Witchcraft

The word witch was derived from the Old English noun wicca (sorcerer) and the verb wiccian (to cast a spell). Well,  that's the general point of view. Most Wiccan disagree with this definition.

The word "witch" seems to denote etymologically "one that knows" and it is historically both masculine and feminine in form. In the Old Anglo- Saxon language, Wicca is known as the "Wise Ones". In fact, by the time of the Anglo-Saxon kings in England, the king would never think of acting on any important matter without consulting the Witan; the Council of Wise Ones.

The Old Religion, that which in the Middle Ages came to be known as witchcraft, is thought to have had its genesis in the late Paleolithic period, a time when early humans faced the elements and their environment with little more than their hands and a few crude tools of bone and stone to aid them in the struggle to survive. In those days, people believed in a multitude of gods. Nature was overwhelming. Out of awe and respect for the gusting wind, the violent lightning, the rushing stream, humans ascribed to each a spirit; made each a deity... a God. This is what we call Animism. A god controlled that wind. A god controlled the sky. A god controlled the waters. Nevertheless, a god controlled the all-important hunt... a God of Hunting. Primitive humans were primarily hunters. They needed the meat obtained from their prey, and they needed the animal skins for clothing. From the teeth and bones of the slaughtered animals, they fashioned simple tools and weapons. When the hunting was bad, they knew that their own existence was threatened. Why was the hunt successful at times and not at others? Perhaps there was a spirit who decided these things. If so, perhaps that spirit could be persuaded to control the hunt in favor of the human hunter.

When agriculture was developed, the Fertility Goddess of the Fields joined the Horned God of the Hunt. This is how Nature worship developed. With the advance of different rituals—for fertility, for success in the hunt, for seasonal needs—priesthood were developed – these ritual leaders, or priests and priestesses, became known as the Wicca – the wise ones.

Witches in the ordinary sense.

So now, let us go to the use of the word "witch" in the ordinary sense. There really is a big difference between sorcery and witchcraft. In the case of witchcraft, it is more about some knowledge that a witch can perform with the guidance of the spirits, such as divinations and herbalism. A witch seeks only to control those forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature. As I have already told you, witchcraft is about Nature worship and using the powers of nature.

Sorcery is more complicated. Sorcery is a system of beliefs and practices whose goal is to manipulate nature in order to bring about specific changes that benefit the sorcerer or her or his clients. Healers, medicine men, and so-called witch doctors are sorcerers who by definition have a positive function in society, for their work is to cure victims of the effects of malevolent magic.

Therefore, here in the Philippines a mangkukulam (hexer) or a mambabarang is more appropriate to be called a sorcerer than a witch. Now an albulario is also considered a socerrer, not a witch, so does a manggagaway and the mangtatawas.

Unlike sorcerers, witches do not actually have to perform any actions to harm people. Some cultures believed that witchcraft was a psychic act; it required no magic spells or actions, and could even be done involuntarily.

Thanks to these two Dominican inquisitors, Henrich Institoris (Kramer) (c. 1430–1505) and Jacob Sprenger (c. 1436–1495) and their book "Malleus Maleficarum," A Hammer for Witches – we have now stereotyped witches as evil and Satan spawn. In this book, definite instructions were given to the prosecution of witches. The infamous Witch Hunt that has killed over nearly tens and thousand of innocent women as three hundred years of persecutions raged was the result of this book.

One important note, the ideas about "witch" and "witchcraft" were unknown in Bible times. The word "witch" occurs twice in the King James Version, namely, (1) in Ex 22:18, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live"; (2) in De 18:10, "or a witch".

The Hebrew word is in both cases the participle of the verb (kishsheph), denoting "to practice the magical article". Most of those words in the Bible that speaks about witches and witchcraft is properly rendered as "practiced sorcery" or "magical arts" (See: 1Sa 15:23, and 2Ch 33:16) The word translated in the King James Version "witchcraft" in Gal 5:20 (pharmakeia) is the ordinary Greek word for "sorcery.”

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Note:

The word pharmakeia is a Greek word that means

poisoning or sorcery, and magical arts. It often found in connection

with idolatry and fostered by it.

Pharmakeia (sorcery) is a form of the Greek root from which we get

our English words pharmacy,

pharmacist, and pharmaceutical. Pharmakeia (sorcery) fundamentally

has to do with drugs or

medicine. Originally the word was used only in the sense of medicine.

In the Strong Bible Concordance:

Strong's Number: 5332

Transliterated: pharmakeus

Phonetic: far-mak-yoos'

Text: from pharmakon (a drug, i.e. spell-giving potion);

a druggist ("pharmacist") or poisoner, i.e. (by extension) a

magician: --sorcerer.

Strong's Number: 5331

Transliterated: pharmakeia

Phonetic: far-mak-i'-ah

Text: from 5332; medication ("pharmacy"), i.e.

(by extension) magic (literally or figuratively): --sorcery,

witchcraft.

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary:

"pharmaceutical ... from Greek pharmakeutikos ... a medicinal drug."

"pharmaco- ... Greek pharmako-, from pharmakon ... medicine : drug."

"pharmacology ... the science of drugs."

"pharmacy ... from Greek pharmakeia ... the art or practice of

preparing,

preserving, compounding, and dispensing drugs ... a place where

medicines

are compounded or dispensed ... DRUGSTORE."

In the Didache, also called the Teachings of the Twelve Apostles,

written about the year 80 CE, two ways are proposed: The Way of Life

and The Way of Death.

In following the way of life, the exhorts, "

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not seduce boys.

You shall not commit fornication.

You shall not steal.

You shall not practice magic.

You shall not use potions.

You shall not procure abortion, nor destroy a new-born child.

You shall not covet your neighbor's goods...."