‘Reference and Education’ Category

Is Witchcraft Real? No, it’s Not!

Using some kind of magical power to cast spells on people or objects is commonly called witchcraft.  In the past, many innocent people were killed in...

 

Using some kind of magical power to cast spells on people or objects is commonly called witchcraft.  In the past, many innocent people were killed in witch hunts, since witchcraft was viewed as an abomination, with witches using their powers in evil ways and against God.  In modern times witchcraft is seen in a mostly more positive light, such as with Wicca, which is regarded as a kind of pagan religion whose followers have good intentions.  One question that may be answered quite differently by scientists than by ordinary citizens is this one: is witchcraft real?  Most non-scientists used to believe that witches did indeed have magical powers, and then the level of belief gradually subsided with the growth of science in the last century, but recently has grown again with the rise of New Age philosophy.  But scientists have consistently held that there is no credible evidence that magical powers of any kind exist, and they further argue that such powers are not consistent with what we know about physics.  New Age thinkers disagree with both of these arguments, but in my opinion, they are wrong.

The argument about physics is one that can’t be adequately covered in a short article like this one, and in any case arguments about theory are much harder to resolve than arguments about facts.  So, to take a look just at the evidence, the principal New Age rebuttal to the scientists is to say that scientific evidence really does exist for things such as ESP, but the scientists find ways to explain away or ridicule this evidence in order to be able to maintain that no actual evidence exists, because they have a bias against believing in such things.  A bias claim like this doesn’t seem unreasonable; what’s to stop scientists from doing the same kind of explaining away of evidence that theologians of the 19th century did regarding fossil evidence because they didn’t want to believe in evolution?  One answer is that although scientists are indeed influenced by bias just as other people are, because they are scientists they are also more committed to using mechanisms to control for the bias and are more aware in general of how bias can influence them.

The other answer, which is easier to defend, is that if you examine the objections that have been made by scientists to specific evidence that New Age thinkers say is solid, those objections don’t look unreasonable.  To cite one example among many, a scientific study concluded that infertile women who were prayed for doubled their pregnancy rate.  The principal objection scientists raised was that one of the authors was imprisoned for fraud, and that doesn’t seem like an unreasonable red flag to me.  The correct answer to ‚is witchcraft real? is no.

Exploring History of Witchcraft

 

Traditional witchcraft is a system of religious beliefs that has come to present times through conventions and traditions.  The art of witchcraft predates most of the religions of the world, and many historians believe that its origination dates back to Paleolithic period.  Witchcraft is an earth based religion and has been practiced for many centuries in the cultures and societies all over the world as per local traditions and beliefs.  Belief in spells, magic and witchcraft is found in many different cultures worldwide.

In early Modern Europe, the witchcraft came to be seen as the great diabolical conspiracy against Christianity.  In Germanic Europe, the serious accusations against the religion led to massive witch-hunts and killings.  Historians see the witchcraft as ideology to explain misfortune, but this ideology manifested itself in different ways.  In England, the word witch was not only used to describe the wicked magician, but also indicated the cunning person.

These wise people had the knowledge of medicines and herbs, could counsel people and were considered Shamanic healers and leaders in the community.  Druids were the priests of Celtic religion, and they were in power though out the fourth century AD.  Celts were highly spiritual people, worshipped god and goddess, and also believed in reincarnation.  The religious practices and beliefs of Celts were later termed as Paganism, which included the practices such as concocting ointments and potions, performing magic and casting spells.

Prior to fourteenth century, the term witchcraft meant the collection of practices and beliefs including healing through mixing ointments, spells, forecasting the future, dabbling in the supernatural and engaging in clairvoyance.  The term witch, which means to bend or to twist has been originated from the Anglo-Saxon word wicca, which means wise.  This practice was previously banned in colonies of North America, and was branded as demon-worship.  Prior to 14th century, the art of witchcraft was known as the collection of practices and beliefs including healing through concoctions or ointments, spells, forecasting or divining the future, dabbling in the supernatural and engaging in clairvoyance.

Depending on the intentions of the practitioner and type of magic used, the outcome can be good or evil.  Since the ancient times, the well-known types of magic are denoted by colors.  Unfortunately, in the recent years, the image of witch has been associated with heathenism, evil, and unrighteousness, but people need to understand that it is a true religion of Nature and God, and witches and witchcraft must be understood in its true perspective.  It has been believed that the rituals performed by early American witches protected their settlements from Native American’s attacks.

Basic Witchcraft Spells

 

If you think that witchcraft is all about bringing harm to people and cackling while stirring a boiling pot then you are sadly mistaken.  There are lots of regular people all around the world who rely on witchcraft spells for different things.  Witchcraft is not only used for bad purposes and in fact there are lots of positive, happy spells as well that you can use.  In fact, there are quite a few positive witchcraft spells.

There are love spells you could cast if there was someone you had your eye on for instance, which will not harm them but will make them fall madly in love with you.  One of the most commonly turned to love spells is the simple love spell.  For anyone just getting into witchcraft this one would be ideal to get started with.  You will need a sheet of lined paper, a red pen or marker, some perfume, an envelope, red lipstick, a few pink or red flower petals and then you want to write out some qualities that you are looking for in a partner.

Think seriously about this before writing them out because the point of this love spell is to find someone that is a true love for you.  You may be interested in them having blue eyes and a great smile but also put down qualities regarding their personality that you want.  Once you have made your list take the petals in your right hand and close your eyes.  You want to imagine yourself with this person and think of how happy you will be once you are together, then within the next few weeks this person should come to you in one way or another.

You need to put the envelope away and never open it or the spell will be broken.  No matter who may have started the fight, the most important thing is that this is going to help get the two of you back together.   All you do is put the picture on the plate and once you do that the person is going to call you.  You simply then put their picture on the plate face down and wait for about ten minutes.

Keep an eye on the time because you do not want to go over 15 minutes each time but before the first 15 minutes they should have called you.  If they are not you just put the picture back on the plate and try for another 15 minutes.  They may not have been able to get a hold of you but this spell would have made their feelings towards you change and they will have forgiven you.  Witchcraft spells can be a lot of fun and they do not always have to be used to hurt or embarrass people.

Basic Witchcraft Protection Spells You Can Use

 

Using witchcraft protection spells can be an incredibly helpful, for a number of different situations.  Maybe you feel problems in your life such as stress or worries and you can use a witchcraft protection spell to make yourself feel more safe and secure.  There is a lot of good and help that can come from witchcraft spells for instance if you were to use a witchcraft protection spell such as one to help guard you from negativity in your life.  For this spell you will need 2 green candles, 1 white candle, a picture of a wolf, essential oil of your choice, consecrated salt and water, some wine or milk and some cakes.

Now once you have all your supplies gathered together you can begin by chanting.  You say candles three, green and white.  Bring protection here this night.  The moon is full, the sky is clear.

The mighty wolf shall ever reign and be protected from harm and bane.  Be guarded by this circle and throughout your life.  Be guarded by this circle and throughout your life and once you are done chanting it should work and you should be protected from evil throughout your life.  A lot of people find that they are dealing with slander because someone is jealous or has vengeance against them for some reason.

This spell is used to protect yourself from people who are slandering your name or otherwise trying to bring you down.  You want to get your supplies together and that means a dark altar, one black and white candle, pair of scissors or another utensil to inscribe the candle with, along with some spider webs, a pen and some paper and a calming incense like lavender or jasmine.  Then to get started you want to get on the altar and place one candle on each side then you say the name of the person who has been slandering you if you know it.  If you are not sure of their name for some reason you can just put an ‚Äúx‚Äù on the candle and imagine the person in your head and this will work just as well.

A pair of scissors, pen or other similar instrument would work fine for this.  Then you roll the candle with the person‚Äôs name written on it in some juice from the Dieffenbachia plant.  Also keep in mind that these spells are not used with the aim of harming someone else but instead to protect yourself from other people if they are being mean or trying to cause harm to you and your life in some way.  Just remember to only use witchcraft spells that are going to enhance your life and which are not going to harm anyone else.

All About Witches and Witchcraft

 

Witchcraft is defined as the utilization of various kinds of magical and supernatural powers to influence people and things, with either good or bad intentions, and it has been practiced for at least a thousand years in many regions of the world, including Africa, Europe, and South America.  Historically, witchcraft has primarily been viewed as an evil practice, with the most well known variant of it being the witchcraft from the medieval period in Europe, in which spells were cast by witches that had results such as  causing people to commit murder or get sick.  Witches have not always been seen as evil beings, such as in the case of witch doctors who treat illnesses or European ‚white witches‚Äù who worked to undo the spells of evil witches.  But up until recently the main attitude toward them has been one of fear and revulsion, which has led to many thousands of people being killed in witch hunts.

The amount of people believing that witches and witchcraft are real, in the sense that witches not only do certain things such as using incantations, casting spells, and making potions, but that these things also really do have magical powers to influence people, has undergone an interesting evolution.  With the belief being widespread among the population up until the nineteenth century, then declining steadily in the developed world as the prestige of science rose while still being widespread in undeveloped countries.  But then rising again recently in developed countries with the emergence of New Age philosophies and greater respect for indigenous religious practices.

Today there is an interesting dichotomy with regard to modern day witches and witchcraft.  However in the developed world it is portrayed in a positive light in the media, such as with portrayals of benevolent Caribbean voodoo practitioners and Native American shamans.  A somewhat romanticized version of it is practiced by middle class people, as with the neopagan Wiccans.  There are still witch hunts in the Third World to this day; witch killing cases have been reported in countries like Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana, and there was a report that fifteen suspected witches had been killed in the month of February 2003 alone in Nigeria.  What both of these views have in common is the belief that witchcraft actually works, and my own view is that this belief is both harmful, in that it generates fear, and incorrect, since there is no scientific evidence backing it up.