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Many years ago, people of the world looked upon nature as an awesome and mysterious force. Due to the never ending search for answers they looked for explanations for the lightning in the sky, floods and storms, illness, birth and death. They came to a conclusion that unseen supernatural forces or spirits of nature were at work in the world. They came to believe that certain people, such as shamans, medicine men and women, sorcerers, and witches could intervene with the forces that controlled the world. They believed that these people used magic to make things happen. They controlled both the good and the bad that happened in their lives. This gave life to magic the ability to manipulate unseen forces in order to bring a desired result. The earliest clues about the practice of magic in Europe come from cave drawings. Some of these drawings seem to show ancient people using magic to ensure a successful hunt.
Witches in cultures throughout the world knew how to use herbs and other ingredients to concoct potions that could cure many sicknesses. People believed they knew how to cast spells to harm and spells to protect. The simplest form of magic is the idea of sorcery. Sorcery involves casting a spell through the use of ritual, magical words and many time physical objects to bring about either a harmful or beneficial result. Many early people believed that a ceremony could make crops grow, or a spell could bring harm or benefit. Witches did not have to perform the magic themselves. They sold spells and curses to non-witches.
One of the most common types of sorcery is sympathetic magic. Sympathetic magic usually involved puppets, a piece of clothing or a lock of hair that belonged to the person for which the spell was to be used for. Simple magic was also called folk magic because it was used to affect the everyday live of the people. Before the Christian era, witches in Europe were usually women. They were the village healers and spell-makers. They were respected and feared because of their powers to bring wealth, love, health or sickness and death. Even though witches were important to the village, they were always considered outsiders.
During the period of the witch-hunts, people believed that witches could fly. Some witches were said to ride demons that had taken the shapes of goats, cows, or other animals. The belief in the ability to fly has been a long standing and important part of many spiritual traditions. Flying represents the freedom of the spirit or soul to break away from the physical world and travel in the spirit world. Even though the belief of flying was a long-standing tradition, by the tenth century most educated people in Europe were skeptical of this ability.
Another common belief was that witches had familiars. Authorities claimed that the familiar was a demon or devil, transformed into an animal form to do a witch’s evil bidding. People believed familiars could change shape or become invisible. Familiars were usually small animals such as dogs, cats, toads, mice and owls. Many witches’ familiars had unusual names. To church authorities during the witch-hunts, familiars were demons, because the only spiritual entities that could exist, according to the church, were God, angels, the devil and demons.
Witches were often loners and outcasts. Yet one of the most prominent charges against them was that they participated in a communal activity which was known as the witches’ Sabbat. The image of the sabbats seemed to be a blend of pagan festivals and church propaganda about secret, obscene rites with the devil.
Many people wondered how men and women became witches. Some of the accused witches testified, after prolonged torture and interrogation, that they had been initiated as children: their mothers had taken them to sabbats and pledged them to service to their master, the devil. Adults were supposedly introduced by members of the coven and decided of their own free will to become members. Forced witnesses during the trials stated that Sabbat ceremonies began with the new initiates having sex with the devil or his demons. They also included that initiation ceremonies might include sacrificing an animal or child.
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