Witches Join Black Lives Matter Movement, Cast Spells to 'Hex' Police

Rev Mark D

Fine, go for the hex...nothing else seems to work.

Christian

You know how wonderful it is to be Loved by God ? To be God's Children ? To be so special, God created this whole Universe for you to enjoy ?

This is what it is to have Jesus in your Heart... You are a child of God, you are Blessed, you are Saved, you are forgiven, you are part of the family of Heave for all eternity.

Praise Jesus, thanks be to God - for saving our lives here and now when we are BIRN AGAIN, and saving our Souls in the Life to come...

I Love Jesus.

I hope you will find some time to Love Jesus too !

The sooner, the better - the clock is running out for all of Us..so Ask Jesus into your Heart NOW !

Go in Grace. Love is God. Love all Beings. Love your self. Love enemies and create new Friendships !

Love Life ! Enjoy Existence ! :-)

Darryl Mizer

First off, witches or whatever they call themselves can't cast spells. This is 2020. The spell business hasn't been around for centuries. Of course, some still believe anything.

Tabz

Somebody needs to go back and spend some time reading their own tenets.

"Ever mind the Law of Three, else what you cast comes back to thee." Or from a more scientific view, everything is energy and vibration. Tune yourself to a certain vibration and you can't help but attract that energy.

There are ways of hexing that do not result in direct harm. While I firmly believe that, "a witch who cannot hex, cannot heal", I don't believe in targeted harm. Wishing harm or death on someone else only reflects that back on the witch doing the casting. You would be better off in sending out positive vibrations for those with anger and hate to have a "change of heart". Bring Light into the world. Meeting hate with more hate only drags the whole into Darkness. If you must hex, use this one- "May the full horror of your actions be revealed to you." As long as you cast/focus/pray with a clear heart and good intentions, you do not risk negative return.

Richard Lee Cornell

BLM has a lot of people giving them money. The problem is that money has found its way into BLM groups around the world. They even have membership among those in Palestine. Where they support good causes like feeding starving black children.

Rodney Monroe Taylor

Anyone have a flying broom stick I could borrow on the first, I'll get ya. A new dustpan??????

Carl Bernard Elfstrom

"God, save me from your stupid people!!!"

Tori Maricelli

so hexing anyone that doesn't agree with BLM< is ok? i don't agree with that or the white racism comment. so is there no such thing as black racism now? there is good and evil. black and white. get off the black good white bad stuff. there are good and bad ppl or all colors and ALL LIVES MATTER. i guess if you harm you get it back 3 times as bad? so good luck with that. God bless and all lives matter. stop with the racist comments of black live matter. dang! if you don't agree all lives matter...IMHO you are part of the problem. js not going to argue my personal belief or opinion. i believe what i want and you believe what you want. in the end it is personal to each individual. but don't say good magic on some and hex on others that don't feel the way you do.

Rev Debi Borchardt

You get what you send out. If you send out negativity that's what you get back. The Bible says we should love one another and we have guidelines the Lord gave us to live by. People can't argue with air so walk away calmly. Do not ad fuel to the fire or the fire will never go out. Dr Martin Luther King knew that violence and anger were not the way to make changes. Treating each other as we wish to be treated. That is the answer and it's a simple one. Blessings my fellow Minister's God be with you in this time of trials and errors.

Allen Nace

Well Witches. Really? They want to do damage to the police. I have loved ones who are police and cast a spell that they they shpould be burned on the stake for doing so. May a few spontaneously combust in the presence of their family and full public view. For the good of the world of course. What rubbish.

Reverend Sadler

All lives matter! I'm so sick and tired of all this nonsense and excuses for everybody to act like fools and destroying neighborhoods and businesses and causing problems with the television industry. Not all police officers are bad and the people need to realize that. There was a good man and pillar of the community murdered by looters who didn't care about him or his family. Yeah he was black too. What about him?? But the rioters and protesters are celebrating a man who was a drug addict and had been in and out of trouble for many years and knew that officer who had killed him and they had issues with each other. This was not a cop out to get a "black guy " this was a human against human crime and is being driven by the extremist groups that want to cause division and hatred in this country. God help you all!

Robert Daniel Taylor

It’s becoming more evident with each passing day that we’re desperately in need of more mental health facilities.

Thomas William Cornfield

What a buch of crap what do you think Jesus or even his cousin John the baptest would say about Wicken spell they would laugh their head off

The Rev. William C, Millhouse

Being a card carrying Pagan, I value the sentiment, but I personally feel that it is wrong to do a working that controls someone. However, there is nothing wrong with sending out unconditional love and peace vibes.

Donna Petersen

As a Pagan eclectic witch. I am For the Black Lives Matter movement and have worked craft for the protesters as well. Blessed be #WitchesforBlackLivesMatter

John R

Witchery is about not wanting to feel powerless. A form of make-believe. Trying to make the spiritual material.

It's also a sin against the progress made toward a higher conception of God, but what isn't under the materialistic treason we've surrendered to.

James Kerr Gibb

Sad that even the witches have been fooled by these cretins who are just using this as an excuse to riot and terrorise the lives of decent god fearing people. Not since the black panthers a long time ago has such division been forced onto the people, this has put back racial equality a hundred years and all playing the race card on behalf of a convicted felon. The black people are so oppressed and are never allowed to amount to anything because of discrimination, Hilary Clinton would have welcomed that discrimination if it had put her ass in the white house, poor Barack Obama got so discriminated against and held back he ended up in the oval office, what a tragedy.

These terrorists burning and looting around the world are driving a wedge between people that wasn't there before and not one person has said a prayer or demanded a statue removed for the double in number white people who have died in police custody, if you support BLM and don't feel you have just been caught up in a lot of manipulative rubbish that is because you cannot think for yourself or see what is staring you in the face so God Bless you and help you because if you can't see it then he is the only one that could.

All life matters, no individual cases no pointing fingers at what happened hundreds and thousands of years ago, deal with what is happening now, get rid of the terrorist group BLM, get tough with the police force and get the criminals to understand if they put up there hands and drop their weapons they will be cuffed and taken away, if they resist they will be shot and stick to it. If a criminal has a gun and is told to put his/her hands up, drop his/her weapon/put it on the ground and he/she obeys then he/she should be treated accordingly, cuffed and transported to jail, if he/she does not then the public and the police are in danger so they must shoot him/her. If everyone sticks to those simple rules then there should be less PEOPLE of any ethnic origin being shot.

I will pray for the people who want to make life better for everyone and ask God for guidance for the minority who seek to damage and segregate us. Rev. James Gibb

Sandra Lent

If you want to cast a spell, cast a healing spell for ALL people. Sides should not be taken.

Rev. RJ Levesque Jr

And now allow me to say my other thoughts and beliefs: BLM is a ani-american, socialist, terrorist group nearly as bad as antifa! You CANNOT preach integration while show PURE SEGREGATION with your words and actions!!!!

Rev. RJ Levesque Jr

POSERS!!!! AN INSULT TO REAL PAGANS EVERYWHERE! If they were truly of a Pagan faith of any kind this would NOT be their actions!

Tony LaCroix

Wiccans go by witches it's very accurate to call them that. I dont agree with the warlock name but some of these in the group use that name to self identify.

Shoshana Tso Savyon

The people I know that identify as witches are really more positive than this and not involved in hexing. It's not good to paint them all with the same brush.

Ken Morrow

When the Chinese Communist Party and the witches are on your side...SMH.

John Robert Seighman

All lives matter. Not just black that the media is crawling over. All lives matter; and don’t use police officers as being brutal to the core. Not all police officers are like the ones in Minneapolis.....so do not use general characterization. What about the blacks that shot and killed a black federal police officer in Oakland California ? It’s the media trying to control the country...don’t let it happen

Carl Bernard Elfstrom

T Kosse, thank you for clarifying that.

Chaplain Shawn

It also seems evident that some people who bad mouth others for choosing a different path will continual to be bullied. Meaning the ULC forum condones secular people to bad mouth, bully, speak ill of, and put up hate speech to anyone promoting a Christian platform. Shame shame! Actions speak louder than words, but the words I have seen against Christianity so a hateful judgmental and condemning view of non-believers. If that is the best of what your opposing worldview offers, ad-hominem attacks, the band wagon fallacy, the red herring fallacy, or the strawman fallacy; I will stick with not repaying evil with more evil, and vengeance is mine says the Lord, that the Lord will repay. Also, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, not the world. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God, will be with you wherever you go!

There is more peace and tolerance in those few passages than in any other worldview conceived by Dr. Paul Kurtz, Dr. Bart D. Ehrman, Anthony Flew, Dr.. John L. Mackie, or Dr. William Rowe, or even David Hume. The few mentioned here patterned their lives to oppose beacons of the light with the agents of darkness, confusion, hate, and doubt. Thus, we have what we have today because of false teachers teaching false doctrine to the young and old a like with the intent to destroy Christianity and replace it with a more secular version. Let the persecution continue. Although, I prefer come let us reason together. It is evident other worldviews have no intention on reasoning just continuing as bullies from their home-base pulpits.

Carl Bernard Elfstrom

Many people have been confused about what Wiccans and Witches are. The best thing I can suggest those people do to understand us is to read a book called The Wiccan Mysteries, by Raven Grimassi.

T Kosse`

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4. You were illiterate: Even if you were dyslexic or just hated speaking in public, failure to quote fluently from the Bible might be seen as a sign of being possessed by evil The Middle Ages was no time to be a dyslexic, or to suffer from a stammer. Even a common affliction like struggling to speak in public could see you put on trial for witchcraft. That’s because it was believed that witches were unable to recite prayers or passages from the Bible. In what became known as the ‘Prayer Test’, women or men suspected or practicing black magic would be given a Bible and asked to read a passage aloud from it. Alternatively, they may be put on the spot and asked to recite a well-known prayer.

Failure to read clearly and without hesitation or struggling to remember the words to a common prayer may have been taken as a sign that the devil was inside you. This was certainly the case in England in 1712. In one of the country’s last witch trials, the accused, a lady called Jane Wenham, struggled to recite several passages of the Lord’s Prayer. However, even saying a prayer fluently wasn’t enough to save you – as George Burroughs found out during the Salem Witch Trials. On the gallows about to hang for being a sorcerer, he recited the Lord’s Prayer perfectly. Even then, his accusers believed it was a trick of the devil and killed him anyway.

3. You forgot to throw out old dairy products: Believe it or not, curdled milk was offered up as evidence that women were witches Quite where the idea that witches caused milk to curdle has never been firmly established. However, scholars of the history of witchcraft have found this mentioned in texts dating back to the start of the 16th century. For instance, there was the old English tale of ‘Old Mammy Red or Marblehead’, who could curdle milk as it came out of a cow and could even then magically transform it into blue wool. And like many such superstitions, such a belief was brought across the Atlantic to the Americas by Pilgrim settlers. Before long, America’s witch-hunters were busy looking in people’s pantries, looking out for tell-tale signs of spoiled dairy.

The most notable case of curdled milk being cited as evidence of black magic was at the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Here, the grand jury heard that several of the accused had spoiled milk in their houses, while neighbors also attested that some of them caused milk to curdle just by walking past it. It must be remembered that this was a time when many families relied on their cows to survive. Should a cow stop producing milk, or should the milk be of poor quality, it could leave a person or family on the brink of destitution and starvation. It would also leave them angry and looking for someone to blame – and often, a ‘strange’ female neighbor was the easiest target.

2. You had a reputation for being argumentative: Nobody liked or trusted an assertive woman back in the 16th and 17th centuries If being an independent woman was enough to set tongues wagging at the height of ‘witch hysteria’ in the 16th and 17th centuries, then being assertive and argumentative was almost guaranteed to get you labelled a witch. While men might have been able to get away with arguing with their neighbors, women could not – especially those who lived alone, without a man to ‘control’ them. Being drunk and disorderly was no excuse, nor was being in an abusive relationship – as Rachel Clinton found out to her cost in Salem in 1692.

Clinton, who was in her 60s when she was accused of being a witch – more specifically, she had been blamed for making a child’s elbow blame, and even for making a man’s beer go bad – was destitute and somewhat eccentric. The prosecutors at the Salem Witch Trial directly linked her argumentative nature with the practice of black magic. They told the grand jury: “Did she not show the character of an embittered, meddlesome, demanding woman—perhaps in short, the character of a witch? Did she not scold, rail, threaten and fight?” In the end, Clinton was released after several months in jail. She died soon afterwards, alone and with her reputation in ruins.

T Kosse`

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7. You had a cat: For centuries, people really did believe that women who lived alone with cats for company were probably in league with the devil Quite when black cats started to become closely associated with witchcraft is open to debate. Certainly, in Britain, the link can be traced back to the Celtic peoples, before the arrival of Christianity. They believed that cats were actually humans who had committed bad deeds in their lives and so, after dying, were forced to return to earth in feline form. From that point onward, cats were seen as malevolent spirits, with their independence and slightly aloof nature not helping their cause. Cats were also blamed for the Black Death in the 14th century. Thousands were killed, allowing rats – who were really responsible for helping the plague spread – to thrive.

The Pilgrims who settled in North America brought European superstitions across the ocean with them. So, during the height of the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries, a lady living on her own with a cat or other household pet for company was immediately put under suspicion. According to some witch-hunters, women would even suckle their cats or allow their animal companions to feed on their blood – third nipples, moles or warts were seen as tell-tale signs for this. As well as cats, pet snakes, even pet dogs were might also be seen as witch’s companions and get their owners in serious trouble.

6. You were a midwife: Wise women used their knowledge of herbal medicine to help others give birth safely – but it left them open to accusations of witchcraft For hundreds of years, female healers were viewed with suspicion. Above all, midwives were at risk of being seen as witches. They just couldn’t win: if a woman gave birth to a healthy baby and lived, the midwife would be accused of having used magic or making a deal with the devil. Or if the baby or mother died, the midwife might also be blamed and accused of cursing the birth. Fueling this suspicion was midwives’ use of herbs and other natural remedies. The fungus ergot was used to stop bleeding after childbirth, for example, often saving the mother’s life, but putting the midwife at risk of being accused of casting spells.

The Malleus Maleficarum, meaning “Hammer of Witches” was written in 1484 by two reverends, Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenge. The hugely influential book called midwife-witches the ultimate evil. They warned people to lookout for women who wanted to offer new-born babies up to the devil. However, by the late-17th century, the persecution of innocent midwives had largely stopped. As men started to take over the medical professions, including midwifery, the effectiveness of herbal remedies and natural medicines became increasingly accepted, leading to a significant drop in the number of women being accused of witchcraft simply for helping another woman give birth.

5. You had a third nipple: Prosecutors were always on the lookout for tell-tale ‘signs of a witch’, especially on female bodies For centuries, witch-hunters believed that sorcerers and other practitioners of black magic bore distinctive marks. Tell-tale ‘Devil’s Marks’ included third nipples, otherwise known as the ‘witch’s teat’ as it was thought that Satan himself would suckle on it. What’s more, birthmarks and large moles would also be taken as signs of the occult. Since witch-finders maintained that the devil would change the shape and color of the marks he made on his followers, almost any physical imperfection or skin blemish could be enough to see someone accused of being a witch.

Unsurprisingly, peasant women would often ask friends, relatives or trusted doctors to remove moles from their bodies. Or, if there was a witch hunt in their area, they might try to do it themselves. Of course, that only meant that the resultant scar would be taken as proof of the devil! And even if there were no marks, an inquisitor would often prick the accused body to find one. A lady called Catherine Boyraionne, the records show, had hot fat applied to almost every part of her body by a priest. She died whilst in prison, most probably from the horrific injuries sustained during her trial.

T Kosse`

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10. You were guilty by association: If you knew or were related to a known ‘witch’, you might have found yourself hauled before a grand jury According to the Malleus Malifcarum, the best-selling Medieval guide to identifying and then punishing witches, most witches were either born evil or were possessed by evil spirits from an early age. At the same time, however, it was also believed that women could train to become witches. As the noted witch-hunter William Perkins stated: “Witchcraft can be learned”. As such, simply being around someone accused of witchcraft, or being related to an alleged witch, might have been enough to ensure you were hauled before a grand jury at a sham witch trial yourself.

Guilt by association was a common theme at the infamous Salem Witch Trials. For instance, Dorothy Good was accused of being a witch even though she was only four-years-old; simply being the daughter of one of the main accused, Sarah Good, was enough. Sisters, friends and husbands of the initial accused were also brought before the court, often on the flimsiest of evidence. Notably, this led the New England authorities to issue advice, recommending that evidence needed to be more than simple hearsay or guilt by association – even if this was issued too late for several of the Salem villagers.

9. You were financially independent: Sexist beliefs in the subservience of women meant that those who didn’t need a man’s support were often suspected as witches Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, independent women – that is, women who lived alone, without a man to support them – were often viewed with suspicion. And if an independent woman was financially comfortable, then jealous neighbors might well accuse her of being a witch. Indeed, according to the records, around 9 in 10 of the women executed for witchcraft between the years 1620 and 1725 were financially independent. In almost every case they had no brothers so were the sole inheritors of family wealth. Despite this, many juries were advised that they had acquired their wealth through black magic and were urged to find the women guilty.

While neighbors might have been jealous of an independent woman’s wealth, religious inquisitors were more concerned by the way they lived outside of the gender norms of the time. A lack of male control was particularly worrying and seen as a near-certain sign that a woman was up to no good. What’s more, women who could read and write, or who showed obvious signs of intelligence or learning, might often come under suspicion, as might a woman who knew how to perform ‘manly’ tasks or even knew how to swim!

8. You were left-handed: According to many traditions, there was something ‘sinister’ about being left-handed, and it was seen as one obvious sign that someone was a witch Witch-hunters were always on the look out for things that made people – or, more likely, women – stand out. And since, statistically speaking, most people are right-handed, being left-handed was often seen as being the mark of a witch. This wasn’t just during the high point of the European and North American witch hunts in the 16th and 17th centuries. Suspicion of left-handedness has been around for centuries. It’s even been called ‘a mark of the devil’, and so any woman seen using their left hand for writing or for other common, everyday tasks, might have found herself under suspicion of practicing dark magic.

The Church were at the forefront of promoting suspicion of left-handers. Priests and bishops would cite passages from the Bible to support the idea of left-handedness being the sign of the devil; for instance, the Gospel of Saint Matthew warns that, on Judgement Day, the righteous will pass to God’s right, while the sinners will be sent to the left. The fact that a woman was left-handed was routinely brought up as evidence during witch trials, though this alone was rarely, if ever, seen as conclusive proof of her guilt.

T Kosse`

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13. You talked to yourself: As the Salem Witch Trials showed, simply muttering under your breath could be seen as being a sign of black magic Lots of people talk to themselves on occasion. At most, it’s seen as a harmless affliction. Not so in the 17th century. Back then, being seen muttering to yourself may be taken as evidence of being possessed by evil spirits or of casting spells on your neighbors. This was the case with Sarah Good, one of the women accused of practicing black magic during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Good, the grand jury was told, would frequently be spotted walking around her small village muttering to herself. So, when some local girls accused her of being one of several witches who had attacked them with evil spirits, she was bound to be found guilty.

And found guilty she was. Despite the fact that Good was pregnant at the time of the farcical trial, she was sentenced to death by hanging. She was allowed to give birth in prison, but then, within a matter of days, she was brought before the hangman alongside several of her co-accused. Good maintained her innocence to the very end. Interestingly, her last words were directed at the judge, Revered Nicholas Noyes. She warned him that, if she were to hang, “God will give you blood to drink.” Some 25 years later, Noyes died a violent death – choking on his own blood.

12. You didn’t dress smartly enough: In some witch trials, an individual’s refusal to dress like everyone else was seen as something distinctly sinister At the height of the 17th century’s witch hunts, even something as seemingly insignificant as the clothes you wore could mark you out as a witch – and lead to your eventual trial and execution. Suspicion of different dress was especially strong in the Puritan communities of North America. And, again, it was women who were expected to follow strict dress codes, and who would be judged the most harshly if they attempted to show any individual taste of sense of style. Bridget Bishop, one of the first people arrested during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 found this out the hard way.

Bridget was hauled before the court in June of that year, the first of the accused to face the grand jury on charges of witchcraft. The prosecution made a point of stressing that she wore black clothing and “odd costumes”. Both were against the Puritan dress code. What’s more, her coat was shown to be torn and weathered. This, along with her so-called “immoral lifestyle” (what exactly this meant is not clear) was regarded by the grand jury as enough to convict Bishop on all the charges brought against her. One week later, she was hanged.

11. You had a criminal record: Women of ill repute would often be blamed when things went wrong, and with a little coercion might confess to practicing witchcraft Throughout history, those people living on the margins of society have often been used as convenient scapegoats when things went wrong. And this was certainly the case across Europe in the Middle Ages. According to the official history of the northern Italian region of Trentino, when harvests failed or people or animals were struck down with unexpected illnesses, ‘witches’ would be blamed. Notably, accusations of witchcraft “were largely made against marginal figures in society, old men, widows, young prostitutes, and woman who stole in order to stay alive”. In many cases, they would be arrested and then ‘confess’ to using black magic following interrogation.

This was the case in the village of Brentonico, in the region of Trentino, in 1716. When a child went missing, a woman called Maria Bertoletti Toldini was accused of abducting him. What’s more, she was also accused of throwing him into a vat of molten cheese! It was alleged that she did so because she was a witch. Just a few days after being accused of the crime, she was found guilty of witchcraft. She was beheaded in front of her fellow villagers and her body burned. More than 250 years later, the people of Brentonico moved to pardon the poor lady, acknowledging that the charges were completely unfounded, and she was simply a scapegoat whose past reputation was held against her.

T Kosse`

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16. You were aged 40 or over: Older women were treated with suspicion, especially if they loved alone At times, witches were seen everywhere. Indeed, anyone could be a witch, man or woman, young or old. But nevertheless, the vast majority of accused were not only women, they were women of a certain age. In 1692, when America was gripped by the Salem Witch Trials, the vast majority of the 200 suspects were women in their late-40s or 50s. Some were older still. Mary Bradbury was believed to be 77 or 80-years-old when she was brought before the grand jury. She was acquitted, but was viewed with suspicion by her neighbors for the rest of her life.

In Scotland, meanwhile, the last person to be executed on a charge of witchcraft was an elderly lady. Janet Horne was tried and killed in 1727, just six years before the crime of witchcraft was abolished in Britain. It’s almost certain that Horne was suffering from dementia. This would have explained her seemingly bizarre, even sinister behavior. So, when her neighbors accused Janet of riding her own daughter like a pony to go and meet the devil, the local magistrate believed them. While her daughter managed to escape, Janet was convicted. Despite her advanced years, she was stripped naked and forced to walk through the streets of her home town. She was then covered in tar and burned alive.

15. You were childless: When children fell ill for no apparent reason, it was often believed that the local childless woman had cursed them out of jealousy or spite Many accusations of witchcraft were made after a child, or several children, had fallen ill or even died suddenly for no obvious reason. Indeed, the most famous witch trial of all, the Salem Witch Trial, came about after small children in the Massachusetts village started suffering from seizures. Almost without fail, childless women would be blamed. It was commonly believed that such women were simply jealous of mothers with their children and used their black magic to make them suffer. Notably, this extreme suspicion of childless women is still evident in some parts of the world even today.

Eunice Cole, sometimes also known as ‘Goody Cole’ was a New Hampshire woman accused of witchcraft on three occasions during the 1660s and 1670s. On each occasion, the fact that she and her husband didn’t have children of their own was brought up as proof that she was a witch. While she escaped execution, Cole served three spells in prison. Moreover, when she died, it’s believed her neighbors drove a stake through her heart and buried her in an unmarked grave so that their children would be safe from her malicious spells.

14. If you were sexually progressive: Sex outside of marriage has long been frowned upon, but in the 17th century, it could get you hanged for being a witch For most of history, women were expected to follow strict roles. This was especially true when it came to sex and sexuality. Transgressing from these was a sure-fire way of earning the suspicion of your neighbors and being accused of being a witch. The Malleus Malifcarum¸ the 16th century guide to spotting witches, was hung up on sex. It noted that women were naturally temptresses, capable of leading good men astray. It also warned that witches had insatiable carnal lusts – as such, a woman having sex outside of wedlock was almost certainly involved in some kind of black magic.

Certainly, this was the case for Alice Lake. A resident of Dorchester, Massachusetts, she was a young mother of five. In 1651, her youngest child died of unknown causes. The grief-stricken Lake claimed she could sometimes still see and hear the infant. This was enough for her neighbors to accuse her of witchcraft. Then, when the prosecutors revealed that she had had children out of wedlock, she was found guilty and executed. As the court noted, Lake “played the harlot…being with Child.” It’s said she even confessed to being in legion with the devil before she died – though the ‘confession’ would have been given under extreme duress.

T Kosse`

18 Reasons One is Executed for Witchcraft during the ‘Burning Times’

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, a moral panic spread through large parts of Europe and North America. People were seeing witches everywhere. Even the slightest problem was blamed on witchcraft, from a horse falling lame to a child falling ill. As the panic spread, self-proclaimed experts issued guidance on how to identify witches. They also issued guidance on what was to be done with anyone found guilty of practising bloodshed – not for nothing is this period also known as the ‘Burning Times’.

Nobody knows for sure how many people were accused of being a witch during this time. However, it’s estimated that as many as 60,000 people were executed for witchcraft in Europe alone. Similarly, in North America, Puritans feared that there were many amongst them who were worshipping the Devil. Farcical trials were held, sometimes involving dozens of suspects. Most famously of all, the Salem Witch Trials saw more than a dozen innocent people executed after they were blamed for making some young children suffer seizures.

So, how did the people of this time identify witches in their midst? Here we have 18 signs witch-hunters might have seized upon, some more bizarre than others:

18. You were a woman: Simple sexism was behind many accusations of black magic, and 3 in 4 people put to death for being witches were female Plenty of men were accused or sorcery during the so-called ‘Burning Times’, or the witch trials that swept across Early Modern Europe. However, women were much more likely to be accused of being a witch. What’s more, they were also more likely to be executed for allegedly practicing black magic. According to the most accounts, around 75% of all the people executed for witchcraft in Europe between the years 1580 and 1630 were women. However, the actual proportion might have been higher still since women were less likely to be given a fair trial than men were. Thousands more innocent women may have been killed by mobs, with their deaths never recorded.

This gender bias was all too evident at the Salem Witch Trials in colonial Massachusetts in 1692. There, the vast majority of the 200 people accused of sorcery were female. Moreover, of the 19 people who were put to death, 14 were women. This was merely a symptom of a highly-patriarchal society. Puritans took the story of Adam being tempted by Eve as literal fact. Moreover, women who were independent or self-educated were viewed with suspicion and made for convenient scapegoats when things went wrong, such as when a harvest failed or livestock died.

17. You ‘looked the part’: As witch hunts became increasingly commonplace, so-called ‘experts’ believed they knew what a witch looked like For witch-hunters, the simplest ways were often the most effective. Quite simply, by the mid-17th century, a popular idea of what a witch looked like had emerged. If a woman had a visible wart, or a crooked nose, or if she limped or had a hunched back, chances are someone would accuse her of being a witch. Looks on their own were not enough to haul a woman before a grand jury. However, the transcripts of numerous witch trials show that appearance was often used as supporting evidence and might even be enough to see a woman hanged.

In 1640s England, the Revered John Gaule, who fancied himself an expert in rooting out witches, issued his thoughts on the matter. He explained: “Every old woman with a wrinkled face, a furr’d brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squint eye, a squeaking voice, or a scolding tongue is not only suspected, but pronounced for a witch.” Given the intense paranoia and hysteria of the time, many people took this advice to heart, leading to a wave of older women being accused of black magic by their neighbors, even their families.

Darryl Mizer

Wicca's or Witches cannot cast spells. If you recall witches were burned at the stake, primarily because they were mentally ill.

Carl Bernard Elfstrom

There aren't any similarities between Witches and magicians, or real magick and parlour tricks.

SibylTheHeretic

BLM is just another violent racist terrorist organization. The witches should avoid associating with them. How are witches and a magicians (the Magi) similar?

Carl Bernard Elfstrom

Spells, hexes, and prayers won't resolve the situation, but when done in the right way, they'll help. Talking about what won't work definitely won't help, but getting out there and doing things that contribute to the improvement of the situation will. The changes sought are going to take a concerted effort. There is great power in words, and correspondences, when used in the right way. Don't knock something just because you haven't experienced it, yet.

Philip Joseph Ryan

Spells, hexes, or prayers won't resolve the situation. Nor will committing further criminal acts, because of a policeman unlawful killing a serial thief and armed robber.

CooL heads and rationalism is what is needed to deal with the situation, not hysteria and more violence.

Carl Bernard Elfstrom

Us Wiccans don't believe in causing harm, but aren't the ones who turn the other cheek. Protection magick isn't the same thing as so-called black magic. I wouldn't hex the police in general for most of them are not at fault, and that would result in bad karma. I Will pray and cast spells for healing of those who are suffering, and against the specific individuals who have caused their pain and injury. Blessed be!

Thom

Surprisingly many of them believe in the power of god. Or gods. The pagans were far more in tune with the natural balance of the creation of this world than any practitioner of Christianity. I feel their beliefs, theology if you will, came from ancient learners and much like the indigenous peoples of the America they were demonized by white racism and made out to be heretics and witch doctors. But you see much of what we have even in pharmacology today comes from remedies those were creating with the very same materials from nature. Birch bark=aspirin. So, Hexes, I fear are negative. Black magic. Negative energy begets negative repercussions. So I don’t necessarily agree with hexing. But our world is not balanced with out Ying and Yang. ☯️ Good and Evil. I don’t suppose we should support these types of behaviors but We can’t prevent them. They are learned behaviors from being wrongfully treated and then seeking revenge for that treatment against society. We, the wiser, spiritually enlightened must work even harder towards bringing white magic and our own enlightenment to others. Be the example. Be the leader. Take upon the burden of proof. It is not an easy task as we have seen with many a monk, priest, witch, prophet, saints, popes, presidents.............but it is our burden as leaders who have been given the opportunity to be enlightened.

Paul J. Fumero

Stop calling them witches. its a different belief system than christianity.

Lionheart

What I’d like to know is, who has been performing black magic on Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi? Whatever spells they’ve been using it’s clearly working.

🦁❤️

Edwin Merle Waltz

Honestly believe God will deal with them

Edwin Merle Waltz

Honestly believe God will deal with them

Howard Pippin

Would any of you be interested in a bridge I know about?

JKM

That will trigger some people...the patriarchy in particular.