Witches and wizards

Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the use of alleged supernatural or magical powers or spells. A witch (from Old English wicca masculine, wicce feminine) is a practitioner of witchcraft.A "witch" differs from a sorcerer in that they do not use physical tools or actions to curse; their maleficium is perceived as extending from some intangible inner quality, and the person may be unaware that they are a "witch", or may have been convinced of their own evil nature by the suggestion of others.

Bad or Good? In many myths and legends, witches are evil, dishonest, or dangerous. Some cultures do not consider them fully human. If not evil by nature, witches may be possessed by demons or wicked spirits determined to harm humans. Yet ordinary men and women may learn magic for the purpose of hurting others. Such people are sometimes called sorcerers and sorceresses rather than wizards and witches. African tradition distinguishes between good magicians, or medicine men, and bad magicians, or sorcerers. Both types are distinct from the nonhuman witch.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, the belief in witches was widespread. Witches were said to be worshipers of the Devil. Thousands of women and some men were tortured and executed after being accused of witchcraft.
Not all witches and wizards are evil. Some myths and folktales feature good spirits or magicians who help people. These are said to practice "white magic" rather than the "black magic" of the evil witches and wizards.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF WITCHCRAFT PRACTICES

White Witchcraft
Practiced to provide good intentions to the people around you.
The practitioners are often said to have a Wiccan faith. This is a religion which is guided by modern pagan beliefs. It allows one to look in the earth and aspire for its development.
Practitioners believe in the threefold return. This belief says that for every good action you make, the return of this is three times in magnitude. This also applies in the bad side. However Wiccan practice does not encourage bad practices in life.Practitioners normally utilize prayers and rituals. They use spells to provide luck to the people around them.Practitioners also use objects which are highly useful for witchcraft. Some witches utilize talismans and crystals. They are said to benefit a lot from such objects.

Black Witchcraft
Practitioners perform acts which are spiteful and provide harm to others.
They utilize unnatural acts which inflict danger to a number of people. With this, their enemies can be washed away or banished in a certain place.They conduct negative acts in order to punish spiteful enemies for their selfish gain.Practitioners use black magic. Nonetheless, black magic is not solely used for negative sense. It can also provide best hopes to those people who are hurt and needs to regain strength through fighting back.
People do not take black magic lightly. They tend to fear the practitioners of black witchcraft.
The magic used in this kind of witchcraft is a common source of misconception.
Black magic is commonly practiced in most of the black witches’ covens.
Practitioners sometimes fear the negative consequences of black magic.

WITCHCRAFT AROUND THE WORLD

African Witchcraft
Evans-Pitchard, the author of Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande, says that the Zande witches have many beliefs such as magic and sorcery. The Zande witches came from the Zande tribe in Northern Africa. Magic and sorcery plays important roles in the Zande witches' lives.

European Witchcraft
King James of England was very afraid of witches in his time. In the King James Version of the Bible, the Hebrew word "kashshaf" would be translated as witch instead of "old woman" or "sorcerer." In general, many Europeans were afraid of witches and some recorded the information of the trials, tortures, and executions of witches.

Indian Witchcraft

There are two short stories that portray Indian witches. Both stories are based on the Santal tribal areas of India. (Witchcraft still exists in this area). Bandyopadhyay's story is about an old woman living outside a village who believes that she has powers of a witch. Throughout the story, the old woman tries not to contact other people, so she would not harm them. There is another story by Devi that portrays villagers around the Bantal area as witches.

 Pendle Witches

The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area around Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and were charged with the murders of ten people by the use of witchcraft. All but two were tried at Lancaster Assizes on 18–19 August 1612, along with the Samlesbury witches and others, in a series of trials that have become known as the Lancashire witch trials. One was tried at York Assizes on 27 July 1612, and another died in prison. Of the eleven who went to trial – nine women and two men – ten were found guilty and executed by hanging; one was found not guilty.

The trials were unusual for England at that time in two respects: the official publication of the proceedings by the clerk to the court, Thomas Potts, in his The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster, and in the number of witches hanged together: ten at Lancaster and one at York. It has been estimated that all of the English witch trials between the early 15th and early 18th centuries resulted in fewer than 500 executions; this series of trials accounts for more than two per cent of that total.

Six of the Pendle witches came from one of two families, each headed by a female in her eighties at the time of the trials: 

Elizabeth Southerns , her daughter Elizabeth Device, and her grandchildren James and Alizon Device; Anne Whittle (aka Chattox), and her daughter Anne Redferne. The others accused were Jane Bulcock and her son John Bulcock, Alice Nutter, Katherine Hewitt, Alice Gray, and Jennet Preston. The outbreaks of witchcraft in and around Pendle may demonstrate the extent to which people could make a living by posing as witches. Many of the allegations resulted from accusations that members of the Demdike and Chattox families made against each other, perhaps because they were in competition, both trying to make a living from healing, begging, and extortion.






SOME FAMOUS MODERN WITCH STORIES

The Queen from Snow White
Snow White’s stepmother, the Queen was beautiful but very proud and jealous of anyone more beautiful than herself. Unfortunately for Snow White, her beauty far exceeded that of her stepmother’s. The crazy Queen turned herself into a haggard-looking old woman (or better known as the witch)  and brought the poison apple for poor Snow White.


 Wicked Witch of the West
Her scary green face has kept many a child up at night. This witch is bent on both revenge and power. She seeks revenge for her sister who was accidentally killed by Dorothy as well she is after the coveted magical pair of silver shoes (ruby slippers in the movie). Portrayed by Margaret Hamilton, she also played the evil Miss Gulch who tried to steal poor Toto from Dorothy. The Wicked Witch of the West is best known for the following line: "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!"


The Witch of Hansel & Gretel
A witch has got to eat during times of famine in Medieval Germany, right?  Alas, she is vilified once again in this Germanic fairytale adapted by the Brothers Grimm. This resourceful and cunning witch constructs her house of yummy candy and ginderbread in order to lure children so as to fatten them and then eat them up. Pretty lurid plot, but it was believed that Hansel & Gretel was a cautionary fable to advocate NOT to abandon your children during tough times! Unfortunately, the witch, or wiccan-practicing folk in those days were smeared and further stereotyped. It would have been best to update Hansel & Gretel and substitute the Nazi's of World War II Germany as witch/villain.



Samantha of Bewitched
The pretty, sweet and benign witch in this American sitcom, airing from 1964-1972 was the most successful of the supernatural sitcoms of its day. Bewitched was about a witch married to a non-witch and all the craziness that can rise from the situation. Samantha used her nose-twitching powers for good and tried to resist the urge to use it for personal benefit. She wanted to fit in. However, the best part of the show was when her witchcraft caused issues and the problems her wiccan-family inflicted on poor "Derwood."



The Bell Witch
Is it a witch or a ghost...or both? The Legend of the Bell Witch, also known as the Bell Witch Haunting occurred in Tennessee from 1817-1821. Major paranormal activity intruded on the lives of the Bell family and some believe the patriarch, John Bell eventually died from it.

Word eventually leaked about the Bell's paranormal activity. It soon attracted and was even witnessed by many townsfolk, even the future President Andrew Jackson! He was later quoted as saying "I would rather fight the entire English Army then to have to face the Bell Witch again." The first haunting occurred in 1817 when John Bell encountered a strange animal in a cornfield on his property. Soon, the Bell's heard threatening voices, especially directed towards John Bell. The witch also focused on the daughter, Betsy who was violently assaulted by the witch.

So who was the Bell Witch? Some think it was the spirit of Kate Batts, a disgruntled neighbor of the Bell's. Apparently she sued John Bell over cheating her in a land deal. However, some believe that the Bell Witch was actually a poltergeist since their home was built over a Native American burial ground. The phenomena was turned into a movie called An American Haunting in 2006.