The History of Witches & Warlocks

The word witch comes from the Celtic word wiccam meaning "wise one" or "magician." It is a fact that more than half of the world thinks that witches can influence their lives. Witchcraft is the use of magical powers, either to cast a spell on someone or to harm them. Witchcraft is considered dark and evil that being the works of the devil. At Lascaux, France, archaeologists found a cave with charcoal drawings dating back to 35 000 BC. They found amber amulets at burial sites in the cave. An amulet is a necklace bearing the image or symbol of a spirit. The person wearing it might have thought that they would be protected from harm if they wore it. Clues like this and others suggest that Stone Age people believed that spirits of the dead lingered on earth and were able to hurt the living.

Witch doctors still perform spirit-binding burial rites and create their own medicines. Some people believe them to be all knowing and in touch with the spirits on the other side. Witchcraft exists among the Hopi and Navajo Indians of the south-western United States, the Maori of New Zealand and many people in southern Africa. Voodoo is somewhat similar to witchcraft. The difference between the two is that voodoo was seen to be inherited powers, while witchcraft was something a person had to go through an apprenticeship to learn.

From the 1400's to the 1700's church authorities in Europe tried to eliminate witchcraft. Persecutions and witch hunts took place in England, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, and Spain. In 1431 the English accused the famous Joan of Arc of being a witch. She was condemned to death and burned at the stake. Between 1484 and 1782 the Christian Church put to death about 300 000 women for practicing witchcraft.

People who practiced "white magic" were mildly punished, but those who practiced "black magic" were executed. Those who were considered most dangerous were those who had sold their souls to the devil and in this case were burned at the stake.