Maleficarum Modernus-- A Survey of Witchery in the 21st Century

Astyanax

Two questions remain open, though, in this spectacularly informative thread.

Do you believe in witchcraft?

Beyond believing no one should kill or be killed over it, I haven't been exposed to evidence that would sway me either way.

Does it work?

I don't know. Folks who have first hand tales of its efficacy (or lack thereof) are encouraged to post their stories here.

Thanks, Son of Hector, for the kind words and fascinating additions.

Bybyots

A teacher and friend of mine used to tell stories about how people in Hong Kong would hire these sorts of fortune tellers to magically assault their enemies.

You know what really caught me upside the head while watching the villain hitter video? The woman outlines her belief system, her rules, her methods, with complete conviction and sincerity. And then?

Says:

"But it's all a fraud, anyway."

WTF is that all about? Drinking only as much of your own kool-aid as you have to in order to sell it effectively? To what extent is this belief/non-belief common to modern witchery?

Thanks for a great thread.

I am extremely pleased that you like it.

reply to post by Eidolon23


I've read of one particular encounter where a very healthy and arrogant woman terrorized her fellow office workers. One day, after she'd given one lady a particularly difficult time, that lady went home, took a picture of the arrogant woman, whispered a few words over it describing her intentions, and placed the photo in a bowl of water which she proceeded to put in the freezer. Within days, that healthy woman who was terrorizing everybody developed a terrible cold. She hadn't so much as sneezed during her entire time at that job, let alone gotten sick. But after that photo went into the fridge, she was very ill. The lady who had put the spell on her let the effects last long enough for the boss to notice a difference in work ethic all around the office. After they'd had a chance to explain the source of their troubles, the spell was removed, the arrogant woman returned, and was promptly reprimanded and reassigned. I have also heard that placing photos of ill people under specific colors of light has very interesting effects on their health.

I can't corroborate any of what I just typed above, but I do believe there are forces in the world that some people can tap into and others cannot. I'm not talking about religious forces either.

reply to post by Eidolon23

WTF is that all about? Drinking only as much of your own kool-aid as you have to in order to sell it effectively? To what extent is this belief/non-belief common to modern witchery?

Hmm, that's a big question. I don't know, but let's see how far we can get. The question has been on my mind a lot lately.

The first thing that I can say is that I never heard that sort of opinion expressed by my own teacher, he is from Hong Kong, as I mentioned. I mention it again because Hong Kong has always seemed to me like a great place to try and appreciate just the very sort of question that you are asking. I say that because in my experience, the folks from there seem to straddle the "old" and "new" worlds in a way that seems very pronounced to me. So, although I never heard him suggest that it was bull#, he never missed a chance to express his opinion that westerners, "foreigners", took it all way too seriously. The part about that that has always left me wondering, is that if we take it too seriously, how seriously are the Chinese taking it so that it amounts to a person being able to make a living at it?

From my own experience, this "belief/non-belief" thing is very common, Witches are of necessity dichotomous creatures. They must be as changeable as chameleons, while at the same time trying to maintain a solid "spiritual core" so that they are not taken down by the rough waters that they must ply in order to accomplish whatever they have set out to accomplish. At least the "pros", right?

Anyhow, I think that it is a learned behaviour on the part of that fortune teller and many like her, you get in the habit of not presenting a target by not forming one. She would probably also tell you that she is a Christian, and likely is.

AfterInfinity

I can't corroborate any of what I just typed above, but I do believe there are forces in the world that some people can tap into and others cannot. I'm not talking about religious forces either.

edit on 7-10-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

Hey, AfterInfinity, thanks for the story. Is malefaction justifiable if the victim is a dick? Is there a reason villain hitters call themselves villain hitters instead of people hitters?

Also, I am wondering if you wouldn't mind expanding on the statement above? If the origin of a witch's powers isn't divine, where would you say those forces come from?

Starred and flagged. Outstanding post and well researched. Book quality. I shall delve deeper.

Once as an undergrad in a Comparative religion class, as an assignment a group of us made a contemporary voodoo ritual, combining some of the esoteric old school voodoo elements; Rum, Cigars, drumming, dancing etc.

It went very wrong when one of the female participants seem to become possessed in a trance like state, with some very bizarre behavior.

Was her state a result of suggestibility, fakery or.....?

great thread s&f.........

reply to post by Eidolon23

its the "familiars" that pass themselves down from generation to generation

The "familiars"? As far as my foray into witchery goes ---- "familiars" are the "animal pets"...

can you link a source for this 'generational familiars' thing?
I looked at wiki....but, since you seem to be so 'familiar' (LOL) with the local witches' goings on....
there in your hick shack in Ohio....

can you provide some more info on this phenomenon?

Thanks in advance.

reply to post by olaru12


Possession is another phenomena that occurs globally, and throughout recorded time. The manner in which the possession manifests appears to be "colored" by the theological filter of the possessed. To me, it implies an universal neurological oddity.

Some channel Apollo and impart divine wisdom, some get ridden by Loa, and some are tormented by demons.

And some communicate with aliens.

Kantzveldt
reply to post by Eidolon23

 

Yes the tradition of blessing or curses being passed on down through the generations, the traditional wicked witch was marked by physical and mental abnormalities and thus of a somewhat chaotic nature...

Abnormalities? You mean congenital mental illness?

It is difficult enough to determine whether humanity is in the process of developing certain trait sets, or if the power structure has made it its business to systematically eliminate carriers of those traits.

It becomes muddy beyond belief when we have to examine whether those traits often piggyback on other, far less desirable inborn ailments.

There was also the question of entire tribes or peoples being under certain spiritual influences, today this would probably be considered racism, but referring back to the Mandaeans if you marry outside of the Mandaean people you are excluded from the religion, as it would be seen as bringing spiritual corruption into the greater whole.

The Yezidi share the Mandaean reasoning behind their strictly endogamous practices.

So i think these factors need be taken into consideration when people sometimes just appear to have it in for certain groups on the edges of society, there is always a fear factor, and the question of why they found themselves there in the first place.

We all have a latent fear of or disgust toward the mentally ill, and it stems from (I think) the imperative to avoid contagion.

Examining the body count associated with witchcraft, and doubling it up with the aversion outlined above, one can easily understand the shunning impulse.

reply to post by Eidolon23


I was probably just thinking of big warts upon the face, but anyway i was reading up on the Mandaean charms against Demons, which are specific to the date, day and time of the Demons arrival, sometimes they are uncurable, when one considers the depth of the traditions and practises and the bizarre methodologies involved it's easy to see how distinctions between good and bad practitioners could become blurred, how one could get left behind in 'the old ways'.



Book of Zodiac (page 77 onward)

In the Name of the Life, which cometh not to an end.
CHARMS AGAINST SINS,~ DEVILS, AND LUNACY-DEMONS

Against the demon which cometh on the first of the month and the second of the month. They are brothers and of one, When they come, beat him (the possessed person) on the head. When the first hour comes, take him out to the desert Into the sunlight ; let his blood and rub him with the blood and give him to drink of it. And bring the skin of a weasel and some oleander, tie together, hang it up and he will grow calm

The demon which cometh on Wednesday. Cut off the ear of a black cat and hang on him whilst he is sleeping and he will be cured

For the demon which cometh on the tenth of the month. Approach him not, for he is incurable.

reply to post by wildtimes


Its simple really. Where the craft is practiced and "familiar spirits" are consorted with, they will start in on other family members. Many don't realize that they give these spirits authority to do so, many do. This is certainly accounts for a high % of cases in which the craft is passed down from generation to generation.

In one case a mother, as part of her practice, would leave meat out for the sprits to eat, sort of like cookies for Santa if you will. When she died the sprits went after the woman's daughter. When she refused to feed them they assaulted her. She had to be exorcised.

Have yous got any information on gypsies magical history and recent times? I know some but not that much and my english is bit poor. To start there is up to day clans that practice magic, our oldest religion is nature, wind, water, earth, fire. Throught history there are mentions of our magic, after arrival to europe there are in letters, newspapers etc mentioned gypsies perform magic, future/past readings from stars, palms, illusionists etc, there are informations of how catholic and christian priests burned gypsies becouse of their magic for long time. Also there are old folklores or legends amongst gypsi clans, for example some stories tells that the original gypsies was vampires (lilith) and there was also clans that was werewolfs, there is also alot of info on these subjects all around.

Interesting topic, im very interested to mystical side of our world, im quite sure there is so much more than we can see and understunt about our existance and all..

Kantzveldt
When the first hour comes, take him out to the desert Into the sunlight ; let his blood and rub him with the blood and give him to drink of it.

Huh. I would have thought bloodletting and consumption would be more likely to aggravate an infestation. Homeopathy? Or, feed the beast so it will let you be?

Either way, precisely the kind of thing that perpetuates the hex/burn cycle.

And the black cat sacrifice? How is this stuff so consistent geographically and chronologically? Truly, it doth blow my tiny mind.

Logarock

What you probably know but most don't is that its the "familiars" that pass themselves down from generation to generation. Its sort of hereditary attachment and not a dna thing as it were.

That makes sense.
bump

romilo
Have yous got any information on gypsies magical history and recent times?

I'm afraid I do not, but here is a wonderful documentary that traces their origins back to India.



We might be able to draw parallels between the the sort of witchcraft practiced in Assam and traditional Roma magic.

...

After a little research? Maybe not. Assam is another ancient hotbed of ritual murder, I'm sad to report.

he superintending archaeologist of the ASI (Guwahati circle), Sanjay K. Manjul, told The Telegraph that excavators had recently dug up swords and other sharp weapons that resembled tools used for human sacrifice in other parts of the country.

“The swords are huge, similar to what were used in human sacrifice in some parts of the country. The villagers, too, told us that their forefathers used to talk about human sacrifice. We have reason to believe that human sacrifice might have taken place in the Ahom era in Mayong. At present, the ritual of animal sacrifice is prevalent in Mayong as it is in other Shakti shrines in the state. But we need to find out more evidence to arrive at a conclusion,” he said.

Mayong, 40km from Guwahati and once considered the cradle of black magic in the country, is today a place of tourist attraction because of its history. Mayong as well as Pragjyotishpura (the ancient name of Assam) find place in many mythological epics, including the Mahabharat. Historians said people used to come to Mayong from far off places in India and abroad to learn black magic.

www.telegraphindia.com...

Anyways, at least that documentary is gorgeous.

reply to post by wildtimes

your hick shack

Those hicks in shacks and mountain medicine women, wise women and healers.Ozark witches, and Appalachian Granny Witches.

reply to post by Eidolon23


Great thread! Very informative.

Makes me think of when people ask: "What's wrong with a little superstition?".

This thread should answer that question...

Gah...where have I been? They don't make threads like this much anymore. Nice bit o' conjuring, Eidolon!

I was rooting for the witches, but then them drug cartel black magic creeps came along.

Spent my allotted time this morning reading the OP, can't wait to get to the replies later today.

Maybe I'll tell my story of the sex spell that was once put on me. It starts: One time at Beltane camp in the deep and dark wood...

I have recovered--mostly--and I tend to shy away from witches these days, but when I do run across one of the female variety I must admit a fascination with the potential and wonder what they look like butt-naked in the moonlight.

reply to post by Stormdancer777

Those hicks in shacks and mountain medicine women, wise women and healers.Ozark witches, and Appalachian Granny Witches.

Yes, I know. I'm familiar with more than one 'witch.' And more than one 'coven'. (Not "A FAMILIAR", just, acquainted and aware of their behaviors - from personal experience.)

No broom flying -

but yes, witchcraft has been handed down through the ages. The OP made some very salient points. "Wiccans" are not DEMON-WORSHIPPERS. But there are many "brujas" and witches all over the world. When I worked with a largely uneducated Mexican population of immigrants, many of them shared stories with me about the "brujas" in their home towns, and experiences with them.

Red thread around the wrist of a baby? Wards off the 'evil eye'. Also, babies who see themselves in a mirror are going to die.....
and so on and so forth. Some of these lovely people actually thought that the water coming out of their kitchen/bathroom taps was 'not potable'. Ahh, the stories I could tell.