Proudly serving monsters since 1998.
Witchcraft is the practice of what the practitioner ("witch") believes to be supernatural skills and abilities, such as the casting of spells and the performance of magical rituals. Historically, witches have been commonly blamed to use supernatural means to cause harm such as the death of a child, bad harvests, or the death of cattle ... . But witchcraft is not necessarily sorcery and can be beneficial and often refer nowadays to benign, positive, or neutral metaphysical practices, such as divination, meditation, or self-help techniques found in the modern Pagan and New Age movements.
An athame is a Witch’s personal, magical knife, traditionally double-bladed with a black hilt, and fashioned of steel or iron. The blade may be magnetized or inscribed with runs or sigils. Magical knives were said to be used by witches in the middle Ages. The athame is associated with the element of fire (in some … Read more
Herbs have been a part of magick and spellcrafting from the beginning of time, and with good reason. Herbs by definition are plants that have special properties – usually medicinal or culinary – but they also an essential part of magic. During the witch hunt era, the Church included in its definition of witchcraft anyone … Read more
Knife-milking Knife-milking was sticking a knife into the wall and catching in a bucket the milk that would spout from the end of the handle. The milk is magically coming from someone else cow. If one were to knife-milk too long, blood would start to come out and then cow would die. Magic shot Also … Read more
Johannes Junius (1573–1628), the mayor of Bamberg, Germany, was accused of witchcraft during the craze of 1628. Before his tragic execution, Junius wrote a moving letter to his daughter Veronica so that she would understand the charges brought against him and the torture he endured. Amid prayers to keep him in God’s care, Junius describes … Read more
At the end of the Middle Ages, the recurring beliefs about witches were: The ride by night The pact with the Devil The formal repudiation of Christianity The secret nocturnal meeting The desecration of the Eucharist and crucifix The orgy Sacrificial infanticide, and Cannibalism Witches also appear as villains in many 19th- and 20th-century fairy … Read more
The cases of possession that made the headlines at the end of the witchcraze (Loudun, Louviers, …) cast a new light on the origins of witchcraft. Nuns and monks that led a life made of solitude, deprivation and isolation were particularly the victims of possession by the Devil. Priests were also tempted and sometimes … Read more
It is usually said that there was no organization of witches until the thirteenth century. Nevertheless, numerous documents have been written about an organized anti-Christian religion supported by consistent testimonies made by the witches as to the main features of the cult. Local variations are given, but there is agreement on broad lines, that gives … Read more
The study of the witch-hunt reveals that 90% of the victims were women. Among the accused women, most of them were elderly women aged more than 60. The Renaissance Christian myth of the witch is complex and grotesque. Most witches were women, the Malleus Maleficarum stated, because "All witchcraft arises from lust, which in women … Read more