tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post112911081459279908..comments2024-03-10T08:48:34.026+00:00Comments on Nemeton: witches in historyYewtreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02028699564003381058noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post-73911950788540310912007-09-07T16:05:00.000+00:002007-09-07T16:05:00.000+00:00Regarding Christian "appropriation" of Pagan trapp...Regarding Christian "appropriation" of Pagan trappings - this could also be regarded as preservation; and let it not be forgotten that the monasteries made a huge effort to preserve Pagan myths and legends by writing them down, and that many pre-Christian cultures didn't write sacred stuff down, so the monastic records may have been the first time they were written down.Yewtreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02028699564003381058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post-1129423461908643492005-10-16T00:44:00.000+00:002005-10-16T00:44:00.000+00:00Thanks for those links yvonne, it's unbelievable t...Thanks for those links <B>yvonne</B>, it's unbelievable that these kind of things are still happening today.<BR/><BR/>That <B>witchvox</B> site is really interesting :-)Feenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04148640113718434688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post-1129279183155059692005-10-14T08:39:00.000+00:002005-10-14T08:39:00.000+00:00Yes, quite a lot of the Da Vinci Code is inaccurat...Yes, quite a lot of the <EM>Da Vinci Code</EM> is inaccurate, from what I can gather from what friends who have read it have told me.<BR/><BR/>The worst current persecution is happening in Africa, where even children are accused of witchcraft.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=child+witch+Africa&x=0&y=0&scope=newsifs&tab=news" REL="nofollow">BBC News articles on African witchcraft </A><BR/><BR/>But there was also the American teenager, <A HREF="http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=7086" REL="nofollow">Tempest Smith</A>, from the Bible Belt who committed suicide because she was being bullied by her Christian schoolmates for her interest in Wicca. She was 12. And there was an <A HREF="http://www.forteantimes.com/review/luresinister.shtml" REL="nofollow">attempt by the Christian right in the 1990s to smear witches with accusations of Satanism and child abuse</A>. <A HREF="http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usfl&c=cases&id=2368" REL="nofollow">And the Christian right in America is still spreading misinformation about Wicca.</A> See also <A HREF="http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usnc&c=words&id=10199" REL="nofollow">this article about what happened to Darla Wynne</A>.Yewtreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02028699564003381058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post-1129223512604142472005-10-13T17:11:00.000+00:002005-10-13T17:11:00.000+00:00You're right, it is frustrating. I read on some s...You're right, it is frustrating. I read on some sites the phrase <I>Never again, the Burning Times</I> but no mention that it's happening <B>right now</B> in some parts of the world.<BR/><BR/>They do tend to be the same ones that say millions of women died, but tend to gloss over the fact that men died too.<BR/><BR/>This is one reason I want to get the things I write about as accurate as possible. At the beginning of <I>The Da Vinci Code</I> Dan Brown writes of 5 million women killed and that made me think that if he got that basic detail wrong, what else might be wrong in his research?<BR/><BR/>I don't want people thinking that about the rest of my writing on witchcraft.Feenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04148640113718434688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post-1129214104069668112005-10-13T14:35:00.000+00:002005-10-13T14:35:00.000+00:00Why did Christianity so easily overcome the Druid ...<EM>Why did Christianity so easily overcome the Druid faith in the British Isles. </EM><BR/><BR/>But did it? In fact, as you suggest, much druidic wisdom was incorporated into the Celtic Church. Also the druid schools continued well into the Christian era in Ireland (I <EM>think</EM> up to the 18th century).<BR/><BR/><EM>Did the Druids drop the ball? Had their time passed?</EM><BR/><BR/>Well, don't forget that the Romans had actually wiped out a lot of the druids on the mainland at the Battle of Anglesey, effectively removing their power base. The conversion to Christianity therefore filled a power vacuum, and much of it was imposed on the people rather than being by choice.<BR/><BR/><EM>Or did Christianity offer something that people needed at that time?</EM><BR/><BR/>Yes, it offered the ruling classes entry into the powerful elites of Europe, who had already signed up. It is now generally agreed by archaeologists that after the collapse of the Roman Empire (mainly due to economic and logistical factors), the ruling elites of Europe join ed the Church because it was the only available source of law and order.<BR/><BR/><EM>How has [ancient] Paganism shaped modern Christianity, for example, in people who call themselves Celtic Christians?</EM><BR/><BR/>There are numerous examples of liturgy, symbolism and ceremonial trappings which have been borrowed from ancient Paganisms: the bishop's crook comes from the augur's lituus; the bishop's hat is the fishtail hat of the Babylonian priests of Dagon; the practice of baptism comes from one of the initiatory mystery traditions, can't remember which one; most of the titles and symbols of the Virgin Mary (Queen of Heaven, Star of the Sea, the moon, the peacock, etc.) are borrowed from Pagan goddesses; much of Christian philosophy is based on the Greek philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, etc.) There are also instances of churches being built on ancient Pagan sacred sites (though not nearly as many as some people have claimed).Yewtreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02028699564003381058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post-1129192065566781782005-10-13T08:27:00.000+00:002005-10-13T08:27:00.000+00:00Frustrating isn't it? I mean it's good to be awar...Frustrating isn't it? I mean it's good to be aware that people were persecuted and remember them, but when people start using it as an excuse to feel persecuted themselves, it's just a bit sad really. What we should be getting worked up about are the many places in the world where people are actually being persecuted for witchcraft <EM>now</EM>.Yewtreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02028699564003381058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post-1129161396497795172005-10-12T23:56:00.000+00:002005-10-12T23:56:00.000+00:00I was so glad to read your post. I'm writing a no...I was so glad to read your post. I'm writing a novel about witchcraft and ghosts and so I've been doing a lot of reading about the "Burning Times". <BR/><BR/>So many of the books I've read and sites I've browsed have quoted the 5-9 million women executed for witchcraft - I start banging my head on the keyboard and leave rapidly. Hutton's book is really excellent.Feenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04148640113718434688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9444317.post-1129126720383624532005-10-12T14:18:00.000+00:002005-10-12T14:18:00.000+00:00Hello DanThat's right, witches were not the only p...Hello Dan<BR/><BR/>That's right, witches were not the only people being persecuted at the time. The Catholic Church was also against Jews, Muslims, Cathars, and heretics in general.<BR/><BR/>The book I was reading claimed that "the Church demonised the figure of the witch in the 1400s" - this was such a sweeping generalisation that I thought it needed further clarification.<BR/><BR/>According to the article on the CoG site, the majority of witches were persecuted by the Protestants, and the majority of people persecuted by the catholics were actually heretics.Yewtreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02028699564003381058noreply@blogger.com