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.