Any witch worth their Cauldron will know that to advance their Craft, you need to study as well as actual throwing around of energy. One of my most favourite times in history to study is the Witch Trails. Not only because of the direct links to us Witch’s in the present moment but because of the Social conditions at the time. This is a time when the Church ruled complete. Some times hand in hand with the Kings and Queens but often as not working unilaterally and against the ruling classes of the Day. In a time when the authority of the Pope was absolute even Kings bowed before him as the “representative” of Christ on earth.
What has the general topic of History got to do with your own Craft you may be asking yourself, and why is studying it an essential part of furthering your Craft? Because looking back at the witch trails you can’t but not notice the parallels between the 1500’s to the situation we find ourselves in today. Proof enough that the human race hasn’t really moved forward that much in the last 500 or so years.
This morning I have been looking at the Trail of 1562 in Wiesensteig in modern Germany. After a really bad hailstorm that decimated that years grape crop, which in turn ruined wine production that year. The local Overlord, looking for some on to blame for this, chose the group of women we now identify as witch’s. Why would he have done that? It’s very simple, it wouldn’t have been a natural event – an act of God if you will – because he was an upright and righteous citizen who went to church and “followed” the chruch’s teachings so it couldn’t have been God. But some one had to take the blame for it as the town had just lost a major part of its income for the year. And I suspect that if he didn’t find some one to blame then at some point the finger would surly turn towards him. This was less than a hundred years after the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum. In needing some political cover the Overlord had 63 townswomen arrested, tortured and executed for inflicting malicious magic upon the town.
This is a theme that runs deep thought the whole era of the Burning Times. People in power needing some on to blame, or giving in to their own vindictiveness, or just needing an excuse to terrorise the “othered” in their charge. Anyone who was not seen as “normal” or good Christian folk, who didn’t go to church, who helped out for free or exchange rather than money, anyone who did not fit neatly in to the boxe’s the Officials used to categorises the population. They all got lumped under the general term of Witch. Also anyone who pushed back against there “Authority” would also be prime candidates.
Now go to your favourite news outlet or paper or where ever you get your News from and tell me that those themes aren’t still in force today. Although it is no longer channeled through the Authority of the Pope (although much of it still is in poorer counties) but look at how your CEO’s, Regional Managers, Operating officers, line managers and HR departments all act as soon as they think they have found someone who they can easily make an example of or is “Othered” enough that they can basically hang them out to dry. If that doesn’t seem clear enough to you then look at what is coming down the Line in the US elections, some thing is being mirrored in the European elections. The time is coming when if your are “othered” then it’s going to be very hard to be true to yourself. And if your dare to be then you will be imprisoned, tortured and yes they will kill us if it serve’s them. That might seem a little extreme to our Western ears but you look at the Middle East and you will see countries that use’s these practices.
Still not enough? Then look at slavery, South African apartheid, the way native peoples have been treated throughout history, the fight for the LGBTQA+ rights, and very soon it will be the fight for the neurodiverse to exist and have the right to work with fear of prejudice and discrimination, women’s right’s …….if you are some how different from the “norm” then life is only going to get worse if the likes of Trump and Putin are allowed to hold and abuse power
If part of your craft is self improvement, spiritually and morally then you have to take the lessons that history teaches seriously and be the change that you want to see in the world. We can not afford not to Vote, we can not afford to sit it out, we can not afford not to be present in the moment of the world we live in. Our moral and spiritual guidance has to take the lead over the material needs we may have and the way we earn our money.
Learn your history, honour those who have gone before us and be the change you need to see in the world.