ignorance leads to fear, fear to anger, and so the witch hunts of the past began, and so have all such persecutions of any peoples in the past, and so shall it always be
over 9 million people were killed as witches during the Inquisiton and 20 were killed in the Salem Witch trials while over 100 were inprisoned. 19 were hung and one stoned to death. The Salem with trials started when a i believe carribean ( i may be wrong) slave named Titchuba (totally spelled wrong) who showed a local minister's daughters egg white diviation. When the father found out he asked his daughters what was going on and they said, for fear of being beaten, that the slave was a witch and had bewitched them both. The minister questioned the slave and she admitted to selling her soul to the devil, a lie to save her from torture. The girls began to have fits of tremors and seizures, often barking and screaming, saying that their were still witches in town. For the first time, the two girls had power so they picked off the disliked town members as witches. Bridget Bishop (last name may be spelled wrong) was the first to be hung. The propaganda spread to other towns and new girls were claiming to be bewitched and accussing neighbors. they trials ended quickly but many inocent people were killed, and Salem is now the witch headquarters of the US.
Sorry i did this all from memory so some things may be wrong but i hope it helps :D
Only recently I was accosted by a Muslim man who thought I was Jewish because I was wearing my Pentacle. When I told him that the star of David has six points, and the pentagram only five, and that it was not Jewish but Pagan. He told me that I should be burnt to death. The idiot!
While I have never suffered any kind of abuse for being known as a witch, I heard Professor Ronald Hutton (Professor of History at Bristol University and acknowledged authority on historical witchcraft) speak at a moot about this very subject.
He said that most of the trials, at least in Europe, were instigated by village and town populace rather than the Church or authorities. This was at a time when infant mortality rates where high and people looked for reasons as to why their children were dying, the same with livestock deaths. With the belief in sorcery being so prevalent they blamed the deaths on witchcraft and petitioned the authorities to do something about it. Local authorities were actually rather reluctant to start accusing people of witchcraft and were cajoled into it by a grief-stricken and maddened populace.
I have a dear friend. In the last six months she and I have spent a lot of time together. She is a high school teacher, smart, funny, adorable. Her religion is Christian. Going to church every Sunday and Jesus is the number one thing in her life, everything and everyone comes after that. Living her life by the Bible.
Now, just about a two weeks ago I told her that my life path especially in the last ten years was based on witchraft and studied all kind of different religion, philosophy and pagan ways.
Her reaction was rather dramatic.
I have not heard from her since. The only email in one sentence I got from her that she is very busy.
Now after that in the last 6 months we have spent many hours together, several days a week, I think one lousy sentence in an email is an obvious difference.
I have noticed that here in Florida - I just moved here few months ago - people are very very Christians. So very Christians that they cannot accept or not willing to accept any alternatives whatsoever.
Apparently, being a well educated teacher makes no exception. If you grew up on the Bible, with the Bible, among people who did the same, finding out about someone that they are on a different faith (especially witchcraft), then I guess it doesn't matter what kind of person you are in their eyes, if you are a witch, you are bad.
It's sad. I hope she will come around, I won't bug her, but honestly it is not the first similar reaction I have got from people.
I don't hide who I am but I do not throw it in peoples faces either. I find most people are curious about my way of life. Just the other week i had a conversation with some Jehovah Witnesses about my faith. Many do not find me scary but rather a bit odd. Many who ask about my religion and faith are looking to expand their own understanding. We will always have those who jump to you will burn in hell because they are so afraid that the reality is a person controls their afterlife not a higher power. I do find though some people who seem fine with me will eventually blame me for something bad in their life. The funny thing is that when this happen more tragedy happens to them. Blame is easy to place on others even if it is irrational blame because the hardest part of life is owning up to our own mistakes.
myself, i'm not out, i'm not in, if someone asks, i'll tell them. a friend of mine had some trouble, but he can tell you. i've never really had a hard time. i told my mom and sister and two of my cousins who i'm close with and know wouldn't care, but no one else in my family because they're rather strong Christians on my dad's side and my mom's side, they sorta assume everyone's Christian. turns out my mom told my grandparents a year ago, nothing's changed, i told my dad a month ago and he got rather upset. he seems fine now, but when i told him he gave me a hard time. i've heard of a few stories where people's businesses were burned or vandalized, and there was this coven who bought some land to worship on and had to fight a bunch of taxes the township dropped on them and they weren't aloud to claim it as religious expenses or something. can't remember right now, i'll look for the article. for the most part, it's ignorance that causes problems, they see movies about cauldrons and flying on broomsticks and curses and when they hear someone's a witch, that's what immediately comes to mind, and they're convinced. unless they see practical magic lol, then they know we're nice, can fly and bring people back from the dead.
