Eight Sabbats for Witches and rites for Birth, Marriage and Death

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As the summer stretches on and the days grow shorter, the sun God symbolically loses some of his strength. He is not yet dead, but is aware that the dark season will soon approach. The god of summer “dies” in the fields to nourish the people, and prepares for rebirth at Yule. a b c d Moro, Pamela A. (2017). "Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Magic". The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology. pp.1–9. doi: 10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1915. ISBN 9780470657225.

di Giovanni, Janine (14 October 2014). "When It Comes to Beheadings, ISIS Has Nothing Over Saudi Arabia". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014 . Retrieved 17 October 2014. For our ancestors, the significance of Imbolc would have been the beginning of the ground thaw. It is the time to prepare for the planting season—to survey the land, take an inventory of tools, and make any repairs or modifications that will be needed. For the Witch, it also a time of preparation. We clean and bless our altars, and make sure that the tools of our practice are attuned to their intended use. Such helpful magic-workers "were normally contrasted with the witch who practiced maleficium—that is, magic used for harmful ends". [128] :27-28 In the early years of the witch hunts "the cunning folk were widely tolerated by church, state and general populace". [128] :27-28 Some of the more hostile churchmen and secular authorities tried to smear folk-healers and magic-workers by falsely branding them 'witches' and associating them with harmful 'witchcraft', [1] :x-xi but generally the masses did not accept this and continued to make use of their services. [129] The English MP and skeptic Reginald Scot sought to disprove magic and witchcraft, writing in The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), "At this day, it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, 'she is a witch' or 'she is a wise woman'". [130] Historian Keith Thomas adds "Nevertheless, it is possible to isolate that kind of 'witchcraft' which involved the employment (or presumed employment) of some occult means of doing harm to other people in a way which was generally disapproved of. In this sense the belief in witchcraft can be defined as the attribution of misfortune to occult human agency". [2] :519 Russell, Jeffrey Burton. "Witchcraft". Britannica.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013 . Retrieved 29 June 2013. Demetrio, F. R. (1988). Philippine Studies Vol. 36, No. 3: Shamans, Witches and Philippine Society, pp. 372-380. Ateneo de Manila University.By the time of the Code of Hammurabi (about 2000 BC), the use of magic to harm others without justification was subject to legal repercussions: a b c d Cai, L. (2014). Witchcraft and the Rise of the First Confucian Empire. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1438448497.

A common belief in cultures worldwide is that witches tend to use something from their target's body to work magic against them; for example hair, nail clippings, clothing, or bodily waste. Such beliefs are found in Europe, Africa, South Asia, Polynesia, Melanesia, and North America. [1] :19-22 Another widespread belief among Indigenous peoples in Africa and North America is that witches cause harm by introducing cursed magical objects into their victim's body; such as small bones or ashes. [1] :19-22 James George Frazer described this kind of magic as imitative. [b] In ancient Mesopotamian religion, witches (m. kaššāpu, f. kaššāptu, from kašāpu ['to bewitch'] [59]) eventually [ when?] came to be "regarded as an anti-social and illegitimate practitioner of destructive magic ... whose activities were motivated by malice and evil intent and who was opposed by the ašipu, an exorcist or incantation-priest", [60] :65–66 who were predominantly male representatives of the official state religion. [60] The individuals mentioned in records of Mesopotamian society as witches tended to be those of low status who were weak or otherwise marginalized, including women, foreigners, actors, and peddlers. [1] :49 Burns, William (2003). Witch Hunts in Europe and America: An Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp.141–142.Suggested Celebration Timing: Observe dark moon the Monday before on January 31, 2022 after moon enters Aquarius at 4:43 am until conjunct at 12:46 am the next morning. Chambers, Robert (1861). Domestic Annals of Scotland. Edinburgh, Scotland. ISBN 978-1298711960. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) While some colonialists tried to eradicate witch hunting by introducing legislation to prohibit accusations of witchcraft, some of the countries where this was the case have formally recognized the existence of witchcraft via the law. This has produced an environment that encourages persecution of suspected witches. [88] Witch-hunts, scapegoating, and the shunning or murder of suspected witches still occurs. [43] Many cultures worldwide continue to have a belief in the concept of "witchcraft" or malevolent magic. [17] Main article: Cunning folk Diorama of a cunning woman or wise woman in the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

It is commonly believed that witches use objects, words, and gestures to cause supernatural harm or that they simply have an innate power to do so. Hutton notes that both kinds of practitioners are often believed to exist in the same culture and that the two often overlap, in that someone with an inborn power could wield that power through material objects. [1] :19–22 Sinclair, George (1871). Satan's Invisible World Discovered. Edinburgh. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) Ebola outbreak: 'Witchcraft' hampering treatment, says doctor". BBC News. London: BBC. 2 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021 . Retrieved 22 June 2018. citing a doctor from Médecins Sans Frontières: 'A widespread belief in witchcraft is hampering efforts to halt the Ebola virus from spreading'By contrast, we’d celebrate the grand sabbats anytime during the week before the peak, because we are using this swelling energy to grow our Great Work intention with the fixed energies of the seasonal high tides. Witchcraft murder: Couple jailed for Kristy Bamu killing". BBC News. Bbc.co.uk. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014 . Retrieved 8 June 2014.