This article explores the role of science in changing beliefs about witchcraft, a concept that has persisted for almost 250 years. The idea that modern science was responsible for ending the witch trials has been widely accepted in academic and popular writing. However, this belief is not without its skepticism. Reginald Scot’s work, which was reissued in 1651, 1654, and 1665, remains the most powerful sceptical treatment of witchcraft.
Scientists took a serious interest in forms of magic, challenging the myth that the modern West is disenchanted. Theologians and philosophers accused witches of engaging in sexual intercourse with demons, while the ruling classes led brutal purges of rebels and heretics. Witchcraft practitioners, such as healers, midwives, and toads, spells, potions, flying brooms, and witch’s brews, have thrived through the centuries.
This paper proposes an interdisciplinary explanation of the cross-cultural similarities and evolutionary patterns of witchcraft beliefs. It argues that human social beliefs have evolved over time, with science playing a significant role in shaping these beliefs. Witchcraft, or the ability of certain people to intentionally cause harm through supernatural means, has been documented across societies worldwide.
However, witchcraft beliefs did have a “genuinely scientific foundation” in old natural philosophy, which rested on views about demonic beings. The scientific revolution often displaced belief in magic, the supernatural, and the occult, but witchcraft and related notions have sometimes set a foundation for scientific research.
📹 The Science of Witchcraft | Sci Guys Podcast #98
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Are Wicca and witchcraft the same thing?
Wicca, also known as Witchcraft or “the Craft”, is a religion that encompasses various theological views, including theists, atheists, and agnostics. Some view the religion’s deities as literal entities, while others view them as Jungian archetypes or symbols. Even among theistic Wiccans, there are divergent beliefs, including pantheists, monotheists, duotheists, and polytheists.
Theological views within Wicca are diverse, with some viewing the deities as forms of ancient, pre-Christian divinities. Early Wiccan groups adhered to the duotheistic worship of a Horned God and a Mother Goddess, believed to have been ancient deities worshipped by hunter-gatherers of the Old Stone Age. This theology was derived from Egyptologist Margaret Murray’s claims about the witch-cult in her book The Witch-Cult in Western Europe.
The name of these deities was kept secret within the tradition, but in 1964, they were publicly revealed to be Cernunnos and Aradia. The term “Witches” has been used as a synonym for witchcraft more generally in popular culture, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed.
In popular culture, the term “Wicca” has been used as a synonym for witchcraft more generally, including in non-religious and non-Pagan forms. Theological views within Wicca are influenced by various perspectives, including pantheists, monotheists, duotheists, and polytheists.
What is a witchcraft doctor?
In certain societies, individuals are regarded as possessing the capacity to heal others through the use of traditional magical or medicinal practices.
Where did the idea of witchcraft come from?
The Christian concept of witchcraft has its roots in Old Testament laws against it, which led to a belief in magic and Satan and Devil worship. This led to large-scale witch-trials and witch hunts, particularly in Protestant Europe, before ending during the Age of Enlightenment. Today, Christian views on witchcraft are diverse, ranging from intense belief and opposition to non-belief.
During the Age of Colonialism, many cultures were exposed to the Western world through colonialism, influenced by prevailing Western concepts. Sorcery became associated with heresy and apostasy, leading to fears about witchcraft rising and sometimes leading to large-scale witch-hunts. The fifteenth century saw a dramatic rise in awareness and terror of witchcraft, with tens of thousands of people executed, imprisoned, tortured, banished, and lands confiscated. The majority of accused were women, though in some regions, the majority were men.
The Malleus Maleficarum, a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by German monks Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, was used by both Catholics and Protestants for several hundred years. It outlined how to identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book was the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, after the Bible.
Is witchcraft a sin in the Bible?
The Bible contains numerous references to witchcraft, condemning practices such as casting spells, being a medium, spiritist, or consulting the dead. These practices are considered detestable to the Lord, and the Lord will drive out those nations before you. The word “witch” may be a mistranslation of “poisoner”, and some believe there is a primitive idealist belief in a relation between bewitching and coveting. Some adherents of near-east religions acted as mediums, channeling messages from the dead or familiar spirits.
The Bible is sometimes translated as referring to “necromancer” and “neromancy”, but some lexicographers, like James Strong and Spiros Zodhiates, disagree. They believe that the Hebrew word “kashaph” (כשפ) in Exodus 22:18 and other places in the Tanakh comes from a root meaning “to whisper”, meaning “to whisper a spell, i. e. to incant or practice magic”. The Contemporary English Version translates Deuteronomy 18:11 as referring to “any kind of magic”.
What is a voodoo doctor?
A Voodoo doctor or witch doctor is a spiritual healer who practices a specific form of witchcraft, often originating from their region and ethnic origin. Examples of such forms include Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and Cuban Santera.
Which Bible verse talks about witchcraft?
Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 19:26, Leviticus 20:27, and Deuteronomy 18:10-11 all prohibit the practice of necromancy, divination, and soothsaying. These laws are portrayed as foreign and are the only part of the Hebrew Bible to mention such practices. The presence of laws forbidding necromancy proves that it was practiced throughout Israel’s history.
The exact difference between the three forbidden forms of necromancy mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:11 is uncertain, as yidde’oni (“wizard”) is always used together with ob (“consulter with familiar spirits”) and its semantic similarity to doresh el ha-metim (“necromancer” or “one who directs inquiries to the dead”) raises the question of why all three are mentioned in the same verse. The Jewish tractate Sanhedrin distinguishes between a doresh el ha-metim, a person who would sleep in a cemetery after starving himself, to become possessed, and a yidde’oni, a wizard.
In summary, the prohibition of necromancy in the Hebrew Bible is a significant aspect of Jewish history.
What is a male witch called?
The term “witch” is primarily used in colloquial English, with women being the male equivalent. Modern dictionaries distinguish four meanings of the term: a person with supernatural powers, a practitioner of neo-pagan religion, a mean or ugly old woman, or a charming or alluring girl or woman. The term “witch” was first used to refer to a bewitching young girl in the 18th century, and “witch” as a contemptuous term for an old woman is attested since the 15th century.
What is the sin of witchcraft in the Bible?
Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 19:26, Leviticus 20:27, and Deuteronomy 18:10-11 all prohibit the practice of necromancy, divination, and soothsaying. These laws are portrayed as foreign and are the only part of the Hebrew Bible to mention such practices. The presence of laws forbidding necromancy proves that it was practiced throughout Israel’s history.
The exact difference between the three forbidden forms of necromancy mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:11 is uncertain, as yidde’oni (“wizard”) is always used together with ob (“consulter with familiar spirits”) and its semantic similarity to doresh el ha-metim (“necromancer” or “one who directs inquiries to the dead”) raises the question of why all three are mentioned in the same verse. The Jewish tractate Sanhedrin distinguishes between a doresh el ha-metim, a person who would sleep in a cemetery after starving himself, to become possessed, and a yidde’oni, a wizard.
In summary, the prohibition of necromancy in the Hebrew Bible is a significant aspect of Jewish history.
What are the three sins God will not forgive?
Alma, a prominent figure in the Christian faith, had a profound teaching moment when he interviewed his son, Corianton, who had become involved with the harlot, Isabel. Alma warned Corianton that he was guilty of three abominable sins in the sight of God: denying the Holy Ghost, shedding innocent blood, and committing sexual sin. Adultery was third to murder and the sin against the Holy Ghost. To understand Corianton’s sin, he needed to understand its relationship to the two most abominable sins, enabling him to realize the possibilities of repentance and forgiveness.
Alma distinguished between unpardonable and pardonable sins. Unpardonable sins cannot be paid for through the atoning blood of Christ or personal suffering. The only sin that falls into this category is denying the Holy Ghost. All other sins are forgivable or pardonable because the demands of justice can be met through the atonement of Jesus Christ or personal payment by the sinner.
The Apostle John taught that there is a sin unto death, and there is a sin not unto death. Elder Bruce R. McConkie argued that the death John referred to meant “spiritual death”. There are sins for which repentance does not operate, sins that the atoning blood of Christ will not wash away, and sins for which the sinner must suffer and pay the full penalty personally.
Do Wiccans believe in God?
Wicca and Druidry are two religious traditions with distinct beliefs. Wicca is primarily based on a horned male god and a moon goddess, with the Dianic Wicca focusing on only the goddess. Some wiccans believe in both gods and goddesses, while others prioritize the goddess. Druidry, originating from King Arthur’s legends, is connected to Arthuriana through the Loyal Arthurian Warband, a Druidic group that uses Arthurian symbolism in its environmental movement.
What religion is witchcraft?
Wicca, an alternative minority religion founded in the UK in the 1940s, is part of the contemporary pagan movement, which includes druids and heathens. Since its arrival in the US in the 1960s, Wicca has been growing, with an estimated 1. 5 million witches in the US. However, not all witches consider themselves Wiccans, with approximately 800, 000 Americans being Wiccans according to recent survey data. The increasing numbers in surveys and the growth of groups on platforms like TikTok suggest that the religion is continuing to grow.
📹 Black Magic | National Geographic
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okay the way you guys were talking about the book of shadows & especially luke’s reaction cracked me up 😂 this is a common misconception, but there is no one set “book of shadows” for all witches or wiccans to abide by. Corry is right in that each wiccan makes their own book of shadows, but these are spells that are personal to them. These would be spells written by the individual practitioner or one that they were given permission to use by another, usually a member of their coven. A long time practitioner may have several different texts that make up their book of shadows. There are many spell books available for purchase from commercial publishers. These cannot be a book of shadows however, since a book of shadows is meant to be kept secret, thus the name. You might share a spell with a coven member or the odd fellow practitioner, but overall it is a very private thing almost like a diary. Also a book of shadows can contain more than just spells, it more like a compendium of knowledge around the craft. Hope that helped clear things up! edit: just wanted to be clear that i think corry did a great job of explaining things overall & really appreciate the sensitivity with which he treated this topic that most people treat as a joke because they don’t understand
To me, witchcraft is all about symbols. The power that we give to them can be harnessed and ‘controlled’ (for lack of a better word) through rituals. For example, colour, sigils, oils, herbs, time, methodology and specific deities all have different meanings. So we work with that to achieve specific outcomes. I think of it as stimulating the senses through physical objects to work with your own subconscious. In a sense priming you for success in whatever it is that you intend the ritual/spell to be for. I’m not wiccan but I’ve inherited a lot of witchy practices from my grandmother and her mother. Science is how I primarily understand the world however, so when I do magick I know it works only because I believe it will. It reminds me of the placebo effect and how it works even when people know it’s a placebo. Less exciting than transfiguration but in my opinion- comes in handy.
I was so afraid of listening to this episode as I am a modern witch but not a wiccan, but you never fail us with how thoroughly you do your research! Starting the episode right away explaining the difference between the two is exactly what I would have done, too. Great job you guys! I feel like witchcraft best described would be “psychology of the subconscious and herbal medicine wrapped in a neat bow with the human belief that there is something bigger than us (ie energy, gods, spirits)”
To Luke’s question about whether the gods are believed in literally or metaphorically, it 100% depends on who you ask. There is no doctrine so there is no definite answer and it is totally up to the individual. I’m not Wiccan, I’m and Eclectic Pagan and I believe in the gods and goddesses as personifications of nature and the human experience.
As far as I see witchcraft (as a practitioner myself), the basic fundamentals that most witchcraft practices are based on is symbolism and your intention for any one ‘spell’. Also, a book of shadows is basically a diary of your spiritual workings that generally is used to keep your personal magickal knowledge! A side note is that a simple prayer is actually a very simple spell that relies on intent WITHOUT additional ingredients like candles or herbs. To describe the basic workings of a spell is sending your intention (whether empowered with additional ingredients that match the intent or not) to the ‘universe’ to take care of the spiritual side, so that your physical to do list can go off without a hitch. I should wait for the whole article to end before commenting (and here I am doing it again), but while I do believe there is still a mystical sort of power behind it, I also recognize that spells are a great way to guide your unconscious attention to help you in day to day. I’ve never had a good way to describe the psychology portion of it until now, thank you! Another thing is look into tarot cards and how they work, then apply psychology to that as well. This comment is all over the place sorry!
I looked up “Science of Witchcraft” because I’ve been teetering on the fence between witchcraft and science for over 3 years. I’ve done research on both topics and noticed certain similarities between the two but couldn’t put my finger on what, but you guys did it very articulately. I won’t lie, it actually ate away at me for a while, but this article just helped me find closure in the fact that both of these topics are extremely similar in their own ways. I kept going into deep research on it, but always found myself finding sources that tried to explain things in either a strictly scientific way, or a strictly religious way. It came to a certain point where I’d find witchcraft sources just deep enough for me to understand how people used certain incenses/herbs/oils/candles and why they were used, then perform rituals to ease my anxiety. But I didn’t do it exactly the way it was instructed, I’d use my own personal ways to utilize those tools in a way that I personally felt would help me. Turns out, that was just a psychological way of doing witchcraft because I had to go through some trial and error to “successfully” do it, and by believing I did it successfully consciously, I subconsciously had much better focus on what didn’t make me anxious. You guys earned a sub with this article. You’ve helped me in more ways than I can probably even fathom right now. I have to say, being agnostic atheist, having extreme interest in science, and working with witchcraft is a very good combination and what the Sci Guys said explained it on a much deeper level.
I would love to hear a feature on astrology. From what I’ve gathered, latter day research has associated in a “butterfly effect” way to the moon’s effects on the oceans, weather, and us emotionally, and then broadens the view to include planets, microplanes, and other solar systems entirely which are part of astrological constellations.
As someone who is pagan and loves your show, I like how you’ve done this episode and the main bulk of it. My only real concern is about Wicca. In the pagan community and the witch community wicca is seen as problematic at the least with Gardner being seen as very problematic. It’s a good starting point but understanding more of the cultures and religions that he took from is a better step. And a lot of this article applies to paganism as a whole not just wicca. But as someone who doubted religions as a whole for a long time and works in medicine, I see it as a way to explain the things you don’t know which is what modern science is today. And combining them covers the things we might never know in science.
Oooh I’m so excited now! Love hearing people talk about Wicca 🥰 In my practice I always see the meaning of life and my religion (Wiccan) as always striving to learn and teach. Even though I believe in a lot of very spiritual things, I believe that they are all related to science and Science in it self is also about learning and teaching, which is why I love it ^^
Really loved this one! There’s a book called “The Biology of Belief” by Bruce H.Lipton I think you’d all enjoy reading – It’s written by a cell biologist, who explains the science behind the law of attraction, detailing studies of how mind programming/changing belief systems impacts the biochemical effects of brain function. A really enjoyable read too, not packed with scientific jargon! 🙂
I see your point. Very open-minded. But I was surprised at what was overlooked. The difference between the studies you mentioned and the way these observations are used in religious and spiritual groups is in indicating a causal relationship, telling people that you can influence outcomes by your belief, which leads to the belief that it’s all up to you to create good outcomes in your life, which leads to blaming the victim. And these “law of attraction” adherents absolutely do that. In fact, they’re highly invested in doing so, because things that go wrong in your life not being your own fault directly threaten their own comforting worldview. Yes being positive (/negative) has an impact on your SUBJECTIVE experience, as you said. But the belief that you control (or can, or SHOULD) your health, financial, etc. outcomes in your life leads to making people who are already suffering feel even worse and even be ostracized.
I’d like there to be a deep dive into energy work and why/how it works. Why can energy cause someone feel someone else from miles away? How does energy play into that? How does weather magic work? How does energy work allow a person to pick up on things in another person’s body/mind/spirit (including things that they’d have no way of knowing from just the physical observations they’re limited to)? How is it that tulpas from different systems are able to interact with tulpas from another system? (these are all questions I have based on personal experiences. I have guesses as to what may be happening, but I want to know for certain why and how these things work)
Spot on Luke. The “humbleness” is key. The concept that we are part of a bigger whole. All science has order & purpose that shows a perfection that to me becomes impossible to see as mere “chance”, or evolution, big bang, ect. The only peace I’ve found is that sense of “humbleness”. The feeling that I’m more than this body & this life. I can now look at this existence as a process of development..finding my truest, innate essence, through the challenges & wonders of this world.🌎 Even the Bible speaks of us not ever fully understanding or comprehending the concept of God..& to me that shows the great divide of a mere Human, & a higher entity/power. Again, thank you for the discussion👏
My partner the Wiccan would shoot me if I didn’t point out that you’ve committed one of the classic blunders with regards to the Threefold Law: The Wiccan Threefold Law originally only applied to one’s coven. The intent was to make sure people didn’t screw over their coven-mates – any harm you did to a coven-mate could be visited back upon you threefold by the other coven members. It was later generalised to all of Wiccan magical practice. I’ll also note that there are many, many magical practitioners (some call themselves witches, some don’t) that don’t ascribe to any version of the Threefold Law. So while Wicca and witchcraft are often conflated, there’s distinct differences between the two.
The fact that you mentioned the wicker man shows how much research you have done. Kudos!!! PS: you touched on it later in the article, how the herbology aspect of witchcraft is can be explained with modern medicine. It’s the same belief: plants have powers that you can use to heal or change your body (or make someone sick), it’s just that witchcraft goes a step further and believes if the plants have powers when you ingest them, they also work and affect you if you, for example, burn them (outside of yourself). To me it is quite plausible that science will be able to prove this in the future.
If you plan to make podcast on Wicca, I’d recommend Thorn Mooney – she’s a high priestess of traditional Gardnerian coven and has no bs articles about Wicca as the religion. And about notion that Superman has similar trope to Jesus – there are witches who draw from pop culture as a source of symbolism and archetypes for their practice. It’s usually looked down upon, but thinking about pop culture media and spiritual texts and mythos as stories, each of them have some symbols and lessons ingrained within them. This topic is actually researched by sociologists under hyper-real or fiction-based religion.
It’s great to see more people talking about witchcraft in a good faith conversation. I’m a witch but I’m also a physicalist (I only believe the physical world exists). For me witchcraft is a therapeutic and meaningful exercise rather than a spiritualistic one. The energy you talk about, we call intention. So we do the act of infusing an object with intention towards a particular end. Psychology calls it projection. I think a modern interpretation of witchcraft is a great way to include the benefits of religion and spirituality without compromising a scientific view of the world.
Hey! I suggested this episode and like you said it was because of you mentioning optimism bias in another episode and I wanted to see what you could find as an experienced researcher in the scientific field that meshes it all together. I myself am a wiccan/neo pagan who researches into witchcraft a lot and does occasionally practice, as well as being fully into science as I find them two in my view very complimentary. Although you only scratched the surface information wise, you definitely didn’t say anything untrue about Wicca! it was definitely phrased very respectfully and I personally love a little light-hearted jokes! The conversation around tapping into subconscious mind is very relevant which is why meditation is a very big practise in Wicca and witchcraft and it also aligns with many divination practises. I’m happy to answer any questions or anything you might want to know 🙂 there’s a lot more very interesting parallels I could give examples of.
I’m not a religious person, but I’ll tell you something. I sell vintage and antique items for a living, and I have customers with very specific requests for things that are very hard to find. I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve gone out thinking I need to find this or that item and I find it within one day. And I’m talking about things that I haven’t seen in years of shopping around. But there it is, as soon as I put it in my brain that I need to find it. I’m not spiritual or religious or anything, but there is something about that focus that seems to bring certain things to you because you’re intending to find them. It’s really kind of weird
I think of spells of a way of working out something that is bothering me. It’s a moment to reflect and analyze what is an issue, what I want to change out that issue, and the ways I want to do that. That’s why my spell is a personal thing that works for me or doesn’t work for me if it wasn’t meant to be. But if I have enough feeling that I know it will keep me up all night thinking of it or something that upsets me repeatedly or something that I want to attract to my life, a change. Sometimes there’s no actual way to make a thing happen, you can desire it, but you know it either will or won’t happen. Sometimes it’s good enough to ease your own worries, understand different possibilities or accept how things are in the moment knowing change will happen later. I can physically bottle something, I can burn something, freeze something, write something, snap things, ring bells, sing or hum, act out whatever feeling I feel in the moment or act out whatever it is I want in the future. That’s why the Wiccan reed reflects that idea; to do what you have to in your spells but not do anything that is outside of that personal reflection and action and thought. Although if working with another person respecting them. Although this is also a personal idea to each witch on what is and what is not harm and what is action that is moral or reprehensible. That’s also why some people believe in the rule of 3 if you actively seek to hurt another person you put out and attract that energy and so it can come back to you, as nearly everything is seen as working in spherical or cyclical ways.
I was wiccan for a while. Solitary though, there are no convents where I live. I was raised on a cult like family and when I grew up wiccan where my own adaptation. By now my spirituality comes down to the jewisch saying (paraphrasing) “if you drink from sience long enough you will find god at the bottom of the glass.” Its pretty freaking amazing we are made of starstuff, atoms exist, everything! Thats enough realy who needs a god if you can actualy contamplait on how amazing it is that we exist? I am also autistic so this kind of makes me feel this on an other level.
in terms of the difference between wicca and witchcraft: wicca is a religion. witchcraft is a practice just as is art, cooking, playing an instrument, and is a practice wicca incorporates. that’s the clearest way it can be put imo 🙂 also! some wiccans believe in the deities as actual beings, and some wiccans are a type of secular pagan and view the deities as aspects of nature personified as they find it a helpful way to worship nature and the earth (which is what i believe)
has the optimism bias been adjusted for quality of life outcomes? in other words, are people who expect the world to help them possibly people who the world has actually helped more than people who expect the world to hurt them? for example, are pessimists more likely to be poor, unattractive, uncharismatic, etc.
so weird to listen to this as someone raised by a jewish athiest in a part of the US with very little Jews, yet I was raised with a lesbian rabai. When they talk about ‘religion’ it’s not my conception at all. I was never raised to believe in god, yes I went to sunday school but my parents never wanted me to believe in god. I was taught about the torah like it’s folktale. These are the songs people sang when going through really hard times, but they survived and their culture persisted, but it’s never been easy so we’re going to perserve it. This is the food they ate around this time of year. even if the stories in the Torah aren’t true, there have been many Jews over the course of history that have sat around reading and arguing about these stories and weather or not they’re true, that’s multiple books of the Tenak. But also, growing up I never thought that this concept of religion was weird, it’s sort of how christianity feels to people that would say ‘yeah i guess i’m a christian, i’m not really sure if i believe in god and all that’ but christians are the majority so it doesn’t hold as much weight. While the words all 3 of you are saying are about how you could never be ‘religious’, you’re still clearly talking about christianity. As I get older and learn more about Judaism, I think it’s cool, but I don’t get a moral compass from it and never have. To me, the idea of religion doesn’t have to include that and the idea of religion wasn’t dogmatic Not to say there isn’t a ton of sexism within Jewish hierarchies, but again I was raised with a lesbian rabai so to me when I was growing up Judaism never felt sexist
I grew up in a fundamentalist christian young earth cult. I became an atheist once i moved out and dabbled in paganism for the lols. I used tarot cards, and one day, i pulled the same disaster card twice while attempting to do a reading for two of my partners (I’m polyam). Two weeks later, i ended up in the hospital barely clinging to life. I know and knew logically that it was all in how you internalized the meaning, but man, did it freak me out once i got out of the hospital and remembered the readings i had done. Now it’s purely an aesthetic i embrace to say f*ck you to my childhood religion, i dont need to risk internalizing a potential disaster until i turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. I know i would have ended up in the hospital with or without the readings, but the coincidence was enough to get me to not tempt fate anymore.
As someone who’ve been listening to you guys for months, this episode surprised me Σ(°□° I grew up and live on the lines between the world of Christianity, Magic, Spectral, science and spirituality, so I believe a lot and was a bit worried on how this was going to go… But after hearing someone who is an atheist/scientist talk about wicca and magic with an open mind and just the way Corry and the rest talked about it in general was just a breathe of fresh air You guys never cease to surprise me and proved to be my favorite podcast even more \\(≧♡≦)/💖
Late response, but considering your focus on science and psychology, I think that the concept of “belief” and “prayer” should be something you can achieve now insomuch as you’ve researched the topic and have seen that psychologically there’s a greater odd that you will work toward (consciously or unconsciously) the fate you’re aiming for through the focus of “spells”. It’s the ritual of engaging in those things that allows focusing your mind and influencing your subconscious toward the end you intend. So, yes, while there is no spiritual or supernatural influence, the equally mysterious “power of the mind” allows you to accomplish things you otherwise might be prone to procrastinate on or shrug off as impossible or incredibly unlikely. At the very least, you get a meditative moment to recollect your thoughts and enjoy a pleasing scent via herbs or oils, or engage in grand theatre with others dealing tarot. >) I’d lean more toward the herbalism. Science as you said has proven that many of those herbs of olden times do have uses, if not subdued compared to modern medicine. Home remedies for simple maladies (like the ginger, honey, and lemon for a sore throat) seems like a decent alternative. I mean if it’s a chronic problem or a suddenly horrible thing (like a heart attack or dislocated limb), go see a doctor, obviously that’s something you want looked at. But at the same time you don’t go to the doctor every time you have a sleepless night or sore back.
Rather than saying “these types of magic have a scientific basis” it seems equally fair to say “these types of science have a magic basis” Herb lore and medicine, astrology and astronomy, alchemy and chemistry, trepanning and surgery… Much of the time, “protoscience” is a more accurate term than “pseudoscience”
If for one second people just looked at what you just said about Optimus and pessimists it’s all about energy and if you’re a negative Nancy you’re going to attract negative people and negative energies and your life will be more negative. If you are genuinely happy optimistic type of person you’re going to attract the better side of life it’s just a fact the law of attraction is very very real and it’s all about energy because we are energy beings living in a physical world We are very spiritual we just we’re not taught how to use our natural abilities.
Margaret Murray was an Egyptologist who suggested that some of the descriptions in renaissance witch trials resembled features of Egyptian religion, mainly the use of dildoes in fertility rites. She expanded this insight into the thesis that there was an organized religion that ran counter to Christianity. Among other things she identified Christianity with Puritanism and assumed that Christianity was the drab soulless cult of John Milton. She tried to demonstrate that the “Dianic” cult was organized into covens of 13 members and collected names of witches, discovering that one of the most common “witch” names was Christian. Among the solid results of her research was an examination “flying ointments,” most of which used alkaloid-bearing plants to produce pharmacologically valid effects on the users.
All the HP references, I really, really wish J.K.Rowling wasn’t transphobic, I just can’t enjoy HP anymore. It makes me feel sick knowing my childhood hero doesn’t want transgender people to have equal rights as cis people. Any practicing witches out there, is there a knowledge/open-minded spell you could cast on transphobes? That would be great. Also, does anyone know any good alternative to HP? Any books/series about a wizarding/witchcraft school by an author who is accepting?