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The history of magic extends from the earliest literate cultures, who relied on charms, divination and spells to interpret and influence the forces of nature. Even societies without written language left crafted artifacts, cave art and monuments that have been interpreted as having magical purpose.
Anthropologists use the term "witchcraft" for similar beliefs about harmful occult practices in different cultures, and these societies often use the term when speaking in English. [3] [4] [5] Belief in witchcraft as malevolent magic is attested from ancient Mesopotamia, and in Europe, belief in witches traces back to classical antiquity.
As the Renaissance period began, these concepts of witchcraft were suppressed, leading to a drastic change in the sorceress' appearances, from sexually explicit beings to the 'ordinary' typical housewives of this time period. This depiction, known as the 'Waldensian' witch became a cultural phenomenon of early Renaissance art.
Low magic is also closely associated with sorcery and witchcraft. [18] Anthropologist Susan Greenwood writes that "Since the Renaissance, high magic has been concerned with drawing down forces and energies from heaven" and achieving unity with divinity. [19] High magic is usually performed indoors while witchcraft is often performed outdoors. [20]
Witchcraft in the colonies was the alleged power one had to use supernatural abilities to influence people or events. [17] In these early times, witchcraft was used to explain events that otherwise could not be understood. [18] People were killed over these accusations when in reality they held no real merit at all.
Michael James Harner (April 27, 1929 – February 3, 2018) was an American anthropologist, educator and author. His 1980 book, The Way of the Shaman: a Guide to Power and Healing, [1] has been foundational in the development and popularization of core shamanism as a New Age path of personal development for adherents of neoshamanism. [2]
The first sections further explains how witchcraft is either real or not, and makes the conclusion that witch craft must be real due to the Devil being real, linking the two together.The second section includes details about witches specifically, particularly characteristics common in witches, how witchcraft is conducted, as well as who is ...
Grimassi shares in common, in his books, the general "Witch-cult hypothesis" that appears in the writings of Charles G. Leland (Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, 1899), a discredited theory that European witchcraft was the continuation of an ancient pre-Christian religion.