History of Witchcraft

History of Witchcraft Lesson 5

I’ve told you about folk magic, and Vodou and Santeria, no moving on to the beginning of what is today called the Wicca Movement, or the New-Age Movement. Most of you have been thinking about this for a while, especially those who are looking to follow a wiccan path. Most of you know about Silver RavenWolf and Raymond Buckland, these are current authors, which we briefly touched on in the first lesson of this class, we are going to go back a little further.

First, What is Wicca?
Wicca is the largest of the Neopagan religions. Wiccans have great reverence for the Earth and for their Goddess and her consort, the horned God. Their main rule of behavior is the Wiccan Rede which forbids them from harming people, including themselves, except in some cases of self-defense.
Many, perhaps most, are solitary practitioners. Others form small groups of believers, called covens, groves, etc. Because of centuries of religious propaganda and misinformation, many conservative Christians, and others, associate Wiccans with Satanists even though the two belief systems are as different as Christianity and Atheism.

The History of Wicca in Brief

Generally it’s followed that a lot of the modern day works of Wicca started with Gerald Gardner (1884-1964) who was a British civil servant who , as it is written, joined an existing wiccan coven around 1939, taking the vow of secrecy, which was usual back then. However, it’s still debated today that Wicca isn’t the actual term of the religion that it is merely witchcraft. Wicca means Wise Ones, and Gerald Gardner called the members of his coven that he later rain, The Wicce’ meaning the wise ones. Around 1949 or so he was able to persuade his coven to let him write a book about the craft in the form of a novel, which was called High Magic’s Aid. He carefully revealed a few of the “Old Religion’s” beliefs and the historical persecution that they had to endure. He also wrote the book called Witchcraft Today in 1954 in which he described additional details about the faith, and later wrote The Meaning of Witchcraft which described the history of Wicca in Northern Europe. Gerald Gardner is said to be the “Father of Modern Wicca” because of his books and the popularization of the Wiccan Religion in the United States.

Another person who has great influence since the beginning is Margaret Murray ( 1863-1963) who wrote the well known book The Witch Cult in Western Europe and The God of the Witches. These books promoted the concept that some of the witches who exterminated by the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestants during the “Burning Times” (we’ll talk about this in another lesson) were remnants of an even earlier, organized, and dominant Pre-Christian religion in Europe. Even though her writing were not received well by anthropologists, her works were influential in providing a strong background for the Neo-Pagan traditions that sprang up later.

Charles Leland ( 1824-1903) also had some rather influential books as well that gave the new age pagan movement ground. In 1899, Leland wrote the book Aradia:Gosphel of Witches. He was the founder of the Gypsy Lore Society, and was a folklorist (remember the folk magic from last lesson?). Aradia deals mainly with the Goddess Diana, and is presented as an ancient document which recorded the doctrines of La Vecchia Religione ( The old Religion). The Book has played a significant role in the development of modern day paganism because of the depth of the connection with the goddess the book entails.

To show a good example of how the Wiccan religion and other Neo-Pagan religions have evolved, remember that back in these times, it was seen as shameful and dangerous to come out of the “broom closet.” People were not able to be very open about their religions and were threatened, beaten, and even one recorded lynching (hanging), as well as several shootings. The good thing is, that obviously today, with the more accepting world, many neo-pagans can now be open about who they are and have less physical violence and revolting to deal with. Over the years there have been stories of misinformed child protective officers seizing children from homes of Wiccans, and others because they feared that the children may be killed or abused in some Satanic Ritual. The most important thing to remember and to take away from this class, is that we are evolving, and Witchcraft is a living breathing, and growing religion that evolves with its practitioners. Though things like this still happen today, we as Witches, but be observant, and loving, because most of the perpetrators of hatred are good, concerned people, just very misinformed. The Church has programmed most of us to think anything other than Christianity is the work of the “Devil” and that it must be shunned. One thing to remember though, is that true paganism has been around for far longer than Christianity, and the very Christians who celebrate Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Halloween are celebrating old Celtic practices (we’ll go into this in a later lesson as well).

Assignment: Think of all the Similarities from what you know about Wicca and Christianity, What are some Similarities? For every Similarity, show a difference as well. This should be 5 sentences long. An example for you to start with but you CAN NOT use is Prayers and Spells. Prayers are used by Witchcraft users all the time, but so are spells. They are similar in the way that they both require you to focus on what you are doing, think about what it is you are intending to do, and actually visualize it in some cases. The difference here is that some spells require tools, where are prayers will not.

History of Witchcraft Lesson 6
So in the last lesson we talked about the History of Wicca and its roots in Europe before moving to the states. For this, most of you are finally going to jump up and down as we are going to start the Salem Witch Trials. Before we begin I want it made clear that there was NEVER any burnings of witches in the united states, only hangings and drowning (that were recorded). The Burnings came before this and we will be touching on the Burning times later.
The Salem Witch Trials took place between February 1692 – May 1963, and is still to this day, one of the most infamous witch hunts in American history. In Salem Massachusetts, a group of young girls became fascinated by the occult, and began dabbling. The games, after a while got out of hand, and the children began acting oddly. Their behaviors ranged from muttering strange sounds, to shrilling screams and more. Suspicions of witches being involved in the behavior of the young girls resulted in three women being arrested, and later more were accused and arrested as well as charged with the act of witchcraft. Later they would be hanged. A total of around 150 people were charged with witchcraft and imprisoned, of them 19 women and men were actually convicted and were put to death by being crushed to death under large stones. Remember that in this time Witchcraft was a capital offense and (as stated) was punishable by death.
So the main question still remains a lingering thought on the mind. What was the cause for the witchcraft hysteria outbreak in Salem, and were any real witches hung, crushed or drowned? The answer to the latter part is no. There is no record of any “real” witches being put to death. However, there are several different causes behind the hysteria in the first place. There was a very strong belief in Satan, and his acting in the real world. There was a strong belief that satan recruits witches and wizards, and a belief that a person afflicted by witchcraft exhibits certain “symptoms”. Not only was this a time of troubles (such as small pox i.e. disease) but with the over stimulation of the children’s imaginations (by tituba), teenage boredom, old feuds coming to light, Magistrates and Judges being receptive to accusations of witchcraft, and of course those who confessed to being witches, only compounded matters. There is one thing that is still controversial and that’s ergot poisoning. Ergot poisoning is caused by eating infected rye that can produce hallucinations, as well as creating strange behaviors. I say this is controversial because there is no proof of infected rye, and no one but those who were present at the time could state otherwise.
After the big scare, people who were still in prison charged with witchcraft were freed. In 1711, the colonial legislature of Massachusetts paid compensations to the families of the victims of the trials. Most historians to this day agree that the witch-hunt victims of salem were accused falsely. The conjecture is that the girls feigned (faked) being possessed, although the reasons for doing so are still not clear.

Assignment: There are modern day witch hunts still happening. You have the choice of writing a brief summary of modern day witch hunt that is going on now (within the past 2-3 years), or a summary with personal reflections on the Salem witch trials. For your personal reflections on these matters, I would like to see how this makes you feel, and what your personal thoughts are on how, if this happened today, do you think you, and others like you, would survive through the trials and tribulations that come with the hunts. How do you think families would react, what kind of media coverage would be involved, etc…? Try to be creative with this.

History of Witchcraft Lesson 7
We have now worked our way back from today to Europe of the middle ages. For this lesson we are going to cover a very large time gap. So to make things easier on everyone, I’m breaking this lesson into two parts like I did earlier. The first part of this lesson will be lesson 7 and the second will be lesson 8.
Firstly, in early modern European traditions, witches have been stereotypically, though not exclusively, been women. This has been true throughout history all the way back to the beginning of the use of witchcraft. European pagan belief in witchcraft was associated with the Goddess Diana and dismissed as “diabolical fantasies” by the medieval Christian authors and the church. Witch-hunts first started appearing in large numbers in the southern France and Switzerland during the 14th and 15th centuries. So if you remember the Salem Witch Trials, they were not the first of their kind. The peak years for witch-hunts in southwest Germany were from 1561 to 1670.
The familiar witch of folklore and popular superstition is a combination of numerous influences, too numerous to get into. The characterization of the witch as an evil magic user developed over time. Some of the early converts to Christianity looked to Christian clergy to work magic more effectively than the old methods under the Roman paganism, and Christianity provided a methodology involving saints and relics, similar to the gods and amulets of the Pagan world.
Over time Christianity became the dominant religion in Europe, its concern with magic lessened. The protestant Christian explanation for witchcraft, such as those typified in the confessions of the Pendle Witches, commonly involves a diabolical pact or at least an appeal to the intervention of the spirits of evil, and the particularly the “Devil”. This is where we first encounter the dreaded” pact with the devil” that so many Christians try to stereotype witches with.
The witches of this time were said to reject Jesus and the sacraments, observe the “witches Sabbath” (performing infernal rites which often parodied the Mass or other sacraments of the Church); pay divine honour to the “Prince of Darkness; and in return they received supernatural powers from him. This is also where we first hear of the “Witches Mark” or the “Brand of the Witch”. Like the brands on cattle, it was believed that the devil would mark his followers to signify that the pact had been made. It was said that Witches disrupted the societal institutions and more specifically, marriage. It was commonly believed that a witch would often join a pact with the devil to gain powers to deal with infertility, immense fear for her children’s well-being or revenge against a lover. (Now after reading this last part, doesn’t this still ring true today for many people who find themselves turning to witchcraft?)
Keep in mind though that the Church and European society were not always so jumpy, when it came to the hunting of the supposed witches, nor were they always quick to pass the blame for bad occurrences. Saint Boniface declared in the 8th Centrury that belief in the existence of witches was un-Christian. Emperor Charlemagne decreed that the burning of supposed witches was a pagan custom that would be punishable by the death penalty, and in 820 the Bishop of Lyon as well as several others, refused to accept that witches could make bad weather, fly in the night and change their shape ( which was pretty commonly believed before and after their terms in power).
It wasn’t until 1307 with the trial of the Knights Templar, where the close parallels to accusations of witchcraft, maleficium (wrongdoing or mischief), and sorcery may have been the beginning of the great European witch-hunt,, most of us know as the Burning Times.

Assignment: For this I want you guys to try to find some information on the persecution of those who were pointed out as witches. I will provide you a link to get you started. I want you guys to write a short summary on a tid bit you find from your research. I want it to be about the European Witch Trials. It can be about a specific person you find, about the church and it’s approach to the subject, etc…. Be creative with this. Try to stay between the years 188 BC and 1692 AD.

History of Witchcraft Lesson 8

I’m hoping most of you still remember our short lesson on the “Cunning-folk” because they are now making their reappearance in our lessons. The cunning-folk of the medieval times in Europe, did not refer to themselves as witches and objected strongly to the accusations that they were such. Sadly though, because of the poor record keeping skills of those at the time, it was never made clear whether or not the populace of given practitioners of magic were classified as witch or one of the cunning-folk. In addition it also appears that much of the populace was willing to approach either of these groups for healing and divination, so even though there was some fear surrounding them all, the general public weren’t afraid to come to those they knew could help, or to give them answers. The important distinction is that there are records of the public reporting supposed witches to the authorities as such, whereas cunning-folk were not so incriminated; they were more commonly prosecuted for accusing the innocent or defrauding people of money. (Funny how history seems to remain constant in a generalized position doesn’t it?)
Powers that were typically attributed to the European witches include turning food poisonous or inedible, flying on broomsticks and the occasional pitchfork, casting spells and cursing people, and making livestock ill and crops fail as well as creating fear and local chaos.
I want to point out at this time though that the Church was not the one who invented the idea of witchcraft as a potentially harmful force whose practitioners should be put to death. This idea was commonplace in pre-Christian religions. According to the scholar Max Dashu, the concept of medieval witchcraft contained many of its elements even before the emergence of Christianity. These can be found in Bacchanalias, especially in the time when they were led by the priestess Paculla Annia.
However, even at a later date, not all witches were assumed to be harmful practicers of the craft. In England, the provision of this curative magic was the job of a witch doctor, also known as a cunning man or woman, white witch or wiseman/woman. The term witch doctor was in use in England before it came to be associated with Africa. (There’s some real knowledge for you guys to blow the minds of your friend the next time you hear them talking about the witch doctors of Africa). Toad doctors were also credited with the ability to undo evil witchcraft.
Because of the vast amount of different things happening in this time wide spread across Europe, we are unable to go further into details. There is plenty of reading material out there for you all to be looking into and I hope you all have been doing so as we’ve progressed slowly backwards into our own history of being. For this lesson I just wanted to finish up the last of the European Witches, you all should continue your studies on this subject on your own time. I find the local library has a ton of wonderful information that you can use.

Assignment: Think about who the Cunning-folk are today and who they were in history. Why is it, do you think, that they were so commonly persecuted for witchcraft in history, and why do you think they denied being witches? 5 sentence paragraph should be enough for you all to sum up your findings and your feelings on the sub

Re: History of Witchcraft /w assignments
« Reply #8 on Jan 16, 2011, 2:08pm »
History of Witchcraft Lesson 9

The end of the time of the Pagans, and the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine is a well documented part of witchcraft and pagan history. This is where we first see the rise of Christianity and where we first start seeing the Pagan culture being pushed underground. The Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, many say on his death bed, and other say it was earlier, no one knows for sure.
We do know though that in 313 Constantine issued the “Edict of Milan” which commanded official toleration of Christianty and other religions. (This was not the first time nor the last time where toleration of other beliefs was pushed.) He ordered that Sunday be granted the same legal rights as pagan feasts and that feasts in memory of Christian martyrs be recognized. Constantine outlawed the barbaric gladiatorial shows (even though they persisted until the fifth century) and forbade Jews to stone to death other Jews who chose to become Christians.
Also, contrary to popular belierf, Constantine did not make Christiaity the official religion of the Roman Empire, this was accomplished later by Emperor Theodosius in 380. Constantine’s program was one of toleration only, and he continued to support bother Christianity and Paganism until his death. He raised his children as Christians and secured Christian clergy as personal advisors, but retained the title of chief priest of the state cult, until his death.
Before even Constantine though, we see the Roman Empire enacting laws for punishment against those who were said to be witches ( which on a personal note I’d like to say made little sense to me and to most people who learn this as the Roman Empire before Christianity used Oracles, and soothsayers all the time anyways). A good example of one of these laws was enacted around 3rd Century ADE, which was the punishment of burning alive of witches who brought about another person’s death through their enchantments. We see this very punishment move forward through time to the Burning Times (which we just covered in lesson 7 and 8 briefly) and the technique used by the Christian Church.

Assignment: The Emperor Constantine knew that Christianity was going to be a rising religion that would soon dominate his great empire. What are some of the Christian concepts that are pagan based. An example to help you get started is the Halo- it can be said that it was the Sun Disk from those who used to worship the Sun.

History of Witchcraft Lesson 10

For this lesson we will go all the way back to the Celts. The Celts are the roots of what we call magic today. Even though the Egyptians had a hand in the ceremonial aspects of magic I’ll let you all search out more on the subject on your own, I would also advise searching out gypsies, aka the Romani as this will also help anyone who looking into tarot as a divination specialization.
The Celts were a people who lived between 700BC and 100AD, and were the believed descendants of Indo-Europeans. The Celts were a brilliant and dynamic people, their culture filled with gifted artists, storytellers, metal works, expert farmers and some of the fiercest warriors. They were always feared by their adversaries, especially the Romans, who later adopted many of their customs and traditions.
This deeply spiritual community had its basis in a strong sense of love of the earth. Central to this deep love, were the Goddess’ and Gods, who played a strong role in daily worship. The Celtic tradition recognized 2 main deities; The Earth Mother and the Horned God. They recognized that the divine was always present in all aspects of nature. Reincarnation was also believed to happen after death, with the person going to the Summer Land to rest before the next birth.
The holidays that we know of today in Wicca and other pagan traditions still hold the names and true to the cycles of the seasons, the same as they did to the Celts. The Celtic New Year began at Samhain, what we celebrate today as Halloween, which meant “summers end” and was the final harvest of the year. This was also their “Festival of the Dead” which is where they honored their ancestors and loved ones. Similarly, the winter solstice and May Day as well as several other holidays have their roots in Celtic tradition as well; this is why you hear that Wiccan’s follow a Celtic style Reconstructionist path.
The Druids, which should be a familiar term to everyone, were the priests and priestesses of the Celtic tradition. They remained in power through the fourth century AD, three centuries after the Celts’ defeat at the hands of the Romans (tough people huh?). I want to point out at this time, that the Celts understood the Sacred Feminine and that it was more common for a female to hold a priestess-ship than it was a male to hold a priest ship. This was because the Celts saw women as their equals, and the Druids were usually either too old or injured in battle and couldn’t go with the rest of the group (someone had to stay behind and tend to the kids, etc…). The druids were said to be very wise, and who special blend of wisdom and magic provided a powerful role model for the Celtic peoples. The Druidic priesthood as mentioned was originally all female, which male initiates only becoming accepted after many years (usually due to age, study time or injury as previously stated).
Lauri Cabot explained the levels of the Druidess priest hood as being divided into 3 different levels. The Highest of these classes were celibate (without sex) and lived in convents, which were later assimilated into Christianity as what we call today “Nuns”. The other two levels could be married and live with their husbands, or in the different temples. With the onset of Christianity these wise women would eventually be the ones dubbed as witches, as we saw from earlier lessons.
The religious beliefs and practices of the Celts grew into what later became known as Paganism. Pagan is derived from the Latin word Paganus, which meant “Country Dweller”. Knowing what you know about the Celts and their love for the land, it was more likely for them to have small villages and towns rather than big cities, like their later conquers the Romans.
With time, the paganistic beliefs of this culture and their rituals blended with the Indo-European descended groups and over multiple centuries spawned such practices as concocting potions and ointments, casting spells and other performing works of magic. These practices, along with many of the other nature based beliefs help the Celts and other groups became collectively known as witchcraft.

Assignment: Type a paragraph on the similarities and differences between Celtic practices and another pagan religion (ancient Greek, ancient Egyptian, ancient Romans, modern day Wiccans, etc...)

History of Witchcraft Lesson 11- Magic and Color

So this is a little step to the side, this not only is relevant to today’s practices but the Celtic times as well. Prior to the 14th century, witchcraft meant a collection of beliefs and practices including healing through spells, mixing ointments or concoctions (you’ll learn this herbalism), dabbling in the supernatural, divining or forecasting a possible future ( occasionally using clairvoyance). Groups, such as Christianity, who held different beliefs would brand the users of these practices as “demon-worshipers” (sound familiar?).
So what is the deal with colors of magic? First, it was and still is believed that magic can affect many outcomes, some good and some not so much, depending on the “type” of magic and the intentions of the practitioner. Many will know the “well known” kinds of magic by their color, and sometimes the spells and things we find online use the color to grab your attention.
“Black Magic” is performed with the general intentions of causing harm to something or someone. This is usually because the practitioner is trying to build their power, or as a goal in and of itself. The underlying ideology upon which black magic is based states that the practitioner and his or her pursuit of knowledge and/or physical well-being, are more important than any other concerns, theological or ethical.
“Green magic” involves the practitioner being one with nature, or tuning themselves in to the natural world. Green magic is a more earth centered magic that brings us closer to the divine mother of creation. Many Gaiasts would be seen as Green Witches or green magic users. Green Witches are usually the ones out in the garden or in nature tuning themselves in with the Earth’s natural energies, or practicing herbalism (though this isn’t limited to green magic).
“White Magic” which is another well known magic, is where a practitioner attunes him/herself to the needs of human society and attempts to meet those needs through magic. This is a form of “personal betterment” magic, and does not entail harming others. Generically put, it’s magic to help others with a pure intent.
“Grey magic “, which seems to be the most easily confused magic, is neither green, white or black and usually replaces the absolute stand of these realms with an ethical code that is particular to the practioner rather than the practice. It is a type of magic all its own and is used for different purposes, which we won’t get into too deeply here.
“Folk Magic”, which we talked about in earlier lessons, is an eclectic (multiple) collection of herbalism, healing, curses and hexes, candle magic and other workings that has thrived in rural areas for centuries.

So as you can see, this seems pretty clear, cut, and dry right? Wrong! These are generalizations which are rather generic in this witch’s opinion. They don’t cover every kind of intent or situation, which no one could ever do anyways. Nature isn’t so clear, cut, and dry, it’s loving and caring, yet at the same time can be destructive and harmful. Also, in the color classification system there is little mention of Chaos magic, aka Red Magic. Red magic can also include Love, Sex Magic, and Revenge (also classified in black). For Black magic they leave out Necromancy, and nocturnal magic, which could be classified as black or white, or even grey for that matter. The color classification system was brought about because people needed an easy way to understand a persons intentions. The human mind is designed to categorize, separate, and then re-categorize again to make a better understanding of the world around us. Keep this in mind as you progress through your experiences in the Craft, and limit the use of the Classification through Color system.

Assignment: Think about the colors, write down the colors of the rainbow leaving plenty of space for you to write, and put down in the spaces what each color means to you. For example: Blue- peace, tranquility, calmness, clarity etc..
For this assignment if you wish to turn it in you may, but I want this to be a page in your personal Books of Shadows.

History of Witchcraft Lesson 11- Magic and Color

So this is a little step to the side, this not only is relevant to today’s practices but the Celtic times as well. Prior to the 14th century, witchcraft meant a collection of beliefs and practices including healing through spells, mixing ointments or concoctions (you’ll learn this herbalism), dabbling in the supernatural, divining or forecasting a possible future ( occasionally using clairvoyance). Groups, such as Christianity, who held different beliefs would brand the users of these practices as “demon-worshipers” (sound familiar?).
So what is the deal with colors of magic? First, it was and still is believed that magic can affect many outcomes, some good and some not so much, depending on the “type” of magic and the intentions of the practitioner. Many will know the “well known” kinds of magic by their color, and sometimes the spells and things we find online use the color to grab your attention.
“Black Magic” is performed with the general intentions of causing harm to something or someone. This is usually because the practitioner is trying to build their power, or as a goal in and of itself. The underlying ideology upon which black magic is based states that the practitioner and his or her pursuit of knowledge and/or physical well-being, are more important than any other concerns, theological or ethical.
“Green magic” involves the practitioner being one with nature, or tuning themselves in to the natural world. Green magic is a more earth centered magic that brings us closer to the divine mother of creation. Many Gaiasts would be seen as Green Witches or green magic users. Green Witches are usually the ones out in the garden or in nature tuning themselves in with the Earth’s natural energies, or practicing herbalism (though this isn’t limited to green magic).
“White Magic” which is another well known magic, is where a practitioner attunes him/herself to the needs of human society and attempts to meet those needs through magic. This is a form of “personal betterment” magic, and does not entail harming others. Generically put, it’s magic to help others with a pure intent.
“Grey magic “, which seems to be the most easily confused magic, is neither green, white or black and usually replaces the absolute stand of these realms with an ethical code that is particular to the practioner rather than the practice. It is a type of magic all its own and is used for different purposes, which we won’t get into too deeply here.
“Folk Magic”, which we talked about in earlier lessons, is an eclectic (multiple) collection of herbalism, healing, curses and hexes, candle magic and other workings that has thrived in rural areas for centuries.

So as you can see, this seems pretty clear, cut, and dry right? Wrong! These are generalizations which are rather generic in this witch’s opinion. They don’t cover every kind of intent or situation, which no one could ever do anyways. Nature isn’t so clear, cut, and dry, it’s loving and caring, yet at the same time can be destructive and harmful. Also, in the color classification system there is little mention of Chaos magic, aka Red Magic. Red magic can also include Love, Sex Magic, and Revenge (also classified in black). For Black magic they leave out Necromancy, and nocturnal magic, which could be classified as black or white, or even grey for that matter. The color classification system was brought about because people needed an easy way to understand a persons intentions. The human mind is designed to categorize, separate, and then re-categorize again to make a better understanding of the world around us. Keep this in mind as you progress through your experiences in the Craft, and limit the use of the Classification through Color system.

Assignment: Think about the colors, write down the colors of the rainbow leaving plenty of space for you to write, and put down in the spaces what each color means to you. For example: Blue- peace, tranquility, calmness, clarity etc..
For this assignment if you wish to turn it in you may, but I want this to be a page in your personal Books of Shadows.

History of Witchcraft Lesson 12- The Final Lesson

This is the Final Lesson of History of Witchcraft. I’m bringing you back to modern day. What have you learned so far?
This lesson will be a final recap of everything that you’ve learned so far.
• What is witchcraft in modern day terms
• What happened to the witches and cunning folk through the recent history, and who they were
• What happened with the Salem Witch Trials
• What went on in the Burning Times
• How the Emperor Constantine played a role in the evolution of witchcraft at the time of Christianities rise
• Who the Celts were and some of their practices
• A basic understanding of the Color Classification System in the Magical Community

During this time you should have been taking notes, doing the assignments and researching outside of the material that was provided for you. As a teacher I can not spoon feed you a bunch of information, if I were to do this, you all wouldn’t have made it this far with twice as much knowledge as when you began. Part of being a good witch means you are vigilant, and capable of finding information through the resources you are provided today. The Celts didn’t have written rituals and spells like we find on the computer today. The Romans didn’t have Google to help them search for information that was once known as Occult (hidden) Knowledge. There may have been books or documents that were forged back then, but nothing compared to what we know today.

You Assignment for this Final Lesson: I would like a minimum of 5 paragraphs on how Witchcraft has evolved, and how it still plays an important part in the communities as well as your life in modern day times. I would also like that these paragraphs be from your own personal perspective based on what you’ve learned from this class and the personal research you’ve done on your own. If you feel more than 5 paragraphs is needed, you are not limited to the 5 in this case, you may do more. Try to be as detailed on what you’ve learned and how it impacts you and how you can use that information to impact your communities.

Wow thank you for posting this,I really learned alot.