| Witchcraft
is thought to have originated about 25,000 years
ago in the Palaeolithic era. Then man and nature
were interlinked and the people believed every
rock, river and tree were deities in the life
force and that the earth was the mother, giving
life and death in the cycle. Early man used
sympathetic magick, in dances, chants and cave
paintings. By painting animals they believed it
attracted the herds that provided their food.
Hunters would re-enact successful hunts to bring
those energies into the real world and into their
next hunt. Offerings were made to the Mistress of
the Herds and later the Horned God. Animals were
held in high respect and their bones, like
humans, would be buried so that they would be
reborn to the earth. These rites still continue,
in the North of Scandinavia and the Inuits, led
by Shamans who in a trance contact the mistress
of the herd in a trance to encourage fertile
lands full of game. An early example of
Shamanism, recorded, is the dancing sorcerer, he
was painted on cave walls of Les Troi Freres in
the French Pyrenees, this figure dates back to
14000BC. By the Neolithic period, around 7500BC
to 5500BC there was development of agriculture,
the god evolved into the son-consort of the Earth
Mother. he was the god of vegetation, corn,
winter and death, who offered himself as a
sacrifice each year with the cutting of the corn.
This period also saw the rise of the triple
goddess which reflected the moon phases, waxing,
full and waning. This linked to calculating time,
its cycles were the same as the female menstrual
cycle, so the moon got linked with birth and
death and then rebirth. It was not til about 3000
years ago that the male role in conception was
fully understood in the West. The triple celt
goddess can be seen dipicted in a stone goddess
dating from about 12000BC in France in a cave at
the Abri du Roc aux Sorciers at
Angles-sur-l'Anglin. This three stage aspect
represents the maiden, mother and crone. When
early Christianity spread and the Church was
formed the worship of old ways was banned and the
nature festivals were replaced with Christian
ones. Pope Gregory who sent St Augustine to
England in 597AD admitted it was easier to use
the original dates and ideas for new Christian
holidays. For example Easter is celebrated on the
first Sunday after the 1st full moon after the
spring equinox, where it still remains. Hot cross
buns which are still eaten on Good Friday reflect
the old ways as well, the crosses represent the
earth and the symbol was eaten to absorb the
fertility and power of Mother Earth. The old ways
did not die quickly, the two religions co existed
as people gradually transferred their allegiance
from the Earth Mother to the Virgin Mary. |
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