref> ===Confucianism=== {{main|Chinese shamanism}} During the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (141 BCE to 87 BCE) in the [[Western Han Dynasty]] of China, there were instances where the imperial court took measures to suppress certain religious or spiritual practices, including those associated with [[shamanism]]. Emperor Wu was known for his strong support of [[Confucianism]], which was the dominant ideology of the Han Dynasty, and he promoted policies that aimed to consolidate central authority and unify the cultural and social landscape of the empire.<ref name=Cai>{{cite book |last=Cai |first=L. |year=2014 |title=Witchcraft and the Rise of the First Confucian Empire |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1438448497}}</ref> One notable event related to the suppression of shamanism occurred in 91 BCE, when Emperor Wu issued an edict that banned a range of "heterodox" practices, including shamanistic rituals and divination, in favor of Confucianism. The primary target of these measures was the [[Wuism]] or Wu (巫) tradition, which involved the worship of spirits and the use of shamanic practices to communicate with them. Wuism was considered by the Confucian elite to be superstitious witchcraft and at odds with Confucian principles.{{r|Cai|page=1}} Emperor Wu's suppression of shamanism was part of a larger effort to centralize power, promote Confucian ethics, and standardize cultural practices. While the ban on shamanistic practices did impact certain communities and religious groups, these measures were not universally applied across the vast territory of the empire. Local variations and practices persisted in some regions despite imperial edicts.{{r|Cai}} The historical record from that time is limited, and our understanding of these events can be influenced by the perspectives of the Confucian scholars and officials who documented them. As a result, there might be some variations in the interpretation of the exact nature and extent of the expulsion of shamans and other religious practitioners during Emperor Wu's reign.{{r|Cai}} ===Abrahamic religions=== Witchcraft's historical evolution in the Middle East reveals a multi-phase journey influenced by [[culture]], [[spirituality]], and societal norms. Ancient witchcraft in the Near East intertwined [[mysticism]] with nature through [[Ritual|rituals]] and [[Incantation|incantations]] aligned with local beliefs. In ancient [[Judaism]], magic had a complex relationship, with some forms accepted due to [[mysticism]]<ref>Sanhedrin 67b</ref> while others were considered [[Heresy|heretical]].<ref name=CathEnWitch /> The medieval Middle East experienced shifting perceptions of witchcraft under [[Islam|Islamic]] and [[Christianity|Christian]] influences, sometimes revered for healing and other times condemned as [[heresy]]. ==== Jewish ==== {{see also|Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible}} Jewish attitudes toward witchcraft were rooted in its association with [[idolatry]] and [[necromancy]], and some [[Rabbi|rabbis]] even practiced certain forms of magic themselves.<ref>Green, Kayla. [http://www.momentmag.com/the-golem-in-the-attic/ "The Golem in the Attic"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825231615/http://www.momentmag.com/the-golem-in-the-attic/ |date=25 August 2017 }} ''Moment''. 1 February 2011. 25 August 2017.</ref><ref name="newlife">{{cite news|first=Dan|last=Bilefsky|author-link=Dan Bilefsky|title=Hard Times Give New Life to Prague's Golem|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/europe/11golem.html|quote=According to Czech legend, the Golem was fashioned from clay and brought to life by a rabbi to protect Prague's 16th-century ghetto from persecution, and is said to be called forth in times of crisis. True to form, he is once again experiencing a revival, and in this commercial age, has spawned a one-monster industry.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=10 May 2009|access-date=19 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509123841/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/europe/11golem.html|archive-date=9 May 2013}}</ref> References to witchcraft in the [[Hebrew Bible|Tanakh]], or Hebrew Bible, highlighted strong condemnations rooted in the "abomination" of magical belief. [[Christianity]] similarly condemned witchcraft, considering it an abomination and even citing specific verses to justify [[Witch hunting|witch-hunting]] during the early modern period. ==== Christian ==== {{Main|Christian views on magic}} Historically, the [[Christian views on magic|Christian concept of witchcraft]] derives from [[Old Testament]] [[biblical law|laws]] against it. In medieval and early modern Europe, many Christians believed in magic. As opposed to the helpful magic of the [[cunning folk]], witchcraft was seen as [[evil]] and associated with [[Satan]] and [[Devil worship]]. This often resulted in deaths, [[torture]] and [[scapegoating]] (casting blame for misfortune),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Jeffrey Burton |title=Witchcraft |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/646051/witchcraft |access-date=June 29, 2013 |website=Britannica.com |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510105836/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/646051/witchcraft |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Pocs>{{cite book |last=Pócs |first=É. |year=1999 |title=Between the Living and the Dead: A Perspective on Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age |place=Hungary |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-9639116191}}</ref>{{rp|p=9–12}} and many years of large scale [[Witch trials in the early modern period|witch-trials]] and [[witch hunt]]s, especially in [[Protestant]] Europe, before largely ending during the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. Christian views in the modern day are diverse, ranging from intense belief and opposition (especially by [[Christian fundamentalism|Christian fundamentalists]]) to non-belief. During the [[History of colonialism|Age of Colonialism]], many cultures were exposed to the Western world via [[colonialism]], usually accompanied by intensive [[Christianity and colonialism|Christian missionary activity]] (see [[Christianization#Colonial era (16th–19th centuries)|Christianization]]). In these cultures, beliefs about witchcraft were partly influenced by the prevailing Western concepts of the time. [[File:Witches apprehended..., 1613 Wellcome M0016701.jpg|thumb|A 1613 English pamphlet showing "Witches apprehended, examined and executed"]] In [[Christianity]], [[Sorcery (goetia)|sorcery]] came to be associated with [[heresy]] and [[apostasy]] and to be viewed as evil. Among Catholics, Protestants, and the [[secular]] leadership of late medieval/early modern Europe, fears about witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led to large-scale [[witch-hunt]]s. The fifteenth century saw a dramatic rise in awareness and terror of witchcraft. Tens of thousands of people were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured, banished, and had lands and possessions confiscated. The majority of those accused were women, though in some regions the majority were men.<ref name="gibbons">Gibbons, Jenny (1998) "Recent Developments in the Study of the Great European Witch Hunt" in [http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/POM ''The Pomegranate''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126213600/http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/POM |date=2009-01-26 }} #5, Lammas 1998.</ref><ref name=BarstowWitchcraze>{{Cite book |last=Barstow |first=Anne Llewellyn |url=https://archive.org/details/witchcrazenewhis0000bars |title=Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts |date=1994 |publisher=Pandora |isbn=978-0062500496 |location=San Francisco |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|page=[https://archive.org/details/witchcrazenewhis0000bars/page/23 23]}} In [[Scots language|Scots]], the word [[warlock]] came to be used as the male equivalent of [[witch (word)|witch]] (which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females).<ref>{{Cite book |last=McNeill |first=F. Marian |title=The Silver Bough: A Four Volume Study of the National and Local Festivals of Scotland |date=1957 |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |isbn=978-0862412319 |volume=1 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chambers |first=Robert |title=Domestic Annals of Scotland |date=1861 |isbn=978-1298711960 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=George |title=Satan's Invisible World Discovered |date=1871 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref> The ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (Latin for 'Hammer of The Witches') was a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by both Catholics and Protestants<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0IAjBexFTgC&q=malleus%20maleficarum%20protestant&pg=PA27 |title=The Emergence of Modern Europe: c. 1500 to 1788 |date=2011 |publisher=[[Britannica Educational Publishing]] |isbn=978-1615303434 |editor-last=Campbell |editor-first=Heather M. |page=27 |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126013251/https://books.google.com/books?id=H0IAjBexFTgC&q=malleus%20maleficarum%20protestant&pg=PA27 |url-status=live }}</ref> for several hundred years, outlining how to identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and typically female. It became the handbook for secular courts throughout Europe, but was not used by the Inquisition, which even cautioned against relying on it.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jolly |first1=Karen |title=Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Middle Ages |last2=Raudvere |first2=Catharina |last3=Peters |first3=Edward |date=2002 |publisher=[[A&C Black]] |isbn=978-0485890037 |location=New York City |page=241 |quote=In 1538 the Spanish Inquisition cautioned its members not to believe everything the Malleus said, even when it presented apparently firm evidence.}}</ref> It was the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, after the Bible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Witches|url=https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches|access-date=2021-10-26|website=History.com|date=20 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref> ==== Islamic ==== {{Main|Islam and magic}} Islamic perspectives on magic encompass a wide range of practices,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Savage-Smith |first= Emilie |author-link= Emilie Savage-Smith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-lZ3QgAACAAJ |title=Magic and Divination in Early Islam |date=2004 |publisher=Ashgate/Variorum |isbn=978-0860787150 |language=en |access-date=2020-08-25 |archive-date=2021-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192648/https://books.google.com/books?id=-lZ3QgAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> with belief in black magic and the [[evil eye]] coexisting alongside strict prohibitions against its practice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khaldûn |first=Ibn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRCnDwAAQBAJ |title=The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History |edition= Abridged |date=2015|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691166285 |page=578 |language=en |access-date=2021-05-04 |archive-date=2021-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192648/https://books.google.com/books?id=XRCnDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Quran]] acknowledges the existence of magic and seeks protection from its harm. Islam's stance is against the practice of magic, considering it forbidden, and emphasizes divine [[Miracle|miracles]] rather than magic or witchcraft.<ref>Savage-Smith, Emilie, ed. Magic and divination in early Islam. Routledge, 2021. p. 87</ref> The historical continuity of witchcraft in the Middle East underlines the complex interaction between spiritual beliefs and societal norms across different cultures and [[Epoch|epochs]]. === Modern paganism === {{anchor|Neopagan witchcraft}} {{Main|Neopagan witchcraft|Semitic neopaganism}} During the 20th century, interest in witchcraft rose in English-speaking and European countries. From the 1920s, [[Margaret Murray]] popularized the '[[witch-cult hypothesis]]': the idea that those [[Witch trials in the early modern period|persecuted as 'witches' in early modern Europe]] were followers of a benevolent [[Paganism|pagan]] religion that had survived the [[Christianization]] of Europe. This has been discredited by further historical research.{{r|AdlerDrawing|p=45–47, 84–85}}{{r|HuttonFear|p=121}}<ref>Rose, Elliot, ''A Razor for a Goat'', [[University of Toronto Press]], 1962.</ref><ref name=HuttonBritish>Hutton, Ronald, ''The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles'', [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge, Mass.]]: [[Blackwell Publishers]], 1993. </ref><ref name=HuttonTriumph>Hutton, Ronald, ''The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft'', [[Oxford University Press]], 1999.{{ISBN?}}</ref> From the 1930s, [[occult]] [[neopagan]] groups began to emerge who called their religion a kind of 'witchcraft'. They were [[initiation|initiatory]] [[secret society|secret societies]] inspired by Murray's 'witch cult' theory, [[ceremonial magic]], [[Aleister Crowley]]'s [[Thelema]], and historical paganism.{{r|HuttonTriumph|p=205–252}}<ref>Kelly, A.A., ''Crafting the Art of Magic, Book I: a History of Modern Witchcraft, 1939–1964'', Minnesota: [[Llewellyn Publications]], 1991.{{ISBN?}}</ref><ref>Valiente, D., ''The Rebirth of Witchcraft'', London: Robert Hale, pp. 35–62, 1989.{{ISBN?}}</ref> The biggest religious movement to emerge from this is [[Wicca]]. Today, some Wiccans and members of related traditions self-identify as "witches" and use the term "witchcraft" for their [[magico-religious]] beliefs and practices, primarily in [[Western world|Western]] [[Anglosphere|anglophone countries]].<ref name="Doyle White 1">{{cite book |last=Doyle White |first=Ethan |title=Wicca: History, Belief, and Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft |publisher=Liverpool University Press |pages=1–9, 73 |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-84519-754-4 }}</ref> == 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 /> == Witches in art and literature == {{further|Witch (archetype)#In art and literature|List of fictional witches}} [[File:Albrecht Dürer, Witch Riding on a Goat, c. 1500-1501, NGA 6674.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Albrecht Dürer]] {{circa|1500}}: Witch riding backwards on a goat]] Witches have a long history of being depicted in art, although most of their earliest artistic depictions seem to originate in Early Modern Europe, particularly the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Many scholars attribute their manifestation in art as inspired by texts such as {{Lang|la|Canon Episcopi}}, a demonology-centered work of literature, and {{Lang|la|Malleus Maleficarum}}, a "witch-craze" manual published in 1487, by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Simons |first=Patricia |date=September 2014 |title=The Incubus and Italian Renaissance art |journal=Source: Notes in the History of Art |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.1086/sou.34.1.23882368 |jstor=23882368 |s2cid=191376143}}</ref> Witches in fiction span a wide array of characterizations. They are typically, but not always, female, and generally depicted as either [[villain]]s or [[heroine]]s.<ref name=HuttonCunning>{{Cite journal |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |date=2018-03-16 |title=Witches and Cunning Folk in British Literature 1800–1940 |url=https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/penn-state-university-press/witches-and-cunning-folk-in-british-literature-1800-1940-btH3RCNTQp? |journal=Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=27 |doi=10.5325/preternature.7.1.0027 |hdl=1983/c91bdc34-80d8-49f6-92df-9147f2bef535 |s2cid=194795666 |issn=2161-2188 |access-date=2021-05-18 |archive-date=2021-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518044333/https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/penn-state-university-press/witches-and-cunning-folk-in-british-literature-1800-1940-btH3RCNTQp |url-status=live|hdl-access=free }}</ref> ==See also== * ''{{anli|Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches}}'' * {{anli|Feminist interpretations of witch trials in the early modern period}} * {{anli|Flying ointment}} * {{anli|History of goetia}} * {{anli|Kitchen witch}} * {{anli|Witches' Sabbath}} ==Notes== {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} == References == {{reflist|1=25em|refs= <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>}} === Works cited === * {{cite book |last=Abusch |first=Tzvi |year=2002 |title=Mesopotamian Witchcraft: Toward a History and Understanding of Babylonian Witchcraft Beliefs and Literature |publisher=Brill Styx |isbn=9789004123878}} * {{cite book |last=Reiner |first=E. |year=1995 |title=Astral magic in Babylonia |place=Philadelphia |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=978-0871698544}} == Further reading == {{too much further reading|date=March 2024}} * Bristol, J. C. (2007). ''Christians, Blasphemers, and Witches: Afro-Mexican Ritual Practice in the Seventeenth Century''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. * Epstein, I. (2008). ''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Children's Issues Worldwide''. Greenwood Press. * {{Cite book |last1=Ginzburg |first1=Carlo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eV0ZhvAkHC0C |title=Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath |last2=Translated by Raymond Rosenthal |date=2004 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226296937 |author-link=Carlo Ginzburg |orig-date=Originally published in Italy as Storia Notturna (1989 Giulio Einaudi) |ref=none}} * {{cite journal |journal=Studia Instituti Anthropos |volume=41 |first=Anthony J. |last=Gittins |title=Mende Religion |publisher=Steyler Verlag |place=[[Nettetal]] |year=1987 |ref=none}} * Hutton, R. (2006). ''Witches, Druids and King Arthur''. Bloomsbury Academic. {{ISBN|978-1852855550}} * {{cite journal |journal=University of Kansas Publications in Anthropology |number=5 |first1=John M. |last1=Janzen |first2=Wyatt |last2=MacGaffey |title=An Anthology of Kongo Religion: Primary Texts from Lower Zaïre |place=Lawrence |year=1974 |ref=none}} * Kent, Elizabeth. "Masculinity and Male Witches in Old and New England." ''History Workshop'' 60 (2005): 69–92. * {{Cite book |last=Lima |first=R. |year=2005 |title=Stages of Evil: Occultism in Western Theater and Drama |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0813123622 |ref=none}} * Murray, D. (2013). ''Matter, Magic, and Spirit: Representing Indian and African American Belief''. University of Pennsylvania Press. * Narby, J. (1998). ''The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge''. TarcherPerigee. * {{Cite journal |last=Pentikainen |first=J |date=1978 |title=Marina Takalo as an Individual in Oral Repertoire and World View. An Anthropological study of Marina Takalo's Life History |journal=F. F. Communications Turku |volume=93 |issue=219 |pages=58–76 |id={{INIST|12698358}} |ref=none}} * Pentikainen, Juha. "The Supernatural Experience." F. Jstor. 26 February 2007. * Rasbold, K. (2019). ''Crossroads of Conjure: The Roots and Practices of Granny Magic, Hoodoo, Brujería, and Curanderismo''. Llewellyn Worldwide. * Ruickbie, Leo (2004) ''Witchcraft out of the Shadows: A History'', London, Robert Hale.{{ISBN?}} * {{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Howard |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22822/22822-h/22822-h.htm |title=The Superstitions of Witchcraft |via=[[Project Gutenberg]] |publisher=[[Longman|Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green]] |year=1865 |location=[[London]] |author-link=Howard Williams (humanitarian) |ref=none}} == External links == <!-- PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE ADDING LINKS HERE. 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