Paganism an overview introduction - South African Pagan Council

Witchcraft is powerless on Wednesday, during Holy Week, and (contrary to what is
thought in some other countries) on the eve of St John Baptist’s Day. It is believed
that at midnight then Herodiade may be seen in the sky seated across a ray of fire,
saying:
“Mamma, mamma, perche` lo dicesti?
Figlia, figlia, perche' lo facesti? “
The were-wolf is known, but not as the creation of witches. It is a curse on men born
on Christmas live; they are known by the length of their nails. The malady seizes
them in the night; they run on all fours trying to bite, but they retain the human form.
If they are wounded so as to lose blood, the madness is stopped at once. Girls born on
Christmas Eve are not maidens.
The foregoing information was obtained quite recently from witches in Naples. When
asked what books they used, they answered None, that their knowledge is entirely
traditional. The incantations, often composed in verse, have become in time so
damaged that it has seemed better not to attempt to indicate the verses. Still, literal
accuracy in repeating the spells is believed to be of the greatest importance. A scarred
tongue was shown to me as the consequence of a mistake.
Some of the apparatus of witchcraft mentioned was presented to the Society that it
might be placed in the Cambridge Museum.
I owe much to the kind aid of Signor Luigi Molinaro del Chiaro, of Naples, founder of
the paper, Giambattista Basile, so much appreciated by amateurs of Italian traditions.
Unfortunately it exists no longer.
Le Pigautier, Menton, September, 1896.
CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS WITCHCRAFT
Wicca
On the other hand, Wicca is actually a very specific form of religious Witchcraft. It is
a lineaged, initiatory, duotheistic Mystery Tradition. In other words, two deities are
worshipped (The Lord and The Lady/God and Goddess) and one must be initiated
into a coven by a Priest or Priestess of Second Degree or higher. There is no “selfinitiation”
into Wicca, despite the word of many popular books to the contrary. In
fact, a quick glance at the word “initiation” in the dictionary will show that the very
idea of self-initiation in any context is contradictory. Other characteristics of Wicca
include the ritual use of magick, a basic code of morality, and the celebration of eight
seasonally based festivals.
There are various different denominations within Witchcraft, which are referred to as
traditions. Some, such as Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca, follow in the initiatory
lineage of Gardner; these are often collectively termed British Traditional Wicca, and
many of their practitioners consider the term "Wicca" to apply only to these lineaged
traditions.
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