Wicca - a New Generation

Witches, warlocks, goblins and ghouls all seem a thing of Halloween. In reality there is an increasing population of witches. Real witches. Here is a brief look at then and now.

A hot July day in 1692, people walk up to the place they call Gallows Hill, to watch evil doers hang. Todays case was special though. It was the first of its kind. The first witch hunt and hanging, occurred this day. The year long execution ended in about 20 hangings (14 women, 6 men), and the imprisonment of between 175 and 200 people, in which about five of them died. There was one case of a man who was stoned( a cruel form of toucher in which a large stone is crushed against you until death). How did the witch hunt even begin? The villagers began to run into bad luck with the settlement. Wars and massacres began to take place claiming many of the villagers. Shortly after that bought, their crops and livestock began to fail, and their children began to go missing. Starting in 1688 some of the local girls began to act differently, like they were bewitched.

For the next four years more and more cases began to develop with different young girls acting odd. The Puritans, believing that god showed them in the physical rather then the non physical, began to shout out that the devil was in the air and began to blame Satan for all of the colonies troubles. All the children that had been acting strange became known as the inflicted, for they said the devil could inflict anyone he wanted to. The inflicted girls called out and pointed to other people in the village to accuse them of witchcraft. Thats when the mass murders began. In 1693, all the witches that were being held for trial or hanging were allowed to be released after they had paid their jail fines. All of the wrongfully accused still sought out justice. Starting in 1711 petitions were filled to be called innocent for the crimes they hadn't committed. Everyone was eventually condemned innocent, but it took 200 years. (1711 - 2001)

Wicca today is still a widely misunderstood religion, but now is more excepted. This religion is a peace bearing one that does not sacrifice animals, nor pray to Satan, as many think. Wicca was first popularized by Gerald Gardner, in 1954, after the British Witchcraft Act had been repealed. He had claimed it existed before the Christians, making Wicca one of the oldest religions. Supposedly it dates back to Celtic times (800 BC), for the whole craft is very Celtic based. The Wiccans believe in nature being the fundamental beginning. Like in Christianity there is a God but - Wiccans have a Goddess too. The purpose of both a female and a male god is to symbolize the male and female energies that surround us in the world. Some of the wiccan followers choose to be solitary, meaning that they practice alone. Some have covens, meaning they practice in a group.

People of this faith have 13 goals. 1. Know yourself. 2. Know your craft. 3. Learn 4. Apply knowledge with wisdom 5. Achieve balance 6. Keep your words in good order 7. Keep your thoughts in good order 8. Celebrate life 9. Attune with the cycles of the earth 10. Breathe and eat correctly 11. Exercise the body 12. Meditate 13. Honor th Goddess and the God. Another misconception people have about Wiccans is that they all cast spells, when in fact a lot of them don't. They are called the Pagans. (Wiccans that don't do magic) The wiccan Pentagram is the equivalent to a Christians cross. Each of the five points have a meaning. The top point is for spirit, the right point at the top is for water, the point rite under that is for fire, the point at the left and bottom is for earth, and finally the top left point is for air. Wiccans right now are in a fight about having the religion recognized as a real religion.

Views on Witchcraft haven't changed a drastic amount from the past, people these days just deal with it better now. This religion has a long way to come before it begins getting the respect i believe it deserves. Wicca has some very good morals behind it and i believe this religion can even make a person a better person.