Witches and Wicca: How Are They Different? Witches in today's enlightened society do not have to hide in a forest to follow most of their ritualistic beliefs. Herbs and their uses encompass most of their practices and spells are usually performed to have a positive influence on a situation or person and not to harm someone, as many still believe. Black magic is frowned on by most of today's witch groups. Interestingly, the crimes of which most witches were accused had, at their core, an economic element-- the theft of milk, the destruction of property, threats of physical harm that came true (or at least came true in the witness accounts), and curses that were coincidentally efficacious.
trials, there were 271 accusations of murder, 510 of causing human illness, 339 of causing cattle's death, thirty-nine of causing cattle's illness, 104 of stealing or spoiling milk, 157 of killing horses or causing illness, thirty-seven of killing sheep, twenty-seven of killing pigs, twenty-one of ruining beer, and eleven of inflicting poverty. All of these crimes constitute some form economic transgression as both murder and illness could have significant economic repercussions in the tight knit rural communities; furthermore, nearly half the cases (735 out of 1,519) speak of crimes whose primary effect was economic. While the church saw witches as a spiritual threat to the community, in practical and juridical term witches were largely prosecuted because of their imputed economic threat to the community. Quite simply, in the eyes of the courts and the local populace who brought the initial charges, witches were seen as an economic threat that needed to be eliminated.
D' Este, S. Towards the Wiccan Circle - A Practical Introduction to the Principles of Wicca. 2008. Dunwich, G. Wicca Book Of Days: Legend and Lore for Every Day of the Year. 2000. Dunwich, G. Exploring Spellcraft: How to Create and Cast Effective Spells. 2008. Normand, L. Witchcraft In Early Modern Scotland: James VI's Demonology and the North Berwick Witches. 2000.
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