Witchcraft

1 Concept

Witch redirects here. For other uses, see Witchcraft

(disambiguation) and Witch (disambiguation).
Witchcraft (also called witchery or spellcraft) broadly

The concept of witchcraft and the belief in its existence have existed throughout recorded history. They
have been present or central at various times, and in
many diverse forms, among cultures and religions worldwide, including both primitive and highly advanced
cultures,[3] and continue to have an important role in
many cultures today.[2] Scientically, the existence of
magical powers and witchcraft are generally believed to
lack credence and to be unsupported by high quality
experimental testing, although individual witchcraft practices and eects may be open to scientic explanation or
explained via mentalism and psychology.

Historically, the predominant concept of witchcraft in

the Western world derives from Old Testament laws
against witchcraft, and entered the mainstream when belief in witchcraft gained Church approval in the Early
Modern Period. It posits a theosophical conict between good and evil, where witchcraft was generally
evil and often associated with the Devil and Devil worship. This culminated in deaths, torture and scapegoating
(casting blame for human misfortune),[4][5] and many
years of large scale witch-trials and witch hunts, especially in Protestant Europe, before largely ceasing during the European Age of Enlightenment. Christian views
in the modern day are diverse and cover the gamut of
views from intense belief and opposition (especially from
Christian fundamentalists) to non-belief, and in some
churches even approval. From the mid-20th century,
witchcraft sometimes called contemporary witchcraft
Witches by Hans Baldung. Woodcut, 1508
to clearly distinguish it from older beliefs became the
name of a branch of modern paganism. It is most notably
means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills practiced in the Wiccan and modern[6]witchcraft traditions,
and abilities that are able to be exercised by indi- and no longer practices in secrecy.
viduals and certain social groups. Witchcraft is a The Western mainstream Christian view is far from the
complex concept that varies culturally and societally; only societal perspective about witchcraft. Many cultherefore, it is dicult to dene with precision[1] and tures worldwide continue to have widespread practices
cross-cultural assumptions about the meaning or sig- and cultural beliefs that are loosely translated into Ennicance of the term should be applied with cau- glish as witchcraft, although the English translation
tion. Witchcraft often occupies a religious, divinatory masks a very great diversity in their forms, magical beor medicinal role,[2] and is often present within soci- liefs, practices, and place in their societies. During the
eties and groups whose cultural framework includes a Age of Colonialism, many cultures across the globe were
magical world view.[1] Although witchcraft can often exposed to the modern Western world via colonialism,
share common ground with related concepts such as sor- usually accompanied and often preceded by intensive
cery, the paranormal, magical, superstition, necromancy, Christian missionary activity (see "Christianization"). Bepossession, shamanism, healing, spiritualism, nature wor- liefs related to witchcraft and magic in these cultures were
ship and the occult, it is usually seen as distinct from these at times inuenced by the prevailing Western concepts.
when examined by sociologists and anthropologists.
Witch hunts, scapegoating, and killing or shunning of
1

OVERVIEW

suspected witches still occurs in the modern era,[7] with

killings both of victims for their supposedly magical body
parts, and of suspected witchcraft practitioners.
Suspicion of modern medicine due to beliefs about illness being due to witchcraft also continues in many countries to this day, with tragic healthcare consequences.
HIV/AIDS [8] and Ebola virus disease [9] are two examples of often-lethal infectious disease epidemics whose
medical care and containment has been severely hampered by regional beliefs in witchcraft. Other severe
medical conditions whose treatment is hampered in this
way include tuberculosis, leprosy, epilepsy and the common severe bacterial Buruli ulcer.[10][11] Public healthcare often requires considerable education work related
to epidemology and modern health knowledge in many
parts of the world where belief in witchcraft prevails,
to encourage eective preventive health measures and
treatments, to reduce victim blaming, shunning and
stigmatization, and to prevent the killing of people and
endangering of animal species for body parts believed to
convey magical abilities.

Etymology and denitions

Magic Circle by John William Waterhouse, 1886

Further information: Witch (word)

The word witchcraft derives from the Old English wic- 3.1 Alleged practices
cecrft, a compound of wicce (witch) and crft
Historically the witchcraft label has been applied to prac(craft).[12]
tices people believe inuence the mind, body, or property
In anthropological terminology, witches dier from sor- of others against their willor practices that the person
cerers in that they don't use physical tools or actions to doing the labeling believes undermine social or religious
curse; their malecium is perceived as extending from order. Some modern commentators believe the malec
some intangible inner quality, and one may be unaware nature of witchcraft is a Christian projection. The conof being a witch, or may have been convinced of his/her cept of a magic-worker inuencing another persons body
nature by the suggestion of others.[13] This denition was or property against their will was clearly present in many
pioneered in a study of central African magical beliefs cultures, as traditions in both folk magic and religious
by E. E. Evans-Pritchard, who cautioned that it might not magic have the purpose of countering malicious magic
correspond with normal English usage.[14]
or identifying malicious magic users. Many examples
Historians of European witchcraft have found the an- appear in ancient texts, such as those from Egypt and
thropological denition dicult to apply to European Babylonia. Malicious magic users can become a credible
and British witchcraft, where witches could equally use cause for disease, sickness in animals, bad luck, sudden
(or be accused of using) physical techniques, as well as death, impotence and other such misfortunes. Witchcraft
some who really had attempted to cause harm by thought of a more benign and socially acceptable sort may then
alone.[15] European witchcraft is seen by historians and be employed to turn the malevolence aside, or identify
anthropologists as an ideology for explaining misfortune; the supposed evil-doer so that punishment may be carried
however, this ideology has manifested in diverse ways, as out. The folk magic used to identify or protect against
malicious magic users is often indistinguishable from that
described below.[16]
used by the witches themselves.

Overview

There has also existed in popular belief the concept

of white witches and white witchcraft, which is strictly
benevolent. Many neopagan witches strongly identify
with this concept, and profess ethical codes that prevent
them from performing magic on a person without their

3.2

Good and evil

request.
Where belief in malicious magic practices exists, such
practitioners are typically forbidden by law as well as
hated and feared by the general populace, while benecial magic is tolerated or even accepted wholesale by the
people even if the orthodox establishment opposes it.
3.1.1

Spell casting

Main article: Magic (paranormal)

Probably the most obvious characteristic of a witch was
the ability to cast a spell, spell being the word used to
signify the means employed to carry out a magical action.
A spell could consist of a set of words, a formula or verse,
or a ritual action, or any combination of these.[17] Spells
traditionally were cast by many methods, such as by the
inscription of runes or sigils on an object to give it magical
powers; by the immolation or binding of a wax or clay
image (poppet) of a person to aect him or her magically;
by the recitation of incantations; by the performance of
physical rituals; by the employment of magical herbs as
amulets or potions; by gazing at mirrors, swords or other
specula (scrying) for purposes of divination; and by many
other means.[18]
3.1.2

Necromancy (conjuring the dead)

3
time, it was increasingly believed that Christianity was
engaged in an apocalyptic battle against the Devil and his
secret army of witches, who had entered into a diabolical
pact. In total, tens or hundreds of thousands of people were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured,
banished, and had lands and possessions conscated.
The majority of those accused were women, though in
some regions the majority were men.[24][25] "Warlock"
is sometimes mistakenly used for male witch.[26] Accusations of witchcraft were often combined with other
charges of heresy against such groups as the Cathars and
Waldensians.
The Malleus Malecarum, (Latin for Hammer of The
Witches) was a witch-hunting manual written in 1486
by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by both Catholics and
Protestants[27] for several hundred years, outlining how to
identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely than a
man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to
punish a witch. The book denes a witch as evil and typically female. The book became the handbook for secular
courts throughout Renaissance Europe, but was not used
by the Inquisition, which even cautioned against relying
on the work,[28] and was later ocially condemned by
the Catholic Church in 1490.
In the modern Western world, witchcraft accusations
have often accompanied the satanic ritual abuse moral
panic. Such accusations are a counterpart to blood libel
of various kinds, which may be found throughout history
across the globe.

Strictly speaking, "necromancy" is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for divination or prophecy
although the term has also been applied to raising the 3.2.2 White witches
dead for other purposes. The biblical Witch of Endor
performed it (1 Sam. 28), and it is among the witchcraft Main article: White witch
practices condemned by lfric of Eynsham:[19][20][21]
Further information: Folk religion, Magical thinking, and
Shamanism
Throughout the early modern period, the English term
Witches still go to cross-roads and to heathen burials with their delusive magic and call
to the devil; and he comes to them in the likeness of the man that is buried there, as if he
arise from death.[22]

3.2
3.2.1

Good and evil

Demonology

In Christianity and Islam, sorcery came to be associated with heresy and apostasy and to be viewed as evil.
Among the Catholics, Protestants, and secular leadership of the European Late Medieval/Early Modern period, fears about witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led to large-scale witch-hunts. The key century was
the fteenth, which saw a dramatic rise in awareness and A painting in the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria, condemning
terror of witchcraft, culminating in the publication of the witchcraft and traditional folk magic
Malleus Malecarum but prepared by such fanatical popular preachers as Bernardino of Siena.[23] Throughout this witch was not exclusively negative in meaning, and

could also indicate cunning folk. There were a number

of interchangeable terms for these practitioners, 'white',
'good', or 'unbinding' witches, blessers, wizards, sorcerers, however 'cunning-man' and 'wise-man' were the most
frequent.[29] The contemporary Reginald Scot noted,
At this day it is indierent to say in the English tongue,
'she is a witch' or 'she is a wise woman'".[30] Folk magicians throughout Europe were often viewed ambivalently
by communities, and were considered as capable of harming as of healing,[31] which could lead to their being accused as witches in the negative sense. Many English
witches convicted of consorting with demons seem to
have been cunning folk whose fairy familiars had been
demonised;[32] many French devins-guerisseurs (divinerhealers) were accused of witchcraft,[33] and over one
half the accused witches in Hungary seem to have been
healers.[34]
Some of the healers and diviners historically accused
of witchcraft have considered themselves mediators between the mundane and spiritual worlds, roughly equivalent to shamans.[35] Such people described their contacts with fairies, spirits often involving out-of-body experiences and travelling through the realms of an otherworld.[36] Beliefs of this nature are implied in the folklore of much of Europe, and were explicitly described
by accused witches in central and southern Europe. Repeated themes include participation in processions of the
dead or large feasts, often presided over by a horned male
deity or a female divinity who teaches magic and gives
prophecies; and participation in battles against evil spirits, vampires, or witches to win fertility and prosperity for the community.

3.3

Accusations of witchcraft

OVERVIEW

to the perceived detriment of a neighbouring household; due to neighbourly or community rivalries and
the ambiguity between positive and negative magic,
such individuals can become labelled as witches.
The supernatural or night witch: portrayed in
court narratives as a demon appearing in visions and
dreams.[37]
Neighbourhood witches are the product of neighbourhood tensions, and are found only in self-sucient serf
village communities where the inhabitants largely rely
on each other. Such accusations follow the breaking of
some social norm, such as the failure to return a borrowed
item, and any person part of the normal social exchange
could potentially fall under suspicion. Claims of sorcerer witches and supernatural witches could arise out
of social tensions, but not exclusively; the supernatural
witch in particular often had nothing to do with communal conict, but expressed tensions between the human
and supernatural worlds; and in Eastern and Southeastern
Europe such supernatural witches became an ideology explaining calamities that befell entire communities.[38]
3.3.1 Violence related to accusations
Belief in witchcraft continues to be present today in some
societies and accusations of witchcraft are the trigger of
serious forms of violence, including murder. Such incidents are common in places such as Burkina Faso, Ghana,
India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal and Tanzania. Accusations
of witchcraft are sometimes linked to personal disputes,
jealousy, and conicts between neighbors or family over
land or inheritance. Witchcraft related violence is often discussed as a serious issue in the broader context of
violence against women.[39][40][41][42][43]

va Pcs states that reasons for accusations of witchcraft In Tanzania, about 500 older women are murdered each
fall into four general categories:[16]
year following accusations against them of witchcraft.[44]
Apart from extrajudicial violence, there is also state1. A person was caught in the act of positive or negative sanctioned violence in some jurisdictions. For instance,
sorcery
in Saudi Arabia practicing 'witchcraft and sorcery' is a
executed
2. A well-meaning sorcerer or healer lost their clients crime punishable by death and the country has[45][46][47]
people
for
this
crime
in
2011,
2012
and
2014.
or the authorities trust
Children in some regions of the world, such as parts
3. A person did nothing more than gain the enmity of
of Africa, are also vulnerable to violence related to
their neighbours
witchcraft accusations.[48][49][50][51] Such incidents have
4. A person was reputed to be a witch and surrounded also occurred in immigrant communities in the UK, including the much publicized case of the murder of Vicwith an aura of witch-beliefs or Occultism
toria Climbi.[52][53]
[16]
She identies three varieties of witch in popular belief:
The neighbourhood witch or social witch": a 3.4 Contemporary witchcraft
witch who curses a neighbour following some conMain articles: Contemporary witchcraft and Traditional
ict.
witchcraft
The magical or sorcerer witch: either a profes- Further information: Neoshamanism and Modern
sional healer, sorcerer, seer or midwife, or a per- paganism
son who has through magic increased her fortune

3.4

Contemporary witchcraft

Modern practices identied by their practitioners as

witchcraft have grown dramatically since the early
20th century. Generally portrayed as revivals of preChristian European ritual and spirituality, they are understood to involve varying degrees of magic, shamanism,
folk medicine, spiritual healing, calling on elementals and
spirits, veneration of ancient deities and archetypes, and
attunement with the forces of nature.

3.4.2 Stregheria

The rst Neopagan groups to publicly appear, during the

1950s and 60s, were Gerald Gardner's Bricket Wood
coven and Roy Bowers' Clan of Tubal Cain. They operated as initiatory secret societies. Other individual practitioners and writers such as Paul Huson[54] also claimed
inheritance to surviving traditions of witchcraft.[55]

Modern Stregheria closely resembles Charles Leland's

controversial late-19th-century account of a surviving
Italian religion of witchcraft, worshipping the Goddess
Diana, her brother Dianus/Lucifer, and their daughter
Aradia. Lelands witches do not see Lucifer as the evil
Satan that Christians see, but a benevolent god of the Sun
and Moon.

3.4.1

Wicca

Main article: Wicca

During the 20th century, interest in witchcraft in Englishspeaking and European countries began to increase, inspired particularly by Margaret Murray's theory of a
pan-European witch-cult originally published in 1921,
since discredited by further careful historical research.[56]
Interest was intensied, however, by Gerald Gardners
claim in 1954 in Witchcraft Today that a form of
witchcraft still existed in England. The truth of Gardners claim is now disputed too, with dierent historians
oering evidence for[57][58] or against[59][60][61] the religions existence prior to Gardner.
The Wicca that Gardner initially taught was a witchcraft
religion having a lot in common with Margaret Murrays
hypothetically posited cult of the 1920s.[62] Indeed, Murray wrote an introduction to Gardners Witchcraft Today,
in eect putting her stamp of approval on it. Wicca
is now practised as a religion of an initiatory secret society nature with positive ethical principles, organised
into autonomous covens and led by a High Priesthood.
There is also a large Eclectic Wiccan movement of individuals and groups who share key Wiccan beliefs but
have no initiatory connection or aliation with traditional Wicca. Wiccan writings and ritual show borrowings from a number of sources including 19th and 20thcentury ceremonial magic, the medieval grimoire known
as the Key of Solomon, Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi
Orientis and pre-Christian religions.[63][64][65] Both men
and women are equally termed witches. They practice
a form of duotheistic universalism.

Main article: Stregheria

Stregheria is an Italian witchcraft religion popularised in
the 1980s by Raven Grimassi, who claims that it evolved
within the ancient Etruscan religion of Italian peasants
who worked under the Catholic upper classes.

The ritual format of contemporary Stregheria is roughly

similar to that of other Neopagan witchcraft religions
such as Wicca. The pentagram is the most common symbol of religious identity. Most followers celebrate a series
of eight festivals equivalent to the Wiccan Wheel of the
Year, though others follow the ancient Roman festivals.
An emphasis is placed on ancestor worship.
3.4.3 Traditional witchcraft
Main article: Traditional witchcraft
Traditional witchcraft is a term used to refer to a variety of contemporary forms of witchcraft. Pagan
studies scholar Ethan Doyle White described it as a
broad movement of aligned magico-religious groups who
reject any relation to Gardnerianism and the wider
Wiccan movement, claiming older, more traditional
roots. Although typically united by a shared aesthetic
rooted in European folklore, the Traditional Craft contains within its ranks a rich and varied array of occult groups, from those who follow a contemporary Pagan path that is suspiciously similar to Wicca to those
who adhere to Luciferianism".[66] According to British
Traditional Witch Michael Howard, the term refers
to any non-Gardnerian, non-Alexandrian, non-Wiccan
or pre-modern form of the Craft, especially if it has
been inspired by historical forms of witchcraft and folk
magic.[67] Another denition was oered by Daniel
A. Schulke, the current Magister of the Cultus Sabbati,
when he proclaimed that traditional witchcraft refers to
a coterie of initiatory lineages of ritual magic, spellcraft
and devotional mysticism.[68] Some forms of traditional
witchcraft are the Feri Tradition, Cochranes Craft and
the Sabbatic craft.[69]

Since Gardners death in 1964, the Wicca that he claimed

he was initiated into has attracted many initiates, becom- Feri Tradition Main article: Feri Tradition
ing the largest of the various witchcraft traditions in the
Western world, and has inuenced other Neopagan and The Feri Tradition is a modern traditional witchcraft
practice founded by Victor Henry Anderson and his wife
occult movements.

Cora. It is an ecstatic tradition which places strong emphasis on sensual experience and awareness, including
sexual mysticism, which is not limited to heterosexual expression.
Most practitioners worship three main deities; the Star
Goddess, and two divine twins, one of whom is the blue
God. They believe that there are three parts to the human
soul, a belief taken from the Hawaiian religion of Huna
as described by Max Freedom Long.

3.5

Contemporary witchcraft, Satanism

and Luciferianism

OVERVIEW

having the diametrically opposite views to these.)[70] Such

beliefs become more visibly expressed in Europe after
the Enlightenment, when works such as Milton's Paradise
Lost were described anew by romantics who suggested
that they presented the biblical Satan as an allegory representing crisis of faith, individualism, free will, wisdom
and enlightenment; a few works from that time also begin
to directly present Satan in a less negative light, such as
Letters from the Earth. The two major trends are theistic
Satanism and atheistic Satanism; the former venerates Satan as a supernatural patriarchal deity, while the latter
views Satan as merely a symbolic embodiment of certain
human traits.[71]

Organized groups began to emerge in the mid 20th cenMain articles: Satanism and Satanism and Witchcraft
tury, including the Ophite Cultus Satanas (1948)[72] and
Satanism is a broad term referring to diverse beliefs The Church of Satan (1966). After seeing Margaret Murray's book The God of the Witches the leader of Ophite
Cultus Satanas, Herbert Arthur Sloane, said he realized
that the horned god was Satan (Sathanas). Sloane also
corresponded with his contemporary Gerald Gardner,
founder of the wicca religion, and implied that his views
of Satan and the horned god were not necessarily in conict with Gardners approach. However, he did believe
that, while gnosis referred to knowledge, and "wicca"
referred to wisdom, modern witches had fallen away from
the true knowledge, and instead had begun worshipping
a fertility god, a reection of the creator god. He wrote
that the largest existing body of witches who are true
Satanists would be the Yezedees". Sloane highly recommended the book The Gnostic Religion, and sections
of it were sometimes read at ceremonies.[73] It was estimated that there were up to 100,000 Satanists worldwide
by 2006, twice the number estimated in 1990.[74] Satanistic beliefs have been largely permitted as a valid expression of religious belief in the West. For example, they
were allowed in the British Royal Navy in 2004,[75][76][77]
and an appeal was considered in 2005 for religious status
as a right of prisoners by the Supreme Court of the United
States.[78][79] Contemporary Satanism is mainly an American phenomenon,[80] although it began to reach Eastern
Europe in the 1990s around the time of the fall of the
Soviet Union.[81][82]
Eliphas Lvis Sabbatic goat (known as The Goat of Mendes or
Baphomet) is one of Satanisms most common symbols.

that share a symbolic association with, or admiration for,

Satan, who is seen as a liberating gure. While it is heir to
the same historical period and pre-Enlightenment beliefs
that gave rise to modern witchcraft, it is generally seen as
completely separate from modern witchcraft and Wicca,
and has little or no connection to them.
Modern witchcraft considers Satanism to be the dark
side of Christianity rather than a branch of Wicca: - the
character of Satan referenced in Satanism exists only in
the theology of the three Abrahamic religions, and Satanism arose as, and occupies the role of, a rebellious
counterpart to Christianity, in which all is permitted and
the self is central. (Christianity can be characterized as

Luciferianism, on the other hand, is a belief system[83]

and does not revere the devil gure or most characteristics typically axed to Satan. Rather, Lucifer in this
context is seen as one of many morning stars, a symbol of
enlightenment,[84] independence and human progression.
Madeline Montalban was an English witch who adhered
to a specic form of luciferianism which revolved around
the veneration of Lucifer, or Lumiel, whom she considered to be a benevolent angelic being who had aided humanitys development. Within her Order, she emphasised
that her followers discover their own personal relationship
with the angelic beings, including Lumiel.[85] Although
initially seeming favourable to Gerald Gardner, by the
mid-1960s she had become hostile towards him and his
Gardnerian tradition, considering him to be a 'dirty old

4.1

Abrahamic religions

man' and sexual pervert.[86] She also expressed hostility

to another prominent Pagan Witch of the period, Charles
Cardell, although in the 1960s became friends with the
two Witches at the forefront of the Alexandrian Wiccan
tradition, Alex Sanders and his wife, Maxine Sanders,
who adopted some of her Luciferian angelic practices.[87]
In contemporary times luciferian witches exist within traditional witchcraft.[66]

4
4.1

Historical and religious perspectives

Abrahamic religions

The belief in sorcery and its practice seem to have been

widespread in the Ancient Near East. It played a conspicuous role in the cultures of ancient Egypt and in
Babylonia, with the latter composing an Akkadian antiwitchcraft ritual, the Maql. A section from the Code of
Hammurabi (about 2000 B.C.) prescribes:
If a man has put a spell upon another man
and it is not justied, he upon whom the spell is
laid shall go to the holy river; into the holy river
shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him
and he is drowned, the man who put the spell
upon him shall take possession of his house.
If the holy river declares him innocent and he
remains unharmed the man who laid the spell
shall be put to death. He that plunged into the
river shall take possession of the house of him
who laid the spell upon him.[88]
4.1.1

Hebrew Bible

Main article: Witchcraft and divination in the Bible

According to the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia:
In the Holy Scripture references to sorcery
are frequent, and the strong condemnations of
such practices found there do not seem to be
based so much upon the supposition of fraud as
upon the abomination of the magic in itself.[89]

Execution of alleged witches, 1587

The precise meaning of the Hebrew kashaph, usually

translated as witch or sorceress, is uncertain. In the
Septuagint, it was translated as pharmakeia or pharmakous. In the 16th century, Reginald Scot, a prominent
critic of the witch-trials, translated kashaph, pharmakeia,
and their Latin Vulgate equivalent venecos as all meaning poisoner, and on this basis, claimed that witch was
an incorrect translation and poisoners were intended.[91]
His theory still holds some currency, but is not widely
accepted, and in Daniel 2:2 kashaph is listed alongside
other magic practitioners who could interpret dreams:
magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans. Suggested derivations of Kashaph include mutterer (from a single root) or
herb user (as a compound word formed from the roots
kash, meaning herb, and hapaleh, meaning using).
The Greek pharmakeia literally means herbalist or one
who uses or administers drugs, but it was used virtually
synonymously with mageia and goeteia as a term for a
sorcerer.[92]

The Bible provides some evidence that these commandments against sorcery were enforced under the Hebrew
The King James Bible uses the words witch, kings:
witchcraft, and witchcrafts to translate the Masoretic
( kashaph or kesheph) and ( qesem);[90] these
And Saul disguised himself, and put on
same English terms are used to translate
other raiment, and he went, and two men with
(pharmakeia) in the Greek New Testament text. Verses
him, and they came to the woman by night:
such as Deuteronomy 18:1112 and Exodus 22:18
and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by
(Thou shalt not suer a witch to live) thus provided
the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom
scriptural justication for Christian witch hunters in the
I shall name unto thee. And the woman said
early Modern Age (see Christian views on magic).
unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath

HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES

done, how he hath cut o those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land:
wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life,
to cause me to die?[93]

doubtedly the Witch of Endor whom Saul consults, as

recounted in the First Book of Samuel, chapter 28.

Note that the Hebrew word ob, translated as familiar spirit

in the above quotation, has a dierent meaning than the
usual English sense of the phrase; namely, it refers to a
spirit that the woman is familiar with, rather than to a
spirit that physically manifests itself in the shape of an
animal.

Divination, and magic or sorcery in Islam, encompass

a wide range of practices, including black magic, warding o the evil eye, the production of amulets and other
magical equipment, conjuring, casting lots, and astrology.
Muslims do commonly believe in magic (Sihr) and explicitly forbid its practice. Sihr translates from Arabic
as sorcery or black magic. The best known reference to
magic in Islam is the Surah Al-Falaq (meaning dawn or
daybreak), which is known as a prayer to Allah to ward
o black magic.

4.1.2

New Testament

See also: Christian views on magic

The New Testament condemns the practice as an abomination, just as the Old Testament had (Galatians 5:20,
compared with Revelation 21:8; 22:15; and Acts 8:9;
13:6), though the overall topic of Biblical law in Christianity is still disputed. The word in most New Testament translations is sorcerer"/"sorcery rather than
witch"/"witchcraft.

4.1.4 Islam

Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the

Dawn From the mischief of created things;
From the mischief of Darkness as it overspreads; From the mischief of those who practise secret arts; And from the mischief of the
envious one as he practises envy. (Qur'an
113:15)
Also according to the Qur'an:

4.1.3

Judaism

See also: Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible

Jewish law views the practice of witchcraft as being laden
with idolatry and/or necromancy; both being serious theological and practical oenses in Judaism. Although
Maimonides vigorously denied the ecacy of all methods
of witchcraft, and claimed that the Biblical prohibitions
regarding it were precisely to wean the Israelites from
practices related to idolatry. It is acknowledged that while
magic exists, it is forbidden to practice it on the basis
that it usually involves the worship of other gods. Rabbis
of the Talmud also condemned magic when it produced
something other than illusion, giving the example of two
men who use magic to pick cucumbers (Sanhedrin 67a).
The one who creates the illusion of picking cucumbers
should not be condemned, only the one who actually picks
the cucumbers through magic. However, some of the
Rabbis practiced magic themselves or taught the subject. For instance, Rabbah created a person and sent him
to Rabbi Zera, and Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya studied every Friday together and created a small calf to eat
on Shabbat (Sanhedrin 67b). In these cases, the magic
was seen more as divine miracles (i.e., coming from God
rather than unclean forces) than as witchcraft.
Judaism does make it clear that Jews shall not try to
learn about the ways of witches (Deuteronomy/Devarim
18: 910) and that witches are to be put to death.
(Exodus/Shemot 22:17)

And they follow that which the devils

falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon.
Solomon disbelieved not; but the devils disbelieved, teaching mankind sorcery and that
which was revealed to the two angels in Babel, Harut and Marut ... And surely they do
know that he who tracketh therein will have
no (happy) portion in the Hereafter; and surely
evil is the price for which they sell their souls,
if they but knew. (al-Qur'an 2:102)
However, whereas performing miracles in Islamic
thought and belief is reserved for only Messengers and
Prophets, supernatural acts are also believed to be performed by Awliyaa the spiritually accomplished. Disbelief in the miracles of the Prophets is considered an act
of disbelief; belief in the miracles of any given pious individual is not. Neither are regarded as magic, but as signs
of Allah at the hands of those close to Him that occur by
His will and His alone.
Some Muslim practitioners believe that they may seek the
help of the Jinn (singularjinni) in magic. It is a common belief that jinn can possess a human, thus requiring
Exorcism. Still, the practice of seeking help to the Jinn
is prohibited and regarded the same as seeking help to a
devil.

The belief in jinn is part of the Muslim faith. Imam Muslim narrated the Prophet said: Allah created the angels
from light, created the jinn from the pure ame of re,
and Adam from that which was described to you (i.e., the
Judaisms most famous reference to a medium is un- clay.)". Also in the Qur'an, chapter of Jinn:

5.1

Africa

And persons from among men used to

seek refuge with persons from among the jinn,
so they increased them in evil doing.
(The Qur'an) (72:6)

To cast o the jinn from the body of the possessed, the

ruqya, which is from the Prophets sunnah is used. The
ruqya contains verses of the Qur'an as well as prayers
specically targeted against demons. The knowledge of
which verses of the Qur'an to use in what way is what is
considered magic knowledge.
A Hadeeth recorded by Al-Bukhari narrates that one who
has eaten seven Ajwa dates in the morning will not be
adversely aected by magic in the course of that day.
Students of the history of religion have linked several
magical practises in Islam with pre-Islamic Turkish and
East African customs. Most notable of these customs is
the Zar Ceremony.[94][95]

5
5.1

By region
Africa
Djambe redirects here; not to be confused with:
Djembe

Shona witchdoctor (n'anga) in Zimbabwe

Further information: Witchcraft and children and Witch

Children in Africa
The term witch doctor, a common translation for the
South African Zulu word inyanga, has been misconstrued
to mean a healer who uses witchcraft rather than its
original meaning of one who diagnoses and cures maladies caused by witches.
In Southern African traditions, there are three classications of somebody who uses magic. The thakathi is usually improperly translated into English as witch, and is
a spiteful person who operates in secret to harm others.
The sangoma is a diviner, somewhere on a par with a
fortune teller, and is employed in detecting illness, predicting a persons future (or advising them on which path
to take), or identifying the guilty party in a crime. She
also practices some degree of medicine. The inyanga is
often translated as witch doctor (though many Southern Africans resent this implication, as it perpetuates the
mistaken belief that a witch doctor is in some sense a
practitioner of malicious magic). The inyanga's job is to
heal illness and injury and provide customers with magical items for everyday use. Of these three categories the
thakatha is almost exclusively female, the sangoma is usually female, and the inyanga is almost exclusively male.

The Kolloh-Man (January 1853, X, p.6)[96]

in no small part to a tendency among western scholars

since the time of the now largely discredited Margaret
Murray to approach the subject through a comparative
lens vis-a-vis European witchcraft.[97] Okeja argues that
witchcraft in Africa today plays a very dierent social role than in Europe of the pastor presentand
should be understood through an African rather than postcolonial Western lens.

Complimentary remarks about witchcraft by a native

Congolese initiate: From witchcraft ... may be develMuch of what witchcraft represents in Africa has been oped the remedy (kimbuki) that will do most to raise up
susceptible to misunderstandings and confusion, thanks our country.[98] Witchcraft ... deserves respect ... it can

10

5 BY REGION

embellish or redeem (ketula evo vuukisa).[99] The ancestors were equipped with the protective witchcraft of
the clan (kindoki kiandundila kanda). ... They could also
gather the power of animals into their hands ... whenever
they needed. ... If we could make use of these kinds of
witchcraft, our country would rapidly progress in knowledge of every kind.[100] You witches (zindoki) too, bring
your science into the light to be written down so that ...
the benets in it ... endow our race.[101]

5.1.1

Cameroon

In eastern Cameroon, the term used for witchcraft among

the Maka is djambe[102] and refers to a force inside a person; its powers may make the proprietor more vulnerable.
It encompasses the occult, the transformative, killing and
healing.[103]

5.1.2

Central Africa

In some Central African areas, malicious magic users are

believed by locals to be the source of terminal illness such
as AIDS and cancer. In such cases, various methods are
used to rid the person from the bewitching spirit, occasionally physical and psychological abuse. Children may
be accused of being witches, for example a young niece
may be blamed for the illness of a relative. Most of these
cases of abuse go unreported since the members of the
society that witness such abuse are too afraid of being
accused of being accomplices. It is also believed that
witchcraft can be transmitted to children by feeding. Parents discourage their children from interacting with people believed to be witches.

5.1.3

Democratic Republic of the Congo

As of 2006, between 25,000 and 50,000 children in

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, had been
accused of witchcraft and thrown out of their homes.[104]
These children have been subjected to often-violent abuse
during exorcisms, sometimes supervised by self-styled
religious pastors. Other pastors and Christian activist
strongly oppose such accusations and try to rescue children from their unscrupulous colleagues.[105] The usual
term for these children is enfants sorciers (child witches)
or enfants dits sorciers (children accused of witchcraft).
In 2002, USAID funded the production of two short lms
on the subject, made in Kinshasa by journalists Angela
Nicoara and Mike Ormsby.
In April 2008, in Kinshasa, the police arrested 14 suspected victims (of penis snatching) and sorcerers accused
of using black magic or witchcraft to steal (make disappear) or shrink mens penises to extort cash for cure, amid
a wave of panic.[106]

5.1.4 Ghana
In Ghana, women are often accused of witchcraft and
attacked by neighbours. Because of this, there exist six
witch camps in the country where women suspected of
being witches can ee for safety.[107] The witch camps,
which exist solely in Ghana, are thought to house a total of
around 1000 women.[107] Some of the camps are thought
to have been set up over 100 years ago.[107] The Ghanaian government has announced that it intends to close the
camps and educate the population regarding the fact that
witches do not exist.[107]
Arrests were made in an eort to avoid bloodshed seen
in Ghana a decade ago, when 12 alleged penis snatchers were beaten to death by mobs.[108] While it is easy
for modern people to dismiss such reports, Uchenna
Okeja argues that a belief system in which such magical practices are deemed possible oer many benets to Africans who hold them. For example, the belief that a sorcerer has stolen a mans penis functions
as an anxiety-reduction mechanism for men suering
from impotence while simultaneously providing an explanation that is consistent with African cultural beliefs
rather than appealing to Western scientic notions that
are tainted by the history of colonialism (at least for many
Africans).[109]
5.1.5 Kenya
It was reported on May 21, 2008 that in Kenya, a
mob had burnt to death at least 11 people accused of
witchcraft.[110]
5.1.6 Malawi
In Malawi it is also common practice to accuse children
of witchcraft and many children have been abandoned,
abused and even killed as a result. As in other African
countries both African traditional healers and their Christian counterparts are trying to make a living out of exorcising children and are actively involved in pointing out
children as witches.[111] Various secular and Christian organizations are combining their eorts to address this
problem.[112]
According to William Kamkwamba, witches and wizards
are afraid of money, which they consider a rival evil. Any
contact with cash will snap their spell and leave the wizard
naked and confused. So placing cash, such as kwacha
around a room or bed mat will protect the resident from
their malevolent spells.[113]
5.1.7 Nigeria
In Nigeria, several Pentecostal pastors have mixed their
evangelical brand of Christianity with African beliefs in
witchcraft to benet from the lucrative witch nding and

5.2

Americas

11

exorcism businesswhich in the past was the exclusive

domain of the so-called witch doctor or traditional healers. These pastors have been involved in the torturing and
even killing of children accused of witchcraft.[114] Over
the past decade, around 15,000 children have been accused, and around 1,000 murdered. Churches are very
numerous in Nigeria, and competition for congregations
is hard. Some pastors attempt to establish a reputation for
spiritual power by detecting child witches, usually following a death or loss of a job within a family, or an accusation of nancial fraud against the pastor. In the course
of exorcisms, accused children may be starved, beaten,
mutilated, set on re, forced to consume acid or cement,
or buried alive. While some church leaders and Christian
Examination of a Witch by T. H. Matteson, inspired by the Salem
activists have spoken out strongly against these abuses,
witch trials
many Nigerian churches are involved in the abuse, although church administrations deny knowledge of it.[115]
5.2.1 Colonial North America
5.1.8

Sierra Leone

Among the Mende (of Sierra Leone), trial and conviction for witchcraft has a benecial eect for those convicted. The witchnder had warned the whole village
to ensure the relative prosperity of the accused and sentenced ... old people. ... Six months later all of the people
... accused, were secure, well-fed and arguably happier
than at any [previous] time; they had hardly to beckon
and people would come with food or whatever was needful. ... Instead of such old and widowed people being left
helpless or (as in Western society) institutionalized in old
peoples homes, these were reintegrated into society and
left secure in their old age ... . ... Old people are 'suitable' candidates for this kind of accusation in the sense
that they are isolated and vulnerable, and they are 'suitable' candidates for 'social security' for precisely the same
reasons.[116]
In Kuranko language, the term for witchcraft is
suwa'ye[117] referring to extraordinary powers.

5.1.9

Tanzania

In Tanzania in 2008, President Kikwete publicly condemned witchdoctors for killing albinos for their body
parts, which are thought to bring good luck. 25 albinos have been murdered since March 2007.[118] In Tanzania, albinos are often murdered for their body parts on
the advice of witch doctors in order to produce powerful
amulets that are believed to protect against witchcraft and
make the owner prosper in life.[119] Every year, hundreds
of people in the Central African Republic are convicted
of witchcraft.[120]

5.2

Americas

In 1645, Springeld, Massachusetts, experienced Americas rst accusations of witchcraft when husband and
wife Hugh and Mary Parsons accused each other of
witchcraft. At Americas rst witch trial, Hugh was found
innocent, while Mary was acquitted of witchcraft but sentenced to be hanged for the death of her child. She
died in prison.[121] From 16451663, about eighty people
throughout Englands Massachusetts Bay Colony were accused of practicing witchcraft. Thirteen women and two
men were executed in a witch-hunt that lasted throughout
New England from 16451663.[122]
The Salem witch trials followed in 169293. These witch
trials were the most famous in British North America and
took place in the coastal settlements near Salem, Massachusetts. Prior to the witch trials, nearly 300 men and
women had been suspected of partaking in witchcraft
and over 30 of these people were hanged.[123] The Salem
witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court trials to prosecute people
accused of witchcraft in Essex, Suolk and Middlesex
Counties of colonial Massachusetts, between February
1692 and May 1693. Over 150 people were arrested and
imprisoned, with even more accused who were not formally pursued by the authorities. The two courts convicted 29 people of the capital felony of witchcraft. Nineteen of the accused, 14 women and 5 men, were hanged.
One man who refused to enter a plea was crushed to death
under heavy stones in an attempt to force him to do so.
At least ve more of the accused died in prison.
Despite being generally known as the Salem witch trials, the preliminary hearings in 1692 were conducted
in a variety of towns across the province: Salem Village, Ipswich, Andover, as well as Salem Town, Massachusetts. The best known trials were conducted by the
Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 in Salem Town.
All 26 who went to trial before this court were convicted. The four sessions of the Superior Court of Judicature in 1693, held in Salem Town, but also in Ipswich,

12

5 BY REGION

Boston, and Charlestown, produced only 3 convictions in

the 31 witchcraft trials it conducted. Likewise, alleged
witchcraft was not isolated to New England. In 1706
Grace Sherwood the Witch of Pungo was imprisoned
for the crime in Princess Anne County, Virginia.

women over their white male counterparts as a result of

the casta system.[132]

In modern history, notoriety has been awarded to a place

called Catemaco, in the state of Veracruz, which has a
history of witchcraft, and where the practice of witchcraft
Accusations of witchcraft and wizardry led to the by contemporary brujos and brujas thrives.
prosecution of a man in Tennessee as recently as
1833.[124][125][126]
5.2.4 South America
5.2.2

Din / Navajo

In Chile there is a tradition of the Kalku in the Mapuche

mythology; and Witches of Chilo in the folklore and
In Din culture, witches are seen as the polar opposite Chilote mythology.
of ceremonial people. While spiritual leaders perform
The presence of the witch is a constant in the
"sings" for healing, protection and other benecial purethnographic history of colonial Brazil, especially durposes, all practices referred to as witchcraft are ining the several denunciations and confessions given to
tended to hurt and curse. Witches are associated with
the Holy Oce of Bahia (15911593), Pernambuco and
harm to the community and transgression of societal stanParaiba (15931595).[133]
dards, especially those relating to family and the dead.
The yee naaldlooshii is the type of witch known in English as a skin-walker. They are believed to take the 5.3 Asia
forms of animals in order to travel in secret and do harm
to the innocent.[127] In the Navajo language, yee naald- Main article: Asian witchcraft
looshii translates to with it, he goes on all fours.[127]
While perhaps the most common variety seen in horror
ction by non-Navajo people, the yee naaldlooshii is one
of several varieties of Navajo witch, specically a type of 5.3.1 India
ntihnii.[127]
Belief in the supernatural is strong in all parts of India,
Corpse powder or corpse poison (Navajo: t , literally and lynchings for witchcraft are reported in the press
witchery or harming) is a substance made from pow- from time to time.[134] Around 750 people were killed
dered corpses. The powder is used by witches to curse as witches in Assam and West Bengal between 2003 and
their victims.[128] The eect of the t is a curse and 2008.[135] Ocials in the state of Chhattisgarh reported
disease, usually indicated by an immediate action to ad- in 2008 that at least 100 women are maltreated annually
ministration of the poison, like fainting, swelling of the as suspected witches.[136] A local activist stated that only
tongue, or lockjaw. Sometimes, however, the victims a fraction of cases of abuse are reported.[137]
simply wastes away, as from a normal disease.
Traditional Navajos usually hesitate to discuss things like
5.3.2 Japan
witches and witchcraft with non-Navajos.[129]
5.2.3

North America (Mexico)

See also: Brujera.

Witchcraft was also an important part of the social and

cultural history of late-Colonial Mexico. Spanish Inquisitors viewed witchcraft as a problem that could be
cured simply through confession. Yet, as anthropologist
Ruth Behar writes, witchcraft, not only in Mexico but
in Latin America in general, was a conjecture of sexuality, witchcraft, and religion, in which Spanish, indigenous, and African cultures converged.[130] Furthermore,
witchcraft in Mexico generally required an interethnic
and interclass network of witches.[131] Yet, according to
anthropology professor Laura Lewis, witchcraft in colonial Mexico ultimately represented an armation of
hegemony for women, Indians, and especially Indian

In Japanese folklore, the most common types of witch

can be separated into two categories: those who employ
snakes as familiars, and those who employ foxes.[138]
The fox witch is, by far, the most commonly seen witch
gure in Japan. Diering regional beliefs set those who
use foxes into two separate types: the kitsune-mochi, and
the tsukimono-suji. The rst of these, the kitsune-mochi,
is a solitary gure who gains his fox familiar by bribing
it with its favourite foods. The kitsune-mochi then strikes
up a deal with the fox, typically promising food and daily
care in return for the foxs magical services. The fox of
Japanese folklore is a powerful trickster in and of itself,
imbued with powers of shape changing, possession, and
illusion. These creatures can be either nefarious; disguising themselves as women in order to trap men, or they
can be benign forces as in the story of The Grateful
foxes.[139] However, once a fox enters the employ of a
human it almost exclusively becomes a force of evil to be

5.3

Asia

13
the foxes are believed to be passed down through the female line, it is often nearly impossible for women of such
families to nd a husband whose family will agree to have
him married to a tsukimono-suji family. In such a union
the womans status as a Tsukimono-suji would transfer to
any man who married her.
5.3.3 Pakistan
In Pakistani mythology, a common perception of a witch
is a being with her feet pointed backwards.
5.3.4 Philippines
Witchcraft in the Philippines is often classied as
malevolent, with practitioners of black magic called
Mangkukulam in Tagalog and Mambabarang in Cebuano;
there are also practitioners of benevolent, white magic,
with some practising both. Mambabarang in particular
are noted for their ability to command insects and other
invertebrates to accomplish a task, such as delivering a
curse to a target.

Magic and witchcraft in the Philippines varies considerably across the dierent ethnic groups, and is commonly
a modern manifestation of pre-Colonial spirituality interwoven with Catholic religious elements such as the invocation of saints and the use of pseudo-Latin prayers
feared. A fox under the employ of a human can provide
(oracin) in spells, and anting-anting (amulets).
many services. The fox can turn invisible and nd secrets
its master desires. It can apply its many powers of illu- Practitioners of traditional herbal-based medicine and
sion to trick and deceive its masters enemies. The most divination called albularyo are not considered witches.
feared power of the kitsune-mochi is the ability to com- They are perceived to be either quack doctors or a quasimand his fox to possess other humans. This process of magical option when western medicine fails to identify or
cure an ailment that is thus suspected to be of malevopossession is called Kitsunetsuki.
lent, supernatural origin (often the work of black magic).
By far, the most commonly reported cases of fox
Feng shui, an inuence from Filipino Chinese culture, is
witchcraft in modern Japan are enacted by tsukimono-suji
also not classied as witchcraft, and it is seen as a separate
[140]
families, or hereditary witches.
The Tsukimono-suji
realm of belief altogether.
is traditionally a family who is reported to have foxes under their employ. These foxes serve the family and are
passed down through the generations, typically through 5.3.5 Saudi Arabia
the female line. Tsukimono-suji foxes are able to supply
much in the way of the same mystical aid that the foxes Main articles: Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia,
under the employ of a kitsune-mochi can provide its more Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia, and Human rights
solitary master with. In addition to these powers, if the in Saudi Arabia
foxes are kept happy and well taken care of, they bring
great fortune and prosperity to the Tsukimono-suji house.
to use the death penalty for
However, the aid in which these foxes give is often over- Saudi Arabia continues
[141]
sorcery
and
witchcraft.
In 2006 Fawza Falih Muhamshadowed by the social and mystical implications of being
mad
Ali
was
condemned
to death for practicing
a member of such a family. In many villages, the status of
[142]
There
is
no
legal
denition of sorcery in
witchcraft.
local families as tsukimono-suji is often common, everySaudi,
but
in
2007
an
Egyptian
pharmacist
working there
day knowledge. Such families are respected and feared,
was
accused,
convicted,
and
executed.
Saudi
authorities
but are also openly shunned. Due to its hereditary nature,
also
pronounced
the
death
penalty
on
a
Lebanese
televithe status of being Tsukimono-suji is considered contaAli
Hussain
Sibat,
while
he
was
performsion
presenter,
gious. Because of this, it is often impossible for mem[143]
bers of such a family to sell land or other properties, due ing the hajj (Islamic pilgrimage) in the country.
to fear that the possession of such items will cause foxes In 2009 the Saudi authorities set up the Anti-Witchcraft
to inundate ones own home. In addition to this, because Unit of their Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and
Okabe The cat witch

14

5 BY REGION

the Prevention of Vice police.[144]

In April 2009, a Saudi woman Amina Bint Abdulhalim
Nassar was arrested and later sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft and sorcery. In December 2011, she
was beheaded.[145] A Saudi man has been beheaded on
charges of sorcery and witchcraft in June 2012.[146] A beheading for sorcery occurred in 2014.[47]
5.3.6

Syria

See also: Human rights in ISIL-controlled territory

In June 2015, Yahoo reported: The Islamic State group
has beheaded two women in Syria on accusations of
sorcery, the rst such executions of female civilians
in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
Tuesday.[147]
5.3.7

Tocharians

An expedition sent to what is now the Xinjiang region

of western China by the PBS documentary series Nova
found a fully clothed female Tocharian mummy wearing a
black conical hat of the type now associated with witches
in Europe in the storage area of a small local museum,
indicative of an Indo-European priestess.[148]

5.4

Europe

Albrecht Drer circa 1500: Witch Riding Backwards On A Goat

Main articles: European witchcraft and Witch trials in

Early Modern Europe
Witchcraft in Europe between 500-1750 was believed to
be a combination of sorcery and heresy. While sorcery
attempts to produce negative supernatural eects through
formulas and rituals, heresy is the Christian contribution
to witchcraft in which an individual makes a pact with the
Devil. In addition, heresy denies witches the recognition
of important Christian values such as baptism, salvation,
Christ and sacraments.[149] The beginning of the witch
accusations in Europe took place in the 14th and 15th
centuries; however as the social disruptions of the 16th
During the Christianisation of Norway, King Olaf Trygvasson
century took place, witchcraft trials intensied.[150]
had male vlvas (shamans) tied up and left on a skerry at ebb.

In Early Modern European tradition, witches were stereotypically, though not exclusively, women.[24][153] European pagan belief in witchcraft was associated with the
goddess Diana and dismissed as diabolical fantasies
by medieval Christian authors.[154] Witch-hunts rst appeared in large numbers in southern France and Switzerland during the 14th and 15th centuries. The peak years
of witch-hunts in southwest Germany were from 1561 to
1670.[155]

Early converts to Christianity looked to Christian clergy

to work magic more eectively than the old methods
under Roman paganism, and Christianity provided a
methodology involving saints and relics, similar to the
gods and amulets of the Pagan world. As Christianity became the dominant religion in Europe, its concern with
magic lessened.[156]

The familiar witch of folklore and popular superstition is

a combination of numerous inuences. The characterization of the witch as an evil magic user developed over
time.

The Protestant Christian explanation for witchcraft, such

as those typied in the confessions of the Pendle witches,
commonly involves a diabolical pact or at least an appeal
to the intervention of the spirits of evil. The witches or

5.4

Europe

Burning of witches. Current scholarly estimates of the number of

people executed for witchcraft vary between about 40,000 and
100,000.[151] The total number of witch trials in Europe known
for certain to have ended in executions is around 12,000.[152]

15

Burning witches, with others held in Stocks, 14th century

wizards engaged in such practices were alleged to reject

Jesus and the sacraments; observe "the witches sabbath"
(performing infernal rites that often parodied the Mass
or other sacraments of the Church); pay Divine honour
to the Prince of Darkness; and, in return, receive from
him preternatural powers. It was a folkloric belief that a
Devils Mark, like the brand on cattle, was placed upon
a witchs skin by the devil to signify that this pact had
been made.[157] Witches were most often characterized
as women. Witches disrupted the societal institutions,
and more specically, marriage. It was believed that a
witch often joined a pact with the devil to gain powers
to deal with infertility, immense fear for her childrens
well-being, or revenge against a lover. They were also
depicted as lustful and perverted, and it was thought that
they copulated with the devil at the Sabbath.
The Church and European society were not always so
zealous in hunting witches or blaming them for misfortunes. Saint Boniface declared in the 8th century that belief in the existence of witches was un-Christian. The emperor Charlemagne decreed that the burning of supposed
witches was a pagan custom that would be punished by the
death penalty. In 820 the Bishop of Lyon and others repudiated the belief that witches could make bad weather,
y in the night, and change their shape. This denial was
accepted into Canon law until it was reversed in later centuries as the witch-hunt gained force. Other rulers such Francisco Goya's Los Caprichos: Linda maestra! (The Follies:
as King Coloman of Hungary declared that witch-hunts Beautiful Teacher!") witches heading to a Sabbath
should cease because witches (more specically, strigas)
do not exist.
stock ill and crops fail, and creating fear and local chaos.
The Church did not invent the idea of witchcraft as a potentially harmful force whose practitioners should be put
to death. This idea is commonplace in pre-Christian reli- 5.4.1 Britain
gions. According to the scholar Max Dashu, the concept
of medieval witchcraft contained many of its elements Further information: Witch trials in early modern
even before the emergence of Christianity. These can be Scotland
found in Bacchanalias, especially in the time when they
were led by priestess Paculla Annia (188BC186BC).
However, even at a later date, not all witches were asPowers typically attributed to European witches include sumed to be harmful practicers of the craft. In England,
turning food poisonous or inedible, ying on broomsticks the provision of this curative magic was the job of a witch
or pitchforks, casting spells, cursing people, making live- doctor, also known as a cunning man, white witch, or wise

16

5 BY REGION

man. The term witch doctor was in use in England before it came to be associated with Africa. Toad doctors
were also credited with the ability to undo evil witchcraft.
(Other folk magicians had their own purviews. Girdlemeasurers specialised in diagnosing ailments caused by
fairies, while magical cures for more mundane ailments,
such as burns or toothache, could be had from charmers.)
In the north of England, the superstition
lingers to an almost inconceivable extent. Lancashire abounds with witch-doctors, a set of
quacks, who pretend to cure diseases inicted
by the devil ... The witch-doctor alluded to
is better known by the name of the cunning
man, and has a large practice in the counties
of Lincoln and Nottingham.[158]
Historians Keith Thomas and his student Alan
Brock MacFarlane study witchcraft by combining historical research with concepts drawn from
anthropology.[159][160][161] They argued that English
witchcraft, like African witchcraft, was endemic rather
than epidemic. Older women were the favorite targets
because they were marginal, dependent members of
the community and therefore more likely to arouse
feelings of both hostility and guilt, and less likely to
have defenders of importance inside the community.
Witchcraft accusations were the villages reaction to the
breakdown of its internal community, coupled with the
emergence of a newer set of values that was generating
psychic stress.[162]
In Wales, fear of witchcraft mounted around the year
1500. There was a growing alarm of womens magic as a
weapon aimed against the state and church. The Church
made greater eorts to enforce the canon law of marriage,
especially in Wales where tradition allowed a wider range
of sexual partnerships. There was a political dimension
as well, as accusations of witchcraft were levied against
the enemies of Henry VII, who was exerting more and
more control over Wales.[163]
The records of the Courts of Great Sessions for Wales,
1536-1736 show that Welsh custom was more important
than English law. Custom provided a framework of responding to witches and witchcraft in such a way that
interpersonal and communal harmony was maintained,
Showing to regard to the importance of honour, social
place and cultural status. Even when found guilty, execution did not occur.[164]

women of political inuence. Occult power was supposedly a womanly trait because women were weaker and
more susceptible to the devil.[165]
5.4.2 Italy
As in most European countries, women in Italy were more
likely suspected of witchcraft than men.[166] Women were
considered dangerous due to their supposed sexual instability, such as when being aroused, and also due to the
powers of their menstrual blood.[167]
In the 16th century, Italy had a high portion of witchcraft
trials involving love magic.[168] The country had a large
number of unmarried people due to men marrying later
in their lives during this time.[168] This left many women
on a desperate quest for marriage leaving them vulnerable
to the accusation of witchcraft whether they took part in
it or not.[168] Trial records from the Inquisition and secular courts discovered a link between prostitutes and supernatural practices. Professional prostitutes were considered experts in love and therefore knew how to make
love potions and cast love related spells.[167] Up until
1630, the majority of women accused of witchcraft were
prostitutes.[166] A courtesan was questioned about her use
of magic due to her relationship with men of power in
Italy and her wealth.[169] The majority of women accused
were also considered outsiders because they were poor,
had dierent religious practices, spoke a dierent language, or simply from a dierent city/town/region.[170]
Cassandra from Ferrara, Italy, was still considered a foreigner because not native to Rome where she was residing. She was also not seen as a model citizen because her
husband was in Venice.[171]
From the 16th-18th centuries, the Catholic Church enforced moral discipline throughout Italy.[172] With the
help of local tribunals, such as in Venice, the two institutions investigated a womans religious behaviors when
she was accused of witchcraft.[166]
5.4.3 Spain
Main articles: Akelarre (witchcraft) and Catalan mythology about witches
Franciscan friars from New Spain introduced Diabolism,
belief in the devil, to the indigenous people after their arrival in 1524.[173] Bartolom de las Casas believed that
human sacrice was not diabolic, in fact far o from
it, and was a natural result of religious expression.[173]
Mexican Indians gladly took in the belief of Diabolism
and still managed to keep their belief in creator-destroyer
deities.[174]

Becoming king in 1603, James I Brought to England and

Scotland continental explanations of witchcraft. His goal
was to divert suspicion away from male homosociality
among the elite, and focus fear on female communities
and large gatherings of women. He thought they threatened his political power so he laid the foundation for
witchcraft and occultism policies, especially in Scotland.
The point was that a widespread belief in the conspiracy 5.5
of witches and a witches Sabbath with the devil deprived

Oceania

5.6
5.5.1

Russia
Cook Islands

In pre-Christian times, witchcraft was a common practice in the Cook Islands. The native name for a sorcerer
was tangata purepure (a man who prays).[175] The prayers
oered by the ta'unga (priests)[176] to the gods worshiped on national or tribal marae (temples) were termed
karakia;[177] those on minor occasions to the lesser gods
were named pure. All these prayers were metrical, and
were handed down from generation to generation with the
utmost care. There were prayers for every such phase in
life; for success in battle; for a change in wind (to overwhelm an adversary at sea, or that an intended voyage be
propitious); that his crops may grow; to curse a thief; or
wish ill-luck and death to his foes. Few men of middle
age were without a number of these prayers or charms.
The succession of a sorcerer was from father to son, or
from uncle to nephew. So too of sorceresses: it would be
from mother to daughter, or from aunt to niece. Sorcerers and sorceresses were often slain by relatives of their
supposed victims.[178]
A singular enchantment was employed to kill o a husband of a pretty woman desired by someone else. The
expanded ower of a Gardenia was stuck uprighta very
dicult performancein a cup (i.e., half a large coconut
shell) of water. A prayer was then oered for the husbands speedy death, the sorcerer earnestly watching the
ower. Should it fall the incantation was successful. But
if the ower still remained upright, he will live. The sorcerer would in that case try his skill another day, with
perhaps better success.[179]

17
5.6.1 Spells

Pagan practices formed a part of Russian and Eastern

Slavic culture; the Russian people were deeply superstitious. The witchcraft practiced consisted mostly of earth
magic and herbology; it was not so signicant which
herbs were used in practices, but how these herbs were
gathered. Ritual centered on harvest of the crops and the
location of the sun was very important.[183] One source,
pagan author Judika Illes, tells that herbs picked on Midsummers Eve were believed to be most powerful, especially if gathered on Bald Mountain near Kiev during the witches annual revels celebration.[184] Botanicals
should be gathered, During the seventeenth minute of
the fourteenth hour, under a dark moon, in the thirteenth
eld, wearing a red dress, pick the twelfth ower on the
right.[185]
Spells also served for midwifery, shape-shifting, keeping
lovers faithful, and bridal customs. Spells dealing with
midwifery and childbirth focused on the spiritual wellbeing of the baby.[185] Shape-shifting spells involved invocation of the wolf as a spirit animal.[186] To keep men
faithful, lovers would cut a ribbon the length of his erect
penis and soak it in his seminal emissions after sex while
he was sleeping, then tie seven knots in it; keeping this
talisman of knot magic ensured loyalty.[187] Part of an ancient pagan marriage tradition involved the bride taking a
ritual bath at a bathhouse before the ceremony. Her sweat
would be wiped from her body using raw sh, and the sh
would be cooked and fed to the groom.[188]

According to Beatrice Grimshaw, a journalist who visited

the Cook Islands in 1907, the uncrowned Queen Makea
was believed to have possessed the mystic power called
mana, giving the possessor the power to slay at will. It
also included other gifts, such as second sight to a certain
extent, the power to bring good or evil luck, and the ability
already mentioned to deal death at will.[180]

Demonism, or black magic, was not prevalent. Persecution for witchcraft, mostly involved the practice of simple earth magic, founded on herbology, by solitary practitioners with a Christian inuence. In one case investigators found a locked box containing something bundled
in a kerchief and three paper packets, wrapped and tied,
containing crushed grasses.[189] Most rituals of witchcraft
were very simpleone spell of divination consists of sitting alone outside meditating, asking the earth to show
ones fate.[190]

5.5.2

While these customs were unique to Russian culture, they

were not exclusive to this region. Russian pagan practices
were often akin to paganism in other parts of the world.
The Chinese concept of chi, a form of energy that often
manipulated in witchcraft, is known as bioplasma in Russian practices.[191] The western concept of an evil eye
or a hex was translated to Russia as a spoiler.[192] A
spoiler was rooted in envy, jealousy and malice. Spoilers
could be made by gathering bone from a cemetery, a knot
of the targets hair, burned wooden splinters and several
herb Paris berries (which are very poisonous). Placing
these items in sachet in the victims pillow completes a
spoiler. The Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and the
ancient Egyptians recognized the evil eye from as early as
3,000 BCE; in Russian practices it is seen as a sixteenthcentury concept.[193]

Papua New Guinea

A local newspaper informed that more than 50 people

were killed in two Highlands provinces of Papua New
Guinea in 2008 for allegedly practicing witchcraft.[181]

5.6

Russia

Among the Russian words for witch, (ved'ma) literally means one who knows, from Old Slavic
to know).[182] Another frequent term is
(koldun'ya), sorcerer being (koldun).

18
5.6.2

5 BY REGION
Societal view of witchcraft

The dominant societal concern those practicing

witchcraft was not whether paganism was eective, but
whether it could cause harm.[189] Peasants in Russian
and Ukrainian societies often shunned witchcraft,
unless they needed help against supernatural forces.
Impotence, stomach pains, barrenness, hernias, abscesses, epileptic seizures, and convulsions were all
attributed to evil (or witchcraft). This is reected in
linguistics; there are numerous words for a variety
of practitioners of paganism-based healers. Russian
peasants referred to a witch as a chernoknizhnik (a
person who plied his trade with the aid of a black book),
sheptun/sheptun'ia (a whisperer male or female),
lekar/lekarka or znakhar/znakharka (a male or female
healer), or zagovornik (an incanter).[194]
Ironically enough, there was universal reliance on folk
healers but clients often turned them in if something
went wrong. According to Russian historian Valerie A.
Kivelson, witchcraft accusations were normally thrown at
lower-class peasants, townspeople and Cossacks. People
turned to witchcraft as a means to support themselves.
The ratio of male to female accusations was 75% to 25%.
Males were targeted more, because witchcraft was associated with societal deviation. Because single people with
no settled home could not be taxed, males typically had
more power than women in their dissent.[189]
A true and iust Recorde, of the Information, Examination and
Confession of all witches...

5.6.3

Witchcraft trials

Witchcraft trials occurred frequently in seventeenthcentury Russia, although the great witch-hunt is believed to be a predominately Western European phenomenon. However, as the witchcraft-trial craze swept
across West European countries during this time, Orthodox Christian Eastern Europe indeed partook in this socalled witch hysteria. This involved the persecution of
both males and females who were believed to be practicing paganism, herbology, the black art, or a form of sorcery within and/or outside their community. Very early
on witchcraft legally fell under the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical body, the church, in Kievan Rus and Muscovite Russia.[195] Sources of ecclesiastical witchcraft jurisdiction date back as early as the second half of the
eleventh century, one being Vladimir the Great's rst edition of his State Statute or Ustav, another being multiple references in the Primary Chronicle beginning in
1024.[196]

were considered innocent, and ecclesiastical authorities

would proclaim them brought back, but those who
oated were considered guilty of practicing witchcraft,
and burned at the stake or executed in an unholy fashion. The thirteenth-century bishop of Vladimir, Serapion
Vladimirskii, preached sermons throughout the Muscovite countryside, and in one particular sermon revealed
that burning was the usual punishment for witchcraft, but
more often the cold water test was used as a precursor to
execution.[198][199]
Although these two methods of torture were used in the
west and the east, Russia implemented a system of nes
payable for the crime of witchcraft during the seventeenth
century. Thus, even though torture methods in Muscovy
were on a similar level of harshness as Western European methods used, a more civil method was present. In
the introduction of a collection of trial records pieced together by Russian scholar Nikolai Novombergsk, he argues that Muscovite authorities used the same degree of
cruelty and harshness as Western European Catholic and
Protestant countries in persecuting witches.[200] By the
mid-sixteenth century the manifestations of paganism, including witchcraft, and the black artsastrology, fortune
telling, and divinationbecame a serious concern to the
Muscovite church and state.[201]

The sentence for an individual found guilty of witchcraft

or sorcery during this time, and in previous centuries, typically included either burning at the stake or being tested
with the ordeal of cold water or judicium aquae frigidae.[198] The cold-water test was primarily a Western European phenomenon, but was used as a method of truth in
Russia prior to, and post, seventeenth-century witchcraft
trials in Muscovy. Accused persons who submerged Tsar Ivan IV (reigned 1547-1584) took this matter to the

19
uals anywhere close to the number executed in the west
during the witch hysteria.

6 See also
Concepts, practices and beliefs

Concept/framework - Magic and religion, Magical thinking, Folk religion, Myth

and ritual, Occult, Familiar spirit
Practices/rituals - Witchery, Evocation,
Pharmakos (scapegoat role), Love magic,
Kitchen witchcraft
Writings - The Book of Abramelin, History
books about witchcraft
Individuals
Historical - Simon Magus, Broichan,
Silnn, Witches of Salem, Arnold Crowther
Mythical, traditional and other - Morgan le
Fay, List of ctional witches
Classes of individuals and characters - Sea
witch, Witches, Crone, Hag,
Perceptions and position in society
Witchcraft
as religion - Wicca, Theism, Worship,
Mysticism, Introduction to Pagan Studies
Goyas drawing of result of a presumed witchs trial: " [so she
must be a witch]"[197]

Perceptions by other religions/societies Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew

Bible, Christian views on magic, Satanism and
Witchcraft

Persecution and legal - Witchcraft treatises,

ecclesiastical court and was immediately advised that inWitchcraft Acts, Witch hunting, Witch tridividuals practicing these forms of witchcraft should be
als, List of people executed for witchcraft,
excommunicated and given the death penalty.[201] Ivan
Beyond the Witch Trials, Christian privilege,
IV, as a true believer in witchcraft, was deeply conFraudulent Mediums Act 1951, Witchcraft
vinced that sorcery accounted for the death of his wife,
and children, Witch Children in Africa
Anastasiia in 1560, which completely devastated and
depressed him, leaving him heartbroken.[202] Stemming
History - The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval
from this belief, Ivan IV became majorly concerned with
Europe, Prehistoric religion, Renaissance
the threat of witchcraft harming his family, and feared he
magic, Museum of Witchcraft, The Archaewas in danger. So, during the Oprechnina (1565-1572),
ology of Ritual and Magic, History of Wicca
Ivan IV succeeded in accusing and charging a good num Science - Paranormal, Medical explanations of
ber of boyars with witchcraft whom he did not wish to
bewitchment
remain as nobles. Rulers after Ivan IV, specically dur Popular culture - Witchcraft in ction,
ing the Time of Troubles (1598-1613), increased the fear
Witchcraft in folklore and mythology
of witchcraft among themselves and entire royal families,
which then led to further preoccupation with the fear of Anthropology, sociology, psychology

prominent Muscovite witchcraft circles.[203]

Background - Cultural psychology, mentalism
After the Time of Troubles, seventeenth-century Mus Religion - Religion, Anthropology of religion,
covite rulers held frequent investigations of witchcraft
Sociology of religion, Psychological theories
within their households, laying the ground, along with
of magic
previous tsarist reforms, for widespread witchcraft trials
Non-European/Western
throughout the Muscovite state.[204] Between 1622 and Specic groups
African
witchcraft,
Traditional
African
1700 ninety-one people were brought to trial in Musmedicine, Shamanism among the indigenous
covite courts for witchcraft.[205] Although Russia did parpeoples of the Americas
take in the witch craze that swept across Western Europe,
European/Western - European witchcraft,
the Muscovite state did not persecute nearly as many peoCunning folk in Britain
ple for witchcraft, let alone execute a number of individ-

20

7 NOTES

Notes

[1] Witchcraft in the Middle Ages, Jerey Russell, p.4-10.

[2] Bengt Ankarloo & Stuart Clark, Witchcraft and Magic
in Europe: Biblical and Pagan Societies, University of
Philadelphia Press, 2001
[3] Bengt Ankarloo & Stuart Clark, Witchcraft and Magic
in Europe: Biblical and Pagan Societies, University of
Philadelphia Press, 2001, p xiii: Magic is central not only
in 'primitive' societies but in 'high cultural' societies as well
[4] Jerey Burton Russell. Witchcraft - Encyclopdia Britannica. Britannica.com. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
[5] Pcs 1999, pp. 912.
[6] Adler, Margot (1979) Drawing Down the Moon: Witches,
Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Boston: Beacon Press. pp. 4547, 845, 105.
[7] Pearlman, Jonathan (2013-04-11). Papua New Guinea
urged to halt witchcraft violence after latest 'sorcery'
case. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
[8] HIV in Africa: Distinguishing disease from witchcraft.
thestar.com. 18 February 2008.
[9] Ebola outbreak: 'Witchcraft' hampering treatment, says
doctor, BBC News, 2 August 2014, citing a doctor
from Medecins Sans Frontieres: A widespread belief in
witchcraft is hampering eorts to halt the Ebola virus from
spreading
[10] Social stigma as an epidemiological determinant for leprosy elimination in Cameroon - Nsagha - Journal of Public
Health in Africa. publichealthinafrica.org.

[18] for instance, see Luck, Georg, Arcana Mundi: Magic and
the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds; a Collection of
Ancient Texts, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,
1985, 2006; also Kittredge, G. L., Witchcraft in Old and
New England, New York: Russell & Russell, 1929, 1957,
1958; and Davies, Owen, Witchcraft, Magic and Culture,
17361951, Manchester University Press, 1999.
[19] Semple, Sarah (2003). Illustrations of damnation in late
Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. Anglo-Saxon England 32:
231245. doi:10.1017/S0263675103000115.
[20] Semple, Sarah (1998). A Fear of the Past: The Place
of the Prehistoric Burial Mound in the Ideology of Middle and Later Anglo-Saxon England. World Archaeology
30: 117. doi:10.1080/00438243.1998.9980400. JSTOR
125012.
[21] Pope, J.C. (1968). Homilies of Aelfric: a supplementary
collection (Early English Text Society 260)" II. Oxford
University Press: 796., lines 118125, from the second
manuscript in an appendix to De Auguriis, lesson XVII
from lfrics Lives of the Saints.
[22] Meaney, Audrey L. (1984).
Aelfric and Idolatry. Journal of Religious History 13 (2): 11935.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9809.1984.tb00191.x., source of English translation from Anglo-Saxon.
[23] For this dramatic rise in witchchraft consciousness during the fteenth century and Bernardinos critical role in
it, see Chapter 2 (pp. 52-108) Franco Mormando, The
Preachers Demons: Bernardino of Siena and the Social
Underworld of Early Renaissance Italy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. ISBN 0-226-53854-0.
[24] Gibbons, Jenny (1998) Recent Developments in the
Study of the Great European Witch Hunt in The
Pomegranate #5, Lammas 1998.

[11] http://www.theghana-italynews.
[25] Barstow, Anne Llewellyn (1994) Witchcraze: A New Hiscom/index.php/component/k2/item/
tory of the European Witch Hunts San Francisco:Pandora.
955-ebola-human-rights-group-warns-disease-is-not-caused-by-witchcraft
p. 23.
[12] Harper, Douglas. witchcraft (n.)". Online Etymology
Dictionary. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
[13] Cohn, Norman (1975). Europes Inner Demons. pp. 176
9. ISBN 0-465-02131-X.

[26] For a book-length treatment, see Lara Apps and Andrew

Gow, Male Witches in Early Modern Europe, Manchester
University Press (2003), ISBN 0-7190-5709-4. Apps,
Lara; Gow, Andrew (2003). Male Witches in Early Modern Europe. Manchester University Press. p. 8.

[14] Evans-Pritchard, Edward Evan (1937). Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande. Oxford University
Press. pp. 89. ISBN 0-19-874029-8.

[27] The Emergence of Modern Europe: C. 1500 to 1788, by

Britannica Educational Publishing. Books.google.com. p.
27. Retrieved 2013-06-29.

[15] Thomas, Keith (1997). Religion and the Decline of Magic.

Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 4645. ISBN 0297-00220-1.; Ankarloo, Bengt and Henningsen, Gustav
(1990) Early Modern European Witchcraft: Centres and
Peripheries. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 1, 14.

[28] 'In 1538 the Spanish Inquisition cautioned its members

not to believe everything the Malleus said, even when it
presented apparently rm evidence.', Jolly, Raudvere, &
Peters(eds.), 'Witchcraft and magic in Europe: the Middle
Ages, page 241 (2002)

[16] Pcs 1999 pp. 910. The rst three categories were
proposed by Richard Kieckhefer, the fourth added by
Christina Larner.

[29] Macfarlane p. 130; also Appendix 2.

[17] Oxford English Dictionary, the Compact Edition, Oxford

University Press, p. 2955, 1971.

[31] Wilby, Emma (2006) Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits.

pp. 514.

[30] Scot 1989 V. ix.

21

[32] Emma Wilby 2005 p. 123; See also Alan Macfarlane p.

127 who notes how white witches could later be accused
as black witches.
[33] Monter () Witchcraft in France and Switzerland. Ch. 7:
White versus Black Witchcraft.
[34] Pcs 1999, p. 12.
[35] As dened by Mircea Eliade in Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Bollingen Series LXXVI, Pantheon
Books, NY NY 1964, pp. 37.
[36] Ginzburg (1990) Part 2, Ch. 1.
[37] Pcs 1999 pp. 1011.
[38] Pcs 1999 pp. 1112.
[39] A Global Issue that Demands Action (PDF). the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS)
Vienna Liaison Oce. 2013. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
[40] CONFLICT BETWEEN STATE LEGAL NORMS
AND NORMS UNDERLYING POPULAR BELIEFS:
WITCHCRAFT IN AFRICA AS A CASE STUDY.
DUKE JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE & INTERNATIONAL LAW, Vol 14:351. 2005. Retrieved 2014-0607.
[41] WITCH HUNTS IN MODERN SOUTH AFRICA:
AN UNDER-REPRESENTED FACET OF GENDERBASED VIOLENCE (PDF). MRC-UNISA Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programm. June 2009. Retrieved
2014-06-07.
[42] NEPAL: Witchcraft as a Superstition and a form of violence against women in Nepal Asian Human Rights
Commission. Humanrights.asia. Retrieved 2014-06-07.

[51] Human Rights Watch 2006. Children in the DRC. Human

Rights Watch report, 18 (2)
[52] BBC News - Witchcraft murder: Couple jailed for Kristy
Bamu killing. Bbc.co.uk. 2012-03-05. Retrieved 201406-08.
[53] Dangereld, Andy (2012-03-01). BBC News - Government urged to tackle 'witchcraft belief' child abuse.
Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
[54] Huson, Paul Mastering Witchcraft: a Practical Guide for
Witches, Warlocks, and Covens, New York: G.P. Putnams
Sons, 1970.
[55] Clifton, Chas S., Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca
and Paganism in America, Lanham, MD: Altamira, 2006,
ISBN 0-7591-0202-3.
[56] Rose, Elliot, A Razor for a Goat, University of Toronto
Press, 1962. Hutton, Ronald, The Pagan Religions of the
Ancient British Isles, Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 1993. Hutton, Ronald, The Triumph of the Moon:
A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, Oxford University
Press, 1999.
[57] Heselton, Philip. Wiccan Roots. ISBN 1-86163-110-3.
[58] Heselton, Philip. Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of
Inspiration. ISBN 1-86163-164-2.
[59] Kelly, Aidan, Crafting the Art of Magic, Llewellyn Publications, 1991.
[60] Hutton, Ronald, Triumph of the Moon, Oxford University
Press, 1999.
[61] Ruickbie, Leo. Witchcraft Out of the Shadows. ISBN 07090-7567-7.

[43] Mensah Adinkrah (2004-04-01). Witchcraft Accusations and Female Homicide Victimization in Contemporary Ghana. Vaw.sagepub.com. Retrieved 2014-06-07.

[62] Murray, Margaret A., The Witch-Cult in Western Europe,

Oxford University Press, 1921.

[44] World Report on Violence and Health (PDF). World

Health Organization. Retrieved 2014-06-07.

[63] Hutton, R.,The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, Oxford University Press, pp. 205
252, 1999.

[45] Saudi woman beheaded for 'witchcraft and sorcery' CNN.com. Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
[46] BBC News - Saudi man executed for 'witchcraft and sorcery'". Bbc.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
[47] di Giovanni, Janine (14 October 2014). When It Comes
to Beheadings, ISIS Has Nothing Over Saudi Arabia.
Newsweek. Retrieved 17 October 2014.

[64] Kelly, A.A., Crafting the Art of Magic, Book I: a History

of Modern Witchcraft, 19391964, Minnesota: Llewellyn
Publications, 1991.
[65] Valiente, D., The Rebirth of Witchcraft, London: Robert
Hale, pp. 3562, 1989.
[66] Doyle White 2011, pp. 205206.

[48] Bussien, Nathaly et al. 2011. Breaking the spell: Responding to witchcraft accusations against children, in
New Issues in refugee Research (197). Geneva, Switzerland: UNHCR

[67] Howard 2011. p. 15.

[49] Cimpric, Aleksandra 2010.

Children accused of
witchcraft, An anthropological study of contemporary
practices in Africa. Dakar, Senegal: UNICEF WCARO

[70] Satanism vs. Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. holysmoke.org.

[50] Molina, Javier Aguilar 2006. The Invention of Child

Witches in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Social
cleansing, religious commerce and the diculties of being
a parent in an urban culture. London: Save the Children

[68] Schulke 2006.

[69] Howard 2011. p. 17.

[71] Gilmore, Peter. Science and Satanism. Point of Inquiry

Interview. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
[72] Lewis, James R. (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects,
and New Religions. Prometheus Books. p. 553. ISBN
1573922226.

22

[73] Black Magic, Satanism, Voodoo, by Dr. Leo L. Martello,

1972 (Interview with Sloane on pp. 31-34, Our Lord
Sathanas)
[74] B.A. Robinson (March 2006). Religious Satanism, 16th
century Satanism, Satanic Dabbling, etc. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved March 24,
2013.
[75] Royal Navy to allow devil worship CNN
[76] Carter, Helen. The devil and the deep blue sea: Navy
gives blessing to sailor Satanist. The Guardian
[77] Navy approves rst ever Satanist BBC News
[78] Linda Greenhouse (March 22, 2005). Inmates Who Follow Satanism and Wicca Find Unlikely Ally. New York
Times.
[79] Before high court: law that allows for religious rights.
Christian Science Monitor.

7 NOTES

[93] I Samuel 28.

[94] Geister, Magier und Muslime. Dmonenwelt und Geisteraustreibung im Islam. Kornelius Hentschel, Diederichs
1997, Germany.
[95] Magic and Divination in Early Islam (The Formation
of the Classical Islamic World) by Emilie Savage-Smith
(Ed.), Ashgate Publishing 2004.
[96] The Kolloh-Man. The Wesleyan Juvenile Oering: A
Miscellany of Missionary Information for Young Persons
(Wesleyan Missionary Society) X: 6. January 1853. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
[97] Okeja, Uchenna (2011). An African Context of the Belief in Witchcraft and Magic, in Rational Magic. Fisher
Imprints. ISBN 1-84888-061-8.
[98] Janzen & MacGaey 1974, p. 54b (13.9.12).
[99] Janzen & MacGaey 1974, p. 54b (13.9.14).

[80] Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2009). Introduction: Embrac- [100] Janzen & MacGaey 1974, pp. 54b-55a (13.9.16).
ing Satan. Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical
Anthology. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-5286- [101] Janzen & MacGaey 1974, p. 55b (13.10.8).
1.
[102] Geschiere, Peter; "The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa" (1997) Univer[81] Alisauskiene, Milda (2009). The Peculiarities of Lithuasity of Virginia Press. ISBN 0-8139-1703-4 (paperback).
nian Satanism. In Jesper Aagaard Petersen. ContempoTranslated by Geschiere, Peter & Roitman, Janet from the
rary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology. Ashgate
originally published in French: "Sorcellerie et politique en
Publishing. ISBN 0-7546-5286-6.
Afrique - La viande des autres" (1995).
[82] Satanism stalks Poland. BBC News. 2000-06-05.
[103] idem (Geschiere, 1997, p.13)
[83] Catherine Beyer. How Luciferians Dier From Satanists. About.com Religion & Spirituality. Retrieved 16 [104] Thousands of child 'witches turned on to the streets to
starve.
September 2015.
[84] Catherine Beyer. Lucifer (Who Is He?) - Lucifer versus [105] Kolwezi: Accused of witchcraft by parents and churches,
children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are beSatan. About.com Religion & Spirituality. Retrieved 16
ing rescued by Christian activists. Christianity Today.
September 2015.
September 2009.
[85] Philips 2012, pp. 26, 8586.
[106] Penis theft panic hits city.., Reuters.
[86] Howard 2010, p. 7; Philips 2012, p. 69.
[107] Ghana witch camps: Widows lives in exile. BBC. Re[87] Philips 2012, pp. 6970.
trieved September 1, 2012.
[88] International Standard Bible Encyclopedia article on [108] 7 killed in Ghana over 'penis-snatching' episodes, CNN,
Witchcraft, last accessed 31 March 2006. There is some
January 18, 1997.
discrepancy between translations; compare with that given
in the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Witchcraft (ac- [109] Okeja, Uchenna (2011). An African Context of the Belief in Witchcraft and Magic, in Rational Magic. Oxford:
cessed 31 March 2006), and the L. W. King translation
Fisher Imprints. ISBN 1-84888-061-8.
(accessed 31 March 2006).
[89] CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Witchcraft. Newad- [110]
vent.org. 1912-10-01. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
[111]
[90] Nahum 3:4; 1 Samuel 15:23; 2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Kings
9:22; Deuteronomy 18:10; Exodus 22:18

Mob burns to death 11 Kenyan witches.

Byrne, Carrie 2011. Hunting the vulnerable: Witchcraft
and the law in Malawi; Consultancy Africa Intelligence
(16 June):

[91] Scot, Reginald (c. 1580) The Discoverie of Witchcraft [112] Van der Meer, Erwin 2011. The Problem of Witchcraft in
Malawi, Evangelical Missions Quarterly (47:1, January):
Booke VI Ch. 1.
7885.
[92] Dickie, Matthew (2003). Magic and Magicians in the
Greco-Roman World. Routledge. pp. 3335. ISBN 0- [113] Kamkwamba, William. The Boy Who Harnessed the
415-24982-1.
Wind. Harper Collins. 2009. Page 14.

23

[114] Stepping Stones Nigeria 2007. Supporting Victims of [132] Lewis, Laura A. Hall of mirrors: power, witchcraft, and
Witchcraft Abuse and Street Children in Nigeria. hucaste in colonial Mexico. Durham, N.C.:Duke University
mantracking.org.
Press, 2003, p. 13.
[115] Houreld, Katharine (2009) Church burns 'witchcraft' chil- [133] (Portuguese) Joo Ribeiro Jnior, O Que Magia, p.4849, Ed. Abril Cultural.
dren. Associated Press.
[116] Gittins 1987, p. 199.

[134] Jaipur woman thrashed for witchcraft. The Times of

India. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-11.

[117] West, Harry G. "Ethnographic Sorcery" (p.24); 2007.

The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226- [135] Witchcraft is given a spell in Indias schools to remove
curse of deadly superstition. The Times. November 24,
89398-3 (pbk.), ISBN 0-226-89398-7 (pbk.) Note:
2008
West references Jackson (1989) and indicates language as
"Karanko".
[136] Fifty 'Witches Beaten By Mob. Sky News. December
22, 2008
[118] Living in fear: Tanzanias albinos, BBC News.
[137] Indian villagers 'killed witch'. BBC News. March 27,
[119] Wicasta 2011. Albino Child Kidnapped By Witch Doc2008
tors For Tribal Sacrice (23 September)". malleusmale[138] Blacker, Carmen. The Catalpa Bow : A Study of Shamancarum.org.
istic Practices in Japan. New York: Routledge Curzon,
[120] "http://blogs.reuters.com/africanews/2010/02/04/
1999. 5159.
the-dangers-of-witchcraft/
[139] The Grateful Foxes Japanese foxtales.
[121] Springelds 375th: From Puritans to presidents.
Academia.issendai.com. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
masslive.com. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
[140] Blacker, Carmen Catalpa Bow p. 56.
[122] Fraden, Judith Bloom, Dennis Brindell Fraden. The Salem
[141] Miethe, Terance D.; Lu, Hong (2004). Punishment: a
Witch Trials. Marshall Cavendish. 2008. p. 15.
comparative historical perspective. p. 63. ISBN 978-0521-60516-8.
[123] George Brown Tindall; David Emory Shi (2013). Jon
Durbin. Retrieved 10/3/2013, ed. America: A Narrative
[142] BBC News, Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'", 14
History (Brief Ninth Edition, Volume One ed.). W.W.
February 2008 BBC NEWS
Norton & Company, Inc. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-393-912654.
[143] Usher, Sebastian (2010-04-01). Death 'looms for Saudi
sorcerer'". BBC News.
[124] Old Stories. Topix.
[144] Saudi Arabias 'Anti-Witchcraft Unit' breaks another
[125] History of Fentress County, Tennessee. google.com.
spell. The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 201509-14.
[126] Sakowski, Carolyn. Touring the East Tennessee Backroads. p. 212.
[145] Saudi Authorities Behead Woman for 'Sorcery' - Middle
East - News. Israel National News. Retrieved 2013-06[127] Wall, Leon and William Morgan, Navajo-English Dictio29.
nary. Hippocrene Books, New York City, 1998 ISBN 0[146] "Saudi man executed for 'witchcraft and sorcery'", BBC
7818-0247-4.
News, June 19, 2012
[128] Perrone, Bobette; Stockel, H. Henrietta; Krueger, Victoria (1993). Medicine women, curanderas, and women [147] "IS beheads two civilian women in Syria: monitor". Yahoo News. 30 June 2015.
doctors. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 189. ISBN
978-0-8061-2512-1. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
[148] Nova, Chinas Tocharian Mummies, 38:4039:10.
[129] Keene, Dr. Adrienne, "Magic in North America Part 1: [149] Monter, E. William (1969). European Witchcraft. New
Ugh." at Native Appropriations, 8 March 2016. Accessed
York. pp. viiviii.
9 April 2016: What happens when Rowling pulls this in,
is we as Native people are now opened up to a barrage of [150] Kiekhefer, Richard (201). European Witch Trials: Their
Foundations in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300-1500.
questions about these beliefs and traditions ... but these are
Routledge. p. 102.
not things that need or should be discussed by outsiders.
At all. Im sorry if that seems unfair, but thats how our
[151] Brian Levack (The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe)
cultures survive.
multiplied the number of known European witch trials by
the average rate of conviction and execution, to arrive at a
[130] Behar, Ruth. Sex and Sin, Witchcraft and the Devil in Lategure of around 60,000 deaths. Anne Lewellyn Barstow
Colonial Mexico. American Ethnologist, 14:1 (February
(Witchcraze)
adjusted Levacks estimate to account for
1987), p. 34.
lost records, estimating 100,000 deaths. Ronald Hutton
[131] Lavrin, Asuncin. Sexuality & Marriage in Colonial Latin
(Triumph of the Moon) argues that Levacks estimate had
America. Reprint ed. Lincoln, NB.:University of Nealready been adjusted for these, and revises the gure to
braska Press, 1992, p. 192.
approximately 40,000.

24

7 NOTES

[152] Estimates of executions. Based on Ronald Hutton's es- [171] Cohen, Elizabeth S. and Thomas V. (1993). Words and
say Counting the Witch Hunt.
Deeds in Renaissance Rome: Trials before the Papal Magistrates. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 201
[153] Drury, Nevill (1992) Dictionary of Mysticism and the Eso238.
teric Traditions Revised Edition. Bridport, Dorset: Prism
[172] Ferraro, Joanne Marie. Nefarious Crimes, Contested JusPress. Witch.
tice: Illicit Sex, and Infanticide in the Republic of Venice,
1557-1789. p. 3.
[154] Regino of Prm (906), see Ginzburg (1990) part 2, ch. 1
(89.)
[173] Diabolism in the New World. ABCCLIO. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
[155] H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 15621684, 1972,71

[174] Cervantes, Fernando; Kenneth Mills (1996). The Hispanic American Historical Review 76. Duke University
[156] Maxwell-Stuart, P. G. (2000) The Emergence of the
Press: 789790. JSTOR 2517981.
Christian Witch in History Today, Nov, 2000.
[157] Drymon, M.M. Disguised as the Devil: How Lyme Disease Created Witches and Changed History, 2008.
[158] Mackay, C., Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the
Madness of Crowds.
[159] Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971).

[175] Jasper Buse (1995). Cook Islands Maori Dictionary. Cook

Islands Ministry of Education. p. 372.
[176] Jasper Buse (1995). Cook Islands Maori Dictionary. Cook
Islands Ministry of Education. p. 471.
[177] Jasper Buse (1995). Cook Islands Maori Dictionary. Cook
Islands Ministry of Education. p. 156.

[160] Jonathan Barry, Introduction: Keith Thomas and the [178] William Wyatt Gill (1892). Wizards. The south Pacic
and New Guinea, past and present; with notes on the Herproblem of witchcraft in Jonathan Barry et al. eds.,
vey group, an illustrative song and various myths. Sydney:
Witchcraft in early modern Europe: Studies in Culture and
Charles Potter, Government Printer. p. 21.
Belief (1996) pp. 1-46
[161] Alan Macfarlane, Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: [179] William Wyatt Gill (1892). Wizards. The south Pacic
and New Guinea, past and present; with notes on the HerA Regional and Comparative Study (1970).
vey group, an illustrative song and various myths. Sydney:
Charles Potter, Government Printer. p. 22.
[162] Clarke Garrett, ""Women and witches: Patterns of analysis. Signs 3#2 (1977): 461-470. JSTOR
[180] Beatrice Grimshaw (1908). A Mystic Power. In the
Strange South Seas. London: Hutchinson & Co. pp. 71
[163] Kathleen Kamerick, Tanglost of Wales: Magic and Adul72.
tery in the Court of Chancery circa 1500. Sixteenth Century Journal 44#1 (2013) pp25-45.

[181] Woman suspected of witchcraft burned alive CNN.com.

January 8, 2009.

[164] Sally Parkin, Witchcraft, womens honour and customary

law in early modern Wales. Social History 31.3 (2006): [182] See also Ryan, W.F. The Bathhouse at Midnight: An
295-318.
Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia,
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.
[165] Thomas Lolis, The City of Witches: James I, the Unholy Sabbath, and the Homosocial Refashioning of the [183] Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells:
The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts (EleWitches Community. CLIO (2008) 37#3 pp 322-337.
ment: London, 2004), page 524.
[166] Martin, Ruth (1989). Witchcraft and the Inquisition in
[184] Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells:
Venice, 1550-1650. Oxford, UK. p. 235.
The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts (Element: London, 2004,) page 252.
[167] Black, Christopher F. (2001). Early Modern Italy: A Social History. London. p. 115.
[185] Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells:
The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts (Ele[168] Kiekhefer, Richard (2001). European Witch Trials: Their
ment: London, 2004), page 847.
Foundation in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300-1500.
p. 57.

[186] Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells:

The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts (Ele[169] Cohen, Elizabeth S. and Thomas V. (1993). Words and
ment: London, 2004), page 623.
Deeds in Renaissance Rome: Trials before the Papal Magistrates. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 189 [187] Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells:
195.
The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts (Element: London, 2004), page 797.
[170] Schutte, Anne Jacobson (2008). Aspiring Saints: Pretense
of Holiness, Inquisition, and Gender in the Republic of [188] Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells:
Venice, 1618-1750. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts (ElePress. p. 99.
ment: London, 2004), page 705.

25

[189] http://www.jstor.org/stable/3879463
[190] Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells:
The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts (Element: London, 2004), page 313.
[191] Janet and Stewart Farrar, A Witches Bible: The Complete Witches Handbook (Washington, Phoenix Publishing, Inc.) 1984. Page 316.
[192] Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells:
The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts (Element: London, 2004), page 586.
[193] Raymond Buckland, The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia
of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-Paganism (Detroit: Visible Ink) 2002. Page 160.
[194] Christine D. Worobec, 1995. Witchcraft Beliefs and
Practices in Prerevolutionary Russian and Ukrainian Villages. Russian Review 54, no. 2: 165. Historical Abstracts, EBSCOhost (accessed November 21, 2013).
[195] Russell Zguta, Witchcraft Trials in Seventeenth-Century
Russia, American Historical Review 82, no. 5 (December 1977), 1190.
[196] Zguta, 1190.
[197] Puigblanch, Antonio (1816-01-01). The Inquisition Unmasked: Being an Historical and Philosophical Account of
that Tremendous Tribunal, Founded on Authentic Documents; and Exhibiting the Necessity of Its Suppression, as
a Means of Reform and Regeneration, Written and Published at a Time when the National Congress of Spain was
about to Deliberate on this Important Measure. Baldwin,
Cradock, and Joy.
[198] Zguta, 1189.
[199]
[200] Zguta, 1187.
[201] Zguta, 1191.
[202] Zguta, 1193.
[203] Zguta, 1193-94.
[204] Zguta, 1195.
[205] Zguta, 1196.

References

9 Further reading
Ashforth, Adam (2000). Madumo, A Man Bewitched. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780-226-02971-9.
Easley, Patricia Thompson (August 2000). A Gobber Tooth, A Hairy Lip, A Squint Eye: Concepts of the
Witch and the Body in Early Modern Europe (M.A.
Thesis). UNT Digital Library.
Favret-Saada, Jeanne (December 1980). Deadly
Words: Witchcraft in the Bocage. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-29787-5.
Favret-Saada, Jeanne (2009). Dsorceler. L'Olivier.
ISBN 978-2-87929-639-5.
Geschiere, Peter (1997) [Translated from French
Edition (1995 Karthala)].
The Modernity of
Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial
Africa = Sorcellerie Et Politique En Afrique la
viande des autres. University of Virginia Press.
ISBN 978-0-8139-1703-0.
Ginzburg, Carlo; Translated by Raymond Rosenthal
(June 2004) [Originally published in Italy as Storia
Notturna (1989 Giulio Einaudi)]. Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches Sabbath. University of Chicago
Press. ISBN 978-0-226-29693-7.
Henderson, Lizanne, Witch-Hunting and Witch Belief in the Gidhealtachd, Witchcraft and Belief in
Early Modern Scotland Eds. Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller. Basingstoke: Palgrave
MacMillan, 2007
Hutton, Ronald (1999) The Triumph of the Moon: A
History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, Oxford, OUP.
Hyatt, Harry Middleton. Hoodoo, conjuration,
witchcraft, rootwork: beliefs accepted by many Negroes and white persons, these being orally recorded
among Blacks and whites. s.n., 1970.
Lindquist, Galina (2006). Conjuring Hope: Magic
and Healing In Contemporary Russia. Berghahn
Books. ISBN 978-1-84545-057-1. Retrieved 20
May 2013.

Alan Macfarlane, Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart

England, Psychology Press, 1999 (orig. 1970)

Levack, Brian P. ed. The Oxford Handbook of

Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial
America (2013) excerpt and text search

University of Kansas Publications in Anthropology,

No. 5 = John M Janzen and Wyatt MacGaey: An
Anthology of Kongo Religion: Primary Texts from
Lower Zare. Lawrence, 1974.

Moore, Henrietta L. and Todd Sanders 2001. Magical Interpretations, Material Realities: Modernity,
Witchcraft and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa London: Routledge.

Studia Instituti Anthropos, Vol. 41 = Anthony J. Gittins: Mende Religion. Steyler Verlag, Nettetal, 1987.

Pentikainen, Juha. Marnina Takalo as an Individual. C. JSTOR. 26 February 2007.

26

10

Pentikainen, Juha. The Supernatural Experience.

F. Jstor. 26 February 2007.
Pcs, va (1999). Between the Living and the Dead:
A perspective on Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age. Budapest: Central European University
Press. ISBN 963-9116-19-X.
Ruickbie, Leo (2004) Witchcraft out of the Shadows:
A History, London, Robert Hale.
Stark, Ryan J. Demonic Eloquence, in Rhetoric,
Science, and Magic in Seventeenth-Century England (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of
America Press, 2009), 115-45.
Worobec, Caroline. Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices in Prerevolutionary Russia and Ukrainian Villages. Jstor. 27 February 2007.

10

External links

Witchcraft on In Our Time at the BBC. (listen now)

Kabbalah On Witchcraft A Jewish view (Audio)
chabad.org
Jewish Encyclopedia: Witchcraft
Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands,
1886, by John Linwood Pitts, from Project Gutenberg
A Treatise of Witchcraft, 1616, by Alexander
Roberts, from Project Gutenberg
University of Edinburghs Scottish witchcraft
database
'Witchcraft and Statecraft, A Materialist Analysis of
the European Witch Persecutions

EXTERNAL LINKS

27

11
11.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Witchcraft Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft?oldid=729941985 Contributors: AxelBoldt, Magnus Manske, Kpjas, Eloquence, Bryan Derksen, Tarquin, RobLa, Slrubenstein, Sjc, RK, Amillar, Andre Engels, PierreAbbat, Zoe, Valhalla, Someone else, RamMan, AntonioMartin, Stevertigo, Michael Hardy, Paul Barlow, Kwertii, Dante Alighieri, Liftarn, Ixfd64, Delirium, Oyd11, Tregoweth,
CesarB, Ahoerstemeier, Jonah, Nikai, Andres, Pizza Puzzle, Charles Matthews, RickK, Andrewman327, Greenrd, Tpbradbury, Itai, Anton
Hein, Tempshill, Dogface, Raul654, Huangdi, Rogper~enwiki, Aenar, Murray Langton, Jmabel, ZimZalaBim, Altenmann, Modulatum,
Ianb, Ashley Y, Caknuck, Rasmus Faber, Catbar, Hadal, Jsonitsac, Nerval, Wereon, Mushroom, Seano1, Wayland, Pablo-ores, Alan Liefting, Gwalla, DocWatson42, Christopher Parham, Fudoreaper, Testy~enwiki, Wiglaf, WiseWoman, Bradeos Graphon, Everyking, Michael
Devore, DO'Neil, Guanaco, Alensha, Luigi30, Ojl, Bobblewik, Tagishsimon, Gadum, Utcursch, Fuzzy Logic, J. 'mach' wust, Geni, Mike
R, SarekOfVulcan, Zeimusu, Antandrus, OverlordQ, PDH, Karol Langner, Adamsan, Billposer, Rdsmith4, Pat Berry, M.e, DanielDemaret, Rdnk, Sam Hocevar, Histrion, Gary D, Ensrifra, Machenphile, Klemen Kocjancic, Kevin Rector, Spectatrix, Zondor, Trevor
MacInnis, SYSS Mouse, OntarioQuizzer, R, DanielCD, Ultratomio, AlexPU, Indosauros, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Guanabot,
FT2, Dbachmann, Bender235, ESkog, Djordjes, Goplat, Loren36, Dpotter, El C, Sietse Snel, Art LaPella, RoyBoy, Nickdate, Bobo192,
Reene, Infocidal, Smalljim, SwissCelt, Goblim, Clawson, Adraeus, Cmdrjameson, .:Ajvol:., DaveGorman, I9Q79oL78KiL0QTFHgyc,
SpeedyGonsales, Jojit fb, Frogus, MPerel, Sam Korn, Seaj11, Krellis, Jonathunder, OneGuy, Alansohn, Anthony Appleyard, Sherurcij,
Rh~enwiki, Free Bear, Wiki-uk, Atlant, Diego Moya, Carbon Caryatid, Craigy144, SpaceFalcon2001, Lectonar, Calton, Sugaar, Ynhockey, Stevestrange, Mysdaao, Fireballmage, SeanDuggan, DreamGuy, Mononoke~enwiki, Velella, ClockworkSoul, BRW, Vcelloho,
Amorymeltzer, RainbowOfLight, Sciurin, Guthrie, Nortonew, Hijiri88, A D Monroe III, Weyes, Woohookitty, LOL, Josephf, Veratien, Ruud Koot, JeremyA, Chochopk, MONGO, Eleassar777, SCEhardt, Dionyziz, Isnow, Pinkgothic, Abd, Yst, Rgbea, Stevey7788,
Dysepsion, VMite, Tslocum, Graham87, Cuchullain, BD2412, FreplySpang, Mendaliv, Rjwilmsi, Angusmclellan, Koavf, Jake Wartenberg, Gabrielsimon, Strait, PinchasC, XP1, Chochem, Ukdan999, SMC, Jb-adder, Sohmc, Brighterorange, The wub, MikeJ9919, Cavalorn, SNIyer12, Titoxd, NekoOnna, Naraht, SchuminWeb, FrancisDrake, Crazycomputers, Nivix, Oedalis, Gparker, RexNL, Gurch,
Cmadler, BradBeattie, Vidkun, Frjwoolley, Butros, King of Hearts, Sherool, Kazuba, DVdm, Dreamingkat, Gdrbot, EvilZak, Gwernol, EamonnPKeane, The Rambling Man, TexasAndroid, Sceptre, Rtkat3, Brandmeister (old), 999~enwiki, RussBot, PWhittle, Pigman,
Epolk, GLaDOS, Dotancohen, Stephenb, Gaius Cornelius, CambridgeBayWeather, Rsrikanth05, Neilbeach, Macukali, Salsb, Wimt, RadioKirk, K.C. Tang, Marcus Cyron, Finbarr Saunders, Robrecht~enwiki, Friday, NawlinWiki, Toecutter, Wiki alf, Grafen, Bloodofox,
NickBush24, Johann Wolfgang, Fabulous Creature, Justin Eiler, Rjensen, Irishguy, Larry laptop, Raven4x4x, RL0919, Romarin, Khonsali, Morgan Leigh, CorbieVreccan, Asarelah, JSH-alive, ColinFine, Jhinman, Acetic Acid, Botteville, Ccranll, Ariston~enwiki, Alpha
4615, Galar71, Jkelly, WAS 4.250, FF2010, AnnaKucsma, 21655, Zzuuzz, Rfsmit, Closedmouth, Abune, Th1rt3en, Brina700, Levathyn,
Diddims, CWenger, Anclation~enwiki, RunOrDie, Tim1965, Paganpan, Shubi, Fastifex, Groyolo, Jade Knight, DVD R W, Kf4bdy,
Gamerunknown, SC Witch, Veinor, SmackBot, AndreniW, Lcarsdata, KnowledgeOfSelf, Hydrogen Iodide, Bjelleklang, C.Fred, Davewild, Rojomoke, Gjs238, Edgar181, Yopie, Crimsone, Yamaguchi , Cool3, Magicalsaumy, PeterSymonds, Gilliam, Ohnoitsjamie,
Skizzik, Webwarlock, Lapsus Linguae, SPartsShocker, Blackfyr, Bluebot, Kurykh, Dahn, SalomonMuriel, Blindogenius, JDCMAN,
Thumperward, Mdwh, Wutschwlllm, E9, Coleopterous, Iago4096, Gracenotes, Rohlo, James P Sullivan, Can't sleep, clown will eat
me, , OrphanBot, Onorem, KevM, Yidisheryid, Zazpot, Clinkophonist, Braiswick, KerathFreeman, LeContexte, Ines
it, Krich, Canadiandude 007, Nakon, Magore, John D. Croft, Dreadstar, RandomP, MartinRe, Brainyiscool, BullRangifer, Andrew c,
Fuzzypeg, DMacks, Maelnuneb, Andeggs, Where, Bejnar, Kukini, FerzenR, Toadsboon, Mikaduki, Darkest Sage, Rasenna, Yirmiyahou, Rukario639, Khazar, AmiDaniel, Marco polo, Ocee, NewTestLeper79, Boytoy98405, Lazylaces, Perfectblue97, Ravenight, Jontelpo, Minna Sora no Shita, Groggy Dice, IronGargoyle, Bilby, Ben Moore, A. Parrot, Bless sins, Benjaminlobato, Ghelae, Werdan7,
Beetstra, Optimale, Rowanoak, MrArt, Optakeover, InedibleHulk, Redeagle688, Mathsci, Midnightblueowl, Ryulong, Big Smooth, Caiaa, Sheherazahde, Haveronjones, Gotnoglory, DabMachine, Luiz48, Bjart, Colonel Warden, Joseph Solis in Australia, Shoeofdeath,
Debeo Morium, Walton One, Catherineyronwode, Amakuru, DavidOaks, Courcelles, Dojnd, Tawkerbot2, Switchercat, JForget, Dragonball1986, Adam Keller, Wolfdog, CmdrObot, VForVendetta, Dolphins45, GHe, Dgw, Revjasper13, ShelfSkewed, Outriggr (20062009), MarsRover, Moreschi, Neelix, Iokseng, Yopienso, Fordmadoxfraud, Jayess, Funnyfarmofdoom, Qrc2006, Yarthkin, Peripitus,
Peterdjones, Goldfritha, Gogo Dodo, Red Director, Nohope, Frater5, Q43, Doug Weller, DumbBOT, Phydend, BartlebyScrivener, Walgamanus, SteveMcCluskey, Omicronpersei8, UberScienceNerd, Califman831, Nol888, Satori Son, NadirAli, Krylonblue83, EvaK, Tortillovsky, Malleus Fatuorum, Epbr123, Ante Aikio, Auror, Igbale, Anupam, Laboye, WilliamH, Marek69, E. Ripley, Nick Number, Post
Falls Man, Big Bird, Sean William, Natalie Erin, Cocokeelers, ThomasPusch, Northumbrian, Escarbot, Hmrox, Black Fyre, Cyclonenim,
Ialsoagree, AntiVandalBot, Konman72, Luna Santin, Seaphoto, Lostcaesar, Hotspot, Xuchilbara, QuiteUnusual, Julia Rossi, WikiLambo,
LibLord, Spencer, DarthShrine, Soulforge19, Real-pagan, Dmerrill, Iatheia, Knotwork, Ingolfson, BRIAN928S, .alyn.post., JAnDbot, Husond, Barek, MER-C, Epeeeche, Scythian1, InniteHunter, BeastmasterGeneral, Sophie means wisdom, Andonic, Leolaursen, Taksen,
SiobhanHansa, Meeples, FaerieInGrey, Pablothegreat85, Magioladitis, Doomkittyx, Canjth, Pedro, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, P64, Clivestaples, InvertedCommas, Dekimasu, Adam keller, Hasek is the best, Kim Dent-Brown, Careless hx, Jsk Couriano, SineWave, CTF83!,
Randomwellwisher, ***Ria777, Craw-daddy, PelleSmith, Sam Medany, Rosencomet, ClovisPt, Animum, Otto1970, Jameshebert, Berig,
Alekjds, Wrad, David Eppstein, Jojomanee, Frotz, Rainbowluv, Esanchez7587, CC80, Savingedmund, Brandon1978, WLU, Urco, Sarahberg, Vishvax, Oroso, Neyzenhasan, B9 hummingbird hovering, Cat Constantine, Elsbeth0, ClubOranje, Macmelvino, MartinBot, GoldenMeadows, Timothy Titus, Randombuttery, Tholly, Coreycatt, Mschel, AlexiusHoratius, Apola, Fconaway, Lilac Soul, LedgendGamer,
Mausy5043, J.delanoy, JAb, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Nev1, C decola, Dukepuke2010, Wtimrock, Uncle Dick, Nigholith, Cocoaguy,
Jerry, Ian.thomson, GeveraBert, Tokyogirl79, Marcsin, Kinggame134, Ncmvocalist, Clerks, Samtheboy, Patch666, Mbrink93, AntiSpamBot, HiLo48, InspectorTiger, NewEnglandYankee, Neo Black, Sxuesheng, SJP, Rbakker99, End of my life, Cobi, KCinDC, Grfnkmp,
Jrcla2, MetsFan76, Kriegshund46, 2help, Juliancolton, Mighty Antar, FuegoFish, John2510, Esteban.emoslayer, Nameless Soul, Lystrablue, Juniper138, Petercj70, Tricksterson, Vanished user 39948282, Treisijs, Diletante, Natl1, LastChanceToBe, Jarry1250, Roba5263,
Martial75, Mahntuhk, CardinalDan, Idioma-bot, Apocalogy, Wikieditor06, Caribbean H.Q., ChaosNil, Hammersoft, BlackJar72, Tourbillon, TRakowski, Aciram, Science4sail, MemeGeneScene, Pilot canales, Je G., Indubitably, Kevinkor2, Nburden, BoogaLouie, Davidwr,
Chasidheretic, Grey witch, Philip Trueman, Beamender99, Oshwah, Cosmic Latte, Rajayogin, Haquin, Ann Stouter, Kfristensky, Bluewolfah, Bkdaniels, Sean D Martin, Laconia, AlysTarr, IPSOS, Qxz, Naohiro19 revertvandal, Andreas Kaganov, Oxfordwang, NachtSorcier,
Suptro0, Pie man125, Theodore13, Jackfork, Luke118, Tpk5010, Rmendola3307, KitMarlowe2, Ravi13Rogue, Alborz Fallah, Malick78,
Eih066, Purebreed, Lamro, Graymornings, CoolKid1993, Falcon8765, Enviroboy, JesterCountess, LilyRain, Icebug, Onceonthisisland,
Jimmi Hugh, Indigo Rush, Gta gamer14, Esseh, Deconstructhis, Ajbw, YURiN, MegaMom, Steven1350, Slipperysox, Element03, WhyteWitch, Cladenstine123, StAnselm, Iceshark7, Missbmd, Tresiden, Tiddly Tom, WereSpielChequers, Jsc83, Legend, Neil Strickland, Dawn

28

11

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Bard, Caltas, Matthew Yeager, ConfuciusOrnis, WestCoastMusketeer, Pahuson, Keilana, Bentogoa, Android Mouse, Flyer22 Reborn,
Oysterguitarist, Belinrahs, Oda Mari, Topher385, Redmarkviolinist, Oxymoron83, Faradayplank, Lightmouse, Tombomp, Alex.muller,
Fratrep, SteveD164, Maelgwnbot, Shoombooly, Jacob.jose, Reubdogzz, Alispeed, UB65, Florentino oro, Pinkadelica, Dolphin51, Denisarona, Jollyninja, Sitush, Finn, Faithlessthewonderboy, Sfan00 IMG, Plwest6, SpiderMum, ClueBot, GorillaWarfare, Icebugf, The Thing
That Should Not Be, MikeVitale, Ndenison, IndecisiveGeek, Arakunem, Saddhiyama, Meekywiki, Drmies, Sophis lady, Boing! said
Zebedee, WIKIDICK2, Eervescing Elephant, Harland1, LizardJr8, Piledhigheranddeeper, INFOGOV, Jtvigil, Suprsmrt, Excirial, Nymf,
Jusdafax, Akurth~enwiki, Muhandes, Sweden555, Ykhwong, ParisianBlade, NuclearWarfare, Cenarium, Sbfw, 0XQ, Okiefromokla, Hans
Adler, Razorame, Dekisugi, Frozen4322, Mikaey, Thingg, Aitias, DerBorg, Fluee, Rossen4, Zenwhat, Ambrosius007, Skunkboy74,
XLinkBot, April8, Mattkachu, Rror, Pystry123, Piercedsatyr, Richard-of-Earth, Skarebo, WikHead, Magicmuppet23, WikiDao, Sonyray,
Jakezing, Arthur889, RyanCross, Papryka~enwiki, Charliew950, Engkamalzack, Addbot, 21436587m, Cxz111, O oPK, Otterathome,
Wiccan666, Magicalorgangutan, Grey Selkie, Some jerk on the Internet, Lonedeltaforce, Jojhutton, Fyrael, Metagraph, Lenwbrown,
Fieldday-sunday, Adrian 1001, Me454, TheGimpMan, Tespun, MrOllie, Download, WillT.Net, AndersBot, Favonian, LinkFA-Bot, 5
albert square, Tassedethe, Bwrs, Theking17825, Tide rolls, Elderwalker, Krano, Guyonthesubway, Gail, Jarble, Arthemius x, Venominaga,
Frehley, Yobot, Bunnyhop11, Fraggle81, Mauler90, Kipoc, Witchmark, Wollslleybuttock, Clodhna-2, THEN WHO WAS PHONE?,
GateKeeper, Brougham96, Gunnar Hendrich, Eduen, Woodwytch, Formicarius, Roberto212, Car Falling Into the Water, AnomieBOT,
DemocraticLuntz, Hadden, Yowuza, Jim1138, IRP, Piano non troppo, Sucro, AdjustShift, Kingpin13, Ulric1313, I love chease, Flewis, Waterspell1, Materialscientist, Binney27, Doctor sponge, MGoscinski, Citation bot, OllieFury, Apollo, Neurolysis, ArthurBot, Pizzarolls99,
Quebec99, LilHelpa, Lew92, SenioDawg, Sionus, Cureden, Captainnipples, The Banner, Alexlange, Addihockey10, Capricorn42, Jerey
Mall, Millahnna, Mononomic, GenQuest, Daman69xo, RedKiteUK, Widugast, The Evil IP address, Jordonous, Iprocomp, AbigailAbernathy, Coretheapple, Orrosta, PimRijkee, Abce2, Skaboy2, Kazuu50, Gpirat3, , Isa alcala, Shirik, Amaury, Aurola, Der
Falke, Brutaldeluxe, Twistedobrien, Smallman12q, ERKMED, Eugene-elgato, SobaNoodleForYou, Babybeeblue, Captain-n00dle, FrescoBot, Fortdj33, Tobby72, Paranormalonlinecelebs, Wicked doo, Machine Elf 1735, Aleister Wilson, Applytheneed1, Unr3achable1tch,
Citation bot 1, Xxglennxx, Mi i rok, Vipinfoisabellez9, Winterst, Pinethicket, QDK01, I dream of horses, Vicenarian, Witchcraftsuperior, Carrion Flower, Tom.Reding, Martin Raybourne, Skyerise, SarahandSophie, Whiterabbitone, Suggestednickname, Treeline1, Yutsi,
Reesorville, Resemblinguniverzes, Robo Cop, Leodgunn, Reconsider the static, Merlion444, SkyMachine, R12556, JeremiahCD, Zozoxoxo, ArchiveCarrickfergus, Omni123, Matthewcates, HelenOnline, Lotje, Mentalmentalchickenoriental, Vrenator, SeoMac, Raidon Kane,
Krien, Stalwart111, Diannaa, Poncirus, Carminowe of Hendra, Elysesmith12, Tbhotch, Minimac, Gatepc, Om prakash shaw, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Andrea105, Onel5969, Mean as custard, Wizardluxas, RjwilmsiBot, Bellaguae, BjrnBergman, Beckyfat, Qasim Arif Sethi, Hydrollis, Hannakelly, Autumnalmonk, Salvio giuliano, Lumen1783, DASHBot, Sonicrox14, Bdescham, EmausBot, John of Reading, Ajraddatz, Catrinawitch, Goranosis, WITCH69, Racerx11, Friendship34, GoingBatty, RA0808, Caimbeul 1314, 8digits, Sp33dyphil, Solarra,
Mow742369, Slightsmile, Tommy2010, Onkel X, Wikipelli, Dcirovic, Thelionqueen, Cyrilglass, Lobsterthermidor, PBS-AWB, Go2ruhul,
Wol123999, F, Jarveyhames, Traxs7, Michael Essmeyer, Isssak, Midas02, H3nd1, Zezen, Kiwi128, Asdfzxc920, Annihilator1, SporkBot, Efrain Damien, Xololo348, Mirsada2k, Mcmatter, J.T.Fraser, SomeChristian, Keogh10, TyA, Ckid456, SpaceGhost2000, The Talking Toaster, Oliver3000, Foxonline, L Kensington, Smilesofasummernight, Donner60, Cforrester101, Neonblast, Mteitelp, DomenicoStefano, NorCal764, HandsomeFella, Ethannathan, Megfrey, ArtemisPhoenix, Guardianofhistory, Herk1955, DASHBotAV, WiccaLesbiansUnited, Splashen, Helpsome, ClueBot NG, Macaroonie, Gareth Grith-Jones, Vinnywg, Cody013, MelbourneStar, Cletus101, LogX,
Vacation9, Fuzzerah, Nodeman RTX 5, DanTrent, 1pixieminx, Midoto Hikari2, O.Koslowski, Asukite, 149AFK, Dream of Nyx, Tesor
Jambou, 2happy2na, Apollitheia, Widr, WikiPuppies, Micahtheangel, Kittystatham, Theopolisme, North Atlanticist Usonian, Oddbodz,
Lucyferguson22, Helpful Pixie Bot, Ladylions14, JWM83, Lovelybiebs, Volumeonlow, Gob Lofa, Jaline jackson, Jeraphine Gryphon,
Jmainzer, Lowercase sigmabot, BigEars42, BG19bot, Alexandra Medford, PTJoshua, Macilove, ISTB351, MusikAnimal, Jane Spofford, Simon Sandall, Mark Arsten, Chander, EmadIV, Vetrov07, Tommybandboy, Tenghaolee, Harry Potter Wizard, Altar, CitationCleanerBot, Bgg2, Dentalplanlisa, Cawsocia, MrBill3, Sherextc, Olympicmage, Grand Egg of the Pagan Club, Anbu121, Melodychick,
BattyBot, Shdj8001, Withychristian, Pratyya Ghosh, HazHazzard, 14dboyles, ANTOLLAMH, Witch1b4, Mrt3366, Blue Eagle 21063,
DON TOK SAI WOK, Ducknish, Skyrim123, Megdupo, Pur3mel33r, Yuchitown, AnnekaODonoghue, Marcuscooper123, Dexbot, Chum
Dog Millionaire, Mogism, Whitewitchcarmen, Poppy1337, Lugia2453, Frosty, SFK2, Jamesx12345, Sowlos, Araqkeli, Cloudnine2012,
Wywin, The elias khoury, Davidkiser13, Rupert loup, Hillbillyholiday, Lemonmelonsuperstar, ParvaLunaris, Manningmc, Southernwitch,
Schrauwers, Kya1000, TreVonte' McNary, FenixFeather, IvyAmethyst, Mathew A Davis, Svnti fav, Acetotyce, I am One of Many,
Qwertyandy, Melonkelon, Qetuopiyr, PhantomTech, Sylar 103, Jakec, Twilightstorm, Ekegreat, DavidLeighEllis, Hoho24, Babitaarora,
JacobGonzales38, RemaKhacho, KillerBud5150, Djdragon12, Mas Rodin, Dr.Donk, Jimmyjames444, Fatsooo, LieutenantLatvia, Pilotpilotpilot1111, Zenibus, ChaoticOrb, FactContol-freak, John.v.Winterhulk, Ddawesome22, Ginsuloft, Aiden9999, Little witch117, Riku
Mog, Maxspin99, Lizia7, MagicatthemovieS, Supery23, JaconaFrere, G S Palmer, Saectar, Dora.r.james, Kmarie mo, Riddleh, Monkbot,
Horseless Headman, Polymathica, Morganne Jonez..., Lovebooks111, Robster1979, Witchcraft1994, Iameditorofcanada, Trillbill22, Haybay89, Posen607, Everitoburito, Ntgratedweb1, Sabbatian, 3primetime3, Roger 8 Roger, Dandan594, KH-1, Tongenaramas, Inactiveedit,
Tiger0n4oids, Poor vika negi, Altenmaeren, Doblock, Johannon, FreeatlastChitchat, Captain skeleton, KerryBush, Thewhitehand7000,
Wiki runner33, Rubbish computer, Poor vika ak negi, Medlicense, Witchcraftisbae, Adhikaridhiraj, Eoink00, Tetra quark, Tyronbeleld,
Hb1d32, Jensnsmaj, Kieran Redman, Bigrichard8, 3 of Diamonds, NORMESHIE JUSTICE KUDZO, 13jmmmm, Abdelrahman Alaa12,
AddMore der Zweite, 01010101111100000010101101010l, Je123451, KingArthurtheFirst, HighnessAtharva, Harbinger 94, Chazz Vinen12, Thetruth223, Lolololoppppppuu, Syrdon, Gavriil Khips, Makeawich, Whiterebel666, Njengabenngugi, Qzd, JescoS, Entranced98,
YorkTILoranges, TropicalNadiaSailor, Kiannagorman, Benjy2004, Karateclaps, Delight7397, 23hamiltonc, Barry4557, Paultoombes and
Anonymous: 1754

11.2

Images

File:"A_true_and_just_recorde_of_the_information";_title_page_Wellcome_M0012987.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/

wikipedia/commons/2/22/%22A_true_and_just_recorde_of_the_information%22%3B_title_page_Wellcome_M0012987.jpg License:
CC BY 4.0 Contributors:
http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/fe/11/89c401ef030865addbe2b4094369.jpg
Original artist: ?
File:Ambox_important.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, based o of Image:Ambox scales.svg Original artist: Dsmurat (talk contribs)
File:Baldung_Hexen_1508_kol.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Baldung_Hexen_1508_kol.JPG
License: Public domain Contributors: Source: R. Decker, Hexen, Frontispiz (2004) Original artist: Hans Baldung

11.3

Content license

29

File:Baphomet.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Baphomet.png License: Public domain Contributors:

? Original artist: ?
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Die_Hexe_(Albrecht_Drer).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Die_Hexe_%28Albrecht_D%
C3%BCrer%29.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: copperplate circa 1500 Original artist: Albrecht Drer
File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Goya_-_Caprichos_(68).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Goya_-_Caprichos_%2868%29.jpg
License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:John_William_Waterhouse_-_Magic_Circle.JPG Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/John_
William_Waterhouse_-_Magic_Circle.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: Tate Gallery, online database: entry N01572 Original
artist: John William Waterhouse
File:Matteson_Examination_of_a_Witch.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Matteson_Examination_of_a_
Witch.jpg License: PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Nothing_could_be_done_about_it_LACMA_63.11.24.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/
Nothing_could_be_done_about_it_LACMA_63.11.24.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-31877493-O3.jpg Original artist: Francisco Goya y Lucientes (Spain, Fuendetodos, 1746-1828)
File:Okabe_-_The_cat_witch.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Okabe_-_The_cat_witch.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Persecution_of_witches.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Persecution_of_witches.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Portal-puzzle.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Portal-puzzle.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
File:Rila_Monastery_wall_painting.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Rila_Monastery_wall_
painting.jpg License: CC BY 2.5 Contributors: www.imagesfrombulgaria.com; perspective- and color-adjusted by Martha Forsyth Original
artist: ?
File:Sejdmen.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Sejdmen.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Book: Snorre Sturlason - Heimskringla, J.M. Stenersen & Co, 1899. Original artist: Halfdan Egedius
File:Shona_witch_doctor_(Zimbabwe).jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Shona_witch_doctor_
%28Zimbabwe%29.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Hans Hillewaert
File:The_Kolloh-Man_(January_1853,_X,_p.6)_-_Copy.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/The_
Kolloh-Man_%28January_1853%2C_X%2C_p.6%29_-_Copy.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: https://books.google.com.au/
books?id=glwEAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Original artist: Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society
File:Torturing_and_execution_of_witches_in_medieval_miniature.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
e/e7/Torturing_and_execution_of_witches_in_medieval_miniature.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://molcat1.bl.uk/
IllImages/Ekta%5Cmid/E124/E124110.jpg Original artist: Anonymous
File:Wickiana3.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Wickiana3.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
? Original artist: ?
File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Rei-artur
File:Wikisource-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Rei-artur Original artist: Nicholas Moreau

11.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0