Battle Against Myths of Yesterday - Essay Example

Today's Witches Battle Against Yesterday's Myths Witches have long been the matter for storiesand folktales. Often, they are portrayed in a variety of ways: from evil, magical beings working to further their own selfish goals to good-natured, guardians using magic to further the betterment of humankind. They appear in folktales as old as Snow White; stories so old that their origin is lost within the verbal records of history. Witches figure prominently in stories such as Shakespeare's Macbeth and the witches of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. They have been feared in the forests of Germany, hunted down as heretics by the Roman Catholic Church, and sought out as healers and miracle workers. Several paranormal feats have been attributed to witches for centuries; and accompanying each new feat is a new characteristic or quality: warts, the ability to fly, shape-shifting to other beings. This paper will demonstrate the existence of witches in society today and throughout most of modern history as is evidenced by their appearance in literature, self-proclamation, and an explanation of their current practices. Literature can be used to serve various purposes; and witches have held a strong role in literature for centuries. The largest example is that of the Holy Bible, often used by Christians to define morals and guide actions. The Holy Bible was considered by early Christians to be a work of nonfiction. The fact that witches appear as "evil" beings in humankind's earliest works of literature implies that not only did witches exist but that the literature was used to scare people--either away from witches or away from the practice of witchcraft. Indeed, several supplementary works of literature went into more detail about how the practice of witchcraft was a sin; Dante's Inferno, for example, described the idea that witches were sent to the deepest regions of Hell (Canto IX)-implying that to practice witchcraft was the worst of all sins. Later works of literature were used to inform about the reality of witches and help to dispell many of the myths that witches were evil beings. One of the most prominent authors, Scott Cunningham, wrote several factual books about witchcraft. In his book, The Truth about Witchcraft Today, Cunningham strives to inform his audience about the differences between a witch living in society and the myths of earlier texts that witches were evil beings with supernatural powers. Since the religious movement of the 1950s brought witchcraft back into the mainstream, other pieces of literature have worked to soften the idea of witches; although these works still portray witches as magical beings, television shows such as "Bewitched" and "Charmed" and books such as the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling portray witches as using their magical powers for the betterment of humankind and in conjunction with what society would define as "just." To address the second point of evidence, self-proclamation, this paper will focus on the people who claim themselves to be witches. Thus far, this paper has shown that the traditional concept of the Devil-worshipping witch, using magic to bring harm to a community that has harmed her is an unlikely and unreal concept. However, the existence of witches as self-defined practitioners of a specific belief system that worships a female deity and chants spells to bring about some form of change is, in fact, real. The famous philosopher Descartes once famously uttered words that translate roughly to "I think, therefore I am." Working upon this thought, he also indicated that humans are what they believe they are; or what they portray themselves to be. By the same token, those individuals who believe themselves to be witches, believe they have the power to effect change in their lives by mixing an herbal decoction for illness or chanting a spell, may indeed have a point. Because they believe they are witches, and portray themselves as such to the rest of society, other people cannot deny the existence of witches in the world. Opposition to this idea will claim that those people who self-proclaim to be witches are suffering from a dillusion of sorts; however, there is no evidence to support the claims that today's witches are suffering from any dillusion, or believe themselves to be magical or paranormal in nature. The remaining portion of this paper will compare previously believed attributes and habits of witches--such as practicing Divination, casting spells, and using elaborate rituals to worship Satan--and compare these practices in Biblical terms to actual practices today. According to the New King James version of the Bible, a witch is any person who practices the art of divination (Deuteronomy 18:10); this is, in fact, true. Divination, or the art of interpreting signs to foretell future happenings (Rutgers University, 2007), is practiced by many of today's witches. How they practice divination varies by the individual beliefs and religion of each witch. For example, some may read tea leaves, while others look for signs in the stars (otherwise known as astrology). The term "divination" implies that the signs received and interpretted are divine in origin; thus, they are messages from a higher being, such as a God. Early Christians believed that messages from God could only be received by and interpretted through a priest. Therefore, any messages received and interpretted by a person other than a priest were believed to be from Satan or one of his minions (Robinson, 2000). Many of today's witches continue to practice some form of divination. However, even traditional witches of today are skeptical of those people who claim to practice divination for a price: within the past two decades, supposed psychics have been advertising their abilities on television, through phone lines, and now on the Internet. This increase of false psychics has had two important effects on the views and connotations related to witches and their craft. To begin, the increase in false psychics and their vague descriptions has led to an increase in skeptics. This wide-spread disbelief in the art of divination has led to a growing disbelief in the existence of those people who would practice divination. Additionally, today's witches have to battle against the fake psychics and the false reputations that these people have created. Therefore, if people are to interpret the definition of a witch as someone who practices divination, as described in the New King James version of the Bible, the existence of witches is real and should be recognized; although the definition and characterization of both divination and a witch must be adjusted to more accurate tellings. Witches do cast spells. However, once again, the concept of a spell has been perverted through fear and other misconceptions brought about originally by the Roman Catholic Church in its attempt to squash Paganism and other religious practices. Commonly, casting a spell is believed to be working with supernatural powers to effect change; essentially, to change something within a either a caster's life or in the life of another person through magical means. The source of these seemingly magical powers was often believed to be Satan (Robinson, 2000). Additionally, the concept of spells often leads people to believe that witches can make themselves win the lottery, or force a person to fall in love with them through the use of a love potion. The age-old concept of the witch chanting spells to bring about change is true; however, "spells are somewhat like prayers and are used to create needed change in one's own life or the life of a loved one spells are the channeling of our own divine selves, our own energies, to create the change" (Wren, 1997). Essentially, a spell is little more than a prayer asking for a change; the foremost difference between a Christian's prayer and a witch's prayer is the witch's recognition that to effect change, one must first initiate change. Both witches and Christians pray for many of the same things: such as peace and harmony in their lives, help coping with a loved one's death, and protection of the life of a relative or loved one. However, Christians will often ask for help from God, and then have faith that God will answer their prayers and enact the requested change. In contrast, witches will work to enact the change themselves, and have faith that their actions are being guided by a higher being. The added energy used by a witch to help bring about the needed change is the separating factor between a spell and a mere prayer. According to Robinson (2000), one of the most common conceptions of the term "witch" in the United States follows the tradition of the Satanist conceptions. This definition identifies the witch as: a worshipper of Satan who, during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, was believed to use black magic to harm others. This typically involved the aid of Satan and his demons. The witch was believed to have rejected Christianity and sold their soul to Satan. They met in the center of the forest at night in events called Witches Sabbaths (Robinson, 2000). In truth, witches do not worship or believe in the existance of Satan as defined by the Christian Bible. According to the Bible, Satan is a fallen angel who has fallen from God's good graces and works relentlessly to steer humankind away from God and into his own dark clutches. Additionally, witches do not believe in or worship the concept of the Christian God. According to the New King James version of the Bible, worshipping a God other than the Christian God is a sin (Exodus 20:3; Exodus 23:13; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 5:7; Deuteronomy 6:14; Deuteronomy 8:19). Early Christians believed that the mention of these "other Gods" were in reference to Satan. After falling from God's graces, Satan was believed to acquire tremendous power, aloowing him to rival God for the very loyalty and worship that God enjoyed from humankind. Hence, the belief that witches worshipped Satan grew from a misunderstanding that if the Christian God was the only God, and Satan was the only other being to be worshipped, witches must - via the slippery slope fallacy - worship Satan. To be clear, witches worship several Gods and Goddesses not referred to in the Christian Bible. Many believe in and revere a mix of Gods and Goddesses as equal beings; other witches revere the natural surroundings as an all-encompassing force of interacting spirits and guides in which all people play a role. Since Early Christians, and even Christians today, believe that any other God separate from their God is, in fact, Satan or empowered through the forces of Satan, to worship any God other than the Christian God is, in effect, to worship Satan. The term "ritual" is also commonly misused and attributed to the practices of worshipping Satan. In truth, a ritual is little more than a habit used to prepare one's self for an event (A Gathering of Paths, 2007); for example, morning rituals often include a shower or bath, the drinking of coffee, and brushing one's hair. This morning ritual is used to prepare a person for his or her day's events by initiating a state of mind that he or she is able to cope with or address issue that may arise that day. Understanding this definition, witches do use rituals to prepare them for their work with spells and worship of their Gods. Rituals vary in flamboyance. Rituals can be as simple as meditating to clear one's thoughts and create a feeling of tranquility, or as elaborate as dancing in celebration of a holiday or in gratitude for a successful spell: Everyone has his or her own spiritual path to follow. Rituals and celebrations are linked to the seasons and moon phases. Meditation, visualization, invocation chanting, burning candles and special rituals trigger a sense of the mystical, thus reinforcing the core belief system ("Wicca Beliefs", 2007). Because the term "ritual" is often used solely to define a religious practice, many people do not associate rituals with other facets of their lives. In contrast, because religions associated with witchcraft are often integrated into the witch's daily life, rituals often hold more importance and are, therefore, more commonly practiced and recognized for their importance. Despite the changing definitions of attributes and characteristics of a witch, the definition of a witch has not evolved to accurately reflect what a witch truly is. Because of this lack of evolution in terminology, belief in the existence of witches as paranormal or supernatural beings is extremely low today when compared to the belief in earlier times. However, belief in the existence of witches as people following a separate religious belief system is rising. An example of this growing belief can be found in the recent lifting of a ban on witchcraft in the country of Zimbabwe: "The new law recognizes the existence of the supernatural and effectively legitimizes many practices of traditional healers, but only if they are used for good. In Malawi, some government ministers are pushing for witchcraft to be accepted under the constitution" ("Do You Believe", 2006). Despite the impression that this is a belief system reserved for undeveloped or uncivilized societies, the belief in witchcraft has been growing in more modernized countries as well. Although witches today are working hard and are actively trying to portray to the rest of the world what a witch is, popular belief continues to attribute paranormal or psychic powers to witches. While there is little evidence that witches are paranormal beings with supernatural or magical powers to effect change, witches are, indeed, real people who have suffered at the hand of past myths and superstitions that continue to this day. Witches do cast spells, perform rituals, practice divination, and worship a God separate from the Christian God, as demonstrated in this paper. However, as they are humans, they lack the supernatural powers that they are often believed to hold. In sum, while witches and witchcraft are not supernatural or paranormal beings, they are, in fact, people. They hold an existence cited in literature as early as the Christian Bible and continue to hold a place in literature today. Witches are not to be feared or revered as magical creatures; but their existence in today's society cannot be denied. Works Cited "Do You Believe in Witchcraft" BBC News UK. (July 7, 2006). Available October 12, 2007 from < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5141406.stm> "Wicca Beliefs and Practices." Wicca. 2007. Contender Ministries. October 12, 2007 A Gathering of Paths. "The Difference between a Ritual and a Spell". October 15, 2007 < http://www.gathering.envy.nu/rituals.html> Cunningham, Scott. The Truth About Witchcraft Today. Llewellyn's new age series. St. Paul, Minn., U.S.A.: Llewellyn Publications, 1988. Dante Alighieri, and John Ciardi. The Inferno. Mentor classic, MT347. New York: New American Library, 1954. Descartes, Rene. The Philosophical Writings of Descartes. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge University Press, 1984. New King James Bible (a) "Witch" October 16, 2007 < http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/search=witch&version1=9&searchtype=all> New King James Bible (b) "other gods" October 17, 2007 < http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/search=other%20god&version1=9&searchtype=all> Robinson, B.A. "Definitions of 'Witch' and 'Witchcraft' Found in Dictionaries." Religious Tolerance. Ontario: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 2000. October 12, 2007 Rutgers University. "Divination" October 17, 2007 < http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/szura/divination.html> Wren. Adapted from Paula Murphy, Ainsley Friedberg, J. Kyle Sweeney and Lisa Tonner. "FAQs of Witchcraft." White Pages. February 1997. Witches' Voice. October 12, 2007 Read More