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Due to a lot of the true history of witchcraft being lost over time, this post is just going to touch the surface of what you need to know. I will provide some links for you to use to do your own research, and if you would like to hear some of the information I have, listen to the first episode of the podcast which you can find on this websites "Podcast" tab.
So, for European witchcraft history, there is a lot we don't know. What we sort of know is that before monotheistic religions started to thrive, there were many other religions around Europe. Some of the pantheons you might be familiar with is Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic etc. Not everybody in these ancient religions practiced magic(k), but some did. As Christianity spread, those pantheons got smaller and almost to the point of disappearing. Or we thought so. There is a lot about these religions that we do not know today, and will not ever know. But we have tried to do our best to revive some information that has resurfaced and have attempted to understand it. Thankfully though archeology, and small bits of traditions lasting through time, we have started to form a modern witchcraft revolution over the past century.
But as early as history can spot, "witches" or magical practitioners have always been around. They might not have been called "witches", but they were still there. They might have been called healers, priests/priestesses, cunning folk, seers, or shamans.
As time went on, the idea of witches was twisted and manipulated. The practice of witchcraft went underground to protect witches/pagans against persecution. Apparently in the early days of the church, the Canon Episcopi made witchcraft illegal. And we all know how much power the "church" had.
"The bishops and their ministers should by all means make great effort so that they may thoroughly eradicate the pernicious art of divination and magic, invented by the devil, from their parishes, and if they find any man or woman adhering to such a crime, they should eject them, turpidly dishonoured, from their parishes."
In the 1400's-1600's Europe went witch hunt crazy. The Malleus Maleficarum was written by some church men, which was used as an instruction manual to hunt witches
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum#:~:text=Copies%20of%20the%20Malleus%20Maleficarum,in%20the%20acts%20of%20Satan.). During this time many women and men were tortured and killed after being accused of witchcraft. All, or most of them were not witches. https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches
Even if people were using medicine and had no ill will, anything that looked like magic(k) was seen as working against the church.
Some pagan and witchcraft traditions could still be seen in monotheistic Europe and held some similarities to Christian rituals and celebrations. It has been speculated that the use of pagan traditions was a technique to try to make conversion easier. Another example of leftover pagan traditions or beliefs that survived were the tales of the Fae or Fairies, or pagan deities being converted into saints.
In late 1600 America, there was the Salem Witch Trials. In Salem, Massachusetts, men and women were accused of witchcraft and killed over a span of less than 2 years.
Over the next few centuries, ceremonial magic(k) organizations also formed, such as the Golden Dawn and Thelema, as well as other religious paths such as Druidry.
It wasn't until the mid-20th century that practicing witchcraft was made legal in the UK and sparked the formation of Wicca. The founder of Wicca is known to be Gerald Gardener. In 1973 the American Council of Witches was established and set a list of rules for Wicca known as the 13 Principals of Wiccan Belief. And by the 1980's Wicca became a recognized religion within the US and was added to the U.S. Army’s Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Council_of_Witches)
Thankfully, the first amendment of the Unites States Constitution protects the freedom of religion/or no religion for all individuals. ( https://www.aclu.org/other/your-right-religious-freedom#:~:text=The%20First%20Amendment%20to%20the,or%20no%20religion%20at%20all.&text=So%20they%20created%20the%20First,separation%20of%20church%20and%20state. ).
As the decades pass, Wicca, Witchcraft, and other pagan religions continue to grow and spread around the UK and the US. Witches and pagans continue to try to erase the negative stereotypes that history has given them, and show how they can benefit the world and are not "evil" or "sold their souls to the Devil". Many witches and pagans focus on nature worship, honoring ancestors, the old gods of ancient pantheons, along with practicing magic(k).
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Here are some cool topics on witchcraft in the UK.
"The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 was a law in England and Wales which prohibited a person from claiming to be a psychic, medium, or other spiritualist while attempting to deceive and to make money from the deception (other than solely for the purpose of entertainment)." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraudulent_Mediums_Act_1951 )
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Fawna
Updated: 4/9/2022
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