History of Witchcraft

Can someone explain to me the history of Witchcraft and such??? ^_^

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Well that's a long topic. Brysing would be the best person to ask, but he's been offline for a while, so maybe ask in 'other paths' [unless this gets moved by a mod, in which case ignore my point]

Now by 'Witchcraft' what do you mean exactly? Many paths study Witchcraft, not all are the same. Also 'Witchcraft' isn't a spell casting craft for some, so are you talking about the pop culture view of a coven casting spells, or the path of Witchcraft where you observe the seasons and whatnot?

Anyway, as far as I can tell, Witchcraft was one of the oldest crafts, they were wisepeople who could help when you were sick or was having trouble with crops. Eventually the rise of Christianity condemned anyone who didn't follow the Church's preaching, this included Druids and other Pagans, and Witchcraft. After that it became a scare fest with people telling tall tales about witches flying on broomsticks and working with the devil, people got tortured and killed, later on Salem Witch Trials happened [fascinating read, you should research the witch trials if you get the chance] finally the world started coming around and many places made Witchcraft and Paganism legal, but there are still groups and countries that hate witches and cling to the negative stereotype. [Look up African Witch Trials]

That's just a quick point by point, what exactly did you want to know so I [or someone more knowledgeable] can explain in more detail?

After 3 weeks in hospital,I'm back!
The problem with the history of witchcraft is that there is so little of it. The ancient witches were very secretive, and the few that could read and write didn't write very much.
I have some old documents, hand copied from even older hand written documents; but they are very hard to find, and sometimes very hard to understand. I had to buy a book on Old English Language to understand some of the papers!
All the books on witchcraft that I've seen are about the witch trials, Wicca, or different Pagan beliefs.
The witchcraft I was taught has nothing to do will spells, demons,fairies, or anything supernatural.

One of the best resources I have seen for historical British witchcraft, of a more occult tradition, is the book "The Cunning Man's Handbook: The Practice of English Folk Magic, 1550-1900".