Introduction
The Burning Times are centered in the time between the mid-15th and the early 18th centuries, but lynchings and burnings continued into the late 19th century in Europe and Latin America. Early Christians considered anyone not Christian a witch, and the idea that witches should be burned alive at the stake (hence "The Burning Times") first originated with St. Augustine, who said that Pagans, Jews, and heretics would burn forever in Hell unless saved by the Church. The Inquisition lumped witches into the category of "heretic", meaning those that had renounced God and formed a pact with Satan. Fire is seen as the element of purification, and only fire could so purify a witch that they could be saved.
According to Jean Bodin, a 16th century demonologist, in his De la Demonomanie des Sorciers:
"Even if the witch has never killed or done evil to any man, or beast, or fruits, and even if he has always cured bewitched people, or driven away tempests, it is because he has renounced God and treated with Satan that he deserves to be burned alive... even if there is no more than the obligation to the Devil, having denied God, this deserves the most cruel death that can be imagined.
Not all witches were burned at the stake; witches were hanged in England and America. Witches were given the mercy of strangulation prior to burning in France, Scotland, and Germany. Nonetheless, many were burned alive if they recanted their "confessions" or did not seem properly penitent for their "crimes". Oh, and all expenses for the trial, the inprisonment, and the actual execution were billed to the deceased's relatives or estate.
There is no way to count how many were killed on the charges of Witchcraft; estimates range from 300,000 (during only 150 years of the Inquisition) to over a million, with over 100,000 in Germany alone where the most virulent witch-hunts took place. This was a substantial part of the population, especially since the population was still recovering from the ravages of the Black Plague. In 1233 Pope Gregory IX instituted the Roman Catholic tribunal known as the Inquisition in an attempt to suppress heresy. In 1320, the church (at the request of Pope John XXII) officially declared Witchcraft and Paganism as heretical movements and a "hostile threat" to Christianity. Witches had now become heretics and the persecution against all Pagans spread like wildfire throughout Europe. (It is interesting to note that before a person can be considered a heretic, he or she must first be a Christian, and Pagans have never been Christians. They have always been Pagans.) The single most influential piece of propaganda in this campaign was commissioned by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484 after he declared Witchcraft to be a heresy. He instructed the Dominican monks Heinrich Kraemer and Jacob Sprenger to publish a manual for witch-hunters. Two years later the work appeared with the title Malleus Malificarum, or The Witches' Hammer. The manual was used for the next 250 years in the Church's attempt to purify the Christian faith.
"He must not be too quick to subject a witch to examination, but must pay attention to certain signs which will follow. And he must not be too quick for this reason: unless God, through a holy Angel, compels the devil to withold his help from the witch, she will be so insensible to the pains of torture that she will sooner be torn limb from limb than confess any of the truth. But the torture is not to be neglected for this reason, for they are not equally endowed with this power, and also the devil sometimes of his own will permits them to confess their crimes without being compelled by a holy Angel."
-- Kramer and Sprenger, the Malleus Maleficarum
One of the most sobering things about the Burning Times is that most of the slain were not Pagans, they were devout Christians falsely accused. Isn't it convenient that the Church inherited all the money and all the lands of anyone convicted of Witchcraft? It also disolved into denominational prejudice, because Catholics would accuse Protestants of Witchcraft and the Protestants would do the same thing to the Catholics.
Victims were persecuted, brutally tortured, often sexually molested or raped, and then executed by Church authorities. Once denounced, a suspected Witch was arrested and then hideously tortured into a confession. Suspects were subjected to thumbscrews, the rack, boots which broke the bones of the legs; they were deprived of sleep, starved and beaten. At times, hundreds of suspected Witches were killed in a day. A more complete description of the different methods of torture is discussed here.
Witchcraft in England was made an illegal offense in the year 1541, and in 1604 a law decreeing capital punishment for witches and Pagans was adopted. Forty years later, the thirteen colonies in American also made death the penalty for the "crime" of Witchcraft. By the late 17th century, the followers who remained loyal to the Old Religion were in hiding and true Paganism had turned into a secret underground religion.
The burning executions themselves were great public displays. After sentencing, the condemned only had to wait until the stake was erected and the fuel collected before they were tossed on the flames to writhe and die. In Scotland a little more respect was shown; the days before an execution were days of fasting and stern prayer. The witch was strangled first, and then her corpse-- or sometimes her unconcious or semi-conscious body-- was tied to a stake or dumped in a tar barrel and set on fire. If she was not dead and managed to stumble out of the fire, onlookers pushed her back in.
What started it? What caused relatively good people to throw their neighbors onto bonfires and cheer as they died? Prejudice, ignorance, and fear. Is it over yet? Depends on what you mean. The bonfires have stopped (at least in the "civilized world"- they are still burning in rural Africa), but there is more than one way to be burned. People are still persecuted for Witchcraft, still lose their children over Paganism, and still have their lives threatened even today. The legacy of 300 years of torture and death lives on.
The Salem witch trials occurred at a very hectic time in New England. There are numerous factors and events that influenced the trials. The main factors that started and kept the trials going were religion, family feuds, economics, and the imaginations and fears of the people. Rev. Samuel Parris and his family was a big part of the Salem Witch Trials He was married and had a nine-year-old daughter, Betty, and a twelve-year-old niece, Abigail Williams, who was an orphan. Abigail was expected to earn her keep by doing most of the household chores, and also care for her invalid aunt. Betty’s poor health prevented her from helping with the household chores, so much of the work feel on Abigail’s young shoulders. After chores were done, there was little entertainment for Betty and Abigail. Salem Town was eight miles away, and Boston was a twenty-mile journey over unforgiving roads. Thus, Samuel Parris only visited these places when business required it. He also opposed the girls playing hide-and-seek, tag and other childhood games because he believed playing was a sign of idleness, and idleness allowed the Devil to work his mischief. Reading was a popular pastime during the winter months. There was an interest in books about prophecy and fortune telling throughout New England during the winter of 1691-92. These books were especially popular among young girls and adolescents. In Essex County girls formed small, informal circles to practice the divinations and fortune telling they learned from their reading to help pass the cold months.
Betty Parris, her cousin Abigail Williams, and two other friends formed such a circle. Tituba, Rev. Parris’s slave, whom he bought while on a trip to Barbados, would often participate in the circle. She would entertain the others with stories of witchcraft, demons, and mystic animals. Other girls soon joined their circle in the evenings to listen to Tituba’s tales and participate in fortune telling experiments. They would tell their fortunes by dropping an egg white into a glass of water and then interpret the picture it formed. However, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams began to become upset and frightened with the results of their fortunes. This coupled with the family financial and social difficulties, likely caused the two girls to express their stress in unusual physical expressions. Samuel Parris believed this unnatural behavior to be an illness and asked Salem Village’s physician, William Griggs, to examine the girls. He did not find any physical cause for their strange behavior and concluded the girls were bewitched.
Puritans believed in witches and their ability to harm others. They defined witchcraft as entering into a compact with the devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil. So witchcraft was considered a sin because it denied God’s superiority, and a crime because the witch could call up the Devil in his or her shape to do cruel acts against others. In any case when witchcraft was suspected, it was important that it was investigated thoroughly and the tormentors identified and judged. Unknown to Samuel Parris, Mary Sibley, the aunt of another afflicted girl, ordered Tituba and her husband, John Indian, to bake a "witch cake" in order to help the girls name their tormentors. The girls were at first hesitant to speak, but Betty eventually spoke and named Tituba. The other girls soon spoke and named Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good. All three women were prime candidates for the accusations of witchcraft. Sarah Osborne was an elderly lady who had not gone to church in over a year, and poor church attendance was a Puritan sin. Sarah Good was a homeless woman who begged door to door. If people failed to give her alms, she would say non sense words and leave. People would often blame her visits for the death of livestock. They believed the words she spoke under her breath were curses against them for not giving her things. Since Tituba was Parris’s slave and well known to Betty and Abigail, it is no surprise then that her name was the first to be called out by Betty. The low social standing that these three women had clearly made them believable suspects for witchcraft.
During the questioning of the three accused, Betty, Abigail, and six other girls would often scream and tumble on the floor of the meetinghouse. Even with the harsh questioning by the two magistrates and the unusual actions of the afflicted girls, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne maintained their innocence. Tituba, however, confessed for three days.
During Tituba’s confession, she talked of red rats, talking cats, and a tall man dressed in black. She stated that the man clothed in black made her sign in a book, and that Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and others, whose names she could not read, had also signed this book. It is not exactly clear why she confessed to witchcraft. She might have thought that she was guilty since she practiced fortune telling, which was considered a form of "white magic," or perhaps thought that the judges would be easy on her if she confessed. Whatever her reason, a confession was not likely obtained from her by torture. When Tituba finished her long confession, she, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne were taken to a Boston jail. Sarah Osborne would later become the first victim of the Salem witch trials when she died two months later of natural causes while still in jail.
The accusations of witchcraft continued even after the jailing of three accused witches. Why the accusations continued is still debated to this day. Some say the recent small pox outbreaks, Indian attacks, and witchcraft was the wrath of god and in order to appease him they would have to find and punish every last witch. Although some say the girls were suffering form hysteria. Whether it was hysteria or Gods wrath the accusations did not stop.
As the accusation of witchcraft continued to rise, those who doubted the truthfulness of the afflicted girls were also punished in many ways. One such person was a 60-year-old tavern owner named John Procter who believed the afflicted girls would "make devils of us all!" Therefore it was not long before his wife was jailed in Boston under charges of witchcraft.
By the end of May 1692, around 200 people were jailed under the charges of witchcraft. Almost all of them as a result of spectral evidence. Cotton Mather, son of famed minister and Harvard President, Increase Mather, spoke out against spectral evidence. He felt it was unreliable because the Devil could take the form of an innocent person to do his evil deeds. His warning against the use of spectral evidence was followed by Royal Governor William Phips establishing a Court of Oyer and Terminer to investigate the allegations of witchcraft at Salem Village.
The first to be tried under the newly formed court was Bridget Bishop on June 2, 1692. She was found guilty of witchcraft and hanged June 10, 1692, on Gallows Hill. The hangings of six convicted witches did little in abating the spread of witchcraft in Massachusetts during the summer months of 1692. More people began displaying signs of affliction, as a result, accusations and arrests for witchcraft continued to grow in number. Those from all walks of life, rich or poor, farmer or merchant, were now being accused. No one was exempt from being accused of witchcraft..
The trials continued with Giles Corey’s scheduled for mid-September of 1692. However, he refused to answer the questions asked by the court. Due to his refusal, the court exercised its legal right and ordered the sheriff to pile rocks upon him until he co-operated. He was taken to a field near the Salem Meetinghouse, his hands and legs were bound, and heavy rocks were piled upon his chest. Even with the increasing weight, he refused to answer the court’s questions. On September 19, 1692, after two days of enduring the increasing weight, Giles Corey was crushed to death. Whatever his reason, Giles Corey chose death over standing trial for witchcraft.
Giles Corey's refusal to stand trial did not slow the courts conviction of accused witches. Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeater, Margaret Scott, Wilmott Reed, Samuel Wardwell, and Mary Parker were hanged on Gallows Hill September 22, 1692.
Many people felt the accusations and trials were getting out of control. By October, ministers, judges and numerous others believed that the trials claimed innocent lives. "It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than that one innocent person should be condemned." was the sentiment Increase Mather imparted to the Boston clergy. It was not long after Increase Mather made this statement that on October 12, 1692, Governor Phips issued orders to protect the current prisoners accused of witchcraft from harm and suspended the arrest of suspected witches--unless the arrests were absolutely necessary. He soon followed these orders with dissolving the Court of Oyer and Terminer on October 29, 1692.
Therefore, Governor Phips orders, Increase Mather’s statement to the Boston clergy and wavering support of the trials soon left the cries of the afflicted to fall on deaf ears. The fury of the witch trials subsided, and the last witch trial was held in January 1693. Governor Phips ended the witch trials when he pardoned the remaining accused in May 1693. With this pardon, the Salem witch trials, which resulted in nineteen hangings and a death by crushing rocks, was finally concluded.
The aftermath of the Salem witch trials was severe. Even with the witch trials over, many were still in jail because they could not pay for their release. Additionally, those who were convicted of witchcraft had their property confiscated by the government. This left their families without money and, in some cases, without a home.
The trials took a toll on the surrounding land and structures. Houses and fields were left untended, and the planting season was interrupted. The fields that were planted were not cultivated or harvested. Also, the Salem Meetinghouse was left dilapidated due to the distraction of the trials. Crop failures and epidemics continued to bother Salem for years after the trials ended. The Puritans felt that these events were happening because God was punishing them for the hangings of innocent people. Therefore, a day of fasting and prayer for forgiveness was ordered for January 13, 1697.
What happened to the afflicted girls is not widely known. Surviving information regarding them has provided only small details as to what happened to them after the Salem witch trials. Ann Putnam, Jr. raised her brothers and sisters when her parents died two weeks apart from each other. In August 1706, she asked the congregation of her church for forgiveness. The pastor read a statement she prepares to the congregation.
No one died as a convicted witch in America again after the Salem witch trials. It was also the last of the religious witch-hunts. Salem Village separated from Salem Town in 1752 and is now known as the town of Danvers.
The Truth About Wicca
Due to the increasing prejudice associated with the religion Wicca, people should relinquish their misconceptions through educating themselves on the truth about Wicca, and thus, creating a more open and honest American society.
The misconceptions about Wicca are the things that adding to the prejudice that surrounds it. The Bible plays perhaps the biggest part in adding to the misconceptions. In Exodus 22:18, it says: “Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live” (Exodus 22:18 KJV) In 1611, when King James I of England ordered that the Holy Bible be translated from Greek and Hebrew into English, he also ordered that the hebrew word chasaph be translated into the word “witch.” Does anyone else see something wrong with that!! Hebrew scholars of the time were perplexed because the word chasaph did not mean “witch” but “poisoner” which was a person who sabotaged village wells by poisoning them. Rev. Norm Vogel states: “King James had a paraniod fear of Witches . . . and dilerately had his translators alter the text of the Bible to provide grounds for extermination of Witches” . Another misconception is that Wicca is a cult. In his textbook Society: The Basics, John Maconis defines a cult as a fraction religious group lead by a central charimatic leader in which the members not only have to embrace the cults doctorine but “embrace a radically new lifestyle” . Wicca does not fit these characteristics. Wicca has no central leadership. The practioners do not give up their lifestyle to completely embrace a doctorine. Most Wiccans are Solitaires who put into the religion whatever is comforting to them. Wiccan states that they do not believe in a single figure that encompasses all that is evil. There is evil in every person and it is how they overcome that evil that makes them who they are. Almost every religion sees it the same way but with a different name. It is how you feel comfortable with dealing with personal evil that makes up your religion. Most Wiccans state simply that Satan just does not fit into their religion. Wicca is a positive religion and the “Devil” figure “is just not positive.” Misconceptions are the major part of what adds to the prejudice around Wicca.
The most basic way of understanding Wiccans is to understand their beliefs, views of other religions and the history of Wicca. The most basic concept of Wicca is that it is the “continuation of the practice of the native american religions and cultural beliefs of Europe”. The names “witch” and “witchcraft” were given to the practice by the Christian church. Wiccans believe that there is a universal power that all people can draw upon that is often personified as the Goddess and the God. Wiccans worship both the Goddess and the God. The One is considered to be the creator. The One is everything and cannot be personified. According to The Wiccan Creation Story by Scott Cunningham, The One created, from itself, the Goddess and the God, who then created the planets and life. Wiccans do not have a set doctorine that all Wiccans go by but there are principles that are generally accepted by most Wiccans. The Wiccan Rede is an example. The Rede, written in 1953 by Doreen Vaiente states: “Bide the Wiccan Laws we must,/In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust . . . Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill/ An Ye Harm None, do as Ye will!” Another example would be “The Principles of Wiccan Belief” set up by the Council of American Witches in 1974. The Council later disbanded but the principles were kept and are still used by many covens, small groups of Wiccans. The Principles represented an overview of the laws of the Craft and theology, but none of the Principles completely defined Wicca. They allowed room for people to grow and put what they needed into the religion. Wiccans believe in having a reverence for nature. Most Wiccans believe that the Goddess is personified as Mother Nature and deserves respect. Many people are of the opinion that Wiccans believe themselves superior to other religions. This is not true. We believe that each person has the right to reach the Divine in their own way. For some, it’s through ‘Christ.’ For others, it’s through nirvana. For us, its through love. Love of the Goddess. Love of everyone. For Wiccans, love is the key. Wiccans view every positive religion on its own merit. Some Wiccans incorporate parts of other religions into Wicca and use them. There are Wiccans that study the Christian Bible and believe in angels. Other Wiccans might study the teachings of Islam. Wiccans are usually open minded about other religions and their own. Education is the key to people understanding Wicca.
After people realize and correct their misconceptions through education, American society can be more open, more honest and generally a better place for people to live. In American society today, there are thousands of Wiccans in hiding. They are in what is called “the Broomcloset.” This means that they are hiding the fact that they are Wiccan. Wiccans are often very hard to identify by non-Wiccans. Some Wiccans may stand out because they have bumper stickers plastered to their cars or they wear pentagrams, which are five pointed stars with the top point up surrounded by circle to represent the four elements with the Spirit on top. Others may be more subtle and wear pentacles, either a five-pointed star or a pentagram pressed into a piece of wood or metal, on necklaces so that only another Wiccan would know that they are Wiccan. Some Wiccans may make no show at all that they are Wiccan. The ones that try to hide that they are Wiccan usually do it because they are afraid of persecution or discrimination. Though there are laws against religious discrimination, there have been many people discriminated against because of their faith. According to Burningtimes 1999, there were over 5,000 people who reported discrimination against themselves on the basis of their belief in Wicca. This has got to stop. People must be educated on what Wicca is so that the United States can have a bit more peace. When the United States has been educated on the truth about Wicca, it can then live up to its promise of no discrimination. America has always been the land of the free and that will only continue when people realize and release their prejudice. Once this happens, it will truly be “One nation under love, with liberty and justice for all.”
This was created to blast away all the sterotypes about Witches and Pagans.
We are not evil. We don't harm or seduce people. We are not dangerous. We are ordinary people like you. We have families, jobs, hopes, and dreams. We are not a cult. This religion is not a joke. We are not what you think we are from looking at T.V. We are real. We laugh, we cry. We are serious. We have a sense of humor. You don't have to be afraid of us. We don't want to convert you. And please don't try to convert us. Just give us the same right we give you--to live in peace. We are much more similar to you than you think.
When one defines oneself as Pagan, it means she or he follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation. The cycles of nature are our holy days, the earth is our temple, its plants and creatures our partners and teachers. We worship a deity that is both male and female, a mother Goddess and father God, who together created all that is, was, or will be. We respect life, cherish the free will of beings, and accept the sacredness of all creation.
 Power can be sent in non-physical form to affect the world in positive ways. Thus, we accept both the practice of magick and its effectiveness.
The Earth is our home, our Goddess. It's not a tool that we can ruthlessly abuse. Ecological concerns are rather new in Wicca, but now pay an important role. Many rituals are performed to give healing strength to the Earth.
Wiccans aren't evangelical. We have no need to go out and spread the word. Answering questions about our religion is far different from knocking on doors and asking strangers, "Have you heard the word of the Goddess today?"
Wicca accepts that every religion is correct to its adherents. This doesn't mean that we like every representative of every religion, but ecumenicism must be the way of life.
Wicca accepts members from both sexes, from every race, national origin and, usually, of every sexual preference.
Wicca is a religion, not a political organization. Groups of Wiccan can and sometimes do work toward a common case, and individual Wiccans may indeed become personally involved in the political system, but Wicca as a whole isn't a religion that preaches issues or supports specific political candidates.
Wicca Doesn't charge for private lessons or for initiation. Physical objects created by Wiccans (pentacles, knives, wands, incenses, oils, books) and services (such as public classes and Wiccan-based counseling) can and should be paid for, but not personal, private Wiccan instruction or initiation.
Wiccans Do not sacrifices animals or people in rituals!
Wiccans do not cause harm to others. Unless in self defense. "Harm None"
This information taken from "Living Wicca" by Scott Cunningham.
What is Paganism?
A simple, factual explanation of what Paganism actually is. It is pure information written for anyone who is non Pagan or who is Pagan but wants to know more. It is not meant to impress.
All Pagan religions are characterised by a connection and reverence for nature, and are usually polytheistic i.e. have many Gods and/or Goddesses. Modern Paganism as practised in the west is particular to the native peoples of the west and although there are many forms most are descended from Celtic origins. Modern Paganism or 'neo-Paganism' has the following characteristics:
1. Paganism is a religion of nature, in other words Pagans revere Nature. Pagans see the divine as immanent in the whole of life and the universe; in every tree, plant, animal and object, man and woman and in the dark side of life as much as in the light. Pagans live their lives attuned to the cycles of Nature, the seasons, life and death.
2. Unlike the patriarchal religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) the divine is female as well as male and therefore there is a Goddess as well as a God. These deities are within us as well as without us (immanent); they are us. They are not simply substitutes for the Muslim or Judeo-Christian God. This is because the Gods of the major religions tend to be super-natural i.e. above nature whereas Pagan deities are natural, symbolizing aspects of nature or human nature. Having said that God and Goddess are split from the Great Spirit or Akashka which probably equates to the God of the patriarchal religions.
3. The Goddess represents all that is female and the God represents all that is male. But because nature is seen as female the Goddess has a wider meaning. Often called Mother Earth or Gaia she is seen as the creatrix and sustainer of life, the mother of us all which makes all the creatures on the planet our siblings.
4. There are sub-groups of named Gods and Goddesses called Pantheons, drawn from the distant past, for example Isis and Osiris from Egypt or Thor, Odin, Freya et al from Norse religion and mythology. Ancient Pagans would have worshipped one or a small number of Gods and Goddesses, whilst often recognizing the validity of other people's deities. The concept of an overall, un-named Goddess and God, the sum totals of all the others, appears to be a recent one but individual named deities represent particular human qualities or archetypes and are often used as a focus for celebrations and spiritual rites.
5. Paganism has developed alongside mankind for thousands of years; as cultures have changed so has Paganism, yet it is grounded in deep rooted genetic memories that go back to neolithic times and before. Thus Paganism is not just a nature religion but a natural religion.
6. Paganism in the west takes a number of forms including Wicca, Druidism, and Shamanism.
7. To Pagans the four ancient elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water have special significance. The importance of these is hard to define because they have so many correspondences, for example they are associated with the four directions, North, East, South and West. Each element is a kind of spiritual substance from which all things are made especially ourselves and at the same time are Guardians both of ourselves and of the Goddess and God, and guarding the gateways between this world and the other world.
8. Many Pagans believe in reincarnation in some form. It gives Pagans a substantially different view of life. Early Christians saw Karma as a kind of treadmill, trapping people in endless reincarnations, never free. But Pagans see reincarnation as, at best, a chance to improve or to continue unfinished work, and at worst just a simple re-cycling of souls.
The re-emergence of Paganism The revival of Western Paganism is mainly due to the creation of Wicca, the nice modern name for Witchcraft. However Paganism is not Wicca; Wicca is an Occult form of Paganism. The old religion was virtually wiped out by the church of Rome using a combination of propaganda, torture and genocide. Some people held on to the old religion. These were often the wisemen and women or Witches, the root 'wit' meaning 'wise'. The church became impatient and began a purge beginning around 1484 involving the burning of Witches and wholesale slaughter of thousands of people across Europe just on suspicion of being Witches. Not surprisingly, in the face of such oppression the old religion went 'underground' and Witches dedicated to preserving the religion formed themselves into secret groups called covens.
Christianity's purge was so successful that the old religion was virtually extinct by the 1900s but in 1899 a book was published by Charles Leland called 'The Gospel of Aradia' about Witches in Northern Italy who practised 'La Vecchia Religione' - the Old Religion. In 1921 an English historian, Margaret Murray published a book, 'The Witch Cult in Western Europe' in which she maintained that Witchcraft had been a religion. A British ex colonial administrator called Gerald Gardner supposedly revived Witchcraft and called it Wicca. In 1951 the laws against Witchcraft in Britain were repealed and he published a milestone book on the subject, 'Witchcraft Today'.
Since that time Wicca has grown in popularity and has encouraged the revival of the original Pagan roots and the re-emergence of other Pagan branches such as the Northern tradition and the modern Druids. Wicca itself has become more eclectic and has absorbed elements of other systems such as the Qabala and elements of Hindu. While Wicca is relatively new, Paganism is as old as mankind and its traditions are still being rediscovered.
What do Pagans do? Pagans revere the cycles of Nature through rituals or ceremonies of various kinds. Pagans of the western traditions celebrate up to eight festivals or Sabbats each year (not all Pagans celebrate all the Sabbats). They comprise the four solar quarters i.e. the two solstices (longest and shortest days) and the two equinoxes (day and night are the same length) plus four Celtic 'fire' festivals. All these mark important events in the cycle of life and also symbolise changes in the Goddess and God. They are: Samhain(pronounced "sowain"), 31st October: the feast of the dead; remembrance of ancestors and people, now dead, who were important to us. It marks the end of the Celtic year and the start of the spiritual new year. Also known as All Hallows day, the night before being All Hallows Eve (Halloween) or all souls night. Yule, the winter solstice, 21st December approx.: rebirth of the sun and the gradual lengthening of the days towards springtime and new life. Imbolc or Bride's day: start of spring and the return of the Goddess to the land. Ostara (Easter), the spring equinox, 21st March: Return of the sun from the south, springtime proper. Some celebrate a holy union between God and Goddess. Beltane (starting on May day): Summertime begins celebrating new life and the holy marriage of God and Goddess. Midsomer (Midsummer) or Litha, the summer solstice, 21st June approx.: Everything is green thanks to the God of nature, the Green Man. Lughnasadh or Lammas end of August: the festival of the first (corn) harvest. Mabon, the Autumn equinox, 21st September approx.: second (fruit) harvest celebration, making plans for the winter months to come. And finally back to Samhain and another turn of the wheel of the year. or wheel of life
Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lammas are known as fire festivals. Traditionally there was always a fire at these celebrations. These festivals were never held on exact dates for example Lammas would have been celebrated when the barleycorn was harvested.
This wheel is sometimes called the Gardnerian Wheel because it is a combination of two ancient wheels (acknowledgements to Kenny Klein). The hunting wheel, the oldest, has two God births: The Oak King is born at midsummer and rules through to Yule when he dies and the Holly King is born. The agricultural wheel has the young God born at Ostara, symbolic of the sun/son rising in the East. He dies in the second harvest, Mabon. In the different traditions these holidays (holy days) may have different names, for example Imbolc is called the festival of light in the northern tradition.
Western Pagans have no fixed temples in which to worship but instead (usually) make a circle around themselves (or form themselves into a circle) in a room or in a clearing or on a beach or find a naturally ocurring circle such as a grove or use one of the ancient stone circles. Pagans have no hierarchy like the established religions so Pagans are free to follow whatever spiritual path they choose.
Pagans like to celebrate more rites of passage than the prevailing culture. Most people see two rites of passage: coming of age (18 or 21) and marriage. Christians also get a first one, the Christening, though the subject is unable to experience it. The Pagan equivalent of a Christening is a Naming ceremony. Other rites of passage may include Child - celebrating change from baby to child, Puberty and so on. Marriage is called hand-fasting and this may be arranged for eternity or just for a year-and-a-day, renewable. The latter is a great stabiliser against casual relationships and divorces, providing some level of commitment yet recognising that some relationships will not last.
Christianity and Paganism Although the word Witch is hated the word Pagan still rings alarm bells in the minds of many Christians or people in the sub-Christian culture. Why? Because Paganism was the enemy within. The church of Rome was determined to stamp it out by any means available and successfully built up an image of evil around Pagans so that even today ordinary people think Pagans and/or Witches sacrifice babies, perform evil spells and so on. The church also masked out or absorbed Pagan celebrations, for example Jesus was not born on the 25th December but was more probably born around April in 7 BCE. This was moved to the 6th January (the Eastern Orthodox church still uses that date). Then at the council of Niceae in 325 the western Christian church persuaded Emperor Constantin to move the celebration of the birth of Jesus to that other celebration of the birth of the sun, in Roman times the festival of Mithras, the God of Light at the winter solstice (which was thought to be 25th December). Some fundamental differences between Christianity and Paganism It sometimes helps to define Paganism by making comparisons with Christianity:
1. Christianity sees life and the world as linear i.e. having a beginning and an end, creation to the day of judgement. The Pagan view is circular - the endless cycle of the seasons, of death and rebirth. There will be no end of the world or the universe. The big bang was not the moment of creation but the last rebirth of the universe. For example Christmas celebrates an event which happened 2000 years ago. Yule celebrates an annually recurring event, the rebirth of the sun. 2. The bible tells that people were made in the image of God. (Note: this is really a Hebrew concept; the word God in the first chapter of Genesis is a mistranslation of the word Elohim which means Gods, plural and genderless. The creation and fall of Adam comes in chapter 2 and essentially describes the creation of the Hebrew tribe. The old testament is a chronology of the development of the Hebrew nation and the new testament is a continuation of this. Therefore Christians are, in a sense, subscribers to the Semitic lineage.) The Pagan Gods and Goddesses were really made in our image which is the other way round. Pagan deities are images or symbols of deep rooted memories which Jung called archetypes. The more ethereal 'God' and 'Goddess', which relate to Binah and Chokma in the Qabala, or Shakta and Shakti in the Hindu system do not have any particular form. Artists may present them as human but that is personal choice. 3. Pagans have no concept of sin and no Satan. So there is no fiery hell to worry about either. They have their own values and ethics. 4. The bible and gospels are the guiding rules for Christians (though the interpretation varies immensely); Pagans are responsible for their own actions.
The Devil and Satanism The Pagan view of the universe is one of complemetary opposites - light/dark, yin/yang, earth/sky, male/female, Shakta/Shakti. The major patriarchal religions have a duality of good and evil, God and Satan. The concept of Satan has been around for thousands of years, not only in the Hebrew tradition. The Babylonians, Chaldeans, and Persians believed in a dualism between the forces of darkness and light. Even Paganism has it's Hades and Hel (A Northern Goddess of the underworld), however the concept of Satan was developed by the Church and eventually he was called the Devil, a term meaning 'little God'. While God was originally responsible for good and bad (for example he sent plagues etc. to punish his followers) it was slowly assumed that God did only the good things and the Devil/Satan all the bad things. The Christian church developed the concept of Lucifer, the fallen angel. The Devil was officially adopted by the Christian church in 447 and he was pronounced immortal in 547. Consequently it is impossible for Pagans to adopt the concept of the Devil which is a Judeo-Christian concept. Likewise the Satanists are, in a sense followers of the Judaic/Christian belief system because they worship an anti-god figure which belongs to that system.
Paganism in the USA is different from that in Europe. Wicca is by far the largest group and the two people credited with its introduction were Zsuzanna Budapest who created a feminist version of Wicca with some Gardnerian principles and Dr. Raymond Buckland who brought in another variant of Gardnerian witchcraft. Having said that there appear to have been some lingering traditions in the US already, notably in Salem, which have emerged on the wave of popularity. The intermingling of these various traditions have evolved some forms of Wicca far removed from the British traditions but since a feature of Paganism is its ability to adapt to contemporary society and culture this is wholly justified. However, Paganism needs roots and the roots tend to be European. Some Americans, seeking roots closer to home have adopted Native American concepts. There are now a number of American 'gurus', people prominent in Wicca, such as Starhawk, whose famous book 'Spiral Dance' hardly mentions the word 'Wicca' and contains a wealth of modern religious philosophy.
Wiccan Paganism is now the fastest growing religion in America currently with half to a million adherents. The USA has a fragmented culture with groups of totally different persuasions apparently living side by side. In some parts of America Pagans have been able to be more open about what they do than in Europe, giving talks on TV, opening shops with neon Pentagram signs etc. yet in others have been subjected to persecution and abuse.
And that of what has been said on this page is all what is meant to be said. This is the reason for my petition, this is the main reason for my groups. To show Everyone that we are not scared and that we will survive! If anyone is with me to help make a diffrence in this society right now write me.... at webmaster @pagan-mail.zzn.com. I believe we can make people see. Not make them see to be apart of us but atleast to show us that they still know what the words 'Freedom Of Religion' mean. Thank you and BLESSED BE!!!
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