Discrimination against the Modern Day Witch

For centuries Witchcraft has been so tainted by lies, prejudices and confusion that certain beliefs about the religion are negatively stereotyped. Norman Cohn writes, "the stereotype of the witch comes from a specific fantasy that originates in antiquity. This fantasy that there exists in the midst of the larger society engage in antihuman practices, including infanticide, incest, cannibalism, bestiality, and orgiastic sex- an age-old religion."(Adler, 49) This may sound like an extreme view but there are those who truly believe this is what witches are all about. However it is only a stereotype and the truth.

Witchcraft has many subdivisions in this religion. There are followers of Wiccan, Shamanism, Pagan, Gardnerians, Alexandriaris, Tameran, etc. Even though these religions are unique in their own certain way they do share common beliefs and common prejudices.

Although this paper is about modern day witches a little bit of the history of Witchcraft needs to be discussed. Witch comes from the root "wise one" so thus Witchcraft means "craft of the wise one". Witchcraft is one of the oldest religions. It is an earth-based religion that focuses on deities and gods. Because of the many mysteries of the earth Witchcraft brought a union with nature and man. The origin was believed to be Shamanism, which were medicine and power wielders. They attained a form of power known through alternate states of consciousness. They "attained this state through the use of "tools" as fasts, thirsts, self-infliction of pain, ingestion of hallucinogenic substances"(Cunningham, Solitary Practitioner, 3). This was the beginning of Magick and Witchcraft.

With the advent of Christianity many things changed for Witchcraft. With the belief of the devil it brought confusion that witchcraft was tied into devil worshipping. This is not true. The devil is a non existent being in the Witchcraft belief. "Satanist" believes in the devil, they are not Witches nor involved in Witchcraft although it is common belief that they are.

One thing that added to the discrimination against the witch was the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum in 1486 by two Dominican Friars, Jakob Sprenger and Heinrich Institor Kramer. Literally know as the "Witch�s Hammer" the Maleficarum "contributed to the witch craze of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in which thousands of people were tortured and killed."(The Dark Ages 1) Because of this time which is known as the "Inquisition", "The Burning Times" or "The Witches Holocaust" where an estimation from 300,000 to 900,000 thousand lives were taken, it lead to even more discrimination, paranoia, and misunderstanding of witchcraft which has remained in the minds many.

Which brings us to the modern witch. The first Amendment of the Constitution allows the freedom of religion. However until 1985 this wasn�t true with Witchcraft. In 1985 a landmark case settled this question. It was the case of Dettmer vs. Landon, the District Court of Virginia ruled that "Witchcraft is a legitimate religion and falls within a recognizable religious category."(Witches� Federal Law Memorandum, 1) This decision was based on the First and Fourteenth Amendments of The U.S. Constitution and The Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is also a recognizable religion by the U.S. Military in the U.S. Military Chaplain�s Handbook that has religious requirements and practices.

For one of the oldest religions on earth to finally become accepted in 1985 proves how misunderstood the religion really is. For centuries all aspects of it was tied into some form of devil worshipping. But there is true meaning behind each part. For example the pentacle or pentagram is a symbol used in Witchcraft. It is a five-pointed star that is enclosed within a circle. Each point of the star is a representation of the forces in mature. This includes water, fire, earth, air, and the spirit at the top. The circle represents the deities completely surrounding the star, which is the body. The point of the pentacle is for protection. Just as a cross is worn to represent faith and protection in the Christian faith the pentagram is worn in the faiths of Witchcraft. However even that is being discriminated against for example many schools require as a dress code for removal of all pentacles from a student. An example of this is in an article printed in "The Connection" at Clear Brook High School. In it the school declared that any "symbols depicting the signs of the devil or any type of satanic meaning or value have violent undertones that directly relate themselves to kidnapping, torture, and human sacrifice" shall be removed. Also in Lincoln Park High in Detroit principle Tom Kolka enforces the removal and suspension of any student wearing a pentagram. Unfortunately this included pentagrams, druid symbols and anything that had to do with witchcraft. Yet crosses on a chain are allowed.

Another thing that is misunderstood is the use of magick. (Note that magick is spelled with a "ck" at the end instead of a "c" because witches do not consider their rituals a form of entertaining magic, however due to the popular spelling of magic most authors use the "c" at the end). The magic spells that witches perform are "the projection of natural energies to create needed change. Energy exists within all things: ourselves, plants, stones, colors, sounds, movements. Magic is the process of rousing this energy, giving it purpose, and releasing it. Magic is a natural, not supernatural, practice, but is little understood"(Cunningham 165). Now many may perceive magic as evil but this isn�t true. For example the religion of Wiccan recognizes the Three-Fold Law which states that any deed that is done will be returned to the individual three times over. Even though there are Black and White witches, black witches are unacceptable. "Black Magic might provide instant gratification, but it ultimately does more harm to you then anyone else. Many white witches learn this the hard way. (www.opensesame.com)

It is believed that witches are only a few in number and most of them are rebellious teens. However "witches come from every socio-economic and ethnic background"(www.witchnet.com). For example Cybil Shepard, the actress of the show Cybil is a self-proclaimed Wiccan. When she received an Emmy at the Golden Globe Award on Jan 21 for her show she said "And I want to pay particular thanks to the Great Goddess, in all her guises. May she bring us peace, joy and righteous anger. Blessed be." ( HYPERLINK http://www.angelfire.com) www.angelfire.com) . There are witches in every walk of life including doctors, lawyers, teachers, students, and even local waitresses.

"Witchcraft does not discriminate against color, or ethnic origin and does view everything as equal in the eyes of the Goddess and the God."( HYPERLINK http://www.witchnet.com www.witchnet.com ) This holds true for sex too. In witchcraft men and women are viewed as equals. Even though the Goddess is the main focus of the belief together with the God is a complete divine union. This holds true for followers also. Both male and female witches are equal. Note that a male is also called a witch. He is not a warlock, that is the fantasy representation of witchcraft. A male is a witch too. However in other religions there is not equality among the followers. For example in Christianity when talking about the aspect of church going the Bible states in Corinthians I 14:34 and 14:35 "Let your women keep silence in the churches for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded under obedience, as also saith the Law. And if they will learn anything let them ask husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in Church"

Another problem that witchcraft faces is the role in the media. Witchcraft is not portrayed in a positive sense. For example WB Channel 11 news did a feature story on Long Island Witches called "Witches Among us" on November 4. It was supposed to be an informative documentary but it portrayed witches in a negative way. They used demonic music and teenage wannabe witches as there focus and they were promoting more about their TV show Charmed rather then informing about the witches.

The Christian Coalition, which strives to have religious equality, discriminates against Witchcraft. Dr Robert A Morey a member of the Coalition writes that witchcraft "attracts people with mental problems. The State Mental Hospitals are filled with people who are of magic. It appeals to those type of people�Magic is for losers�You will never have a normal satisfying sex life once you debase yourself in sex magic"( HYPERLINK http://www.sounddoctrine.com www.sounddoctrine.com ) This is a shocking and unprovable statements he made. Mental hospitals are filled with all types of religions, not just Witchcraft. Magic is for anyone and everyone that respects it. The funny thing is that this is a Christian who believes in transubstantiation, which is a form of magic. An example is when a priest "magically" converts wine into blood and bread into the body of Christ. The sex life statement is not true. there are many ways to enjoy sex and magic may be one way to spice it up.

One of the biggest problems facing Witchcraft today is the paranoia of S.R.A., which stands for satanic ritual abuse. Even though it was said earlier that Witchcraft is not involved in satanic issues, this must be brought up since this gets confused with Witchcraft. SRA is a belief that there is a massive, cult like abuse going on. Where children are being abused, raped and sacrificed to the devil. An article that was printed on this subject said that there are certain rituals done with a family involved in SRA. This includes fecal tasting, kidnapping, homosexuality sex among families; animal sacrifices, and open cavity searches and implanting (l HYPERLINK http://www.babysue.com/abuse.html www.babysue.com/abuse.html ). However is not found to be true. Terry L. Kern in the Citation: Issues in Child Abuse Accusation writes "The law enforcement has neither validated SRA as a wide spread condition nor found evidence to support the claims of a national satanic conspiracy." And also FBI director Kenneth V Lanning of the Violent Crime section of behavioral science at Quantico says "I am concerned about the credibility of the sexual abuse issue and outrage that in some cases, individuals are getting away with molesting children because we cannot prove they are satanic devil worshipers, who engage in brain washing, human sacrifice, and cannibalism as part of a large conspiracy."( HYPERLINK http://www.accused.com www.accused.com ) It really doesn�t make sense how society automatically compares witchcraft to child abuse. There is a great misunderstanding about Witchcraft religions. To followers of witchcraft it is a serious and personal religion. It fills their life with happiness joy and meaning. It is their religion; there hope their faith. Many steps have been taken to try to protect Witchcraft. National Organizations were formed to protect it, like The Witches� Voice, WARD (Witches Against Religious Discrimination), The Pagan Awareness League, and The Witches League. Also in 1994 Wyn Summeric established the Little College of Witches. It is a safe environment for the education of witches to learn Witchcraft.

High Priestess Eileen Holland writes, "Wiccan is everything. It defines me, gives me life, explains my relationship to the universe. Wicca empowers women. It is the great reclaiming of our ancient roles and prerogatives. It allows us to bloom, to raise our eyes and our voices, to discover our true selves, our complete selves in the Goddess."( HYPERLINK http://www.opens-sesame.com www.opens-sesame.com ) She also writes that "What others think of our religion doesn�t concern us until we are threaten with the loss of our children, our jobs, our lives or our liberty on account of our religion�We are a peaceful, productive, literate and law-abiding. Live and let live would be a good motto for us."( HYPERLINK http://www.open-sesame.com www.open-sesame.com ) Margot Adler writes, "We are not evil. We don�t harm or seduce people. We aren�t dangerous. We are ordinary people like you. We have families, jobs, hopes, and dreams. We are not a cult. This religion is not a joke. We are not what you think we are from looking at TV we are real. We laugh, we cry. We are serious; we have a sense of humor. You don�t have to be afraid of us. We don�t want to convert you. And please don�t try to convert us. Just give us the same right we give you- to live in peace. We are much more similar then you think."( HYPERLINK http://www.silvermoon.net www.silvermoon.net )

In conclusion, witchcraft is a very serious and personal religion. Even though I was originally a Christian turned agnostic, I find a lot of truth and meaning in these different forms of religion in Witchcraft. While researching this religion I was able to speak to many different followers of these religions. All shared the same love, peace, joy and harmony for life, with an openness to share their thoughts and beliefs about their religion. It was the Christians however that were rude, forceful, unhappy, people who just wanted to convert you to their religion. This paper was not meant to knock down the Christian Religion. However the Christian religion is the main cause of the discrimination against Witchcraft. Once society will accept its differences among each other just maybe there could possibly be peace on earth. However with all the ignorance about witchcraft it has caused many problems and discrimination. If people would only learn the truth there wouldn�t be any more lies and paranoia about Witchcraft. Blessed Be!

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