Witch
A witch is a female practitioner of witchcraft; a male practitioner is a wizard.
One-quarter of those executed for witchcraft were men. In Exodus 22:18 the Old Testament specifically bans witchcraft under penalty of death.
In Europe--both Catholic and Protestant areas-- from 1350 to 1650 several hundred thousand witches were executed--often by burning--after legal proceedings.
The most famous episode is the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 in Massachusetts, in which 19 accused witches were hanged (none were burned). A famous British case was the Pendle Witch trials of 1612 AD.
In 19th century romanticism, witches and the occult became popular figures of novels and fairy-tales. Most of the times they were of evil and dangerous character, but there are also examples of benevolent character. At about the same time they became popular carnival figures.
Modern Usage
The term witchhunt is also used to denote a political crusade against a particular group.
Witchcraft remains prevalent in Black Africa, and in Haiti.
Today Wicca is a re-invented form of witchcraft.
See also
Further reading
- Ashforth, Adam. "Witchcraft, Violence, and Democracy in the New South Africa," Cahiers d'Études Africaines, Vol. 38, in JSTOR
- Ben-Yehuda, Nachman. "The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th Centuries: A Sociologist's Perspective," American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 86, No. 1 (Jul., 1980), pp. 1-31 in JSTOR
- Boyer, Paul, and Stephen Nissenbaum. Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft (1974)
- Ciekawy, Diane, and Peter Geschiere. "Containing Witchcraft: Conflicting Scenarios in Postcolonial Africa," African Studies Review, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Dec., 1998), pp. 1-14 in JSTOR
- Demos, John. Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England (1982)
- Hall, David D. "Witchcraft and the Limits of Interpretation," New England Quarterly 1985 58(2): 253-281. in JSTOR
- Macfarlane, Alan. Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England (1970)
- Thomas, Keith. Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971) in Britain and Europe