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 There was a time in human history when mass histeria swept through western civilization, a time when people needed an explanation for what was happening in the world arround them. The trials have their origins in the persecution of heresy that mostly just got way out of control, in large part because of the destabilization Europe was suffering at the time. The Hundred Years War was killing people by the thousands, as was the Black Death. People needed a scapegoat, and that scapegoat became the mythical witch. When the church couldn't explain it, then it must be being caused by Witchcraft, the beleif that women would go out into the moonlight and covort with the devil in order to gain what they wanted was introduced. In this time the phrase "The devil made me do it" was born.
That time is referred to in history as "the witch trials" and referred to by Witches as "The burning Times." There is no collective headcount of how many innocent people were killed during the histeria, it is said by some that 9,000 were killed by others 9,000,000. The most widely known about trials in the united states did not end until 24 people had been killed for the crime of being accused of witchcraft. This event in a small village of Salem Massachusetts in 1692 marked the begining of the end of the torture and executions of those blamed for the misfortune of others.
Some of those beleifs left over from the histeria survive in the minds of extreme right wing Christians or those who are uneducated, I am lothe to disparage any religion however this is a christian beleif that has tainted even some non-Christians. While I hate to even use Witchcraft and the Devil in the same sentence, it is important to defferenciate.
Wiccans/Witches/Druids/Shamans do not beleive in evil, nor worship, the Devil/Satan/Lucifer.
Our Horned God is the God of Nature.
While like all living creatures we have sex, we do not have sex with dark spiritual apparations.
Witches are not Satanists.
Now Satanists in reallity have been demonized just as much as we have I feel it neccessary to state that while we are not Satanists. In the Christian sense, neither are Satanists. Such definitions create great confusion, and stir up religious animosity against followers of benign faith traditions. They have been known to trigger genocidal proposals, lynching, attempted mass murder, fire bombings, shootings, common assaults, etc.
Before defining yourself as not a Satanist remember that most people will take that by the Christian defininition. We strongly recommend that when dealing with your peers if you use such a blanket statement to define what you aren't you had better be able to explain what you are.
Some of your peers may well concider themselves to be both Pagan and Satanist. Remember that the terms "Satanist" and "Satanism" should be used only with a qualifier to refer to religions that have some direct involvement with Satan in some form. Thus a "Satanist" is one who either:
- Theistic Satanist: One who worships the Christian devil. Although the Christian Churches taught during the Renaissance that devil worshipers were very common, such individuals were in fact quite rare, and remain so.
- Religious Satanist: One who accepts Satan as a pre-Christian life-principle worth emulating. They follow a number of religious traditions, of which the largest by far is the Church of Satan.
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Many people focus way to much on what they ARE NOT when what they should be doing is defining what they ARE. Take some time and write in your notebook what you do beleive. Example: "I beleive in the eternal balance, while darkness needs light, light needs darkness." Find one thing that defines your beleifs, write it under the heading "I believe" and send us a copy.
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