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In a grim irony, under Martin Luther's new Protestantism - itself a heresy - witchcraft hysteria in fact
escalated. In 1522 Luther criticized lawyers for actually needing evidence against suspected witches.
In Europe the witch-trials finally burned themselves out in ludicrous excesses, such as the case of the
Devils of London, famously told in Aldous Huxley's play and film, where the possessed nuns would
'perform' several times a day for the entertainment of visiting pilgrims.
In Britain witchcraft executions never reached the heights of the continent - witches found guilty before
1563 were fined or banished under Ecclesiastical law. After the Witchcraft Act (only repealed in 1951),
witches could be hanged for treason. Burnings were not sanctioned by law, and torture was technically
illegal. However, hysteria did arise during the Civil War, stirred up by Matthew Hopkins the
self-appointed "Witch-finder General". It was this Puritan hysteria that was carried to the American
colonies, and led to the persecutions in New England.
Mediaeval & Renaissance Sorcery
The Renaissance saw a renewed interest in rediscovering the lost knowledge of the past, much of which
had seen suppressed by the church, with its monopoly on education and learning. Renaissance ritual
sorcery was largely derived from the Kabbalah - Jewish magick and mysticism, itself a product of
centuries of introversion in the ghettos of Europe.
The Jewish Kabbalah was Christianized in the form of ritual magic, attempting to commune with angels,
and to command spirits, demons, and elementals. It was practiced by educated and powerful men, such
Dr John Dee, famous adviser to Elizabeth I, who rose to great prominence. (Dee and his associate
Edward Kelly created Enchain Magic, a form of
communion with angels and 'aethyrs'.)
Sorcery, alchemy and magic in this period were inextricably linked with the science of their age - this
was true even up to the time of Isaac Newton. In 'rediscovering' ancient knowledge, many used
supposedly ancient "grimoires" - books such as The Key of Solomon, and Arabic texts that were a great
source of scientific, alchemical and astrological/astronomical knowledge.
Mediaeval grimoires claimed ancient lineage, but in truth they were based on some ancient material
fleshed out with contemporary writings and inventions.
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