Witchcraft and Malefic Magic: Can You Handle the Truth?

"White Magic is poetry. 

Black Magic is anything that actually works."

Victor Anderson

Is the notion of "good Witches" a modern romantic fantasy based only on the wishful thinking of feminists and Wiccans? Is it true that healers and other practitioners of beneficial magic were never the intended targets of Witch-hunters, and that, at most, they were very rarely, and only mistakenly, caught up in Witchcraft trials?

The simple fact is that Christians consider Witchcraft to be maleficent for primarily religious reasons, not because it is believed that Witches always and only do harm through their magic. And, as will be shown below, a reputation as a magical healer (or proficiency in any other kind of clearly beneficial magic) was in and of itself sufficient grounds for someone to be accused of being a Witch.

According to The New World of English Words, or, a General Dictionary, by Edward Phillips, first published in 1658, the word "Witchcraft" refers to "the black Art, whereby with the Assistance of the Devil, or evil Spirits, some Wonders may be wrought, which exceed the common Apprehensions of Men."

This definition makes no mention of whether the magic performed by Witches is beneficial or harmful to anyone, but the overall impression that one gets is that it is the power of the magic that is the focus, rather than it's goodness or badness. However, this definition certainly does not take a neutral stance on the powerful form of magic known as Witchcraft. The thing is, though, that the negative assessment, indeed condemnation, of Witchcraft clearly derives from the purportedly diabolic source of the magical power in question, not on it's good or bad effects on others.

Put into practice, this diabolizing view of Witchcraft supported a vicious "logic" behind the persecution of magical adepts: anyone who possessed, or was believed to possess, the ability to work magical "Wonders ... which exceed the common Apprehension of Men" was thereby automatically suspected of being in league with "the Devil, or evil Spirits", that is, of being a Witch.

For a literary example of this logic in action, let us turn to Thomas Mallory, who wrote (in 1485) of the legendary Sir Balin, the impoverished and recently imprisoned knight who, alone among all the worthies of King Arthur's Court, including Arthur himself, had been able to draw from its sheath the sword born by the damsel sent to Arthur's Court by the Lady of the Lake. Arthur had nothing but praise for Balin after this feat (although previously his opinion had been rather different), but most of the other knights became ill-disposed toward him, muttering behind his back "that Balin did not this adventure all only by might, but by witchcraft."

About a century before Mallory we find another fictional example: Simon Magus is referred to as "a witche" in the Wycliffe Bible (Acts 8:1-13). Simon was a Witch not because he used magic to cause harm, but because he could perform magical feats such as healing the sick, predicting the future, flying, and so forth. Interestingly, the Book of Acts makes it clear that Simon was highly regarded for his magical abilities. The author seems to think that those who praised Simon were naive and insufficiently schooled in the matter of how proper Christians should view those who possess genuine magical powers.

The Christian belief, then, is that all genuinely magical abilities whatsoever (not to be confused, of course, with the ability of Jesus and his followers to perform "miracles") are necessarily indicative of an alliance with Satan and his Demons. This belief was to have deadly consequences on a horrific scale during the Burning Times (or, as the more delicately constituted prefer to denote it, "the early modern European Witch-hunts").

In the English speaking world (and whenever we venture into non-Anglophone territory a great deal of caution must be exercised in the use of the English words "Witch" and "Witchcraft") we find a great deal of evidence showing that the association between non-malefic magic (inclusive of specifically beneficial magic such as healing, as well as, more generally, benign or non-harmful magic) and Witchcraft played a significant role in the trials, convictions, and executions of accused Witches in England and Scotland (despite the fact that sometimes the opposite is asserted, inevitably, and unavoidably so, without any evidence).

Take for example the very first major outbreak of Witch-hunting in Scotland (or, to be more precise, what was previously believed to have been such - but that is another story ...). Everyone knows that the great Witch-hunt of 1590-91 centered around a supposed conspiracy to assassinate King James by both poison and the magical raising of storms while James traveled by sea. But that is not exactly how the whole thing got started:

"The prosecutions of 1590-1 began in November of 1590 when David Seton, the bailie depute from the East Lothian town of Tranent, suspected his servant, Geillis Duncan, of being a witch. Duncan had cured people of various ailments and performed 'many matters most miraculous', raising the suspicion that she had done these things by 'extraordinary and unlawful means'. To confirm his suspicions, Seton interrogated Duncan and reportedly [the cause of Levack's hesitance here is not at all clear, since there are in fact no grounds whatsoever for doubting that Duncan was in fact tortured] used torture to secure her confession. He also extracted [that is to say, under torture] from her the names of several alleged accomplices. The group included Agnes Sampson, an elderly woman from a village outside the burgh of Haddington who was known primarily as a healer and a midwife ....."

The above is taken from page 35 of Brian Levack's book Witch-hunting in Scotland: Law, Religion, and Politics. The passage that Levack himself quotes is from the 1591 pamphlet published in London, Newes from Scotland. Here is an excerpt from the section of that pamphlet that Levack is quoting from:

Within the towne of Trenent in the Kingdome of Scotland, there dwelleth one Dauid Seaton, who being deputie Bailiffe in the saide Towne, had a maide seruant called Geillis Duncane, who vsed secretly to be absent and to lye foorth of her Maisters house euery other night: this Geillis Duncane took in hand to help all such as were troubled or greeued with any kinde of sicknes or infirmitie: and in short space did perfourme manye matters most miraculous, which thinges forasmuch as she began to doe them vpon a sodaine, hauing neuer doon the like before, made her Maister and others to be in great admiracion, and wondred thereat: by meanes wherof the saide Dauid Seaton had his maide in some great suspition, that she did not those things by naturall and lawfull wayes, but rather supposed it to be doone by some extraordinary and vnlawfull meanes.

Of the dozens of charges against Agnes Sampson, many of them were purely based upon her activities as a healer. Below are some of those charges (taken from Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland: Volume 1, Issue 3, 1833):

• [That she] healed by witchcraft Johnne Thomsoune in Dirletoun
• cured Johnne Peiny in Preston by prayer and incantation
• used prayer and incantation to cure Halyburntoun, guidman of Inchcarne, and declared that no surgery or physic could help him, and he died as she foretold
• cured by prayer and devilish charmes Bessie Aikenheid
• healed John Ker of who lay mortally sick in house of Alexander Fairlie in Longniddrie
• healed Johnne Duncan in Musselburgh
• healing the son of the laird of Reidhallis by witchcraft, whom the surgeons had given up
• curing Robert Diksoun in Bowtoune last summer
• curing the wife of Johnne Cokburn the sheriff of Hadingtoun who was bewitched
• curing Alesoun Ker, wife of Johnne Restoune, of a sickness contracted through Catherene Gray, a witch
• curing wife of Robert Caringtoune in Traprene who was bewitched

The  most important thing about the cases of Geillis Duncan and Agnes Sampson is this: superficially these might easily be construed as straightforward cases fitting the paradigm of malefic Witchcraft, since they were both charged as would-be assassins who made use of poison and malefic weather-matic. But upon closer inspection both cases actually provide direct evidence that magical healers were definitely targeted by Witch-hunters.

Geillis and Duncan both had well-established reputations as effective magical healers. It was only once they were incarcerated and subjected to interrogation that anything about malefic magic came out. But in many cases (and in Scotland in particular this is true of the overwhelming majority of cases) we do not have reliable (or any) biographical information about individuals charged with Witchcraft. In a great many instances we do not even know the names of the accused. And also in many cases (and again in Scotland this the great majority) we do not have detailed (or any!) information about the specific charges against accused Witches. And only because we have a detailed list of the charges against her do we know that Agnes Sampson's activities as a healer played a central role in the case against her.

To what extent might Duncan and Sampson be considered mere aberrations? That will be considered in a future follow-up to this post. The first follow-up has now been posted: The Case of Katharina Kepler.

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"Witches" as "fortunetellers", "enchanters" and "magicians" in John Wilson's 1668 translation of Erasmus' "In Praise of Folly"

In 1509, Desiderius Erasmus wrote "In Praise of Folly". Like any good Renaissance Humanist, Erasmus wrote his essay in Latin and gave it a Greek title: Μωρίας Εγκώμιον. (Here is a link to the original: https://archive.org/details/stultitiaelaus00erasgoog.) In 1668 John Wilson's English translation of Erasmus' essay was published.

In the excerpt from Wilson's translation quoted below, notice that where Erasmus uses maleficium in the original, Wilson translates this as "Witch". No big surprise there, perhaps. But then again, perhaps not.

You see, if we read on, the original and the translation taken together clearly demonstrate that even when the word "Witch" is being used as a direct gloss of  maleficium, this does not necessarily refer to one who uses magic to cause harm. (Exclamation point!) Indeed, Erasmus has done us the favor us telling us explicitly, at least in his opinion (and when it comes to Latin Erasmus is someone whose opinions can be taken rather seriously), what sort of magical workers maleficium does refer to: "fortunetellers [sortilegos], enchanters [incantatores], and magicians [magos]."

Link to Wilson's translation: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1509erasmus-folly.asp

The following is from near the end, specifically the section "Folly Attends a Theological Dispute":

I was lately myself at a theological dispute, for I am often there, where when one was demanding what authority there was in Holy Writ that commands heretics to be convinced by fire rather than reclaimed by argument; a crabbed old fellow, and one whose supercilious gravity spoke him at least a doctor, answered in a great fume that Saint Paul had decreed it, who said, "Reject him that is a heretic, after once or twice admonition." And when he had sundry times, one after another, thundered out the same thing, and most men wondered what ailed the man, at last he explained it thus, making two words of one: "A heretic must be put to death." Some laughed, and yet there wanted not others to whom this exposition seemed plainly theological; which, when some, though those very few, opposed, they cut off the dispute, as we say, with a hatchet, and the credit of so uncontrollable an author. "Pray conceive me," said he, "it is written, 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch [maleficium] to live.' But every heretic bewitches the people; therefore, etc."

And now, as many as were present admired the man's wit, and consequently submitted to his decision of the question. Nor came it into any of their heads that that law concerned only fortunetellers [sortilegos], enchanters [incantatores], and magicians [magos], whom the Hebrews call in their tongue "Mecaschephim," witches or sorcerers.

Albaniana....??? ALBANIANA!!!!!

bulgariana

On Helen Ukpabio, Christianity, and African Traditions

The words and deeds of the execrable Helen Ukpabio have nothing whatsoever to do with the survival of ancient African spiritual traditions and everything to do with Christian notions about spiritual warfare imported to Africa from Europe and America during the modern era.

Ukpabio represents a spiritual tradition, if it can be called that, that has it's roots not in ancient African traditions, but in the modern history of Protestant Christianity in England, Scotland and the United States of America.

Anyone with even the slightest familiarity with the writings of John Knox, King James, John Wesley, William Perkins, and Cotton Mather on the subjects of spiritual warfare, demonology and Witchcraft, will immediately recognize the ravings of the likes of Helen Ukpabio, and will have no doubt as to their true origins.

Those, like Kenaz Filan, who believe that they see in Ukpabio the regrettable "mixing" of Christianity with African traditions only reveal their own complete ignorance of both.

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"Hitler Hated Heathens"

"On the Jews And Their Lies", Martin Luther

Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried is the man behind the wonderful "Norse Mythology Blog". He recently posted a brief article on facebook (link), in which he demolishes the whole idea that the Adolf Hitler was in any way influenced by or favorably disposed towards Heathenism.

Siegfried did not post this article on his blog because, in his own words, "I'm trying to keep my blog Hitler-free!" While such a desire is perfectly understandable, I believe that ultimately it is misguided. The Big Lie that the Nazis were somehow influenced by Paganism is ubiquitous in popular culture and even finds its way into scholarly publications. The only way to counter this drumbeat of propaganda is by responding to it head-on, in as direct and straightforward a manner as possible.

I also think it is important to explain that not only is there no real connection between Nazism and Heathenism, but that there is most undoubtedly a strong and clear connection between Nazism and Christianity. In fact, the whole "Nazi Pagan" meme is really nothing more than a fairly transparent effort to distract attention away from the real religion of the Nazis: Christianity.

And now without further preamble, below is the entire text of what Dr. Seigfried posted on facebook (and also look to the bottom of this post for other links of possible interest):

HITLER HATED HEATHENS

Monday's CNN article about the disgusting hate crimes of last Sunday quotes a 1998 Southern Poverty Law Center article stating that Odinism "was a bedrock belief for key Third Reich leaders, and it was an integral part of the initiation rites and cosmology of the elite Schutzstaffel (SS), which supervised Adolf Hitler's network of death camps."

The man arrested & accused of committing these awful murders is a great fan of Adolf Hitler. I wonder if this avowed white supremacist knows that (even as the Nazis used Nordic imagery for propaganda purposes) his hero Hitler thought those interested in the Old Way were moronic left-wing peaceniks?

In his memoirs, Nazi architect Albert Speer quotes Hitler on his disdain for SS leader Heinrich Himmler's interest in pagan mysticism & his own support for Christian Charlemagne's butchering of heathen Saxons:

"What nonsense! Here we have at last reached an age that has left all mysticism behind it, and now [Himmler] wants to start that all over again. We might just as well have stayed with the church. At least it had tradition. To think that I may some day be turned into an SS saint! Can you imagine it? I would turn over in my grave...

"Himmler has made another speech calling Charlemagne 'the butcher of the Saxons.' Killing all those Saxons was not a historical crime, as Himmler thinks. Charlemagne did a good thing subjugating Widukind and killing the Saxons out of hand. He thereby made possible the empire of the Franks and the entry of Western culture into what is now Germany."

Here are some key quotes from Hitler's "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle," Hitler's autobiography & statement of beliefs), in which he clearly states what he thinks of those who follow the Old Gods.

On use of ancient terminology:

"It is entirely out of harmony with the spirit of the nation to keep harping on that far-off and forgotten nomenclature which belongs to the ancient Germanic times and does not awaken any distinct association in our age. This habit of borrowing words from the dead past tends to mislead the people into thinking that the external trappings of its vocabulary are the important feature of a movement. It is really a mischievous habit; but it is quite prevalent nowadays."

On scholars of mythology:

"I had to warn followers repeatedly against these wandering scholars who were peddling Germanic folk-lore and who never accomplished anything positive or practical, except to cultivate their own superabundant self-conceit. "

On those more interested in peacefully studying ancient practice than joining his anti-Communist fight:

"It is typical of such persons that they rant about ancient Teutonic heroes of the dim and distant ages, stone axes, battle spears and shields, whereas in reality they themselves are the woefullest poltroons imaginable. For those very same people who brandish Teutonic tin swords that have been fashioned carefully according to ancient models and wear padded bear-skins, with the horns of oxen mounted over their bearded faces, proclaim that all contemporary conflicts must be decided by the weapons of the mind alone. And thus they skedaddle when the first communist cudgel appears. Posterity will have little occasion to write a new epic on these heroic gladiators."

On those who study folk-lore vs. those who fight for his vision of a German State:

"I have seen too much of that kind of people not to feel a profound contempt for their miserable play-acting. To the masses of the nation they are just an object of ridicule; but the Jew finds it to his own interest to treat these folk-lore comedians with respect and to prefer them to real men who are fighting to establish a German State. And yet these comedians are extremely proud of themselves. Notwithstanding their complete fecklessness, which is an established fact, they pretend to know everything better than other people; so much so that they make themselves a veritable nuisance to all sincere and honest patriots, to whom not only the heroism of the past is worthy of honour but who also feel bound to leave examples of their own work for the inspiration of the coming generation."

Other relevant posts from this blog:

• Joseph Campbell on "Permanent Human Values" (3/18/14)
• "Inextricably Interwoven": Christianity, Modernity, and Racism (11/23/13)
• Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke's 1997 Speech at the New York Open Center (9/6/12)
• "We need to start dismantling this notion of 'Tradition.'" (4/13/12)
• Traditionalism & Anti-Modernism: A Guide For The Perplexed Pagan (1/24/12)
• The Not-So-Occult Foundations of Nazism (11/10/11)
• C. G. Jung and the Nazis: notes on two specific allegations (10/28/11)
• Carl Jung & the Cowardly Blood Sport of Nazi-Baiting (10/6/11)
• Yet more on Pagans, Christians, and White Supremacists in the 21st Century (10/3/11)
• "And if we occasionally speak of Baldur ..." (9/29/11)
• The Wild Hunt versus Radical Traditionalism (9/28/11)
• Religion, Racism & the Right  (4/14/10)
• What Kind of Religion is Buddhism?, Continued (3/28/10)
• The Western Mystery Tradition(s): Factions and Fault Lines (1/13/10)

Are You Under Attack By Mermaid Spirits? Well, Are You??

For more details about this, see the always highly informative Barth's Notes Blog.

And remember: "Disconnection is free of charge."

Move Over "Christian Side-Hug"

watch it all the way to the end. srsly. (oh, and if you don't remember "christian side-hug" check this out: God. Purpose. Culture. Side Hugs.)

Six Degrees Of .... Aleister Crowley?