Hello y'all!
So, I saw a similar conversation posted earlier, but I'm still unsure. I'm a Christian--not very "orthodox", but I worship God and Jesus and, thanks to familial teachings when I was little, I have an irrational terror of ending up in Hell.
I know the scripture about "suffer not a witch to live" (though I saw on the other conversation I mentioned where someone said that, during King James' time, witch just meant someone with worshipped dark entities). However, I don't really want to be a "witch", per se. More of a healer; I'd like to learn to make potions and such to help people. I didn't know if this made a difference or not. I mean, to some people, miracles could be a form of magic, right? And said miracles were performed with compassion and kindness to help others.
In short, I'm just really confused. I'll attempt to pray about it and see if I can actually get an answer of some form, but I'd like to see what y'all think. Any ideas to help clear things up for me?
I may be Buddhist, however, the use of herbs actually isn't a sin nor medicine in your religion. Using spirits and other deities are considered a sin(unless you're Catholic where you work with angels, saints, and so on). If medicine was a sin, then we would have a lot of dead people. Though King James was a sinful man as he burned lots of supposed "witches" who were actually innocent and just regular healers who used herbs. Though back then, herbs were considered witchcraft and uses of ridiculous cures like drinking vinegar mixed with fleas, rubbing human fat on bruises, throw a stone that killed a wild pig, she bear, or human over your house, chopping your head off and stuffing the brain with salt, drinking crushed gems and pearls, and so on were common(though the gems medicine was used by wealthy). Healing is alright along with cleansing as Jesus used it to heal people, did he not? Though Moses did use Yahweh to bring destruction on Egypt to free the Hebrews. The closest magic I can think of that can be good for only your religion is healing, Kabbalah(Jewish mysticism), and Jewish magic.
Not all people call themselves witches hun.. Not even me. I just heal using the help of my deities. Yes I believe in God too. And I use to fear this place they call hell until I realized it was a fat lie. And now even Lucifer doenst seem so bad. He is actually pretty chill to be honest.
Now this is a favourite subject of mine, bear with me - it's going to be a long post.
Duality of Witches in the time of King James
For centuries (let's take 13 - 17th Century UK for this) there was a lot of change in Religious Doctrine - the Catholic and Protestant 'conflicts' - add in the already standing 'pagan roots' within these areas. 'Witch' at times was interchangeable and here is a small list of why
Consort of the Devil/Unliked Member of the Village - a Common one, normally used to brand an unliked member of the community (Whether they be angry, foul tempered, disabled etc) and if they were a drain on a Community - easiest way to be rid of them is to kill them 'legally' - so branding someone as a Witch was a very easy way to do so - you needed very little evidence to prove it at the end of the day.
A Practitioner of Ill Magic - as above, if you practiced any form of 'harmful magic' you were seen as a Witch - because Witchcraft to the people of that large gap of time was what we call now a days as Black Magic. However sometimes the world would be used in a more positive light for a general practitioner of magic.
Witchcraft for centuries has been seen as a product of the Devil - but it is very strange at times as what was considered the Devil - since in Scotland - Devil just meant a Land Spirit/Spirit of the Region, not the Fallen Angel Lucifer, but to others the Devil is Lucifer - sometimes the Gaulish God Cernunous, the Cornish Buca, Pan from Greece etc etc etc.
Now here is the funny part about Witchcraft as whole and Witches/Practitioners of Magic in the UK from the 13 - 17th Century and outside that time frame - a lot of Witches were Christian in one form or another, practicing a sort of 'Dual Faith' they would stick to the roots of their ancestors - the Folk Lore, the History - but also embrace the new ideas of the Christian Faith - a lot of Traditional Magic was heavily influenced by the Christian Church, Psalms are usuable for both Sinistral and Dextral Magic (left and right). Despite what the Bible says - Magic was widely accepted by the Populace and used as scapegoat for their problems - sometimes these practitioners were also called Doctors and Physicians would also have some Charms taught to them by local practitioners of magic.
A lot of Magic has been influenced by the Chrisitan Faith, such as
Hoodoo
Ceremonial Magic
Ritualistic Magic that is outside of the ideas of the Ceremonial Magicians
Folk Charms
Witchcraft
How you work your magic is up to you, but you can call yourself a Witch, Wizard, Cunning-Man/Woman, Folk Magician etc if you want, there is nothing stopping you - there is just more to the history of 'Witches' that what a lot of people are aware of.
There is a lot more to the subject but I do not have the time or energy to write it all.
Sources
Wicked Enchantment, History of the Pendle Witches and their Magic - Joyce Froome.
Popular Magic, Cunning-Folk in English History - Owen Davies.
Traditional Witchcraft, a Cornish Book of Ways - Gemma Gary.
The Black Toad - Gemma Gary.
Devils Dozen, Thirteen Craftrights of the Old One - Gemma Gary.
Liber Nox - Michael Howard.
A Discovery of the Impostures of Witches and Astrologers - John Brinley.
Cecil Williamsons book of Witchcraft, A Grimoire of the Witchcraft Museum of Broscastle - Steve Patterson.
Treading the Mill - Nigel G Pearson.
The Devils Plantation - Nigel G Pearson.
Witches, A Century of Murder - a Documentary found on Netflix.
not every one calls their self a witch so you don't need to call your self a witch you can just call your self a healer that nonsense about magic being evil is a lie to cause fear and to control people you can learn to do healing spells and make potions to heal people and not got to hell because it's also a control mechanism and a fear factory to make you fear mistakes and doing wrong
